A New or Improved Apparatus for Regulating the Feed Water in Steam Boilers.
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 14th Sept., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 12th June, 1889-Accepted, 13th July, 1389
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Apparatus for Regulating the Feed Water in
Steam Boilers.
I. GEORGE SUTHERLAND FLEMING, of Aimer Villa, Coatbridge Lanarkshire,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my invention to be as follows :-
This Invention has reference to and comprises a new or improved construction,
or arrangement and combination of the parts, of a feed water regulator for steam
boilers, which will be more simple, sensitive, and convenient, and less liable to
derangement, and give a more regular feed, than boiler feeders as heretofore
constructed.
The nature and novelty of the invention or improvements consist all as follows:-
This regulating apparatus is wholly mounted within the steam boiler itself preferably
in the steam space above the water, and consists in mounting an equilibrium or
nearly equilibrium valve over the vertical feed pipe carried down into the water
space, with the feed branch leading from the outside of the boiler led down and
jointed to a lateral branch on the valve chest, leading into the space between the valves
when a double lid equilibrium valve is used. The spindle of the valve would be
carried up through a stuffing-box in the cover of the valve chest, made wide enough
for the insertion of the two valve seats and lids when the cover was off, and connected
or jointed to a beam lever near its fulcrum, which would be fulcrumed on a bracket
bolted up to the inside of the boiler. One end or arm of this beam lever would have
mounted or jointed on it, preferably by a link or rod, a float, raised and lowered by
the level of the water within the boiler acting only to open the valve in its descent;
and the other arm of the lever would have mounted or jointed on it a rod carrying
regulating adjusting weights up in the steam space above the water level, to counter-
balance a great part of the float's action, and tending to shut the valve, and maintain
it shut as soon as the float rose any extreme fixed height desired, above the usual
required normal level of the water, and so regulated that when the water fell below.
this normal level, the float in its downward action would open the valve against the
power of the balance weight, and admit the feed through the valve from the feed
water supplied to it by the branch pipe from the outside. This arrangement would
be so sensitive that very little variation in the level of the water would be required
to open the valve, and might be thus regulated to maintain a nearly constant or
uniform feed into the boiler.
Although in this new feed apparatus an equilibrium double faced valve and a
double armed adjustable weighted float lever have been described, this being the best
for giving perfect action, yet still a modification of the arrangement might be made
with other or single faced valves and with a single armed lever, the float in this case
being made large and powerful enough to act positively on its lever in both directions
to shut and open the valve respectively when it rose to the highest, and fell to the
lowest points it was regulated to, to allow the water to vary above or below its desired
normal level. Or hollow piston or slide valves might be used, with lateral ports, in
either case to be actuated by the lever and float to open the inlet branch and port, or
close it respectively, as the water fell, or rose above the normal level it was desired to
keep the water in the boiler at.
Dated this 14th day of Santamber 1888

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
A New or Improved Apparatus for Regulating the Feed Water in
Steam Boilers.
I, GEORGE SUTHERLAND FLEMING, of Aimer Villa, Coatbridge, Lanarkshire,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my 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, reference being had to the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings, and to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say -
This Invention has reference to and comprises a new or improved construction, or
arrangement and combination of the parts, of an automatic feed water regulator for
steam boilers, which will be more simple, sensitive, and convenient, and less liable
to derangement, and give a more regular feed, than boiler feeders as heretofore
constructed.
And in order that my said invention, and the manner of performing or carrying
the same into effect or practice may be properly understood, I have hereunto appended
an explanatory Sheet of Drawings, in which the same reference letters are used to
indicate corresponding parts in all the Figures where shown.
Figure 1 is a side sectional elevation showing my new or improved apparatus, or
combined valve A A', lever C, C', float E, E¹, pipes B, B, and fittings as fitted to
the upper part Z' of a steam boiler Z for automatically regulating the feed-water
thereto. Figure 2 is a plan view of Figure 1, looking on the top or
"stool" part
above the boiler. And Figure 3 is a plan view of the apparatus within the boiler,
as taken on the line 1-1 of Figure 1.
