INSTRUCTIONS AND SUGGESTIONS.
The fire engine is essentially an apparatus adapted to emergencies, and owing to the intermittent nature of the duty performed, it is quite likely, unless the proper precautions are observed, that its several parts, more especially its interior mechanism, will suffer more deterioration while standing idle than from actual service.
It is necessary that these interior parts, as well as those more readily apparent, be cared for with a view of keeping them constantly in condition to endure the most severe and protracted strains at the shortest notice. While standing in the house, the engine should at all times be kept ready for immediate service, with shavings and kindlings in the fire-box, and as much kindlings and coal in the fuel pan as can be conveniently carried.In winter, if no heater is attached to the engine, the room must be kept warm, to insure against frost.The machine should be started gradually, but before doing so the engineer ought to satisfy himself that the joints and connections in the suction hose are air tight, that the discharge gate is open, the churn valve closed, that the fire has been properly attended to, the cylinder cocks open, the exhaust nearly closed, and all the bearings and journals well oiled, and the wheels properly blocked, especially if the engine is standing on a grade.The automatic air cocks on the upper pump heads must be opened immediately after starting. They serve to promptly relieve the upper pump discharge chambers of air, and may be closed as soon as water escapes from their orifices.When cylinder condensation has nearly ceased, the engine being warm, the drain cocks should be closed and the machine speeded up gradually until a good pressure of steam is obtained.Until the engineer has had some experience with the machine, and is familiar with its workings, it is not advisable to use more than 90 or 100 pounds of steam, which is all that is required for ordinary fire duty; the necessity for more than 120 pounds will probably never arise.The stuffing-boxes of the engine and pump should be carefully packed.All of the bearings and journals, as well as the oil cans, should be well supplied with good oil. The best mineral engine oil is recommended for this purpose, as it does not gum or change its viscosity with variations in the temperature of the atmosphere, and it will endure a higher temperature than animal or fish oil without injury.
It is necessary that these interior parts, as well as those more readily apparent, be cared for with a view of keeping them constantly in condition to endure the most severe and protracted strains at the shortest notice. While standing in the house, the engine should at all times be kept ready for immediate service, with shavings and kindlings in the fire-box, and as much kindlings and coal in the fuel pan as can be conveniently carried.
In winter, if no heater is attached to the engine, the room must be kept warm, to insure against frost.
The machine should be started gradually, but before doing so the engineer ought to satisfy himself that the joints and connections in the suction hose are air tight, that the discharge gate is open, the churn valve closed, that the fire has been properly attended to, the cylinder cocks open, the exhaust nearly closed, and all the bearings and journals well oiled, and the wheels properly blocked, especially if the engine is standing on a grade.
The automatic air cocks on the upper pump heads must be opened immediately after starting. They serve to promptly relieve the upper pump discharge chambers of air, and may be closed as soon as water escapes from their orifices.
When cylinder condensation has nearly ceased, the engine being warm, the drain cocks should be closed and the machine speeded up gradually until a good pressure of steam is obtained.
Until the engineer has had some experience with the machine, and is familiar with its workings, it is not advisable to use more than 90 or 100 pounds of steam, which is all that is required for ordinary fire duty; the necessity for more than 120 pounds will probably never arise.
The stuffing-boxes of the engine and pump should be carefully packed.
All of the bearings and journals, as well as the oil cans, should be well supplied with good oil. The best mineral engine oil is recommended for this purpose, as it does not gum or change its viscosity with variations in the temperature of the atmosphere, and it will endure a higher temperature than animal or fish oil without injury.
Fig. 430.—See page141.
Fig. 430.—See page141.
