improvements in boiler feeding apparatus
Year: 1888

page_text: Date of Application, 15th Feb., 1888
Complete Specification Left, 2nd Nov., 1888
Complete Specification Accepted, 7th Dec., 1888
I, WILHELM SCHMIDT of Halberstadt in the Kingdom of Prussia, German Empire,
engineer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
My invention of improvements in boiler feeding apparatus relates to the method of
automatic regulation of the feeding of boilers and is brought about in the following
manner. When the water in the boiler sinks beyond a certain level, the boiler is
automatically supplied with water, until the water level has attained the proper height
in the boiler, and no more.
By this method and apparatus a sure and certain feeding of the boiler is obtained.
This apparatus consists in the use of a chest which contains a reciprocating piston,
provided with chambers and which chest is connected to the boiler at the normal water
level.
Fig. 1, 2, 3 represent transverse vertical sections of an automatic boiler feeding
apparatus, showing different arrangements. The piston fig. has a reciprocal
movement imparted to it from the engine and moves steam-tight in the chest g, which
has an opening hh at the water level in the boiler; is the feed water inlet, to the
chest g, which is in connection with a water reservoir, which keeps the pipe, always
full of water. There are either one or more chambers s, provided, which may either
be in the chest g or in the piston k.
The working of the boiler feeder is as follows.
By the rising of the piston k, see fig. 1, the contents of the boiler have free entry,
into the chambers of the chest g. If the water level in the boiler is lower than the
top oo of the opening hh, steam enters the chamber s, which, when the piston k
descends, is shut off from the boiler; by the further descent of the piston k the steam
which is shut up in the chambers comes in contact with the feed water from the pipe,
When the
and is condensed, the chambers being filled with water. In fig. 2.
piston k rises, water is enclosed in the chamber s' and by the descent of the piston
this volume of water flows into the boiler through bb. This feeding of the boiler,

page_text: continues so long, till by the rising of the piston, water in place of steam flows into
the chambers; in this case the water in the chamber s mixes with the water from
the feed pipe z without feeding the boiler, and so the feeding of water into the
boiler is automatically regulated according to the height of the water in the
boiler.
Fig. 3 shows both the chest g and the piston k provided with chambers s- 23
respectivly.
The movable piston is divided in three parts and so forms the chambers between
them the chest g is also provided with the chamber s. The working of this arrange-
ment is as follows.
When the water level in the boiler is below the bottom of the pipe y the steam
enters the chest g, and fills the chamber. When the piston moves upwards, carrying
the chamber full of steam, until the chamber 23 comes in connection with the
chamber which is full of water, so is the steam in 3 condensed and a partial vacuum
formed, in the chambers 23s; at the same time the chamber has been filled with
water from the feed pipe z.
When the piston k moves downwards again, all the water that was in s flows into 3
and a vacuum formed in s, and by a still further downwards movement of the piston k,
the water in flows into the chest g, and thus into the boiler; the water in =² flows
into chambers and a vacuum, formed in on the ascending of the piston again, the
vacuum in 2 is brought in connection with the feed pipe 2 and thus made to draw
the necessary feed water, provided that there is no reservoir above the level of the
apparatus.
By this arrangement of a number of chambers in the piston (the chest g can also be
provided with a number of chambers) a by far surer working of the apparatus is
obtained, than that by fig. 1 & 2, as the steam is not brought in direct contact with the
feed water in pipe and thus heating it, but only with a small portion of it, according
to the size of the chambers s³, and so the chance of the steam not being condensed
is avoided in proportion to the number of chambers s or 3. Another great advantage
of the multiplication in the number of chambers, is that the quantity of warm water,
finding its way from the boiler into the feed pipe is much reduced. But the size of
the chambers must not be carried beyond a certain limit, for if the feeding power of
the apparatus is greater than required by the boiler, then the warm water from the
boiler combines with the feed water, and the result is a rise in the temperature of the
water in the reservoir, and comes about in the following manner.
