October 7, 1886. ] 
JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 
313 
many other very similar boilers are also equally good, and would, 
1 have no doubt, do their work as well as those that have been 
selected for illustration. 
The Position of the Boiler.—Flow and Return Pipes. 
—The position of the boiler being at the lowest portion of the 
arrangement, the common saddle and its improved forms should 
be set upon a horizontal plane. Some give these boilers a slight 
rise towards the horizon—that is, from the front to the back. 
They are best set perfectly horizontal The How may be taken 
from the centre of these boilers. Some prefer it near the end, 
but this makes no difference in the working, and for the sake of 
convenience it may be taken from any portion of the top of the 
boiler beyond the centre. The flow pipe may rise above the 
boiler 3 feet or more if desired, as long as it is carried level or 
with a gradual rise afterwards down the chambers to the houses 
to be heated. It must be remembered that the flow pipe must 
leave from the highest point of the boiler, and the higher the 
pipes rise above the boiler at the commencement the more rapid 
is circulation. The height given need not be exceeded, for the 
higher the pipes rise above the boiler at the commencement the 
deeper it is necessai’y to have the stokehole. The return pipe 
or pipes should enter the boiler at its lowest point. Some 
prefer them on both sides, if there are two, near the front, others 
near the base. The first is, perhaps, the best, but no difference 
in the working of the boiler will be found if the latter method is 
adopted. The returns should always be at the side of saddle 
boilers and at the lowest point of upright tubulars. When 
water bars are employed in both saddles and tubulars, provision 
is often made for the returns to be connected with the water box 
to which the bars are fixed. It is contended that two returns— 
that is, one on each side, are preferable to one, and no doubt 
they are, but it is immaterial as regards the working of the boiler. 
When one return only is employed sediment may be driven to 
the.opposite side of the boiler and remain there. This is the 
main contention for the two pipes, and no doubt it is perfectly 
correct as boilers are constructed and fixed by many hot water 
engineers. 
Sluice Plugs.— Boilers are invariably provided with one for 
the purpose of drawing off the water when required. These are 
in most cases too sma’l for the work they have to perform. With 
one return sediment will collect on the side opposite to where 
this tap has been provided, and if there are two returns the 
same will take place, only in a smaller degree. Every large 
boiler should be provided with two sluice plugs instead of one, 
which should be as large as the boiler will allow. When the 
sluice pipes are of good size, and the cap removed, the water 
rushes out with force and carries with it a large amount of sedi¬ 
ment. By making provision for two sluice pipes the boilers can 
be thoroughly washed out when empty by the aid of the supply 
tank. This should be done annually, for if sedim- nt becomes 
deposited in the boiler a wasteful expenditure of fuel is the 
result before the water can be made to circulate with freedom. 
Thermometers at the Boilers. —From the lowest part of 
the boiler and from the flow pipe, small pipes should be connected 
with a thermometer after the pipss have been united into one 
neck. By this method the average heat of the water in the 
boiler can be ascertained. The thermometer should register the 
maximum and minimum heat of the water. Registering ther¬ 
mometers are not generally employed for this purpose; all that 
1 have seen in use only register the maximum. Such thermo¬ 
meters are not always reliable, because so much depends upon the 
memory of the man on duty whether they prove of real service 
or the reverse. When both sides are registered it can be observed 
at a glance whether the temperature of the water has risen or 
fallen during his absence. To render these, however, of the 
greatest value the external temperatui-e must be taken into con 
sideration, for if it has fallen and the heat of the water at the 
boiler shows the slightest decline the man knows that it is neces¬ 
sary to push on his fire, or the reverse if the external temperature 
h is risen as well as that of the water in the boiler. When reliance 
is placed upon the thermometers at the boiler, it is necessary 
that good valves be provided to all the houses and the pipes 
arranged as has been described, so that some dependance can be 
placed on the circulation of the water beinsr reerular and constant. 
With well-arranged pipes and regulated valves an observant man 
can avoid frequently opening the doors of plant and other struc¬ 
tures during the evening for the escape of the hot air, which is 
replaced by that from the external atmosphere which is probably 
2<)' or 30° colder. After a long and cold winter plants against 
the doors have often a sickly appearance, which is brought about 
by no other cause than a severe check through opening the door 
perhaps hourly during the evening until banking time to see if 
the temperatures are right. This, to a great extent, can be 
d by the use o theimometers at the boiler if the man in - 
charge is thoroughly observant and trustworthy, and unless this 
is the case they are useless besides being a mere ornament. 
