AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Picking, of Lambeth, in the County of
Surrey, Engineer, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND
APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER."
Sealed the 4th May 1858, and dated the 12th November 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Picking at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
12th November 1857.
I, WILLIAM PICKING, of Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer,
do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER," to be as
follows:-
Over or near the boiler I place a steam-tight vessel and lead two pipes.
from the boiler into it, one from the upper part of the boiler to the upper
part of the vessel for the purpose of conveying steam therein, and the other
from the lower part of the vessel into the lower part of the boiler, or below
the water line therein, for the purpose of conveying water from the vessel to
the boiler. Inside the vessel I lead the mouth of a supply pipe from a well
or source of not more than 28 feet deep, or from a source on a level with or
above the vessel, and in the mouth of this pipe I fit a valve opening outwards
from the pipe; I bring the steam pipe through the side of the vessel, carry

page_text: it up therein and fix a cock thereto which should come midway between the top
and bottom of the vessel. To the plug of the cock. I fix a disc and make two
notches therein, and to the disc I connect an arm carrying a float; I use two
other floats for the purpose of driving one or other of two rods into one of
the notches in the disc to keep the steam-way open or closed according to the
height of the water in the vessel; I hang a valve in the entrance to the
water-way from the vessel into the boiler, and connect a pipe and cock to
the bottom of the vessel for the purpose of cleaning it and driving the water
entirely therefrom when necessary.
The working of the apparatus is as follows:-First, expel all air by driving
steam through the vessel, close up the steam inlet and outlet cocks, and con-
densation will take place; water from the well or reservoir will flow in through
the supply pipe until it reaches the float on the upper rod, which will be
thereby withdrawn from the notch in which it was engaged; the main float
will then rise and open the plug of the steam cock, which will be kept in that
position and remain so until the vessel is discharged by the lower rod being
forced into the other notch on the plug disc; the pressure of the steam on the
water in the feed vessel balancing that exerted by the steam on the boiler;
the water in the vessel will descend by its own gravity to supply the boiler.
As soon as the water has descended to a certain level in the vessel the position
of the steam plug will be reversed by the falling of the main float, and the
upper rod engaging in one of the notches in the plug disc will keep the steam
passage closed until the water rises, as before explained.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Picking in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
12th May 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
PICKING, of Lambeth, in the County of Surrey, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twelfth day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Picking, Her special licence that I, the said William Picking,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Picking, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any time agree
with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter during

page_text: the term' therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise, and
vend, within the United Kingdom' of Great Britain and Ireland, the Channel
Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "AN IMPROVED METHOD OF AND
APPARATUS FOR FEEDING STEAM BOILERS WITH WATER," upon the condition"
(amongst others) that I, the said William Picking, my executors or adminis-
trators, by an instrument in writing under my, or their, or one of their
hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of
the said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be performed
and cause the same to be filed in the Great Seal Patent Office within six
calendar months next and iminediately after the date of the said Letters
Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Picking, 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 in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings
(that is to say):
This Invention relates to a method of and apparatus for feeding steam
boilers with water, against any pressure and without the aid of force pumps '
or other ordinary means.
The construction of the improved apparatus is as follows:-Over or near
the boiler a steam-tight vessel is fixed and connected with the boiler by two
pipes, one from the upper part of the boiler to the upper part of the vessel,
and intended to supply the vessel with steam, and the other from the lower
part of the vessel to the lower part (or below the water line) of the boiler,
and intended to convey the water from the vessel to the boiler. The mouth of
this latter pipe is provided with a valve opening towards the boiler. Inside this
closed vessel (at the upper part thereof) I lead the mouth of a water-supply
pipe from a well or source not more than twenty-eight feet below, or on a level
with or above the vessel, and in the mouth of this pipe there is a valve opening
inwards towards the vessel. From the steam pipe first above mentioned a
branch is carried into the vessel, about midway between the top and bottom
thereof, where it is furnished with a cock or valve and is then carried upwards
inside the vessel to near the top thereof. To the plug of the cock or valve is
fixed a disc having two notches therein, and to the disc is connected an arm
carrying a float. There are also two other floats connected to rods, which
take into one or other of the two notches in the disc, in order to hold the
steam-wlayopen or cosed, as may be required according to the height of the."
water in the vessel. The bottom of the vessel is furnished with a cock for the
purpose of cleaning it and driving the water entirely therefrom when necessary.

