US530137A - Sediment-extractor for steam-boilers - Google Patents

Description

(Ho Mode 1.) 2 Sheet-Sheet 1.

J. E..THOMAS. SEDIMENT BXTRAGTOE FOR STEAM BOILERS.

No. 530,137. Patented Dec. 4, 1894.

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(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2] J. E. THOMAS. SEDIMENT EXTRAGTOR FOR STEAM BOILERS.

' No .-530,137. Patented Dec. 4, 1894.

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UNiTED STATES PATENT FFIQE.

JAMES E. THOMAS, OF BAY CITY, MICHIGAN.

SEDlMENT-EXTRACTORFOR STEAM-BOILERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 530,137, dated December 4, 1894.

v Application filed April 4, 1890. Serial No. 346,540. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JAMES E. THOMAS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Bay City, in the county of Bay and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Sediment-Extractors for Steam- Boilers; and I do declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description-of the in-' vention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertainsto make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, which form a part of this specification.

Myinvention relates to improvements in devices for extracting the sediment from steam boilers, and pertains especially to that class of sediment extractors having a settling reservoir provided with suitable pipes passed into the boiler, and terminating with a sediment collector or skimmer, for conveying the sediment and water from the boiler to the reservoir and a return pipe for conducting the water again to the boiler.

The first part of myinvention relates to the form and construction of the sediment collector within the boiler and consists in the combination and arrangement of the devices whereby it may be easily constructed and placed in position within the boiler.

The next part of my invention relates to the construction and arrangement of the sedi-' ment collector, whereby a current of water charged with sediment is forced through the pipes and settling chamber by a portion of the steam which is formed beneath the'sedi: ment collector being conducted into the ed uction pipe. l

Another portion of the invention pertains to the arrangement and construction of the settling reservoir, and consists in a suitable horizontal plate, placed across the reservoir and dividing for a part of its length the lower portions of the reservoir from each other, wherebytlie precipitated sediment is allowed to pass beneath the plate and remain undisturbed by the current flowing through the upper portion of the chamber.

The objects of my invention are to so arrange and construct a sediment collector for catching up or skimming the sediment from the surface of the water,in steam boilers, that may be easily passed through the man-hole of the boiler, and may also be easily adjusted to adapt it to different boilers of varying dimensions.

Another object of the invention is to provide a strong and reliable current through the sediment collector, the pipes and the set tling chamber.

- Athirdobject is to so arrange and construct the settling chamber that the sediment deposited within will remain undisturbed by any varying current through the chamber or by any inflow of steam through the pipe from the boiler.

i I attain these objects by the devices illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which- I Figure 1, represents a longitudinal vertical section of a steam boiler with my invention attached thereto. Fig. 2, is a horizontal section of the same. Fig. 3, isa section of Fig.

-1, taken at 03-00. Fig. 4, is a vertical section of Fig. 1, taken at y-.y. Fig. 5. is a longitudinal vertical section of a steam boiler with my device applied thereto in a modified form. Fig. 6, is a longitudinal section of the sediment collector in a modified form,'appliedto asteam boiler.

a, represents a steam boiler and b, are the 1 fines.

c, is a settling chamber placed outside of the boiler and is preferably located above the boiler, and may be either horizontal or vertical as desired.

d, is a return pipe with one end connected with one end of the reservoir and with its opposite end passed into'the boiler and terminating below the water surface'therein.

.while reaching entirely across the boiler, it

e, is an outflow pipe with one end secured end, and sides 1', raised to a suflicient height to bring their upper edges above the surface of the water, and j,j, are wing portions in the form of troughs pivotally secured by their inner ends to the portion 7L, by bolts 70, in their outer edges, and by the bolts Z, which are passed through slots m, at their inner edges, and the outer ends of the troughs extend forwardly and reach to the sides of the boiler shell. The rear sides at, of the troughs reach above the water surface and form a continuation of the sides 2', while the front sides 0, of the troughs are raised but slightly so that the surface of the water will be considerably above their upper edges. The central port of the portion h, in front of the enlarged end f, is raised upwardly and the rise is continued rearwardly beneath the end f, so that a cavity 19, is formed beneath the collector with an arm portion q, of the cavity reaching rearwardly, and through the upper portion of the arm q, is formed an opening 0", beneath the enlarged end f, while an opening s, is provided on each side between the bottom of the collector and the lower edges of the endf, and a space If, is provided within the open end f, around the opening 7'.