The engineer should keep all joints tight, the stuffing-boxes properly packed, and all bearings thoroughly oiled.If the journal boxes or other working parts require taking up, remember that a little play is preferable to a close adjustment liable to cripple the engine at a critical moment. To insure perfect safety, always thoroughly test the apparatus after making such repairs, by subjecting the parts affected, to the strains usually encountered in actual service.The principal requirement of the steam cylinders and slide valves is proper and constant lubrication. Let this one item be attended to, and its mechanism will practically take care of itself for many years.The joints and connections in the suction must be perfectly tight.Before laying the fire, see that the grate and fire-box are clean, also that the grate bars are fast, so they will not be liable to jar out, and that all the steam outlets of the boiler are tightly closed.Lay on the grate some dry pine shavings—not too many—spread evenly over the grate, with a few hanging down between the bars; on the shavings put some finely-split pine or hemlock wood, then some a little coarser, and finally a quantity coarser still. It is well to put on the top some finely-split hard wood. These kindlings must all be dry and split—not sawed—and should be put in loosely, in layers, the layers being crossed, so that there will be a free circulation of air between them.To light the fire: Apply torch (described in page 135)below the grate, never in the door; and while doing so move the torch around to insure thoroughly igniting the shavings.When there is a pressure of 40 to 60 pounds of steam, begin throwing in coal, a little at a time, broken up in pieces about the size of a man’s fist. Bituminous coal should be used, the same as that from which illuminating gas is made. It should be of the very best quality, and very free burning.Do not put the wood or coal all close to the fire door, but scatter it about and spread it evenly over the grate.As soon as the engine is started, coal should be put on often, a little at a time, and the grate should be kept covered, but not thickly—say to a depth of three or four inches. Be particular to fire evenly and regularly,taking care to cover air holes through the fire, and to keep the fire door closed as much as possible.The grate bars should be kept well raked out from below, and the fire and coal occasionally stirred off the grate bars inside the fire-box, using the flat side of the poker for the latter operation.
The engineer should keep all joints tight, the stuffing-boxes properly packed, and all bearings thoroughly oiled.
If the journal boxes or other working parts require taking up, remember that a little play is preferable to a close adjustment liable to cripple the engine at a critical moment. To insure perfect safety, always thoroughly test the apparatus after making such repairs, by subjecting the parts affected, to the strains usually encountered in actual service.
The principal requirement of the steam cylinders and slide valves is proper and constant lubrication. Let this one item be attended to, and its mechanism will practically take care of itself for many years.
The joints and connections in the suction must be perfectly tight.
Before laying the fire, see that the grate and fire-box are clean, also that the grate bars are fast, so they will not be liable to jar out, and that all the steam outlets of the boiler are tightly closed.
Lay on the grate some dry pine shavings—not too many—spread evenly over the grate, with a few hanging down between the bars; on the shavings put some finely-split pine or hemlock wood, then some a little coarser, and finally a quantity coarser still. It is well to put on the top some finely-split hard wood. These kindlings must all be dry and split—not sawed—and should be put in loosely, in layers, the layers being crossed, so that there will be a free circulation of air between them.
To light the fire: Apply torch (described in page 135)below the grate, never in the door; and while doing so move the torch around to insure thoroughly igniting the shavings.
When there is a pressure of 40 to 60 pounds of steam, begin throwing in coal, a little at a time, broken up in pieces about the size of a man’s fist. Bituminous coal should be used, the same as that from which illuminating gas is made. It should be of the very best quality, and very free burning.
Do not put the wood or coal all close to the fire door, but scatter it about and spread it evenly over the grate.
As soon as the engine is started, coal should be put on often, a little at a time, and the grate should be kept covered, but not thickly—say to a depth of three or four inches. Be particular to fire evenly and regularly,taking care to cover air holes through the fire, and to keep the fire door closed as much as possible.
The grate bars should be kept well raked out from below, and the fire and coal occasionally stirred off the grate bars inside the fire-box, using the flat side of the poker for the latter operation.
Fig. 431.—See page138.
Fig. 431.—See page138.
Fig. 432.—See page138.
Fig. 432.—See page138.
Fig. 433.—See page139.
Fig. 433.—See page139.
