Filling and Testing Boilers and the like.
Year: 1889

page_text: Filling and Testing Boilers and the like.
I, JOHN JACKSON, care of C. S. Mallett & Co., 5 Laurence Pountney Hill, in
the City of London Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said invention
and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described
and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
My invention relates to force-pumps for filling and testing boilers and the like,
and for other purposes.
My said invention is chiefly designed to improve the construction and increase
the efficiency of the apparatus described in the specification of former Letters
Patent Dated 9th March A.D. 1886 No. 3314.
more
more of
An important feature of my present invention consists in the combination, with
a plunger-pump or force-pump of small diameter, similar to that described in
the said former specification, or of other suitable construction, of one or
plunger-pumps or force-pumps of larger diameter; the plungers of these pumps
are secured to a reciprocating cross-head in such a manner that they may be
readily connected therewith and disconnected therefrom, so that one or
the said pumps can be worked as desired without working the other pump or
pumps. This arrangement is very advantageous for filling and testing boilers and
the like, as all of the pumps can be used for filling the boiler, and, when it is
filled, the smaller pump can be used alone for increasing the pressure to that
required for testing purposes. Or one or more of the smaller pumps can be used
for thus increasing the pressure.
My said invention comprises, moreover, various other improvements hereinafter
set forth.
In the accompanying drawings I have shown how my said invention may be con-
veniently and advantageously carried into practice.
Figure 1 is a plan showing one form of my improved apparatus constructed
with two pump barrels or cylinders.

page_text: 4
Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section on the line a Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a horizontal section on the line y y Figure 2, and
Figure 4 is a side elevation of the said apparatus.
Like letters indicate corresponding parts throughout the drawings.
A is a metal casting which is bored out to form the pump-barrels or cylinders and
suction and delivery passages as hereinafter described.
a is a pump barrel or cylinder of small diameter formed in the said casting and
provided with a foot-valve al and with a socket or extension a² for convenience of
attaching thereto a suction pipe or hose. Any suitable device, may be used, if
desired for regulating or determining the lift of the valve a. b is a piston or
plunger provided with packing rings and arranged to work in the said cylinder.
e is a delivery passage or way having a suitable valve c¹ and connected with the
delivery pipe C. c² is a screw-threaded plug for convenience of removing the said
valve for cleaning, repairs or other purposes.
An important feature of my. present invention consists in combining, with the
small pump above described, a pump or pumps of larger diameter. For this purpose,
in the apparatus shown in the drawings I form in the casting A another pump
barrel or cylinder d of larger diameter than the pump barrel or cylinder a. The
said pump barrel or cylinder d is provided with a foot-valve d having a stem d²
provided with an adjustable stop or nut d³ for regulating or determining the lift
of the said valve. e is a socket or extension for convenience of attaching the
suction pipe or hose. The said socket or extension e is preferably provided with
a perforated plate e¹ to prevent the passage of any foreign matter into the interior
of the pump barrel or cylinder d and to form a guide for the stem d. f is a piston
or plunger arranged to work in the said cylinder d. is the rod or stem of the
said pistion or plunger f. The pump barrel or cylinder d is provided with a
delivery passage or way g also connected with the delivery pipe and furnished
with a suitable valve g and with a screw-threaded plug g² for convenience of
removing the said valve g'. h is a pressure gauge inserted in the delivery pipe
for indicating the pressure produced by the pumps. A stop-valve i having a
screw-spindle and operated by means of a handle to move it to or from its
seat, is moreover, provided for relieving the delivery valve g¹ of the pressure
when it is desired to operate the: pump a without operating the pump d as herein-
after specified. Air passages or outlets jjare provided in the delivery passages g c
for permitting the escape of any air that may be contained in the pump barrels
or cylinders a and d or in the delivery passages c and g when starting the apparatus.
These outlets also serve for permitting the escape of liquid to diminish the pressure
in a boiler or other object being tested. The outlets jj are under normal conditions
closed by means of valves & provided with screw-spindles and with handles k² by
means of which they can be moved to or from their seats A³.
The plungers or pistons 6 and fare operated by means of a cross-head arranged
to move freely up and down on guide bars or rods m rigidly secured at their lower
extremities to the casting A and firmly connected at their upper extremities by
means of a cross-piece m¹. The cross-head 7 is connected by means of a bolt or
pin to the fork end B₁ of the handle or lever B. The fork B¹ is coupled at B²
to a connecting rod or link n which is coupled at n' to a bracket o firmly attached
to the casting A. n2 is a distance piece fitting between the link n and one arm
of the fork B¹.
By using a forked lever arranged as above described instead of a straight lever
extending through the centre of the cross-head as described in the said former
specification I obtain the advantage that the force exerted by means of the said lever
is evenly distributed to the cross-head l' and to the plungers or pistons and f
When the two plungers or pistons are working together and when the small plunger
only is working that arm of the forked lever which is directly over the said plunger
transmits the greater proportion of the pressure exerted upon the lever and gives a
more or less direct thrust on the said plunger. The upper end of the plunger b
is fitted in a socket formed on the cross-head I and is secured in the said socket by

