New or Improved Apparatus for Heating and Purifying the Feed Water of Steam Boilers.
Year: 1888

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
New or Improved Apparatus for Heating and Purifying the Feed
Water of Steam Boilers.
I, GEORGE BAKER FIELD, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at
Temple Court New York, in the County and State of New York, do hereby
declare the nature of this invention and in what manner the same is to be
performed to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:
The object of my invention is to purify the feed water in an effective manner
before it passes into the boiler and also to heat the same by waste heat.
The invention consists in a feed water purifier of novel construction that is
located entirely within the boiler, and also of a novel form of heating device pre-
ferably located in the smoke-box of a locomotive, and in the combination of these
two devices, as well as in certain details of construction, which will now be set
forth and then indicated in the claims making a part hereof.
I have shown my invention as applied to an American locomotive boiler, but
do not wish to be confined to the same, as the invention can be used with other
boilers.
Fig. 1 is a longitudinal vertical section of an American locomotive boiler, on the
line 1, 1 of Fig. 2, having my invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a sectional
view on the line 2, 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal horizontal section on the
line 3, 3 of Fig. 2, that is showing the top of the boiler removed. Fig. 4 is a
section of a detail. Figs. 5 and 6 are transverse sections on the lines 5, 5 and 6, 6
respectively of Fig. 8. Fig. 7 is a horizontal longitudinal section of a portion of
my purifier on an enlarged scale. Fig. 8 is a longitudinal section of another portion
of my purifier on an enlarged scale. Fig. 9 shows the sheet metal, which is used
in the purifier, before it is made into a coil as shown in Figs. 5 and S. Fig. 10, a
cross section of the latter on the line 10, 10 of Fig. 9.
The same figures of reference indicate the same parts throughout the various
views.
I will first describe my purifier, and afterward set forth the heating apparatus,
prefacing the same with a general description of the boiler, so as to make plain how
the apparatus is applied. 10 is the shell of the ordinary locomotive boiler and
11 are the fire tubes located within said boiler, and 12 is the smoke-box in front of
the boiler. 13 is the steam dome and 14 the dry steam pipe that passes through the
top of the boiler from the steam dome to the top of the smoke-box, where it branches
into two pipes 15, 15 that pass diagonally down through the smoke-box to steam
chests applied to each cylinder. 16 is the fire-box of the locomotive.
The fire tubes 11 support the purifier, the same being located between said fire tubes
and the dry steam pipe 14. 17 are preferably boards which I place upon the fire
tubes to support the purifier. The purifier is made up of pipes 18 of sheet metal,
which are adapted to be inserted in each other like stove pipe, to make a continuous
passage. Any number of these sections can be put together, so as to make a purifier
of any length and any number of lengths may be joined together, (as shown in Fig. 3)
making a purifier of any number of turns, the one returning upon the other either
longitudinally or transversely of the boiler. 19 is the feed water pipe which passes
through a casting 20 which is placed over the end of the purifier. Within the purifier
may be placed a coil of sheet metal 21, for the purpose of arresting the sediment as
the feed water flows through the purifier. The sheet metal coil is made by taking a
piece of sheet iron and coiling it spirally and inserting it into one of the sections 18.
The feed water passes through the space between the coils of the sheet iron.
In order
to regularly space the coils of the sheet metal and hold the coils in their proper

