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Kquip me! Used Af As| lore New Piston Valve and Ring Piston—Power Windlass Outfit to eliminate both leakage and friction has been developed by the Baker Valve Co., Minneapolis, Minn. These results, it is said, are secured through the use of a patented ring com- bination and cage. The valve is installed without any changes to the engine. The valve has already been widely adapted for use on marine, stationary and trac- tion engines. The accompanying illustrations show the construction of these valves, and the methods of installing them. Owing to the difference in the designs of engines, the cages vary in shape. Each valve is made especially for the engine it is to fit. Paper impressions are taken of the valve and valve seat, thus solving the problem of obtaining exact measure- ments. Most engines require only a single piston valve but large marine and stationary engines often require two, A BALANCED piston valve designed three or four, as shown in Fig. 5. The distinctive features of the Baker FIG. 1— BACK OF CAGE, SHOWING LUGS WHICH AID IN HOLDING VALVE IN PLACE valve are the cage and the ring piston. The cage is used to balance the steam pressure and the ring pistons to keep the valve vapor-tight, thus employing every pound of steam usefully. The face of the cage, shown in Fig. 3, is FIG. 2—PHANTOM VIEW OF RING PISTON FIG, °3° — “FACE OF CAGE, SHOWING ARRANGEMENT OF PACKING made to correspond exactly with the valve seat of the engine. Lead-alloy packing wire capable of standing over 700 degrees of heat, or annealed copper wire for greater temperature, is inserted half way into the grooves between and around the ports. This packing permits the valve to be installed without any changes or machine work, as the pack- ing will take up any wear or variation that may exist on the valve seat. In- stallations are thus made easily and rapidly, and the joints are said to be permanent and steam-tight. Fig. 1 shows the back of the cage, which is equipped with lugs to meet the set screws that pass through the cover (as shown in Fig. 4) to hold the valve up to its place. A _ steel key is in- serted in the exhaust port to keep the cage from moving endwise. By this method, the cage becomes, in effect, a stationary part of the engine that re- quires no attention after once properly placed. On sea-going vessels, the cages are usually bolted to the valve seat, as shown in the marine engine view, Fig. 5. 82 The cage removes the steam pressure load from the acting part of the valve as pressure can only be exerted at both ends of the cage where the piston is ex- posed. Since the area of these two openings is equal, there is no resistance in either direction and the piston is con- sequently allowed to work freely. The valve gear and eccentric are said to get absolutely no strain. The Baker company’s specially de- signed ring piston is shown clearly in Fig. 2. These rings are designed to keep the piston vapor-tight and to pre- vent steam pressure under the rings which would cause them to expand against the walls of the. valve chamber and thus cause friction. The small inner rings fit up to the shoulders of the out- side rings, sealing the splits and pre- venting the leakage of steam. Through the use of the ring piston and cage, the steam consumption is said to be reduced and the horsepower of the engine in- creased. In installing these valves, no FIG. 5—LARGE MARINE ENGINES OF- TEN REQUIRE FOUR PISTON VALVES changes are made to the engine or in the events of the valve. The Southern Transportation Co., operating a line of barges and tugs be- tween Charleston, Philadelphia, New FIG. 4—-PHANTOM VIEW THROUGH COVER