The water in the boiler should be carried as high as six or eight inches in the glass tube as soon as the engine gets fairly to work and a good pressure of steam is raised. The gauges will indicate more water in the boiler when the machine is running than it will with the same quantity of water if it is not at work, owing to the expansion of water by the application of heat.If there is a tendency to foam, the feed should be increased and the surface blow-off opened quite frequently to relieve the boiler of the scum and surplus water. If the foaming is unusually violent, it may be subdued by stopping the engine for a few moments and permitting the water to settle.During temporary stops the fire should be cleaned, by removing the clinkers and the moving parts of the machinery examined and oiled.The boiler is usually fed by force pumps, the plungers of which are secured directly to the yokes of the main engines. Both pumps are arranged to work in unison; and the supply is generally taken from the discharging chamber of the main pumps, and is controlled by an ordinary globe valve. Should the water being delivered by the main pumps be unsuitable for feeding the boiler, this valve must remain closed, and a supply from a barrel or tank introduced through the connection provided for that purpose.When feeding the boiler, it is a good plan to occasionally feel the pipe leading from check to boiler with the hand, as one can tell by this means whether the pump is feeding properly. If feeding all right, the pipe will be cool. If the pipe is hot, the pump is not feeding properly, try the pet cock.Always keep a good torch, ready for use, in the fuel pan. This can be made by tying some cotton waste on one end of a stick about two feet long and saturating the waste with kerosene oil.The kindling should be carefully prepared, and the quantity carried sufficient to generate a working pressure in the boiler before coal is added to the fire.Care should be taken not to use too large nozzles if two or more streams are being thrown.Owing to the contracted diameter of fire hose, the flow of the water is retarded; the loss of power due to friction increases directly with the length of the line and nearly as the square of velocity. In other words, if the loss due to a given flow be 12 pounds for 100 feet of hose, then 24 pounds will be required to maintain the same rate through an additional 100 feet. To double the velocity will require four times the pressure, or 48 pounds for 100 feet and 96 pounds for 200 feet.From this brief explanation, it must be plain that the capacity of any engine is diminished as the length of the line of hose is increased.
The water in the boiler should be carried as high as six or eight inches in the glass tube as soon as the engine gets fairly to work and a good pressure of steam is raised. The gauges will indicate more water in the boiler when the machine is running than it will with the same quantity of water if it is not at work, owing to the expansion of water by the application of heat.
If there is a tendency to foam, the feed should be increased and the surface blow-off opened quite frequently to relieve the boiler of the scum and surplus water. If the foaming is unusually violent, it may be subdued by stopping the engine for a few moments and permitting the water to settle.
During temporary stops the fire should be cleaned, by removing the clinkers and the moving parts of the machinery examined and oiled.
The boiler is usually fed by force pumps, the plungers of which are secured directly to the yokes of the main engines. Both pumps are arranged to work in unison; and the supply is generally taken from the discharging chamber of the main pumps, and is controlled by an ordinary globe valve. Should the water being delivered by the main pumps be unsuitable for feeding the boiler, this valve must remain closed, and a supply from a barrel or tank introduced through the connection provided for that purpose.
When feeding the boiler, it is a good plan to occasionally feel the pipe leading from check to boiler with the hand, as one can tell by this means whether the pump is feeding properly. If feeding all right, the pipe will be cool. If the pipe is hot, the pump is not feeding properly, try the pet cock.
Always keep a good torch, ready for use, in the fuel pan. This can be made by tying some cotton waste on one end of a stick about two feet long and saturating the waste with kerosene oil.
The kindling should be carefully prepared, and the quantity carried sufficient to generate a working pressure in the boiler before coal is added to the fire.
Care should be taken not to use too large nozzles if two or more streams are being thrown.
Owing to the contracted diameter of fire hose, the flow of the water is retarded; the loss of power due to friction increases directly with the length of the line and nearly as the square of velocity. In other words, if the loss due to a given flow be 12 pounds for 100 feet of hose, then 24 pounds will be required to maintain the same rate through an additional 100 feet. To double the velocity will require four times the pressure, or 48 pounds for 100 feet and 96 pounds for 200 feet.
