20 



HARDWOOD RECORD 



Accidents to Boilers. 



Both serious and minor accidents to boilers 

 are happening every day. Many of them 

 could be avoided. A certain steam plant 

 was installed as illustrated in the first draw- 

 ing, with three boilers, one of which even- 

 tually exploded. The boilers had been fired 

 up and the water gauges indicated that the 

 proper amount of water was in each. Un- 

 fortunately some one who tested the boilers 

 the day before had carelessly left the stop- 



neers and firemen. Manufacturers of up-to- 

 date fire grates for boilers would be sur- 

 prised if they were to count up the make- 

 shift grates which are in use in really im- 

 portant positions. Old car rails are some- 

 times utilized for grate bars. The plan is 

 shown in Fig. 3. The rails are cut to proper 

 length and placed side by side on the fire- 

 brick walls, the engineer priding himself on 

 liaviug .a pretty good thing. 



cocks closed. This of course was a most 

 dangerous thing to do. The workmen should 

 have looked over the apparatus before they 

 left the plant, and certainly the fireman 

 should have examined the cocks before he 

 fired up. But he had fired many times before 

 without testing the gauges, and took it for 

 granted that all was well, as usual. The 

 water was retained in the gauges, and no 

 water was in the middle boiler, which heated 

 up good and hot. The steam valves of the 

 main line, over the boilers, although closed, 

 leaked badly. The result was that steam en- 

 tered the middle boiler, and the pressure 

 therefore registered correctly and once more 

 the fireman was deceived. 



This illustrates how easily conditions may 

 fool a man who is not nnusually alert. Some 

 of the best firemen and engineers get caught 

 this way occasionally. They are often rushed 

 in the early morning to get up steam so 

 that the works can start full blast by seven 

 o'clock. In the darkness and hurry it takes 

 a very conscientious man to examine into all 

 the little details. In the above ease the re- 

 sults were very disastrous. Suddenly the 

 steam shot out of the door and ash-pit of the 

 middle furnace. An examination afterwards 

 revealed tlie burst plate just over the firebox 

 of the middle boiler, marked A, Fig. 1. Some 

 one had blown out the boiler, closing the 

 valves on the water gauges, also the blow 

 off, and had not refilled the boiler, in his 

 haste or carelessness. The fireman was also 

 to blame for not trying the gauges. The 

 accident caused several days' delay in opera- 

 tions and the broken plate was substituted 

 with a new one as shown in Fig. 2. 



One does not have to tramp about the 

 country much to find evidence of many reck- 

 less proceedings on the part of steam engi- 



Iron rails stolen from a road are cheaper 

 than modern grate bars any time. But the 

 engineer forgets the losses. He overlooks 

 the fact that the draft is hindered, that the 

 rails iu their warped condition are letting 

 good fuel sift through only partly burned. 

 Such rigs are money-losers to a firm and a 

 detriment to the work. 



In one case a mill lost considerable money 

 for a long period, due to the condition of the 



lever, and a chain extended from this down 

 to a point near the level of the ground, 

 where it could be operated. But the fire- 

 man was not able to get the proper draft. 

 Weeks and weeks went by; the stack smoked 

 and the fuel in the furnaces failed to burn 

 thoroughly; great difficulty was experienced 

 in getting up and maintaining steam. 

 Finally it was decided to go to the trouble 

 of examining the damper. Long ladders were 

 obtained and adjusted against the chimney. 

 An opening was made through the bricks, and 

 the damper, which was originally adjusted 

 evenly, as in Fig. 4, was found to be dropped 

 down, as in Fig. 5, due to the breaking of 

 the bearing at B. This bearing had grad- 

 ually worn down, and, lacking lubrication of 

 any kind, soon filed itself through and off. 

 Hence the damper was supported solely by 

 the remaining end C. This damper was re- 

 moved and a new one put in, after which 

 the draft was perfect. 



At another place an explosion was caused 

 by corroded plates, some of which were as 

 badly corroded as represented at D, Fig. 6. 

 In another instance the corrosion worked 

 itself deeply into the hole near the head of a 

 plate bolt, also cutting into the bolt, as at 

 E, resulting in weakening the plate and allow- 

 ing it to break. 



Instances of this kind are numerous. Many 

 such troubles occur in country plants, how- 

 ever. City plants are better kept and more 

 up-to-date. More experienced engineers are 

 employed in them as a rule; a new man 

 usually strikes out for the country. Nev- 

 ertheless, one may find some first-claas 

 establishments in the rural districts. Many a 

 little hillside mill is operated by as neatly 



':r. 



damper in the chimney. For months it bad 

 been giving trouble. It was operated on a 

 steel shaft bearing which was fitted in iron 

 journals set into the wall-work of the stack. 

 The shaft was fitted with the proper crank 



equipped engine and boiler rooms as one 

 would care to see; while, on the other hand, 

 this department of some great metropolitan 

 works will occasionally be thoroughly littered 

 up and extremely unhandy. 