Within the reservoir 0, and about midway of its vertical dimension, and at the end to which is connected the outflow pipe e, is placed a horizontal dividing plate 01'. This plate extends entirely across the reservoir and reaches also to nearly the middle of the length thereof, and to the end of the reservoir aud beneath the plate is connected one end of a blow 0E pipe e, which is provided with a suitable valve f, and has its outer end terminating in any convenient position.

In practice the boiler is filled to the proper height with water, which commonly contains more or less vegetable and mineral matter in solution and suspension, and fire then being applied within the furnace, the temperature of the water is raised until steam of the required pressure is obtained in the usual manner, and the steam pressure causes the water to rise in the pipes d, and 2, (their inner ends being below the water level) and fill the reservoir c, and the steam made upon the shell and flues below the collector g, rises through the water beneath andis caught in the cavity 10, and then following the arm or groove portion q, it passes upwardly through the opening 0, into the space t, and thence upwardly into the pipe e, which it fills entirely across and pushes the water contained therein upwardly and into the reservoir and forces a corresponding amount of water from the reservoir through the return pipe (2, into the boiler. The steam rising in the tube, has a lifting action on the balanced system which causes the water in the return pipe d, to descend into the boiler, and the change from temperature of the boiler to the lower temperature of the reservoir causes a condensation of the steam uprising through the pipe 6 to obtain, and the space thus provided is immediately filled by water from beneath the open end portion f, as the current is already established and the water in the pipe and enlarged end has already an upward and onward movement, so that the water from the skimmer will pass into the pipe to fill the space with less effort than water could pass below the particle of steam to fill the vacancy as condensation takes place. The opening from the cavity to the enlarged end f, is of an area to prevent the exit of all steam collected in the cavity, so that the steam collected and contained in the cavity displaces the water therein and has a'pressure, additional to normal, of the weight of water displaced and hence passes from the opening into the enlarged endf, with considerable force and velocity which, when the current is fully established, is maintained until the steam is fully condensed.

Of course it will be seen that any desired amount of steam may be caught beneath the cavity p, but the quantity needed to form the required current in the pipe e, may be regulated by the size of the opening 7', and as a more complete and satisfactory current is formed through the pipes and reservoir when onlya proper amount of steam is admitted to the pipe e, a tapering plug 9, fitted to partly fill the opening 1', is placed in position in the opening, and is provided with the stem which leads upwardly through the pipe 8, and through a proper packing box t", which is arranged on an angle of the pipe, and the stern h, is provided with a screw-thread or other suitable means, whereby to raise or lower the plug into the opening to increase or diminish the area thereof, so that only the desired amount of steam caught by the cavity 1', may be used through the pipe 6, while any excess of steam caught by the cavity, will pass from beneath the collector and into the steam space above the surface of the water.

The portion h, of the collector is of a size to easily be passed into the boiler through a man-hole of ordinary size and the part h, being placed within the troughsj, may be then secured thereto by the bolts 70, and spread out to extend entirely across the boiler, so as to catch the sediment along the edges of the water surface, and secured in position by the bolts 1, passed into the slots m.

It is well known that with a majority of steam boilers the current within the boiler is from front to rear upon the surface of the water and the sediment containedin the water rises in the form of scum or foam and is carried rearward by the current and away from the portion most agitated by the fire directly beneath, and by this means the scum or sediment is carried into the laterally extending wing portion j, which being provided with low front sides 0, and higher rear sides 7;, forms an eddy which deflects the sediment to the central portion h, where it is caught by the current formed by the steam uprising through the pipe 6, and drawn thereby IIO through the opening 3, and the space 2, into the pipe e, and thence into the reservoir 0, which being wider than the pipe allows the current to spread out and become slow, and the sediment then drops upon the plate d, and is swept over its inner edge and falls to the bottom of the reservoir, and the constant current forwardly through the upper portion of the reservoir, causes a movement rearwardly of the water in the lower portion of the reservoir which carries the sediment beneath the plate cl, where it remains undisturbed by any violent agitation in the upper portion of the reservoir, until blown out through the pipe 6, and in the meantime the water relieved of its sediment, returns again to the boiler through the return pipe 61.