page_text: The working of the apparatus is as follows:-First, expel all air by blowing
steam through the vessel, close the steam inlet and outlet cocks, and 'conden-
sation will take place, causing a partial vacuum in the vessel which will allow
the pressure of the atmosphere on the surface of the water in the well or reser-
voir to force the water into the vessel until it raises the float on the upper rod
which it releases from the notch in which it was engaged; the main float will
then rise and open the steam cock or valve, which will be kept in that position
and remain so (until the vessel is discharged) by the lower rod being forced
by its float into the other notch in the disc. The pressure of the steam above
the water in the feed vessel balancing that of the steam in the boiler, the
water will descend from the vessel into the boiler by its own gravity. As
soon as the descent of the water releases the lower rod from its respective
notch, the main float will fall and close the steam cock or valve, the upper
float holding it in that position until again released. Condensation again
takes place, and the water is drawn into the feed vessel and again discharged
as before, and so on alternately, until the water has reached the desired level
in the boiler, when the steam pipe communicating from the boiler to the feed
vessel must be closed by a cock outside the vessel; or by a very little attention
this cock might be so adjusted that the water supplied would equal the amount
converted into steam; or the apparatus might be made entirely self-acting by
producing the steam pipe inside the boiler to about the desired level of the
water.
Such being the nature and object of my said Invention of an improved
method of and apparatus for feeding steam boilers with water, I will proceed
to describe more in detail the manner of carrying the same into practical
effect; and in order that the same may be more clearly understood, I have
annexed hereunto a Sheet of Drawings representing three modifications of the
apparatus, and have marked the same with figures and letters of reference
corresponding with those in the following explanation thereof:
Figure 1 represents a vertical section of one modification or arrangement;
and Figure 2 is a plan or horizontal section of the same. A, A, is the closed
feed vessel, which is made steam-tight, and may be of a cylindrical or other
suitable form; B, B, is the steam pipe which connects the upper part of
the boiler with the upper part of the vessel A, and is furnished with two
cocks C and D; E, E, is the feed pipe, which connects the lower part of the
feed vessel with the lower part of the boiler, and is provided with a valve F
opening towards the boiler; G, G, is the water-supply pipe, which is furnished
with a valve at or near its lower end, and also with a valve H at its upper
extremity opening inwards towards the vessel. The steam pipe B has a branch

page_text: I; I, extending into the feed vessel at or near midway between the high and
low-water levels, where it is furnished with a cock K, and thence passes- to
the upper part of the vessel; to the plug of the cock K, a disc L is attached,
(having two notches M, M',) to which is connected a lever carrying a float N
at its outer end; 0, 0¹, are two other floats connected by levers to the sliding
rods P, P¹; Q is the blow-off cock.
To set this apparatus in action, first open the cocks C, D, and Q, and blow
steam through until no air or water remains in the vessel; close the cocks
C and Q, and the vacuum caused by condensation will allow the pressure of
the atmosphere to force the water through the pipe G and valve H into the
vessel. As the level of the water rises, the main float N is kept in the
position shewn in the Drawing (and the steam cock K. consequently shut) by
the rod P being engaged in the notch M on the disc L, but as soon as the
water reaches its highest level it raises the upper float O, and disengages the
rod P from its notch, and allows the float N to rise by its buoyancy and open
the steam cock K. Steam is thus admitted above the water in the vessel,
and balancing the pressure of the steam in the boiler, allows the water to
flow by its own gravity through the valve F and pipe E into the boiler.
Simultaneously, the rising of the lower float O¹ will force the end of its rod
P¹ into the notch M³, and hold the main float N in the position shewn in
dotted lines, until the water falls to its lowest level, when the falling of the
lower float O¹ will withdraw the rod P¹, and allow the main float N to fall,
and close the steam cock K; condensation then takes place and the operation
proceeds as before.
Figure 3 shews a vertical section of a modification of this apparatus, in
which the letters from A to K indicate the same parts as in Figures 1 and 2.
In this arrangement, the steam pipe B terminates at the level of the water
line in the steam boiler, and the branch I is above the high-water line in the
feed vessel; instead of the notched disc a segment L, having a step M, is
attached to the axis of the lever which carries the float N, and the lever which
carries the lower float O is connected to the rod P, and to the valve H is
attached a sliding rod P¹, furnished with notches, through which the float
levers pass.
As the water rises to its highest level, the rising of the float N
opens the steam valve K, and closes the water valve H, and simultaneously
brings the step M over the rod P, which is then raised by the float O, and
keeps the float N suspended, and valve K open till the water reaches its
lowest level, when the falling of the float O releases the float N, which shuts
the steam valve K, and so on alternately. The fact of bringing the lower end
of the steam pipe B to the level of the water line in the boiler renders this

page_text: arrangement self-acting, for as soon as the water in the boiler rises above that
line, hot water instead of steam passes up the pipe B, when the valve K is
opened, and consequently no vacuum is formed.
Figure 4 shews another arrangement of this apparatus, wherein the branch
pipe I and valve K are at the low-water level, and all the connections are
made below the cover of the vessel, which allows of the cover being more
readily removed when requisite.
I would here observe, that in all cases where the supply is derived from a
well or other source below the feed vessel, the suction pipe G should be pro-
vided with a retaining valve as near the level of the water therein as practicable,
in order to keep the pipe full.
Having thus described the nature and object of my said Invention for "An
Improved Method of and Apparatus for Feeding Steam Boilers with Water,"
together with the manner of carrying the same into practical effect, I would
remark in conclusion, that I am aware that closed vessels have been pre-
viously employed for such or similar purposes; but I claim as my Invention,―
Firstly, the method of feeding steam boilers with water, by alternately
creating and destroying a vacuum in a closed vessel, in the manner above
described.
And, secondly, I claim the peculiar arrangements of apparatus for effecting
such object, as shewn in the Drawings and herein-before described, or any
mere modification thereof by which the same end may be obtained.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Picking, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, the Tenth day of May, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-eight.
Witness,
BRISTOW HUNT,
Sol & Patent Agent,
1, Serle St., Lincoln's Inn.
WILLIAM PICKING. (L.S.)