The Iron Age 1904-03-17: Vol 73 Iss 11

Wo s eT A Review of the Hardware, Iron, Machifie’ Bio nee Trades. Published every Thursday Morning by David Williams Co., 232-238 —, Sst.. New York, _ Vol. 73: No. rz. New York, Thursday, March 17, 1904. C2 0 Font. ee Page Single Copies, 15 Cents neading Matter Contents . ....page 60/-———— Sn — Alphabetical Index to Advertisers ‘‘ 173 Classified List of Advertisers “ 165 Advertising and Subsoription Rates ‘‘ 172]. The .32 Automatic Colt Pistol Cartridge ts loaded with a special high power smokeless powder. giving bigh velocity and operating freely through the mechanism of the Automatic Coit Pistol (pocket model). Those with the soft omy bullet wiil = — desirable for sporting purposes, and those with metal case or military and rget use. RIM FIRE CARTRIDGES. The U. M, C. .22 automatic rifle (Winchester model 1908) CS age is now ready for the market. New .%2 short ungreased, .22 long ungreased, and .22 Winchester inside lubricated are inexpensive rim fire cartridges loaded with the best grade of smokeless. powder. Boys are calling for these cartridges as they can be carried loose in the pocket without the old inconvenience of the greased cartridge. They will not lead the gun. U. M. C. Ammunition shoots well in any gun. THE UNION METALLIC CARTRIDGE CO. BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Agency: 313-15 Broadway, New York City. Depot : 86-88 First St., San Francisco, Gal. THE BRISTOL COMPANY, Waterbury, Conn. ' Bristol’s Recording Instruments. For Prose cote perature Silver Medal, Paris ~~ Ranges, Low Prices, and Guar- anveed.’ Send for Circulars. SAMSON CORDAGE WORKS, Boston, Mass. THE CAPEWELL HORSE NAIL GO., Hartford, Conn. 0 TURNBUCKLES. : 2 Gapewell Horse Nails : ice, 11 Brocdwey. New York. Cleveland Ghee Sergetas inde Co., - Cleveland. 0, > ne eae NEW YORK, Branches: PORTLAND, ORE., a TURN BUCH UES: PHILADELPHIA, BUFFALO, ~ MERRILL BROS., CHICAGO, DETROIT, BALTIMORE, . ST. LOUIS, CLACINNATI, NEW ORLEANS, ~ Dee - ees BOSTON, SAN FRANCISCO, DENVER. » : - m 2 IRON ORES. PILLING & GRANE, fascias sees Exe POncses kaw e mamenhnot Ee Excelsior Straightway Back Pressure Valve On PAGE 25 the. o the steam when wide open. American ENKI ‘B Best Antf-Friction Metal for’all Machinery Bearings. is simple in construction and well made. Being fitted with the JENKINS BROS., New York Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, London. Sheet & Tin Plate Co “OW ( "0 i | (St is uaet- I pl Co./"Swedon” GOld Rolle GEL aie or TQ WD a alt Fac-Simile of. Bar. Bewa Chicago, Fisher Bldg. EW YORK. | sens Baht arth ns Cee ee of the various kinds of Iron.and Steel Sheets and Tin and Terne Plates which are produced at its several works. | Jenkins Disc, it is noiseless and never sticks. Gives long service, publishes’ an enumeration THE AMERICAN TUBE 8 & STAMPING COMP y re of and can be relied upon atall times. Can be quickly thrown in and (Water and Rail Deltvery) BT, Comm. AGE a 1 ‘ MAGNOLIA METAL CO., out of use without taking valve apart. It offers no resistance MAGNOLIA M ETAL. Owners aa Sole Manufacturers, 13-116 Bank Street Sen Francisco, New | Orleans, M ontreal, Boston ‘a peo nf Y Bien ys ae J on 3 oo ~ 2 ante tn - - suiaineiinn ess <i — : espe ae . wag ose Wee See Sy)” eeu ae : ae uk ~ ; che igen mtg rte pay iar RE Tae «Meee a yt a ee Nein Lip nea a g 1b ty eg np ~~ oe oe, - S, Caa sae Peek: - EIS APO LPG OLE EIS THE IRON AGE. THE ANSONIA Brass og CoPPeER Co: MANUFACTURERS OF BRASS AND COPPER Seamless Tubes, Sheets, Rods and Wire. —_—_ GOLE MANUFACTURERS - Tobin Bronze (TRADE-MarRK REGISTERED.) Condenser Plates,Pump. Linings, Round, Square and Hexagon Bars, for Pump “ton Rods ard So S=-=!