page_text: .
position, I cut the sheet metal plate 21. (as shown in Fig. 9) leaving lips 40 projecting
about one fourth of an inch, so that cach succeeding coil will be held from the
previous one by these lips, and the coils will be regularly spaced one from the other.
The coil of sheet iron is preferably made a little shorter than the cylindrical section 18
so as to leave a space 22 between the coil of sheet iron and the succeeding section 18,
which may be filled with scrap iron 23, or any other suitable substance to arrest the
sediment. Any number of coils of sheet iron may be placed in the different sections
of the purifier, and any quantity of scrap iron can be used in the purifier. I prefer
however to use all sheet iron or all scrap in the purifier, although they may be
alternated. I use this sheet metal coil and the scrap iron, for the reason that metal
surfaces have a strong affinity for the scale-making particles and sediment in water,
which will naturally be attracted and adhere to all metal surfaces with which they
come in contact. By these expedients I expose more metal surface to the feed
water in its passage through the chambers than is exposed by the entire internal
surfaces of the boiler and fire tubes, and I thus arrest the sediment and scale-making
particles by the metal surfaces in the purifier before they reach the water in the
boiler. At the end of each length of the purifier is a casting 24 provided with two
rims 25, 25 for receiving the two ends of the adjacent lengths of the purifier (as
shown in Fig. 7).
A purifier, such as I have described, can be manufactured at very small cost, and
is easily replaced. The coil of sheet iron should it become filled with sediment, may
be taken out and a new sheet metal coil inserted in licu thereof. So also the scrap
iron may be removed and replaced with fresh scrap. The purifier is made of very
light metal as the pressure inside and outside of the purifier is nearly equal and need
only be constructed to withstand the difference of pressure between the pressure in
the purifier and that in the boiler. The purifier should preferably be about three-
quarters submerged in the water in the boiler, leaving about one-quarter of the same
extending into the steam space. The purifier being in sections can be readily
inserted in the boiler, and easily withdrawn therefrom through the manhole of said
boiler.
Before the feed water passes into the purifier, I design to have it pass through a
coil of pipe located in the smoke-box in order to heat the same. I do this as a matter
of economy to utilize the waste heat in the smoke-box, and also to raise the tem-
perature of the water in order to cause the sediment to be precipitated, which takes
place more readily when the water is at a high temperature. I wish to state here
that I do not claim to be the first to put a coil of pipe in the smoke-box in order
to utilize the waste heat, but my coil is arranged differently from any coil now in
use, and is also used in connection with my purifier, which combination is, so far as
I am aware, a new one. The coil pipe referred to is designated by the number 26
and may be arranged upon one or both sides of the smoke-box and attached to the
shell of the same between one of the dry steam branch pipes 15 and said shell. 27 is
a pipe that connects with the lower part of the coil and passes across the front and
lower part of the smoke-box to a three-way connection 28, (shown on an enlarged
scale in Fig. 4). The three-way connection 28 opens at its lower end into a pipe 29
that runs along the side of the locomotive and is connected with the pump in the
engineer's cab. 30 is the blow off connection of the three-way connection 28 which
is controlled by a valve 31, that is governed by a rod 32 that passes to the engineer's
cab. Within this three-way connection is a valve 33, which when the pump is in
operation is normally open, the water passing through the same from the pipe 29 to
the pipe 27 through the coil of pipe 26 to the purifier. When the current is reversed
by opening the blow-off and stopping the pump, the valve 33 closes and the water
passes from the pipe 27 directly through the three-way connection 28 to the blow-
off connection 30, taking with it the sediment deposited in the purifier and coil
pipe 26.
Upon the other side of the locomotive is the injector pipe 34 communicating with
a three-way connection 28 constructed in every respect similar to that formerly
described. 35 is also a blow-off pipe opening into the three-way connection 28 and

page_text: is controlled by a valve 36, governed by a rod 37 which passes to the engineer's cab
as before explained. When the pump stops operating, the injector will force the
water through the three-way connection 28 and coil of pipe 26 to the purifier. This
is brought into operation when the locomotive is standing still and the pump
is idle.
Another feature of novelty of my invention is the circulating pipe 38 which is
connected between the pipe 27 and the coil of pipe 26. This pipe forms a circulation
from the lower coil to the upper, and prevents undue beating of the coil of pipe when
the engine is at a stand-still.
By providing the apparatus with a heating coil, and delivering the feed water to
the purifier at a high temperature, I arrest the greater part of the sediment in the
first section or two of the purifier, and these sections are perhaps the only ones that
need ever be replaced. Other means of heating the feed water before it is delivered
to the purifier could be used without departing from my invention.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what I
claim is
1. The new or improved apparatus for purifying the feed water of steam boilers
substantially as set forth.
2. The new or in proved feed water heater consisting of a coil of pipe arranged in
the smoke-box of a locomotive substantially as set forth.
3. The new or improved apparatus for heating the feed water consisting of a coil of
pipe arranged in the smoke-box of a locomotive and having a circulating pipe 38
substantially as and for the purpose set forth.
4. The combination of the respective apparatus for heating and purifying the feed
water of steam boilers substantially as set forth.
Dated this 24th day of December 1888.
J. G. LORRAIN, M. Inst. M.E., M. Inst. E.E.,
Agent for Applicant.