page_text: means of a set-screw or it may be attached to the said cross-head in any other
convenient manner.
The rod or stem f₁ of the piston or plunger f is attached to the cross-head
by means of a nut or union p which is retained upon the rod or stem f¹ by means
of a collar f upon the said rod or stem. The said nut or union p is provided
with internal screw-threads fitting a correspondingly screw-threaded projection or
boss upon the said cross-head 7. By this arrangement the rod or stem and
consequently the piston or plunger of the larger pump d can be easily and
expeditiously disconnected when desired by merely unscrewing the said nut or
union:p from the projection or boss 1³.
The cross-piece m² is provided with an adjustable stop q for regulating the stroke
of the cross-head and therefore the lift of the plungers or pistons 6 and f
attached thereto. The said stop q is provided with a screw-threaded stem ql fitting
into a correspondingly screw-threaded hole in a boss m³ upon the said cross-piece m¹.
m³ is a lock nut for preventing the accidental slackening or moving of the said
stop by reason of the jarring caused by, the impact of the cross-head at the
termination of its upward stroke. I thus provide an easily adjustable stop for
regulating the lift of the pump plungers or pistons. By screwing this stop up
as far as practicable, the cross-head may be raised sufficiently high to permit the
withdrawal of the plungers bf.
.
The delivery pipe is provided with a suitable union for coupling the same
to a pipe or hose connected with the boiler or other object to be filled and tested.
The said pipe C is connected with the delivery passages c, g by means of unions s.
I prefer to make the casting A solid and to bore out the same as above stated
to form the pump barrels or cylinders and the various passages or ways and I
insert screw-threaded plugs or provide other suitable means for closing, where
necessary, the outer extremities of the holes or passages thus formed. I can however
construct the apparatus in any other convenient manner.
I sometimes provide a suitably pivoted lever having a ring, loop or fork adapted
to engage with the nut or union p beneath the flange thereof, thus providing
convenient means for raising the said nut or union p and facilitating the fitting of
the same upon the screw-threaded projection or boss ³ when it is desired to couple
the plunger or piston-rod f¹ to the cross-head Z. In some cases, moreover, I provide
a screw and hand-wheel similar to that described in the said former specification
for obtaining a final or extra pressure.
The operation of the apparatus is obvious and will be readily understood from the
description.
It is obvious moreover, that although I have hereinbefore more especially
described an apparatus provided with two pump barrels or cylinders, I can employ
any suitable number of the said pump barrels or cylinders of any suitable dimensions,
connected with the reciprocating cross-head in such a manner that they can be
readily detached therefrom.
My improved apparatus is especially adapted for testing boilers, pipes, gauges,
hydraulic cylinders and the like, also for working hydraulic lifts, jacks presses and
other apparatus. It is moreover applicable for various other purposes and is very
advantageous where very high pressures are required.
The improved apparatus above described may, if desired, be provided with suitable
means for connecting it with a steam-engine or other motor. Moreover other devices
may be employed for connecting the pump-plungers with the reciprocating cross-
head in such a manner that they can be readily disconnected therefrom.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed 1 wish it understood that
I claim :-
First. The combination, with a pump the plunger of which is attached to a cross-
head provided with means for imparting reciprocating motion thereto, of one or more
pumps of larger diameter having their plungers attached to the said cross-head

page_text: in such a manner that they can be readily detached therefrom, for the purpose above
specified.
Second. The combination, with the reciprocating cross-head and the guide-bars or
rods, of the pumps, devices for connecting the plungers of the same with the said
cross-head, and the forked handle or lever, substantially as, and for the purposes,
set forth.
Third. The casting A in which the pump-barrels or cylinders and the ways or
passages are formed by boring out the solid metal, substantially as, and for the purpose,
above specified..
Fourth. The combination, with the piston or plunger f provided with the rod f¹,
of the nut or union thereon and the projection or boss upon the movable cross-
head (with or without the lever for raising the said nut), all substantially as, and for
the purposes, set forth.
Fifth. The improved apparatus consisting of the parts constructed and combined
substantially as described with reference to the accompanying drawings and operating
as, and for the purposes, above specified.
11:. 1. L
1000
HASELTINE, LAKE & Co.,
45, Southampton Buildings, London, W.C.,
Agents for the Applicant.