--- Seamless Tubes for Boilers and Condensers. $9 John Street, New York. Randolph aan Co. Main Office and Mill, WATERBURY, CONN. MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET BRASS & COPPER. BRAZED BRASS & COPPER 7UBES. SEAMLESS BRASS & COPPER TUBES -0 56 IN. DIAM. New York Office, 253 Broadway, Postal Telegraph Building, Room 715. . Chicago Office, 602 Fisher Bldg. hee BRASS COPPER GERMAN seer SILVER | vive LOW BRASS. SHEET BRONZE. SEAMLESS BRASS AND COPPER TUBING. BRAZED BRASS AND BRONZE TUBING WATERBURY BRASS CO., WATERBURY, CONN. 130 Centre St., New York. Providence, R. I. Bridgeport Deoxidized Bronze & Metal Co.., BRIDGEPORT, CONN. Automobile Castings a Specialty. High Tensile Strength. Bronze and Aluminum Alloys. Write Us. ae ae ¢ Matthiessen & Hegeler Zinc Co., LA SALLE, ILLINOIS. SMELTERS OF SPELTER AND MANUFACTURERS OF SHEET ZINC AND Special Sizes of Zinc cut to order: SULPHURIC ACID. Rolled Battery Plates. Selected Plates for Etchers’ and Lithographers’ use. Selected Sheets for Paper and Card Makers’ use. Stove and Washboard Blanks. ZINCS FOR LECLANCHE BATTERY. Eee eS 8:74 West Mor NTA a ORI) AGMm ASN TODNEE rass, Bronze and ® Aluminum 2 ww. 4G ROWZZLL & CO., HENDRICKS PROPRIETURS OF THE Belleville Copper Rolling Mills, PA Ae oe St., Chicago Pana pe eV TTIDTITIN I Mieke hab be a port, Conn. BROTHERS MANUFAGTURERS OF Brasiers’ Bolt and Sheathing COPPER, COPPER WIRE AND RIVETS. The Gas Engine. A treatise on the inter Importers and Dealers in Ingot Copper, Block Tin, Spelter, Lead, Antimony, etc. 49 CLIFF ST., NEW YORK. THE PLUME & ATWOOD MF6, C0, MANUFACTURERS OF Sheet and Roll Brass —AND— WiR Ee PRINTERS’ BRASS, JEWELERS’ METAL, GERMAN SILVER AND GILDING METAL, COPPER Rivets AND BURRS. Pins, Brass Butt Hinges, Jack Chain, Kero sene Burners, Lamps, Lamp Trimmings, &c. 29 MURRAY ST., NEW YORK. 144 HIGH ST., BOSTON, 199 LAKE ST., CHICAGO, MOLLISY MILL ¢ FAcTORIES : THOMASTON, CONN. WATERBURY, CONN. SCOVILL MFG. W.. Manufacturers of BRASS, GERMAN SILVER Sheets, Rolis, Wire Reds, Bolts and Tubes, Brass Shelis, Cups, Hinges, Buttons, Lamp Coods. SPECIAL BRASS GOODS TO ORDER Factories, WATERBURY, CONN. DEPOTS: CHICAGO, NEW YORK, BOSTON. JOHN DAVOL & SONS, AGENTS FOR Brooklyn Brass & Copper Co, DEALERS IN COPPER, TIN, SPELTER, LEAD, ANTIMONY. 400 John Street, - New York, Arthur T. Rutter ‘ SUCCESSOR TO WILLIAM S. FEARING 256 Broadway, NEW YORK. Small tubing in Brass, Copper, Steel, Aluminum, German Silver, &c. Sheet Brass, Copper and Ger- man Silver. Copper, Brass i German Silver Wire. Brazed 4nd Seamless Brass and eee Tube. Copper and Brass Rod C ASTIN G s WIRE. “it's toucu: FOUN DERS— FINISHERS. TROLLEY, TELEPHONE and TELEGRAP i LINES. pridcevort, BRIDGEPORT BRASS Ci ., Cenn. 19 Murray St., New York combustion engine, using gas, alcohol 7 fydrees: aoe * . Remsen Hutton. ‘483 pas > Per sate by Danié Wittiome On., 838 Wittan O4..¥."- oene, oO energy. illustrated. S, O., rk. er, el 7. d nd be. eorer7re— i ‘THE IRON AGE TiturspAY, MARCH 17, 1904. The Terry Steam Turbine. A new form of steam turbine has recently been pat- ented which resembles in a measure the familiar Pelton water wheel, in that the force producing rotation is directed tangentially to the periphery of the wheel, com- pletely avoiding the end thrust present in all forms through which the steam passes parallel to the axis. It differs from the Pelton wheel, however, in that the velocity of the moving fluid is not all absorbed in a single impact or on a single bucket. The buckets on the wheel are confronted by similar stationary buckets, or reversing Fig. 6 is an enlarged diagrammatical view illustrating the course of the steam in a wheel bucket and a con- fronting reversing chamber. The wheel consists of two steel disks secured to a cast steel hub on the shaft and bolted together near their cir- cumferences where they clamp the drop forged buckets. The reversing chambers are similarly secured betwen the stationary plates dande. The annular steam chamber is supplied through a pipe connection in the manner shown and communicates with the several steam jets; in this case there are three of the latter, although the number may be greater where more power is required. a Fig. 1 Exterior View of the Terry Steam Turbine. chambers, as they are called, which return the steam to the wheel after each rebounding until all its effective energy has been abstracted. This briefly is the funda- mental principle of this new turbine as invented by Ed- ward C. Terry