Multiple Hydrostatic Lubricator Model
date: label: date made
content: 1873
label: patent date
content: 1873-04-29
name: label: inventor
content: Gates, John
notes: label: Description
content: This is an automatic lubricator that delivers lubricating oil into the steam being supplied to a steam engine at any desired rate. It employs the pressure due to a column of water plus the pressure of the steam in the main to force the oil into the main against the steam pressure.
label: Description
content: The lubricator consists principally of a large cylindrical brass reservoir containing the oil. This reservoir is connected at the top through a length of vertical uninsulated pipe to the steam main. The pipe extends down within the reservoir to a point near the bottom. Steam entering this pipe is condensed to some extent and conveys water into the reservoir, where it displaces the oil to the top. A second pipe entering the reservoir at the bottom extends nearly to the top. The top of this pipe is open, and the oil is forced into it. This pip conveys the oil to a needle valve at the bottom of a sight glass or water column through which the oil rises in drops to the pipe that conveys it to the steam main. The resistance offered the flow of oil by the pressure in the main is overcome by the pressure exerted in the oil in the reservoir by the steam pressure in the uninsulated pipe plus the pressure due to the height of the column of water standing in the pipe.
label: Description
content: The rate of flow of the oil is regulated by the needle valve at the bottom of the sight glass, which is set to deliver oil at the rate required, usually stated in drops per minute. This is a multiple lubricator provided with three delivery valves and sight glasses from which oil may be supplied to three different points at three different rates. A sight level glass on the side of the reservoir is provided to show the quantities of oil and water within the reservoir. Stiff sheet-brass guards surround all of the glass parts so that the highly strained gauge glass will not fly far off if the glass should fail under the pressure within the lubricator.
label: Description
content: Reference:
label: Description
content: This description comes from the 1939 Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States Museum Bulletin 173 by Frank A. Taylor.
label: Location
content: Currently not on view
place: label: place made
content: United States: Oregon
label: associated place
content: United States: Oregon, Portland
setName: label: See more items in
content: Work and Industry: Mechanical and Civil Engineering
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content: Bulletin 173
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content: Engineering, Building, and Architecture
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content: Work
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content: Industry & Manufacturing
publisher: label: Related Publication
content: Frank A. Taylor. Catalog of the Mechanical Collections of the Division of Engineering United States National Museum, Bulletin 173
dataSource: label: Data Source
content: National Museum of American History
identifier: label: ID Number
content: MC.308685
label: catalog number
content: 308685
label: accession number
content: 89797
label: patent number
content: 138,243
objectType: label: Object Name
content: lubricator, model
label: Object Name
content: patent model, lubricator
label: Object Type
content: Patent Model
physicalDescription: label: Physical Description
content: brass (overall material)
label: Measurements
content: overall: 20 in x 8 1/8 in x 12 in; 50.8 cm x 20.6375 cm x 30.48 cm