The warm water in comes in direct contact with a small quantity of cold water
(which is in chamber s fig. 3) and the combination has a medium temperature,
between the warm water in 3 and the cold water that was in s; the half of this co-
bined water, passes into and looses another part of its temperature in heating the
water that was in 2, and again the half of this combined water, only comes in contact
with the cold feed water, and consequently the heating of this feed water is very
little.
+
This arrangement produces a sure working of the apparatus, and the chambers
have only to be made of sufficient size to suit the requirements of the boiler.
Instead of the chest being fastened on the boiler, as shown in fig. 1, 2, 3 and the
piston movable, the reverse plan may be adopted, namely the piston held fast and
the chest g made to move upon it as shown in fig. 4. This arrangement allows the
working of the apparatus to be counterbalanced by means of a piston head L', or by
being balanced by other means from the top.
Figs. 5 to 10 show modifications of this boiler feeder, which has several important
advantages over the method already described; namely by the apparatus as shown
in figs. 1 to 4, it is necessary to have a small engine, or machine near the boiler,.
in order to impart a reciprocating motion to the piston or chest. But in the modi-
fication this reciprocating motion is obtained by the movement of a column of water,
and this column of water is set in motion from a pump on the main engine and
conveyed by means of piping to the apparatus as shown in fig. 5. Another improve-
ment lies in the piston ₁, which in the first described apparatus works in the cylindrical

page_text: chest and therefore after working some time becomes stack, and so the water
out of the boiler forces its way up past the pistons, especially when the apparatus is
not working.
To prevent this passing through of the boiler water, the piston is provided with
a valve, which rests against the valve seat provided for it in the chest g and is well
guided by the ribs ; s is the water chamber in the chest g, which may be on the
piston, or on both, as shown in fig. 1 to 4. The piston k in its top position is kept
tight against the valve seat by the pressure of water in the boiler, L is the pipe leading
On the
from the pump P to the apparatus, v is a suction valve for the pump.
highest part of the piping there is an automatic air valve a fitted which allows of
any air accumulated in the pipes to pass off but does not permit of water passing
through.
Fig. 9 shows another modification of this form boiler feeder where the apparatus
acts by means of a differential piston & provided with holes a and a¹, the
piston being moved as in fig. 1 to 5. The feeding of the boiler takes place in
the following manner, when the piston is in the position shown in fig. 10, the feed
water enters the chambers from the feed water pipe z and on the piston again
ascending the water is forced out through the holes a a¹ into the boiler.
In figs. 5 & 6 is to be seen a signal apparatus combined with the boiler feeding
apparatus. The small shaft m passes steam tight through the chest y, above
the piston k, and carrying a lever p on its outer end, to which the hammer n is
fixed, while the small lever a is fitted to the end of the shaft m inside the chest g
and over the centre of the piston k; above the hammer is placed the alarm bell s.
The signal apparatus works in the following manner.
When the pump P works, it draws the water through the non-return valve vand
fills the pipe L gently. If the water in the boiler is at its proper height, that is if
it covers the opening of the pipe y, then it is forced up into the chamber
against the piston by the pressure in the boiler.
and
The pump P forces the water in the pipe L against the piston ¹ and presses it
down, but as the chambers is already filled with the water from the boiler, so the water
from L does not pass into the boiler but is drawn out again on the outward motion of
the pump
Pand the piston & moves slowly upwards and rests gently on the valve
seat of the chest g. The lever p is so arranged, that by this gentle movement it does
not move enough, so as to strike the hammer n against the bell s.
When the water in the boiler is below its proper level, that is, below the opening of
the pipe y and steam rises into the chamber s, and when the piston is depressed by the
inward movement of the pump P, the steam in the chambers comes in contact with
the cold feed water from the pipe L and is condensed and the chamber's filled with
water by the return motion of the pump P the piston is forced violently against
the valve seat and the projection of the piston k¹ against the lever a and through it,
makes the hammer n strike against the bell L, & sounded. The water in the chamber s
This alarm bell continues to gound
finds its way into the boiler through the pipe y.
the whole time that the apparatus is supplying water to the boiler, but if the apparatus
ceases to supply water to the boiler the signal apparatus also ceases to work. In order
to prevent the thumping of the piston when the pump P moves rapidly, it can be
fitted with a cataract or air spring in the well known manner.
