Improvements in Stuffing Boxes and Packing for Steam Engines.
Year: 1885

page_text: Improvements in Stuffing Boxes and Packing for Steam Engines.
We, GEORGE WATSON MANUEL of Fernbank, Catford Hill in the County of
Kent, Engineer, and ROBERT MARSHALL of No 2 Maidstone Villas, Earlham Grove
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of our
invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STUFFING BOXES AND PACKING FOR STEAM
ENGINES" to be as follows:-
Our invention relates to so called "Tandem Engines," that is to say, steam
engines in which there are two cylinders in line with each other, the pistons of
which are connected to one and the same piston rod which passes from the one
cylinder to the other through an intervening space, sufficient to allow of the with-
drawal of the opposite cylinder covers.
According to our present invention instead of providing each cylinder cover
with a separate stuffing box, we dispense entirely with stuffing boxes on the covers,
and we provide a separate stuffing box enclosing the part of the piston rod between
the cylinders and formed so as to be fixed to flanges or bosses on the cylinder
covers, that take the place of the stuffing boxes, or, in applying the invention to
existing engines, to the old stuffing boxes, which in that case we fill out with a
metal bush divided in halves with slanting joints, so as to prevent loss of steam.
We divide the casing of the stuffing box longitudinally into two or more parts
provided with flanges so as to be bolted together when place in position round the
piston rod, and in the interior of the casing we make a cavity or chamber of
sufficient size to receive a suitable packing, the other part of the casing, if any,
being made to surround the piston rod more or less closely. For insuring a steam
tight fit of the stuffing box against the existing stuffing boxes or the flanges on the
cylinder covers, we prefer to make it slightly shorter than the distance between
these, so that on the one end being bolted tightly against the one cover, there is a
slight space between the other end and the other cover into which we insert a
packing ring in halves with a bevilled projection on the outer circumference, fitting
against a bevilled edge on the stuffing box end.
For the packing we prefer to employ the metallic packing described in the
Specification to Smith and Marshall's Patent No 1428 of 1884, the inner end
surfaces of the stuffing box chamber being turned so as to cause the packing to

page_text: make a steam tight joint. In order to insure such steam tight joint, we introduce
into the one end of the stuffing box chamber a bevil ring formed in three or more
parts, bearing against a correspondingly bevilled end surface of the packing, so
that by forcing the segments inwards by means of screws screwing through the sides
of the stuffing box, the packing will be forced steam tight against the other end
surface of the chamber.
It will be seen that by the application of our above described invention the
advantages are gained firstly of having only a single stuffing box for the two
cylinder covers, instead of one for each, and, in the case of new engines, of enabling
the two cylinders to be brought considerably nearer together than is possible with
the present construction owing to the stuffing boxes of the covers being replaced
by simple flanges or bosses, projecting only to a very slight extent.

page_text: Improvements in Stuffing Boxes and Packing for Steam Engines.
We, GEORGE WATSON MANUEL of Fernbank, Catford Hill in the County of
Kent, Engineer and ROBERT MARSHALL of No 2 Maidstone Villas, Earlham Grove
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of our
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
Our invention relates to so-called "Tandem Engines," that is to say, steam
engines in which there are two cylinders in line with each other, the pistons of
which are connected to one and the same piston rod which passes from the one
cylinder to the other through an intervening space, sufficient to allow of the
withdrawal of the opposite cylinder covers.
According to our present invention instead of providing each cylinder cover with
a separate stuffing box, we dispense entirely with stuffing boxes on the covers, and
we provide a separate stuffing box enclosing the part of the piston rod between the
cylinders and formed so as to be fixed to flanges or bosses on the cylinder covers,
that take the place of the stuffing boxes, or, in applying the invention to existing
engines, to the old stuffing boxes, which in that case we fill out with a metal bush
divided in halves with slanting joints, so as to prevent loss of steam.
We divide the casing of the stuffing box longitudinally into two or more parts
provided with flanges so as to be bolted together when placed in position round
the piston rod, and in the interior of the casing we make a cavity or chamber of
sufficient size to receive a suitable packing, the other part of the casing, if any,
being made to surround the piston rod more or less closely. For insuring a steam
tight fit of the stuffing box against the existing stuffing boxes or the flanges on
the cylinder covers, we prefer to make it slightly shorter than the distance between
these, so that on the one end being bolted tightly against the one cover, there is a
slight space between the other end and the other cover into which we insert a
packing ring in halves with a bevilled projection on the outer circumference,
fitting against a bevilled edge on the stuffing box end. For the packing we
prefer to employ the metallic packing described in the Specification to Smith
and Marshalls patent No 1428 of 1884, the inner end surfaces of the stuffing box
chamber being turned so as to cause the packing to make a steam tight joint. In
order to insure such steam tight joint, we introduce into the one end of the stuffing.
box chamber a bevil ring formed in three or more parts, bearing against a corre-
spondingly bevilled end surface of the packing, so that by forcing the segments
inwards by means of screws screwing through the sides of the stuffing box, the
packing will be forced steam tight against the other end surface of the chainber.
It will be seen that by the application of our, above described invention the
advantages are gained, firstly of having only a single stuffing box for the two cylinders
covers, instead of one for each, and, in the case of new engines, of enabling the two
cylinders to be brought considerably nearer together than is possible with the

