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6 THE MARIN \ CORD: STEAM BUILER LXPLOSIONS AND SOME OF 'THE CAUSES, The following paper, by Mr. A. C. Getch- ell, was read before the Civil Engineers’ Club at their regular meeting on ‘Tuesday evening, the 13th inat.: To make a broad assertion, I think that expansion and contraction have caused most of our explosions; then eomes corrosion, wasting the iron away until a rupture takes place, and explosion follows. ‘Then again we have another cause in scale accumulating on the shell and flues or tubes of boilers, and water being kept trom the iron, which causes it to become red hot and soft, when, by pres- sure, it draws apart, and as the water and steam get freedom to expand, an explosion follows, But astor having low water and pumping cold water ou to hot iron and caus- ing steam to generate so suddenly as to make such terrible havoc, | think, is impossible, for the simple reason that you cannot get units of heat enough to make steam, to do so much damage; and, in the second place, no pump used for boiler feeding will throw over one gallon ot water per stroke, and of- tener, only one quart. ‘Phe larger pump would be used for a battery of six boilers, that ia, a pump throwing one gallon’ per stroke. ‘The pump throwing one quart would do for a single boiler of forty or titty horse.power. Now, as it is customary to pump water Into the mud drum or bottom, of the boiler, how high ‘would each stroke raise the water in the boiler to get at hot iron exposed to the fire? Not one-sixteenth ineh. But I will allow it to be dashed onto the hot iron at once. Your units of heat are gone and not much steam generated. I think we have made a mistake about such sudden explosions from low water, because some professor, from his observations of spilling cold water into some cast iron kettle, which contracted so suddenly that it cracked with a loud report, has given bis opinion that it is the cause of boiler explosions, and we admit the theory without putting it to the test. Do you, as engineers, accept all theo- ries, or do youtry for.yourselves? Who has treid the low. water theory and made # success? No one that [ ever heard of, ‘To go back to the expansion and contrac- tion theory, at the Brown, Bonnell works, where two batteries of five boilers each ex- ploded at the same time; they were 50 feet jong, 36 inches in diameter, and hung at three placzs. z Now, when boilers become hot, .nd of course they heat on the bottom most, then the boiler expands most on the bottom and elongates on the bottom, and thus throws the whole weight of the boilers on the mid dle beam or support, and, as it was in this case, the middle beam was not strong enough to hold all the boilers, so it broke, letting the boilers falla very short distance, but enough to cause the boilers to crack from riv- et to rivet on the round seam, and witha pressure of 70 pounds per square inch, we have 71,190 pounds on each head, and, with the expansive force in the steam, is it any wonder that when once cracked on the round seam the boilers ent asunder as they did, When the first battery went it jarred and caused the beam on the second battery to break, and they went in the same way. The boilers were replaced and set up in the same way, a8 every one gave them credit of low water, but your huinble servant. When the second set had been in use but three months or thereabout, the carpenter, on going to work on the roof then being built over the boilers, discovered the middle beam broken off, and reported the same to one of the firm, when he said that is what the boil- er inspector said was the cause of the ex- plosion. Had they looked under the side of the boilers, und saw them leaking near the center round seam, instead of hauling the fire from under the boilers, as should have beon done, they said it had only started the caulking and go kept up steam, and in the course of a few hours the boilers tore asun- der, and there was another terrific explosion, four lives gone, and another mystery to solve. Then out at Fostoria, O., ata flour mill,a tubular boiler exploded with such force as to demolish the mill. This caused by grease getting into the boiler from an open heater, where exhaust steam mingled with water ard the tallow that was used to Ju- bricate the cylinder mixed with the water that was pumped into the boiler, and ip cir- was culating in the boiler came in contact with the hottest part of it, which is over the fire, When a very thin coating of grease had col- leoted on the bottom of the boiler the water could not protect the iron and it, becoming hot Defore the grease was burned off, became weak and tore apart. causing the explosion. Another mill of brick