Fig. 5 in the accompanying drawings shows a vertical section of this modification,
in which the feed water in pipe Lis led direct into the boiler feeding apparatus.
Fig. 6 shows a horizontal cross section through A-B. Fig. 7 shows an arrangement
where the water pressure in the pipe L is only used to move the piston and a
separate feed water pipe z provided.
Fig. 8 shows an arrangement of the apparatus as applied to two or more boilers; in
this arrangement a double acting pump P is used both for moving the pistons k¹ kl
and for supplying the necessary feed water.
When the water in the boiler or boilers is at such a height that the pistonske k¹ do
not allow any water to pass from the pipe L into the boilers it flows into the

page_text: accumulators A A which prevent undue strain in the piping. These accumulators are
formed by an enlargement E E of the pipes L L containing weighted pistons K K
made steam and water tight by means of the rings o¹; the upper parts of the
accumulators are in connection with the boiler by means of the pipes t, and when the
water in the boiler sinks in either one or more of the boilers, so the water stored up
in the accumulators, is given out again by the weighted pistons k k.
Dated this 13th day of February 1988

page_text: I, WILHELM SCHMIDT of Halberstadt in the Kingdom of Prussia German Empire,
ngineer do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what manner
he same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by
he following statement :-
My invention of improvements in boiler feeding apparatus relates to the method of
automatic regulation of the feeding of boilers, which is achieved in the following
manner. When the water in the boiler sinks below a certain level, the boiler is
Automatically supplied with water until the water level has attained the proper height
in the boiler, and no more.
By this method and apparatus a sure and certain feeding of the boiler is obtained.
The apparatus consists of a chest, which contains a reciprocating piston, provided
with chambers and which chest is connected to the boiler at the normal water
level.
In order to make my invention more clear, I refer to the drawings which were left
with the provisional specification in which:
which
Figs. 1, 2, 3 represent transverse vertical sections of an automatic, boiler feeding
The piston, Fig. 1 has a reciprocal
apparatus, showing different arrangements.
movement imparted to it from the engine and moves steam-tight in the chest
has an opening hh corresponding to the water level in the boiler; is the feed-
water inlet to the chest g which is in connection with a water reservoir, which keeps
There are either one or more chambers s,
the pipe z, always full of water.
provided, which may either be in the chest g or in the piston k or in both.
The working of the boiler feeder is as follows:
9.
By the rising of the piston k, see fig. 1, the contents of the boiler have free entry,
If the water level in the boiler is lower
into the lower chamber of the chest
than the top oo of the opening hh, steam enters the chamber s, which when the
piston & descends, is shut off from the boiler; by the further descent of the piston k
the steam which is shut up in the chamber s comes in contact with the feed water
In fig. 2.
from the pipe, and is condensed, and the chambers filled with water.
When the piston k rises, water flows into the chamber sand by the descent of the
This feeding of the
piston this volume of water flows into the boiler through h h.
boiler, continues so long, till by the rising of the piston, water in place of steam flows
into the chamber s or s; in this case the water in the chambers mixes with the
water from the feed pipe without feeding the boiler.
The feeding of water into the boiler is automatically regulated according to the
height of the water in the boiler.
Fig. 3 shows both the chest and the piston k provided with chambers s &² 2³
respectivly.