of Hartford, Conn. The accompanying half-tones were taken from a 30 horse-power model, and, with the line drawings, illus- trate quite clearly the construction. Fig. 1 is an ex- terior view of the complete turbine. Fig. 2 shows the case with the wheel removed. Fig. 3 is a view of the wheel. Fig. 4 shows in enlarged elevation a sectional side view of part of the wheel and the confronting re- versing chambers, and an end view of the exterior of a part of the stationary reversing chambers and connected parts with a broken out portion in section. Fig. 5 is a sectional view of a part of the wheel and adjacent part of the case on the line A A of Fig. 4, with a detail sec- tional view of one of the steam nozzles on the line B B. The exhaust chamber is in the form of an expanding scroll ending in a discharge opening at its largest point. The individual steam jets @ are regulated in the amount of their opening by means of adjustable pins, b, and are arranged to discharge into the wheel from one of the curved side edges of the reversing chambers. The buckets and reversing chambers are essentially flat semicylinders, with their open sides facing one an- other. They are formed of plates on the broad sides, with curved side walls set at right angles to the plates. These chambers are arranged in a circular series, lapping one upon the other in the form of a series of steps—that is to say, the axes of the several buckets and chambers are set obliquely to the circumference of the wheel. Their open edges are inclined at a slight angle with the axis of the shaft, so that the steam after being reversed in each chamber is delivered to the next succeeding bucket, this being repeated as often as may be desired. The THE IRON AGE. inventor has found from his experiments that the medium between too slow a speed, and its consequent loss by steam friction, and too fast a speed, which would necessitate the use of reducing gears in transmission, requires four or five reversing chambers to each jet. As shown in Fig. 4, the plates which form the broad sides of the buckets are curved longitudinally for the purpose of making the space between their inner ends greater than it would be if the plates were straight. In fact, by curving the plates in this manner there is so lit- tle difference in the distance between their outer and inner ends that they may be said to be practically par- allel. In Fig. 6, where the bucket and reversing chambers are shown with their openings registering, the course of the steam is indicated by the dotted lines. The steam, issuing from nozzle a, tr:.vels around, following the curved inner wall of the bucket, and then the curved wall of the re- versing chamber ; this part of the steam being arbitrarily termed primary steam. The second time around the March 17, 1904 five buckets before consuming its full energy, a speed of one-fourth or one-fifth is possible with the maximum effi- ciency. The turbine shown has a wheel 2 feet in diameter, and, as stated before, develops 30 horse-power. The same size wheel might be used up to a capacity of 100 horse-power, for the reversing chambers are placed about but one-third of the circumference in three groups of five each. There are 70 buckets on the wheel, two-thirds of them being nonactive at any instant. Consequently, if the reversing chambers were made equal in number to the buckets and a corresponding number of steam jets were supplied, the power might be greatly increased, as indicated. By actual test the model shown developed its 30 horse-power with steam at 145 pounds pressure when operated noncondensing. Under these conditions the steam consumption was 32 pounds per brake horse- power per hour, and the wheel made 2600 revolutions per minute with a peripheral speed of 260 feet a second. When exhausting into a condenser the wheel ran at 33800 arte! Sea} 5 es) Ww ia rae i Fig. 2.—Case with the Wheel Removed. Fig. 3.