was built on the same location, and a new boiler put in; but the same heater was used, and ina short time another boiler explosion ovcurred on the same ground, another life was lost, and another mystery. A superstition follows, that the location was at fault. ‘Then a lo- comotlye exploded at Sandusky ‘The crown sheet was blown down and the boiler turned a summersault, killing the engineer, fireman anda stranger, who was riding on the en- gine. The ery of low water was again raised when the engine had not run one mile, How could the water get low so quick, It was not low, but the stays at the side of the firebox had broken off trom the expansion and contraction, and, as the sides are flat and the stays broken, the pressure sends the fire- box side in, and then the crown sheet comes down, and it shows no over henting, but scale ig found firm on the crown sheet, and soot in the tubea, Then, several years ago, one of the boilers ot a Northern Transportation boat gollapsed one of her flues, blowing one man overboard and scalding some others, caustog the usual ery of low water. But, on taking out the upper man bead, geale was found on the tubes and soot in the same, and as the water would have to be six feet below the lower guage cock before it would bare the flue, it would take several hours to do it without any pump on. But the flue was eighteen inches in diameter and only three-sixteenths thick and with considerable ecale on it, it ve- came hot aid the arch was easily crushed. It is pot a very uncommon thing to find sheets corroded almost through for several inches along the seams, caused by leaks be- ing allowed to continue for months. The engineer and boiler maker say that don’t amount to much, and the owner thinks they should know, and 30 it goes along, and as the entety factor for working steam is as the thinnest place to figure from, many a boiler is allowed to carry from 100 to 120 pounds, when, in fact, if the boiler was inspected thoroughly, and corrosion noted and pres- sure allowed accordingly, it would not be over sixty to seventy pounds. ‘Then, often, braces and stays are putin, some tant and others slack, and the taut one has to take the strain and carry what the others should help todo. But it breaks, and it is said there is enough yet to hold; but still there is an un- equal strain, and another breaks, and finally the head blows out and explosion follows. Who lg to blame? ‘The boiler maker, either trom ignorance or carelessness. ‘her, often the rivet holes are nut opposite, and the drift pin does its work of straining the fibres of the iron, and the engineer has to take the blame. At Pittsburgh, September 20th, an up- right boiler exploded, The boiler was 36x48, and one witness testified that he saw, , just before the explosion, over 100 pounds by the steam guage, on the boiler, while most of the witnesses said the boiler did not carry over sixty pounde.. But even that would have been too much, for there were 1,819.76 equare inches, and with sixty pounds we have 109,140 ponnds pulling the boiler apart. And yet, where it did give way first, under the man hole,it was corroded away for twenty inches around go that it was not over one- sixteenth thick; yet the engineer was blamed and said to have had low water, and had just started his pump. No one eaw him start the pump, or injector, but they did see him at work making steam pipe joint. Yet, when the boiler exploded it left the lower head just where it had set for years; butas the boiler rose up from the head it tore off the small dome and water connections. A large num- ber of persons had the idea that it gave out up near the middle of the boiler, but if that was the case why did the boiler tear off around the lower head? Because there was a thin place which could not stand the strain. ‘he boiler was surrounded with brick which helped to cause the small dome and water connections to tear off as the boiler rose up out of it; and as al! the explosive force had not gone when the ruptures were made in the sides, it made several great teare and gave some the idea that it must have startead from near the center, But when you wke into consideration that two of the lower rings passed over a building and some 400 feet from where the boiler exploded, (they bad to go with the main ehell above the top of the building before they parted from it,) you will acknowledge that such could not have baen the case, Engineers have some bad habits as to the care of boilers, such as, when the steam gets too high, to throw open the fire doors, and in goes cold air, and sudden contraction takes place on the bottom and causes the seams to leak and sometimes crack from rivet to rivet. Now, why not open the flue caps or