US210934A - Improvement in feed-water heaters - Google Patents

Description

SIMEON A. GOODIVIN, OF DAYTON, OHIO, ASSIGNOR OF ONE'HALF I-IIS RIGHT TO JACOB O. JOYO-E, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN FEED-WATER HEATERS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 2E,93Lii, dated December 17, 1878; application filed May 24, 1878.

To alt whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, S. A. GOODWIN, of the city of Dayton, Montgomery county, Ohio, have invented an Improvement in Feed-Tater Heaters for Locomotives, of which the following is a speeiiication:

The object of this invention is to provide a convenient and ei'ticient means of heatin g feedivater for locomotive-engines by a portion of the exhaust-steam, and to accomplish this by simple. inexpensive, and durable appliances,

that shall not be unsightly objects inthe locomotive or in the Way, and that Will require but little attention from the engineer.

There is a small eleva-ted heating-chamber, of novel construction, situated in rear ot the smoke-stack, and connected by pipes of proper size with the two pumps of the locomotive and with the exhaust-pipes, in such a manner that one pump is employed to pump the Water from the tank of the tender into the head of the heater, where it comes into contact with and is heated by a portion of the spent steam of the engines, While the other pump is used to torce thc Water so heated into the boiler; and there is such a combina-tion and arrangement of parts that at the pleasure of the engineer all the Water may be shut oft' from the heater, and both pumps be used to force cold Water direct from the tank to the boiler, or only one, and either may be so used; or aportion only ot' the Water from one pump may be delivered to the heater, and the rest to the boiler.

Itei'eirin g to the accompanying drawings, tin which similar letters ot' reference indicate like parts in all the iigures, Figure lis an elevation oi' a section of a locomotiveboiler, cX- hibiting the heater in rear of the stack or chimney and its connection with the pump ot' the right-hand engine. Fig. 2 is asimilar View ot the heater and its connection With the pump of the engine on the left-hand side. Fig. 3 is a front view, representing the pipes connectin g the exhanstpipe of each engine With the head of the heater. et is an enlarged vertical section of the heater, omitting some appliances for the more e'ectual mixing of the steam and water, which will be described and claimed in another apljilication.

Fig. 5 is a vertical section ot' the check-valve in the supply-pipe of the left-hand pump.

The heater H consists of a long narrouT tubular heating-chamber, la., Within a case ot' similar form, the two forming an annular passage for the cold Water, which enters at m from pipe A. The tube h. has converging sides, as shown in Fig. 4, and is perforated with small holes near its upper end. Itconnects with pipe B at q, and the exhaust-steam enters it through the elbow, (Shown in dra-Wing at em.) This heater is attached to the chimney by suitable brackets.

Referring to Fig. 1, S represents the ordinary supply-pipe on the right-hand side of the locomotive,leadin g from the tank of the tender to the pump. l? is the pump; a., the forcepipe, and c its check-valve, through which the water, inthe present practice, is delivered to the boiler. A is a. pipe which I add to the present system, connecting the force-pipe a with the heater, for the purpose of delivering the water into the heater, instead of to the boiler, as heretofore. o is a valve in this pipe, to entirely or partially close the passage to the heater when desired.

In Fig. 2, the present supply-pipe, pump, force-pipe, and checlvalve on the left-hand side of the locomotive are represented by the same letters as the corresponding parts on the right-hand side. In Fig. 1, I have added the pipe B, to conduct the heated Water from the heater to the suction side of that pump, Where it connects with the supply-pipe S at n.

Both iigures show the exhaust pipes by dotted lines.

Fig. 3 exhibits the exhaust-pipes E E of the two engines, and the manner in which I prefer to connect them with the heater by means of the pipes e c', uniting in the pipe e", which enters the heater at t.

There is a check-valve, W, in the supplypipe S on the ri ght-han d side, which opens toward the tender. The ofiice of this valve Will be hereinafter explained. It is shown in section in Fig. 5. This is an ordinary horizontal check-valve, with this difterence: it has a boss cast on its under side, through which passes a screw-threaded spindle, fr, the object ot which is to raise and hold the valve off its seat whenever it becomes necessary to eliminate said 4valve from the system.

Operation: rEhev pump on the right-hand side of the locomotive takes the water in the usual manner; lout instead of delivering it into the boiler, it passes by the new pipe A into the heater, and up the annular space around the tube 71J to near its upper end, where it is sprayed through numerous small holes into said tube, where it comes into contact and is mixed with a portion of the exhaust-steam entering said tube, as before described.

As the steam and water come together, the former is suddenly condensed, forming a partial vacuum, into which fresh steam rushes with great velo city,thereby in surin g ath orou gh mixture, and a rapid and efficient heating of -the feed-water in a very sm all space.

Experiment has demonstrated that condensation takes place much more rapidly in a -chamber devoid of atmospheric air.v

In this form of construction, whatever air comes in with the water is driven by the steam into the water descending the tube, and is carried along with it, and finally forced by the pump with the water into the boiler.

The heated water falls through the heater into'pipe B, and is conducted to the supply Si at fn, on the suction side of the left-hand pump, when it is taken up by that pump and deliv- -ered into the boiler through pipe c', in the usual way.

There is a check-valve at some point` (as at W) in the supply-pipe S of the left-hand pump, as heretofore described, and the usual lazy-cock on that side and the tank-valve are left open. Now, when the pumps are working properly this check-valve remains closed;

'but should the left-hand pump become disabled or fail to force into the boiler the water as fast as the other pump raises it into the heater, it will not overiiow the same and endanger the engine when drawing up to stations or ruiming without steam 5 but thc superior head of water in pipe B or in the heater Will cause it to lift the said check-valve and flow back to' the tank of the tender.

When for any reason it is desired to use the water directly from the said tank through the pump on that side, the checlnvalve is raised and held from its seat by means of the screwthreaded spindle heretofore described.

, The quantity of water required for the boiler is regulated by the lazy-cock on theright-hand Should the right-hand pump become dis- A abled or fail to furnish sufficient water, the check-valve W may be held up, as heretofore described, and the left-h and pump be brought into requisition.

Should the left-hand pump become disabled, the right-hand can be made to force the water direct to the boiler, as in the old practice, by simply closing the valve o in pipeA.

The heater may be situated inside the chimney, or to the right or left of it, or in any other convenient place on the locomotive 5 but I pre-` fer the rear of the chimney, as shown.

The check-valve W may be dispensed with, in which case the lazy-cock or the tank-valve on that side must, of course, be closed ;4 but it is' much better to use such a valve to prevent accident by Water owin g into the cylinder to break it.

It is obvious that this combination and arrangement of the pumps with the heater is quite independent of the size, form, or position of the latter. I have demonstrated by experiment that the heatin g-chamber need not be larger than three and one-half inches in diameter and twenty-four inches in height.

I claim as my inventionv 1. The combination of the two pumps of a locomotive-one to deliver the water to an elevated heater, and the other to force the heated water into the boiler by means of the pipeconnections A and B, substantially as described.

2. The combination of the heater H with the two pumps and with the exhaust-pipe of one or both of the engines of a locomotive, sub stantially as described.

3. In the feed-water heater herein described, the check-valve W in the supply-pipe S,when arranged as and for the purpose specied.

4. The combination of the valve o in pipe A with the feedwater heater H herein described, constructed and arranged as and for the purpose specified.

5. The feed-water heater H, consisting of the narrow tube h within a surrounding case, substantially as described.

S. A. GOODWIN.

Vitnesses:

It. M. MARSHALL, E. A. BARBER.

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