—The Wheel. a ae - anaes a steam gradually widens its path by expansion, and fol- lows around inside the current of primary steam, form- ing what is called secondary steam. And so it continues in its course until it reaches a crescent shaped hole, g, in the central part of the chamber, through which it es- capes. In practice the action is somewhat different, for the buckets are moving while the steam is flowing from nozzle to bucket and bucket to chamber, but it follows practically the path indicated. It does not, of course, re- enter the same bucket in its secondary form. In this manner the problem is overcome which has always proved a difficult one in steam turbine practice, because the high velocity of steam makes it impracticable to impart its energy to the rotating element at one im- pact, as is done in the case of the water wheel. It is well known that when a water wheel operates at its maxi- mum efficiency the circumferential velocity of the wheel must be one-half of that of the issuing column of water. if the same scheme were attempted in a steam turbine the velocity of the wheel would be so high that it would in- troduce complications such as excessive friction and dif- ficulty in reducing the speed to a practicable value for transmitting, but by passing the steam through four or revolutions per minute, or a peripheral speed of 330 feet per second. The buckets are 244 inches long—that is, the supporting side disks are 2% inches apart, are 1% inches deep, and their edges are 1 inch apart. The reversing chambers are substantially the same size. The shaft runs in ordinary ring oiling bearings, and the speed is regulated by a Pickering governor running at the speed of the turbine. There are many interesting modifications in which the turbine may be built without altering the principle of its action. For example, the buckets may be placed in the side of the wheel, instead of in its face, and the re- versing chambers be correspondingly situated. In a tur- bine constructed with two such sets on the opposite sides of the disk, set to produce rotation in the same direction, each would counteract the end thrust produced by the other, and nearly double the power might be obtained from a machine of a given size. Should it be desired to produce a turbine capable of rotating in opposite di- rections, the buckets and chambers on the opposite side of the disk may be set to act in opposite directions, and being used alternately, would provide for direct or re- verse rotation of the shaft. March 17, 1904 The Newberry Charcoal Blast Furnace. The charcoal blast furnace at Newberry, Mich., oper- ated by the Michigan Iron Company, surpassed all its previous records on February 29. On that day 87 tons of high grade charcoal pig iron were manufactured. The furnace is 50 feet high by 10% feet in diameter at the bosh, and is therefore comparatively small. This makes the record remarkable. The average production of fur- naces of this size is from 60 to 65 tons a day. The furnace was put in blast under the present man- agement -on March 10, 1903, after it had been remodeled THE IRON AGE. 3 The furnace has worked splendidly ever since it was blown in. No trouble whatever was encountered; not even a slip. Since blowing in the furnace has run every day, with the exception of about one week, covering the national holidays, &c. The recent record breaking run is not expected to mark the limit of production, but the manager expects to turn out a still larger product. The furnace has made a run of a full month of 80 tons a day on a mixture of iron ore yielding 48.91 per cent. of iron. The temperature of the blast is 800 degrees F., and the pressure is 54% pounds. Manager E. E. Johnston was for a number of years h THE IRON AcE Fig. 4.—End and Side Sectional Elevations of a Portion of the Wheel and Confronting Case. VERTICAL SECTION ON B-B chemist for the Ashland Iron & Steel Company, Ashland, Wis., and afterward took charge of the laboratory for the Manistique Iron Company, Manistique, Mich. The gen- eral offices of the company are at Detroit, Mich. Joseph H. Berry is chairman, W. G. Sharp vice-chairman, R. H. Fig. 5.