Boiler Fronts.— Portable boilers have their fronts cast to 
them ; in fact, in many instances they are part of the boiler, and 
the furnace door is usually fastened by the old latch principle. This 
is wrong, as I shall endeavour to show, and may lead to disastrous 
results. Those who make boilers on this principle would do well 
to take the hint and provide some better and safer method if 
they rio not think well to adopt the one that will be detailed—that 
is, if they desire to have a boiler that can be left with some 
degree of certainty that failure will not result during absence. 
The furnace door should always be secured to a round rod of 
iron at the top, so that it will slide backwards when required. 
By the use of sliding doors hung at the top the bottom of the 
door is at liberty, and can be forced slightly forward in case 
conbustion takes place after banking, or at anytime after throw¬ 
ing a good quantity of fuel on the fire at one time. When coal, 
nuts, or even “ slack ” is used for fuel these explosions often 
take place, and the soot boxes in the various forms of saddle 
boilers are not unfrequently blown out into the stokehole. When 
the doors to all flues are secured, which they always should be, 
and provision made at the door for escape in case combustion 
takes place, the boiler and all its fittings are safe. Soot boxes, if 
they are employed, should always be built into the brickwork, so 
that they cannot wear loose and destroy the draught of the 
boiler. The portions removed should also fit tight. Such heavy 
soot boxes that are sent out, for instance, with the front of the 
“ Gold Medal ” boiler and others cannot be too strongly con¬ 
demned. With a large boiler a strong man is required to lift it,, 
and the frame in which it fits is constantly shaken loose as well 
as the surrounding brickwork. Such soot boxes should not be 
employed; in fact, they cm for all boilers be dispensed with. 
They should be mere lids that fit into the frame with a latch, or, 
better still, they must be tight-fitting doors. I have not seen, 
any better boiler fronts than those fixed by Messrs. James 
Coombe & Sons, to their saddle boiler with horizontal 
cast tubes and the Liner front of Mr. Joseph Bramham. 
F^r a large boiler the latter is the more elaborate and 
imposing of the two. It is in every way similar to the first, but 
larger. The former possesses all the good qualities needed for 
flued saddles of the Allerton Priory style. The ashpit and 
furnace doors are hung as has been described on rods at the top, 
the doors are not divided in the centre as is the case with SDme 
fronts. The doors for cleaning the flues are two in number, 
which are fastened to a central piece of flat iron. These fronts 
comprise all the requisites necessary, and are what all good boiler 
fronts should be. 
Caps to Boilers. — These can only be fitted to various forms 
of the saddle boiler, one of which was represented attached to 
the “ Allerton Priory ” boiler. They are employed instead of a 
brick arch between the front and the boiler. They certainly 
assist in the economy of the heat thrown off by the burning fuel. 
These caps are practically small boilers, and the flow pipe from 
them should rise from the top and be connected to the main flow 
pipe. The returns can be taken from each side and connected 
with the large boiler. Some might consider these useless for the 
amount of power they add to the boiler, but they possess other 
good properties. When they are used a good plate must be pro¬ 
vided inside between the front and the bars. The tendency is to- 
get the fire too near the front in many boilers, which not only 
ruins the front in time by rendering it red hot, but a large amount 
of heat is wasted. But with a good sized plate, which must be 
provided when caps are used, the fire is kept well back, the front 
insured against injury, and no heat is lost. 
Fire Bars. —There can be no question which is the best, the 
hollow water bars, or the ordinary cast ones. The first not only 
add wonderful power to the boiler, but they are durable, and last 
in good condition for many years even where large fires are con¬ 
stantly kept. The ordinary fire bars for large boilers where a 
great heat is maintained will only last one winter before they are 
burnt through and twisted into innumerable shapes. Such is the 
condition of the ordinary bars in the large boilers at Norris 
Green, and to replace the bars annually means a large outlay in 
a few years, which in the end proves more costly than if hollow 
bars were at first employed. Not only are they the cheapest in 
the end, but they add to the power of the boilers to such an. 
extent that those who have not worked them can form no con¬ 
ception. The ordinary fire bar does very well for small boilers 
that are sufficiently powerful for their work and where a great 
heat is not maintained regularly. In such positions they will 
last for several years without being renewed. It is a good plan 
to construct the ashpit so that water can be constantly kept in it. 
If the water can be kept cool by a steady flow in and out it acts 
beneficially in the preservation of the bars. 