page_text: The movable piston k is divided in three parts forming the chambers ²³, the
chest is also provided with a chamber s.
follows:
The working of this arrangement is as
When the water level in the boiler is below the bottom of the pipe y steam enters
the chest and fills the chamber ³.
the chamber 3 full of steam, until the chamber comes in connection with the
When the piston moves upwards, carrying
chamber 3, which is full of water the steam in is condensed and a partial vacuum
formed, in the chambers 38; at the same time the chamber is filled with water
from the feed pipe =
When the piston & moves downwards again, all the water ins flows into and a
vacuum is formed in s, and by a still further downward movement of the piston k
the water in flows into the chest g, and thus into the boiler; the water in flows
into chambers and a vacuum is formed in on the ascending of the piston again,
the vacuum in 2 is brought in connection with the feed pipe and draws the
necessary feed water, provided that there is no reservoir above the level of the
apparatus.
can
By this arrangement of a number of chambers in the piston (the chest
also be provided with a number of chambers) a far surer working of the apparatus is
obtained, than that shown in figs. 1 & 2, as the steam is not brought in direct contact
with the feed water in pipe to heat it, but only with a small portion of the same, in
proportion to the size of the chambers s³, and the chance of the steam not
being condensed is avoided in proportion to the number of chambers s or 3 m³.
Another great advantage of the multiplication of the number of chambers is, that the
quantity of warm water, finding its way from the boiler into the feed pipe is reduced.
The size of the chambers must not be carried beyond a certain limit, for if the
feeding power of the apparatus is greater than required by the boiler, then the warm
water from the boiler combines with the feed water, and the result is a rise in the
temperature of the water in the reservoir, which comes about in the following
manner.
The warm water in comes in direct contact with a small quantity of cold water
(which is in chambers fig. 3) and the combination has a medium temperature,
between the warm water in and the cold water that was in the half of this
combined water passes into 22 and looses another part of its temperature in heating
the water that is in, and again the half of this combined water mixes with the cold
feed water, consequently heating the feed water.
This arrangement produces a sure working of the apparatus and the chambers
have only to be made of sufficient size to suit the requirements of the boiler.
Instead of the chest being fastened to the boiler, as shown in figs. 1, 2, 3 and the
piston movable, the reverse plan may be adopted, namely the piston held fast and
the chest y made to move upon it as shown in fig. 4.
working of the apparatus to be counterbalanced by means of a piston head, or by
This arrangement allows the
other means from the top.
Figs. 5 to 8 show modifications of this boiler feeder, which has several important
advantages over the apparatus already described; namely by the apparatus as shown
in figs. I to 4 it is necessary to have a small engine, or machine near the boiler in
order to impart AL reciprocating motion to the piston or chest.
cation this reciprocating motion is obtained by the movement of a volumn of water,
But in the modifi-
and this volumn of water is set in motion from a pump on the main engine and
conveyed by means of piping to the apparatus as shown in fig. 5. Another improve-
ment lies in the piston which in the first described apparatus works in the cylindrical 5
chest 9: and therefore after working some time becomes slack, and so the water out of
the boiler forces its way up past the pistons, especially when the apparatus is not working.
To prevent this passing through of the boiler water the piston k¹ is provided with a
valve which rests against a valve seat provided for it in the chest y and is well-
guided by the ribs r; s, is the water chamber in the chest g, which may be on the 5
piston, or on both, as shown in fig. 1 to 4. The piston in its top position is kept
tight against the valve seat by. the pressure of water in the boiler. Lis the pipe

page_text: 5
eading from the pump P to the apparatus, is a suction valve for the pump. On
he highest part of the piping there is an automatic air valve fitted, which allows of
ny air accumulating in the pipes to pass off but does not permit of water passing
hrough.
In figs. 5 & 6 is to be seen a signal apparatus combined with the boiler feeding
apparatus. The small shaft m passes steam tight through the chest g, above the piston i
and carrying a lever p on its outer end, to which the hammer n is fixed, while the
small lever a is fitted to the end of the shaft m inside the chest g and over the centre
of the piston ; above the hammer is placed the alarm bell s.
This signal apparatus works in the following manner:
When the pump P works, it draws the water through the non return valve and
fills the pipe L gently. If the water in the boiler is at its proper height, that is if it
and against
covers the opening of the pipe y, then it is forced up into the chamber
the piston by the pressure in the boiler.
t
S
The pump
P forces the water in the pipe L against the piston and presses it
down, but as the chamber s is already filled with the water from the boiler, so the
water from does not pass into the boiler but is drawn out again on the outward
motion of the pump P. and the piston k¹ moves slowly upwards and rests gently on the
valve seat of the chest g. The lever pis so arranged that by this gentle movement
it does not move enough, so as to strike the hammer n against the bell s.