britch- ing and stop the draft that way, and not en- danger the boiler? Another practice is, when the engine is shut down, to pump the boilerg, and so cold water starts contract‘on, while flues become pushe as they are in} E RE the hottest water and dy notcoutract. Suine- thing must give out after awhile, and we have another explosion. Such was the ex- perience of Mr, Painter, of Pittsturgh, Pa., when some professor wrote a long article on boiler explosions and said vitro glycerine could be tormed from the water, and then we should get an explosion, Well, admit. ting that he could make nitro glycerine trom the water, and water circulating twenty feet per second, | think the chances for much of that explosive are very slim. ‘I'he professor took the hydrogen and oxygen theory. Now water is composed of one-ninth hydrogen and eight-ninths oxygen, and as long as there is one particle of water you have not separated one element from the other, and by pumping in fresh water you cannot cause separation or explosion of the elements. I fuil to see the slightest cause for mischief otherwise than that it spoils the riveting and warps the irov, in allowing the water to get low. ‘The stephens Institute has tried the low water on boilers and pumped them up, but no explosion followed. © Others have tricd and tailed. ‘The Pennsylvania Central railroad tried at Altoona, by pumping cold er onto sheets hot enough to set wood on fire when rubbed against it, yet they could get no explosion, Let us stare simple facts in the face, make close inapections, and When we find corrosion, leaking seams, | chrystulized plates, leaky flues or tubes, boil- ers badly sealed, bad riveting, greasy water or quick sand going into boilers, stop al such faalts; and bad safety valves rusted in, stuck down, I have found — safety valves, Where the roof had settled down on to the levers, the boiler would explode from over pressure before it could raise the satety valves. Yet, if a boiler explodes und an ex~ amination is made by 80-called experts It is low water. 1 have found boilers checked near the water line from biowing off the builer on Saturday night waen the brick work round the boiler was red, or sometimes white hot, and us soon as the water wus out the engineer or watchman, to get the work done up before Sunday, began taklug out the man head and hand plate and turning *n cold water. ‘The iron has. become over heated by this time and such sudden contrac- tion tukes place that the iron checks on the inside and, after awhile, it cracks through and we have an explosion by having got an over pressure when our. boiler was danger- ous. Then, too often we get the pitch of rivets too vlose and weaken our iron in that way. If boilers explode but in consequence of low water or some mysterious gases, then what use is there of Government laws and boiler inspectors, or such a tensile strength to the iron?’ Why put steam users to such expense as the Government doea? No botler ingpector can stop the engineer from getting low water, and why stipulate the load on the safety valve tor low water caures? It is no matter What the steam preasure is if low water is the Sgly causé of explosion. And yet steam users have to pay large auins for safety appliances and for boiler inspec- tion. Is it fair; does it do any good? I eay yes. The low water theory says it does no good. But I will stop, as my subject may not be ag interesting to you aa it is to me. A. C, CETCHELL, FOR SALE, AT THE GLOBE IRON WORKS, SECOND HAND TUBULAR BOILFR, 44 inches di- ameter, 43 tubes 3 inches diameter and 12 feet long, steam drum 30 inches diameter, 40 inches high; front grates, filtings and breechings; gcod order. SECOND HAND MARINE BOILER, in good order. Shell, 7-16 inch iron plate; diameter, 9 feet 6 inches; length, 18 feet; 129 tubes 4 inches in diameter, 11 feet 6 inches long, three flues 18 inches diameter; two flues 14 inches diameter, two flues 1 1-2 inches diameter; fire box, 6 feet long, 4 feet high; steam chimney, 7 feet high. SECON D HAND MARINE BOILER four feet wide, 6 1-2 feet long, 5 feet high, sixty-four 2 1-2 inch tubes 60 inches long, cast iron breechng, good as new. SECOND HAND MARINE ENGINE; double direct- acting 8x8 inch cylinder, shaft and wheel for yacht or tug; good a8 new. N. C. PETERSON, Boat Builder, PLEASURE BOATS AND SAILING AND STEAM YACHTS, YAWL BOATS, SPOON OARS, STEERING WHEELS, ETC, 385 Atwater st., Near Riopelle, DETFROIT, MICH. FOR SALE, STEAMBARGE MILWAUKEE. Her length is 135 feet, beam 26 feet, and hold. 10 feet 10ineches. Boiler 17 feet long, 7 feet diameter; three flues, two 16 inch and one 17-inch. Engine 22x42, Carries 240,000 feet of lumber. 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