page_text: present construction owing to the stuffing boxes of the covers being replaced by
simple flanges or bosses, projecting only to a very slight extent.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
Figs. 1 to 8 on sheet I of the accompanying drawings shew our invention as
applied to existing tandem Engines. Figs. 1 and 2 shew sections at right angles to
each other, Fig. 3 shews an elevation, Fig. 7 shews a cross section of the stuffing
box and Figs. 4, 5, 6 and 8 shew detached details. A is the stuffing box or
"column" introduced between the stuffing boxes of the two cylinders, and divided
longitudinally into two halves that are bolted together by means of flanges A¹, so
as to be readily placed in position enclosing the piston rod, and capable of easy
removal therefrom for renewal or examination of the packing. The stuffing boxes
of the cylinders are filled out with filling bushes B B¹ shewn detached at Figs. 4
and 5, the one filling piece B being made flush with the top of the box while the
other B¹ leaves a small space into which fits a spigot on the end of the column A.
The latter is made somewhat less in length than the distance between the stuffing
boxes of the cylinders, and the space thus left at one end is filled by a packing
ring C, made in halves, as shewn in plan at Fig. 6, which ring is by preference
made with an inwardly sloping face fitting against an outwardly sloping face on
the column A so that when it is required to remove the column, the packing ring
can be readily drawn out by means of the snugs thereon, whereupon the column
can be slid so, as to free the spigot from the other stuffing box, after which the
halves of the column can be withdrawn. The column A is secured to the stuffing
boxes by screws D D1, of which D pass through and hold the packing ring C. The
packing E for the column A is, as before stated, by preference that described in
Smith and Marshalls Specification N° 14284. The end surfaces of the packing and
of the chamber containing it are turned, to form a steam tight joint, and between
the bevilled surface at one end of the packing and the surface of the chamber is
fitted a bevilled adjusting ring R made in three or more parts, which can be forced
inwards by means of screws Q, as shewn more clearly in the enlarged detail at
Fig. 8. The interior of the column is supplied with lubricant through the cup F
and pipe F¹.
Figs. 1 to 6 sheet II shew our invention as applied to new engines. The only
difference between this and the first described arrangement is that the stuffing
boxes of the cylinders are entirely done away with, being replaced by the column A,
and packing glands G G¹ in the cylinder covers, which latter are formed with a
central boss to which the column A is screwed. The other parts are designated
by the same letters of reference as in the first arrangement, and therefore require
no further description.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed we declare that what
we claim is:-
1. The use in combination with the steam cylinders of tandem engines, of a
separate stuffing box enclosing the piston rod between the two cylinders and fixed
in a steam tight manner either to the stuffing boxes of the cylinders, or to the
cylinder covers when they have no stuffing boxes, substantially as and for the
purposes described.
2. In combination with a separate stuffing such as is referred to in the preceding
claim the use of a packing ring in halves fitting with a bevilled face between the
one bevilled end face of the separate stuffing box, and the face of the cylinder
stuffing box or cylinder cover, substantially as and for the purposes herein
described.
3. In combination with a stuffing box such as is referred to in the preceding
claims, the use of a bevilled segmental adjusting ring bearing against the bevilled

page_text: end face of the packing and the end face of the packing chamber, and capable of
being forced inwards by screws from the outside, substantially as and for the
purpose herein described.
4. In applying separate stuffing boxes, such as are referred to in the preceding
claims, to existing tandem Engines, the use of filling bushes divided longitudinally
in halves with sloping meeting surfaces, for filling out the existing stuffing boxes of
the cylinders substantially as herein described.
5. The combination of the stuffing box or column A, divided longitudinally into
two or more parts, containing the packing E and adjusting ring R with screws Q
and the packing ring C, constituting a removeable stuffing box enclosing the
piston rod between the cylinders of a tandem engine, substantially as herein
described.