•
When the water in the boiler is below its proper level, that is, below the opening of
the pipe y steam rises into the chamber s, and when the piston is depressed by the
inward movement of the pump P, the steam in the chambers comes into contact
with the cold feed water from the pipe Land is condensed, and the chamber s filled
with water; by the return motion of the pump P the piston is forced violently
against the valve seat and the projection of the piston k against the lever a and
through it, makes the hammer strike against the bell S. The water in the chamber s
This alarm bell continues to sound
finds its way into the boiler through the pipe y.
the whole time that the apparatus is supplying water to the boiler but if the apparatus
In
ceases to supply water to the boiler, the signal apparatus also ceases to work.
order to prevent the thumping of the piston & when the pump P moves rapidly, it
can be fitted with a cataract or air spring in the well known manner.
Fig. 5 shows a vertical section of the modification, in which the feed water in pipe L
is led direct into the boiler feeding apparatus. Fig. 6 shows a horizontal cross
section through A-B. Fig. 7 shows an arrangement where the water pressure in
the pipe is only used to move the piston ¹¹ and a separate feed water pipe = is
provided.
Fig. 8 shows an arrangement of the apparatus as applied to two or more boilers;
in this arrangement a double acting pump P¹ is used both for moving the pistons k¹ ki
and for supplying the necessary feed water.
When the water in the boiler or boilers is at such a height that the pistons k¹ k¹ do
not allow any water to pass from the pipe L into the boilers it flows into the
accumulators A A which prevent undue strain in the piping. These accumulators are
formed by an enlargement E E of the pipes L L & contain weighted pistons KK,
made steam and water tight by means of the rings o; the upper part of the
accumulators is in connection with the boiler by means of the pipes t, and when the
water in the boiler sinks in either one or more of the boilers, the water stored up
in the accumulators, is forced out again by the weighted piston K K.
Fig. 9 shows a modification of this form of boiler feeder where the apparatus acts
by means of a differential piston and provided with holes a and a¹.
The feeding of the boiler takes place in the following manner :-When the piston
is in the position shown in fig. 10 the feed water enters the chambers from the feed
water pipe and on the piston ascending the water is forced out through the holes a¹ a¹
into the boiler.
The piston is set in motion by a column of water in the pipe L which is moved
by a pump on the engine in the saine manner as that described in relation to the
modification shown in fig. 5.

page_text: 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) In boiler water feeders the combination of a chest with one or more chambers
therein, with a reciprocating piston, substantially and for the purpose as described.
2) In boiler water feeders the combination of a chest with one or more. chambers
therein, with a reciprocating piston therein, the said piston having one or more
chambers, substantially and for the purpose as described.
3) In boiler water feeders a hollow standard fitted to the boiler having one or more
chambers or recesses in the same the said hollow standard having a pipe leading into
the boiler to the normal water level, in combination with a reciprocating cover, the
said cover being also provided with one or more chambers or recesses therein and
means for balancing the same, substantially and for the purpose as described.
4) In boiler water feeders, a chest fitted to the boiler having a piston therein and a
pipe leading down to the normal water level in the boiler, the said piston being
reciprocated by a column of water in the pipe leading from the feed pump in
combination with the levers po, shaft a, hammer head and gong S of an alarm
apparatus as shown in figs. 5-6 for the purpose as described.
5) In boiler water feeders as fitted to a number of boilers the combination of the
chests gg having the pistons k¹ and connecting pipe L each chest fitted with a pipe y
leading down to the normal water level in the boiler a pump and the accumulators E¹
having pistons K, substantially as shown in figure 8 of the drawings, for the purpose
as described.
6) In boiler water feeders the combination of a chest g fitted to the boiler connected
by a pipe y to the normal water level, a differential piston having the
holes aa aa a' a', substantially as shown in figures 9 and 10 of the drawings, for
the purpose as described.
Dated Berlin this 21