From this brief explanation, it must be plain that the capacity of any engine is diminished as the length of the line of hose is increased.
For this reason, the greater the lift the smaller the stream that can be thrown effectively, and the size of nozzle used should depend upon the height the water is draughted, reducing it one-eighth inch for every five feet above a lift of ten feet. If the engine uses a 11⁄4-inch nozzle for ordinary work, it will answer for any lift up to 10 feet. If water has to be draughted 15 feet, a 11⁄8-inch nozzle should be used; if 20 feet, 1-inch; and if 25 feet,7⁄8-inch.Never start a fire unless one full gauge cock of water appears in the boiler.The suction basket or strainer should always be attached when draughting water, and every precaution takento insure tight connections in the suction. The basket must be kept well under the surface, to avoid clogging if the water be foul.When the supply is taken from a hydrant, the valve should be fully turned on; if opened before water is wanted through the hose the discharge gates on the pumps must be closed. Unless the pressure is excessive, the hydrant is usually permitted to remain open while the steamer is attached, the discharge during temporary stops being controlled by the pump gates.The apparatus should always be halted, or placed at a proper point, with reference to the source of the water supply.When attached to a hydrant or plug, do not run the engine faster than the water will flow to supply the pump, and if the supply is not sufficient to allow the pump to work to its full capacity, avoid using too large nozzles.The safety of life and property is very often dependent upon the skill and good judgment of the engineer, and as the maximum effect of such apparatus is generally required at the most critical time and under the most exciting circumstances, it is important that the endeavor by constant and persistent practice to acquire that confidence and proficiency that will insure a correct and decisive action in all matters pertaining to the management of the machine.From three-fourths to one inch of water should be indicated in the glass gauge, except when there is a heater attached to the engine, then from four to five inches should be carried. The bottom of the glass tube being on a line with the crown-sheet, when one inch of water shows in the tube, the water-line in the boiler is then one inch above the crown-sheet.It is advisable occasionally—say once a month—in towns where fires are not frequent, to fire up and take the engine out for practice and drill, and to make sure that it is in proper working order, after which the boiler should be blown off and refilled with fresh water, as hereinafter directed.Every engine required to pump salt water, or other water unfit for the boiler supply, should be provided with a fresh-water feed tank.
For this reason, the greater the lift the smaller the stream that can be thrown effectively, and the size of nozzle used should depend upon the height the water is draughted, reducing it one-eighth inch for every five feet above a lift of ten feet. If the engine uses a 11⁄4-inch nozzle for ordinary work, it will answer for any lift up to 10 feet. If water has to be draughted 15 feet, a 11⁄8-inch nozzle should be used; if 20 feet, 1-inch; and if 25 feet,7⁄8-inch.
Never start a fire unless one full gauge cock of water appears in the boiler.
The suction basket or strainer should always be attached when draughting water, and every precaution takento insure tight connections in the suction. The basket must be kept well under the surface, to avoid clogging if the water be foul.
When the supply is taken from a hydrant, the valve should be fully turned on; if opened before water is wanted through the hose the discharge gates on the pumps must be closed. Unless the pressure is excessive, the hydrant is usually permitted to remain open while the steamer is attached, the discharge during temporary stops being controlled by the pump gates.
The apparatus should always be halted, or placed at a proper point, with reference to the source of the water supply.When attached to a hydrant or plug, do not run the engine faster than the water will flow to supply the pump, and if the supply is not sufficient to allow the pump to work to its full capacity, avoid using too large nozzles.
The safety of life and property is very often dependent upon the skill and good judgment of the engineer, and as the maximum effect of such apparatus is generally required at the most critical time and under the most exciting circumstances, it is important that the endeavor by constant and persistent practice to acquire that confidence and proficiency that will insure a correct and decisive action in all matters pertaining to the management of the machine.
From three-fourths to one inch of water should be indicated in the glass gauge, except when there is a heater attached to the engine, then from four to five inches should be carried. The bottom of the glass tube being on a line with the crown-sheet, when one inch of water shows in the tube, the water-line in the boiler is then one inch above the crown-sheet.
