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22 MARINE REVIEW. _ [July 5, HIGH-DUTY BOC(LER FEED PUMP. BY CHAS. L. HEIGLER, M. E. Until within the last few years very little attention has 'been given to the development of the extremely-wasteful, direct-acting boiler feed pumps, which {from repeated tests made by engineers in the United States navy are shown to use on an average not less than 120 pounds of steam per I. H. P. per hour, and the best economy obtained was 93 pounds. The common form of direct-acting steam pump of today is not as far advanced in the economical use of steam as was Watt's steam engine. It must, however, be conceded that it is an extremely difficult problem to produce a high-duty direct-acting pumping engine, and at the same time have it embody all those desirable fea- tures of the ordinary direct-acting pump which enabled it to practically monopolize this and other fields of work in spite of its wastefulness. It must have a mini- mum weight consistent with ample strength; it must be compact as well as accessible, and of simple construc- tion, so that it can 'be operated by men of ordinary ex- perience and intelligence. A high-duty feed pump fulfilling these. requirements would meet with great favor, particularly as the cost of fuel is continually ad- vancing and the work required of feed pumps is be- coming more severe and increasing in proportion to the rise of steam pressure and enlargement of boiler capacities that are necessary to meet the greater econo- my and power demanded of the ship's engines. To feed a 2,000 or 2,500 H. P. battery of boilers, nor the Civil war, that destroyed our merchant marine in the for- ae but it was simply and only the lack of protection. in 10. Foreign ships are built and run cheaper than American ships are. In addition, foreign governments pay Over $26,000,000 each year in subsi- dies, subventions, bounties and other government. and financial aids to their merchant shipping. eee aie foreign shipping unaided Amer- 1 i n not successfully compete. 2 é sper oe cent. of he cost of a ship is received by labor. It is the high cost of American labor and the unsteadiness of employment that makes it impossible for Americans to build ships as cheaply as foreigners can build them. | sizes which are now common even on freight steamers of the great lakes, at least 14 to 20 I. H. P. must be developed (by the main feed pumps, requiring from 2 to 3% tons of coal per day when using the ordinary direct-acting pumps. Evidently the fuel burned for this purpose will be no small item on ocean steamers de- veloping ten to fifteen times as much power. Repeated tests made by different experts of the high-duty feed pump illustrated herewith show it to have solved the problem of not only giving high duty, but also retain- ing all the more desirable features of the older forms of direct-acting pumps. The average of results obtained show that it will readily develop an I. H. P. ax 10 Crt. 20 Rev. "40. Spring. on less than 26 pounds of steam per hour, running con- 10x10 Cyt. 20 Rev "20. Spring densing with only 110 pounds of steam pressure. This is much less than one-third of the best results reported by the engineers of the United States navy, and rep- resents a saving of 1% to 2% tons of coal per day when feeding a 2,000 to 2,500 H. P. battery of boilers. It also saves its own weight of cargo every two days. From the indicator cards that were taken when run- 74*70 Cyt. BO Fax "20 Spring. ning non-condensing, it 'will tbe seen that very much better results are to be expected from the high steam pressures now com- mon in marine practice, and on large ocean steamers the fuel saving would be as high as ten to fifteen tons daily, in addition to the saving of weight of the coal as cargo. These pumping engines have a positive and fixed length of stroke. By suddenly removing the water pressure, or admitting air to the suc- tion, a speed of 175 revolutions per minute has been attained without shock or noise. All pumps for high pressure are fitted with outside packed plungers. A pump for feeding a 2,000 to 2,500 H. P. battery of boilers 125 pounds steam 'pressure has a three-cylinder triple-expansion: steam end, with steam cylinders of 11, 16 and 25 inches diameter, and a 5% by 12-inch water end. The valves are of the common: '"'D" type, the high pressure valve ibeing balanced. Langer pumping engines having from 3,500,000 to 4,000,000 gallons capacity are being developed for paper mill service. The three steam cylinders are 25, 40 and 60 inches in diameter and have 82 inches stroke. A diagram and description of the compensating device can 'be found in the reports of the last meeting of the American Society for Mechanical Engineers. It is of very simple construction, consisting of floating links that connect the rocker arms shown in the illustration, and which are ar- ranged at the right and left sides of the water end, their purpose being to transfer the excess of force at the beginning of the stroke of one side to the other side when completing its stroke. A careful study of the mechanism will reveal that only a small portion of the power is trans- mitted through the floating links, and the forces acting through them are much smaller than those transferred by an ordinary connecting rod of a simple engine having a cylinder as large as the high-pressure cylinder. SHIPPING BILL ARGUMENTS. Following are fifteen reasons why the Frye-Payne shipping bill should be enacted into law at the next session of congress: 1. We are paying to foreign ship owners $200,000,000 each year for doing and carrying that might far 'better be done by American ships. 2. This $200,000,000 is taken out of the country each year, and, while diminishing our national wealth, denies to American labor in mine, in forest, in mill and in ship yard, the employment it provides for aliens in other lands. 3. During the past thirty-five years we have paid to foreign ship owners not less than $4,000,000,000 for doing our foreign carrying. 4. Unremedied we shall pay foreign ship owners $5,000,000,000 in addition in the next quarter of a century. More money goes to foreign ship owners each year for doing our foreign carrying than is collected at American custom houses. 6. In 1861, when the republican party first came into control of the national government, 2,500,000 tons of American ships were engaged in our foreign trade, carrying 66 per cent. of our imports and exports. 7. In 1899 our shipping in the foreign trade aggregated 800,000 tons and carried less than 9 per cent. of our imports and exports. _ 8. In forty years our shipping in the foreign trade has declined two- thirds, while our foreign commerce has increased fourfold--from $500,- 000,000 to $2,000,000,000 in value a year. 9. Our shipping upon the seas has declined because it has been unprotected. It was not the change from wood to iron and from sail to 12. It is the better food furnished and higher wages paid on board American ships that makes it impossible to run them in competition with the cheaper built, cheaper manned, subsidized and bountied shipping of other nations. 13. Foreign ships are built and foreigners trained thereon in the carrying of our imports and exports. Thus our foreign commerce builds up and sustains the auxiliary naval vessels and men of our present rivals and possible enemies, while our own weakness upon the seas renders us almost helpless. : Our government needs the aid of merchant ships and expe- rienced and trained men, as was amply demonstrated during our war with Spain. Pitted against a great naval and maritime power in our present condition, our weakness and helplessness upon the seas would involve us in widespread disaster and incalculable loss. 15. The reasons that make necessary and justify the subsidies and bounties paid by foreign governments to their merchant ships, make necessary and justify similar payments by the United States government to American ships. When American ships on the ocean are protected like our industries are upon the land, the merchant shipping of the United States will be equal to all the needs of our foreign commerce. The Eastern Ship Building Co, of -New London, Conn., although much delayed by the non-arrival of material and tools ordered months ago, is nevertheless rushing work upon its plant, and keels will be laid in August for the two Hill steamers--largest vessels in the world. The joiner shop, carpenters' shop and mold loft are completed and the work of laying down the first vessel has begun. The plate shop is practically completed and the machine shop and pipe shop is all in frame. As it is less than four months since the formation of this new company was an- nounced, the management has done remarkably well in building the plant, especially in view of the very peculiar conditions prevailing in business generally at this time, 4 ' 4 3 4