9 6 



"If your boiler steams too fast, close your dampers and shut 

 off the draft. Never throw open your fire doors when it can be 

 avoided nor keep them open longer than is absolutely necessary. 

 It is injurious to the boiler and wasteful of fuel." 



(It is a good plan to arrange the grate door so that when it 

 is open the damper is partly closed.) 



"For boiler feed a small power pump, driven by a belt from 

 the shafting is the best. It consumes less steam than a direct- 

 acting steam pump, is cheaper and more reliable. It should be 

 fitted so that it can be worked by hand also. 



"Injectors and inspirators are frequently used for feeding 

 boilers. They have the advantage that they are cheap, and that 

 they impart some heat to cold water where this is used for feed. 

 They cannot handle warm water and sometimes get out of order 

 and will not feed, and as this is often caused by slight derange- 

 ments of parts which it takes an expert to readjust, they often 

 cause trouble. I for my part have had more trouble with half 

 a dozen inspirators and injectors than with dozens of feed pumps, 

 and have a positive ill-feeling against them. If you want to hear 

 about their virtues you had better go to some agent for these 

 goods ; they will tell you a different story. It is nevertheless a 

 handy instrument but a little tricky, and it is always wise to have 

 a pump in reserve should the injector prove balky. 



"The water used 

 for the boiler 

 should be clear, 

 pure and soft, as 

 free from lime, 

 magnesia or oth- 

 er foreign matter 

 as possible. If it 

 is taken from a 



(Fig. 86) stream that is apt 



to be muddy, make a little basin large enough to give the water a 

 chance to settle. It will save its cost over and over again. Be 

 most careful not to allow any swill or sour drainage to mix with 

 the water you use. It will pit the iron and eat out the tubes in a 

 short time. This is also sometimes the case with water from other 

 sources, such as drainage from mines and even from apparently 

 perfect springs." 