Of course it will be understood that the collector d, may be made in a different form from that shown,if desired, and the cavityp, may be omitted from the collector and a separate device in the form of an inverted funnel may be placed in some other portion of the boiler if desired, substantially as shown in Fig. 5, and in that case a pipe leading from the top of the cone or funnel to the lower portion of the pipe 6, would be provided instead of the portion p,lshown and described, and the action would be the same, as the required quantity of uprising steam'would be thereby pro- 'vided to produce the desired current through the pipes and reservoir.

The reservoir may be used without the plate d, and a fair result obtained, and the reservoir may if desired, be arranged to stand in a vertical instead of a horizontal position, and may be located in any desired position in relation to the boiler, so long as the pipe e, is located in either a vertical or oblique position to allow the steam to pass upwardly therein, and permit a proper condensation of the same to take place.

Of course it will be understood that while I have described the cavity beneath the collector as being raised into the bottom of the collector, the construction of the collector can be arranged differently and the cavity formed otherwise, as the intent is to provide suitable means to retain a portion of the steam which uprises through the water in the boiler and conduct it into theoutfiow pipe, where by its lifting force and condensation it produces a current of water through the collector pipes and reservoir.

As shown in Fig. 6, the cavity 19, is formed by extending a flange u, downwardly around the portion h, of the collector, the portion containing the opening 1", being raised slightly to bring the opening well within the open end of the enlarged endf, and in Fig. 4, is shown a pipe '1), with an inverted funnel shaped end to, secured to one end and located in one portion of the boiler, while the opposite end of the pipe is upturned and led into the outflow pipe e, and the operation is the same as the steam rising through the water into the funnel end will-pass into the outflow pipe with the same effect as were the cavity or funnel beneath the collector; and for removing sediment from the boiler which is of such a nature that it sinks to the bottom and does not rise readily to the. surface of the water, the collector g, may be omitted. and the outflow pipe extended and the enlarged endf, placed with its open end in proximity to the bottom of the boiler over the position in which the sediment is usually collected by the currents, and the sediment then is carried upward with the strong current formed by the uprising steam with the same facility as if the collector were used and the sediment rose to the surface. Therefore I do not confinemy invention entirely to the location and construction of the several parts as herein described; but

What I claim is 1. The combination of a steam boiler a col lecting reservoir having outflow and. return pipes passed into the boiler and reaching below the water surface, and with an enlarged funnel end connected to the inner end of the outflow pipe and havingits mouth presented to the bottomof the boiler, a sediment collector beneath said enlarged end, a steam chamber below the collector, and a passage for steam from the steam chamber to said enlarged end, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination in a steam boiler, of a collecting chamber outside of the boiler, and the out-flow and return pipes having one end connected with opposite ends of the collecting 10o chamber and with their opposite-ends passed into the boiler and reaching below the water surface, of a sediment collector provided on its under side witha cavity-to catch the steam made beneath, and provided with an opening for the egress of the steam, afunnel covering the opening and connected to the lower end of the said out-flow pipe and with aspace between the collector and the edges of the funnel, substantially as set forth.

3. The combination with a steam boiler, a collecting reservoir outside of the boiler and provided with out-flow and 'return pipes passed into the boiler and with an enlarged end orfunnel connected to the inner end of the out-flow pipe and having its open end beneath the water surface, of a sedimentcollector beneath the said enlarged end and provided on its under side with a cavity for catching the steam rising beneath, and having an opening for the steam to pass from the cavity through the funnel end and into the out-flow pipe for the purpose set forth, substantially as described.

4. In a sediment extractor the combination of a steam boiler a collecting reservoir having out-flow and return pipes passed into the boiler and an enlarged end or funnel connected to the inner end of the out-flow pipe and having its open end presented to the bot- IIO and through a packing box '5, substantially IO as and for the purpose set forth.

In testimony whereof Iaffix my signature in presence of two witneses. t

JAMES E. THOMAS.

Witnesses:

G. P. THOMAS, J. FRED. BECKBISSINGER.

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