IMPROVE- MENTS IN STEAM ENGINES TO ENABLE THE BOILERS TO BE SUPPLIED WITH HEATED FEED WATER
Year: 1884

page_text: I JOHN KIRKALDY of 40 West India Dock Road Poplar in the County of
Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEAM ENGINES TO ENABLE THE BOILERS TO BE SUPPLIED WITH HEATED
FEED WATER," to be as follows:-
According to this invention I construct steam engines or fit those at present in
use in such a manner that the steam as it passes from the cylinders to the condenser
has to pass through a feed water heater in which the feed water on its way from
the feed pumps to the boilers has to pass through a series of helical tubular coils
surrounded on their exterior by the exhaust steam. In engines in which the
cylinders are inverted and carried by columns from a surface condenser below them
I make the feed water heater as a column passing from one to the other and I form
it so that the exhaust steam passing from the cylinders enters the column near the top
and passes away from it to the condenser from near the bottom. The feed water
is made to enter the casing at the bottom into a chamber shut off from the central
part of the column by a tube plate which forms a division across it and passes
through a number of helical tubular coils which are led up through the column to
another tube plate placed across the upper part of the column bere the feed water
enters a chamber above this tube plate and passes away from this chamber to the
boilers. In place of the ends of the tubular coils being secured in tube plates which
pass across the heater the ends of the coils might be led out through the sides or
front of the casing or column into small chambers one at the top and the other at
the bottom. In this case the feed water would be supplied by the feed pump to
the chamber at the bottom and would be led away from the chamber at the top to the
boilers. When the heater is made in this way it may be formed with flat sides and
rectangular in cross section. The front and side plates can also be readily removed
at any time for the purpose of allowing ingress to the interior of the condenser for
the purpose of examination or to allow of the interior of the heater being cleaned
or repaired. I also make provision for admitting steam from the boiler of a donkey
engine to the feed heater whenever the main engines are stopping and water is
being pumped into the boilers by pumps worked by the donkey engine so that the
feed water shall always be heated not only when the engines are running but also
Prins B71

page_text: when they are stopped and when feed water is being pumped into the boilers by a
donkey pump as described in a provisional specification lodged by me N° 12618 in
the year 1884.
By employing a feed water heater having a series of helical tubular coils and
preferably a series of alternately right and left handed coils interlocking with one
another to form the heating surface and by the feed water being made to pass off
from the heater just where the exhaust steam enters. I am able to utilize efficiently
the exhaust steam for heating the feed water to a temperature nearly equal to that
of the exhaust steam and above the temperature of boiling water before it enters
the boilers and I am able to do this with a heater occupying comparatively little
space which does not prevent ready access to all parts of the engines and thus
I am able to render practicable that which heretofore has never been carried out
successfully and which is not now in use.

page_text: I, JOHN KIRKALDY of 40 West India Dock Road Poplar in the County of
Middlesex Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN STEAM ENGINES TO ENABLE THE BOILERS TO BE SUPPLIED WITH HEATED
"
FEED WATER and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
According to this invention I construct steam engines or fit those at present in
use in such a manner that the steam as it passes from the cylinders to the condenser
has to pass through a feed water heater in which the feed water on its way from
the feed pumps to the boilers has to pass through a series of helical tubular coils
surrounded on their exterior by the exhaust steam. In engines in which the
cylinders are inverted and carried by columns from a surface condenser below
them I make the feed water heater as a column passing from one to the other and
I form it so that the exhaust steam passing from the cylinder enters the column
near the top and passes away from it to the condenser from near the bottom.
The feed water is made to enter the casing at the bottom into a chamber shut
off from the central part of the column by a tube plate which forms a division
across it and passes through a number of helical tubular coils which are led up
through the column to another tube plate placed across the upper part of the
column, here the feed water enters a chainber above this tube plate and passes away
from this chamber to the boilers.-In place of the ends of the tubular coils being
secured in tube plates which pass across the heater the ends of the coils might be
led out through the sides or front of the casing or column into small chambers one
at the top and the other at the bottom. In this case the feed water would be
supplied by the feed pump to the chamber at the bottom and would be led away
from the chamber at the top to the boilers. When the heater made in this way
it may be formed with flat sides and rectangular in cross section. The front and
side plates can also be readily removed at any time for the purpose of allowing
ingress to the interior of the condenser for the purpose of examination or to allow
of the interior of the heater being cleaned or repaired.
By employing a feed water heater having a series of helical tubular coils and
preferably a series of alternately right and left handed coils interlacing with one
another to form the heating surface and by the feed water being made to pass off
from the heater just where the exhaust steain enters. I am able to utilize efficiently
the exhaust steam for heating the feed water to a temperature nearly equal to that
of the exhaust steam and above the temperature of boiling water before it enters
the boilers and I am able to do this with a beater occupying comparatively little
space which does not prevent ready access to all parts of the engines and thus
I am able to render practicable that which heretofore has never been carried out
successfully and which is not now in use.
At Figure 1 I have shown a front elevation and at Figure 2 a side elevation of
the main parts of a steam engine in which the cylinders are inverted and carried

page_text: by columns from a surface condenser below them and in which the exhaust steam
on its way from the cylinders of the engine to the condenser is made to pass
through a feed water heater constructed in the manner herein-before first described.
In these Figures A are the cylinders of the engine. B is the surface condenser
and C the feed water heater-D D are the feed pumps of the engine by which feed
water is supplied to the lower end of the feed heater.
The feed water passes by the pipe E to a chamber F at the lower part of the feed
heater from which it passes through numerous coiled tubes G to a chamber H at
the top of the heater and from this chamber through a pipe I to the boilers. Steam
from the last expansion cylinder of the engine enters the upper part of the casing
of the heater C through the passage C¹ and passes from the bottom of the casing
direct into the condenser.
In place of the pipe I being led off from one side of the upper part of the heater
it might be led away from its top the construction in this case being modified in
the manner shewn at Figure 3.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed I declare that what
I claim is
1. Introducing into the steam passage between the last cylinder of a steam
engine and the condenser a number of tubular coils through which the feed water
on its way from the feed pump to the boilers is made to pass substantially as
described.
2. The construction of steam engines with a feed water heater formed as herein-
before described and illustrated in the drawing annexed interposed between the
last cylinder and the condenser.