It is advisable occasionally—say once a month—in towns where fires are not frequent, to fire up and take the engine out for practice and drill, and to make sure that it is in proper working order, after which the boiler should be blown off and refilled with fresh water, as hereinafter directed.
Every engine required to pump salt water, or other water unfit for the boiler supply, should be provided with a fresh-water feed tank.
The purpose of the automatic air cock(if there is one) is to prevent the rattling of the check valves when the pumps are being only partially filled; if the supply is to be drawn from a barrel or tank, the entrance of air through this cock must be prevented.When draughting the water, bear in mind that the greater the perpendicular lift the less the quantity of water which can be pumped, remembering that it is the pressure of the atmosphere which forces the water into the pump, and not any power exerted by the pump itself, which simply produces the vacuum. Thus, the nearer the surface of the water the greater the velocity with which it enters the pump, while the higher the pump the weaker the pressure and the less the quantity of water which enters it, and at a height of about 30 feet no water at all will go into the pump.If it is suspected that one of the joints in the suction is loose, the speed of the engine may be slackened without stopping entirely, until water is thrown eight or ten feet from the nozzle, when if the pump is taking air the stream will snap and crack instead of flowing out smoothly. If it is found that the pump is taking air through the suction, and the leak cannot be located in any other way, it may be found by removing the suction basket and turning the end of the suction up higher than the top of the pump, and then filling it with water. The water will be forced out through the joints wherever loose, and leaks can be found in this way.The principal object ofthe churn valveis to permit the operation of the pumps without discharging any water through the natural channels; it controls a passage by which the discharging side of the pumps is connected with the suction chamber. In draughting water, when the pumps are first started,this valve must remain closeduntil the pumps are filled with water, thereby excluding the air which would find its way into the suction chamber if the same were open. It should also be closed when the pumps are at rest, to prevent the dropping of the water into the suction pipe.When the engine is put to suction, acquire the habit of feeling this valve to assure its complete closure.If there is anything about the engine that is not fully understood, or if it fails to do its work properly from any cause, the maker should be communicated with at once; inquiries are promptly answered, and usually required information or suggestions are cheerfully furnished.
The purpose of the automatic air cock(if there is one) is to prevent the rattling of the check valves when the pumps are being only partially filled; if the supply is to be drawn from a barrel or tank, the entrance of air through this cock must be prevented.
When draughting the water, bear in mind that the greater the perpendicular lift the less the quantity of water which can be pumped, remembering that it is the pressure of the atmosphere which forces the water into the pump, and not any power exerted by the pump itself, which simply produces the vacuum. Thus, the nearer the surface of the water the greater the velocity with which it enters the pump, while the higher the pump the weaker the pressure and the less the quantity of water which enters it, and at a height of about 30 feet no water at all will go into the pump.
If it is suspected that one of the joints in the suction is loose, the speed of the engine may be slackened without stopping entirely, until water is thrown eight or ten feet from the nozzle, when if the pump is taking air the stream will snap and crack instead of flowing out smoothly. If it is found that the pump is taking air through the suction, and the leak cannot be located in any other way, it may be found by removing the suction basket and turning the end of the suction up higher than the top of the pump, and then filling it with water. The water will be forced out through the joints wherever loose, and leaks can be found in this way.
The principal object ofthe churn valveis to permit the operation of the pumps without discharging any water through the natural channels; it controls a passage by which the discharging side of the pumps is connected with the suction chamber. In draughting water, when the pumps are first started,this valve must remain closeduntil the pumps are filled with water, thereby excluding the air which would find its way into the suction chamber if the same were open. It should also be closed when the pumps are at rest, to prevent the dropping of the water into the suction pipe.
When the engine is put to suction, acquire the habit of feeling this valve to assure its complete closure.
If there is anything about the engine that is not fully understood, or if it fails to do its work properly from any cause, the maker should be communicated with at once; inquiries are promptly answered, and usually required information or suggestions are cheerfully furnished.