Referring to these Drawings, the nature and novelty of the invention or improve-
ments consist all as follows:-This regulating apparatus is mounted within the steam
boiler Z itself, preferably in the steam space Z above the water level and consists
in mounting an equilibrium or nearly equilibrium regulated stop valve and valve
chest A A', over or jointed to the vertical delivery branch B₁ of the feed pipe B,
carried down into the water space Z, with the feed branch B, leading from the outside
of the boiler Z, and led down and jointed to the inlet lateral branch of the valvo
chest A A', or leading into the space between the valves when a double lid equilibrium
valve is used. The spindle a of the valve A is carried up through a stuffing-box in
the cover of the valve chest A' (which when a double equilibrium valve is used
would be made wide enough for the insertion of the two valve seats and lids when the
cover was off), and connected or jointed preferably by links and a cross pin at a¹ to a
slot in a beam lever C C¹, near its fulcrum C" which lever C C', is fulcrumed on
brackets D¹ preferably secured inside of the outer branch stool D bolted by flanges to
the outside of the boiler Z. One end or arm C of this beam lever C C has mounted
or jointed on it, preferably by a link or rod E, a float E¹ raised and lowered as the
level of the water within the boiler Z rises or falls, and acting only to open the
valve A in its descent to admit the feed water as indicated by the arrows in the feed
pipe B.; and the other arm C of the lever C C, has mounted or jointed on it a
rod E carrying regulating adjusting weights E³ up in the steam space Z' above the
water level to counter balance a great part of the float's action, and tending to
shut the valve A, and maintain it shut as soon as the float E' rose to any extreme
fixed height of level desired, above the usual required normal level of the water, and
so regulated that when the water fell below this normal level, the float E' in its down-
ward action opens the valve A against the power of the balance weights E³ and
admits the water through the valve A from the feed water supplied to it by the branch
pipe B from the outside. This arrangement is so sensitive that very little variation in
the level of the water will be required to open the valve A, or close it, and may be
thus regulated to maintain a nearly constant or uniform feed into the boiler. But to
show outside that this feed apparatus is working freely inside the boiler Z, and enable
a person outside to test it, and shut or open the valve A, and so put off or on the feed
temporarily, a light rod b is attached at its lower end 6¹ to the lever C, C¹, near its
2

page_text: fulcrum, by a slot joint, and passed out through a stuffing box in the stool D, and
attached at its upper end 611 by a slotted joint to a hand lever 2 fulcrumed to a
standard at 3 on the outer branch stool D, the hand lever being retained and guided
in a slotted guide at also projecting up from the said stool D, the hand lever 62
enabling the attendant to close or open the valve A, and see that the apparatus is
working properly inside the boiler Z.
Although in this new feed apparatus an equilibrium single or double faced valve A
and a double armed adjustable weighted float lever have been described, this being
the best for giving perfect action, yet still a modification of the arrangement might
be made with a single armed lever C, dispensing with the arm U¹, and weights E2, E³,
from the point c, the float El in this case being made large and light enough without
counterweights E³ to act positively on its lever C in both directions to shut and open
the valve A respectively when it rose to the highest, and fell to the lowest points it
was regulated to, to allow the water to vary above or below its desired normal level.
Or hollow piston or slide valves might be used, with lateral ports in either case to be
actuated by the lever C and float E¹ to open the inlet branch and port or close it
respectively, as the water fell, or rose above the normal level it was desired to keep
the water in the boiler at.
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.
An apparatus for automatically regulating the feed water in steam boilers, com-
prising the combination of a valve actuated by a lever and float within the boiler to
open and close respectively the inlet feed water branch and port, in the valve as
the water in the Boiler fell below, or rose above, the desired normal level, sub-
stantially as herein described and illustrated under one arrangement in the accom-
panying Drawings.
Dal 1 19:1
T1000
W. R. M. THOMSON & Co.,
96, Buchanan Street, Glasgow, Agents.