—Sectional Plan View of a Bucket, Reversing Chamber and Nozzle. under the supervision of E. E. Johnston, furnace manager. It had been out of blast for some considerable time, and a great deal of work was found necessary when prepara- tions were made for the resumption of operations. A new battery of boilers was installed, new gas mains were laid, a new hoisting plant was erected, a pump house was built and equipped with improved pumps, a battery of 40 charcoal kilns was built, new ore sheds and trestle work were constructed, and 5 miles of railway were built. The ore sheds were located more conveniently to the fur- nace than before, and are so constructed that no trimming of the ore is required when it is dumped from the cars. Wherever a labor saving device could be used to advan- tage about the furnace it was installed. All the work in question was accomplished in a period of four months, and in the worst season of the year for conducting such oper- ations Fig. 6.—Diagram of the Course of the Steam through Bucket and Reversing Chamber. Jenney manager of the timber lands and stores depart- ment, W. G. Smith treasurer and John Christian secre- tary. The product is marketed as the Michigan brand of charcoal iron. ——_-e—____ The New England Iron League, the association of the manufacturers of structural iron and steel, elected the following officers at their annual meeting held recently at Boston: President, Henry M. Jones, the Megquier & Jones Company, Portland, Me.; vice-president, Joseph W. Lovett, the Smith & Lovett Company, Boston; treas- urer, Frank E. White, G. W. & F. Smith Iron Company, Roxbury, Mass.; secretary, Frank A. Wilson; executive committee, D. H. Andrews, Boston Bridge Works; W. B. Douglas, Chelmsford Fountry Company, Boston; and the president, e2z-officio. Se ae THE IRON AGE. The Green Fuel Economizer.* BY A. H..BLACKBUBN, MATTEAWAN, N. Y. History of the Invention. In 1845 the late Edward Green of Wakefield, England, after two years of careful experiment, took out his first patent for a fuel economizer, patent No. 10,986 in the English Patent Office, which is practically the foundation upon which all subsequent economizer improvements are more or less based. Although this patent was taken out in 1845, it was not until after the First International Exhibition, held in London in 1852, when the economizer was exhibited, that steam users in Europe seriously recognized the great opportunity for saving that was by its means placed within their reach. From that date, however, its success was assured, and the large amounts of coal that were economized by the users who gave it a trial brought it to the attention of the manufacturing community. At the present day the invention is used by owners of boilers all over the globe, and it is com- puted that it effects a saving of upward of $7,000,000 per annum. The first economizer erected in the United States was in 1867 by the late Thomas Sanders of Providence, R. I. When on a trip to England he bought the economizer and imported it for his bleach and dye works. On a visit I paid his son, Thomas Sanders, at Sandersdale, R. L, in 1893, he informed me that when the machine arrived and he found his father had paid for it in gold, when gold was at a premium of 938 per cent., he thought his father had made a great mistake, but after the ma- chine was put up and working they were more than pleased with the extra amount of steam they could make with less fuel, and subsequently when they moved their location from Providence to Sandersdale the economizer was the only piece of steam plant they moved. This economizer was in service from 1867 to 1893, when it was replaced by a new machine. The same company also bought one of the Green economizers exhibited at the Centennial Exhibition in 1876, which also has re- cently been replaced by a duplicate economizer. Two Green economizers were exhibited in 1876, one in actual operation and one in Machinery Hall. The manufacturers of New England, where coal is hig®, and the sugar refiners of Philadelphia and New York were the first to recognize the merits of the ap- paratus. At that time in this country, however, and until within the last 15 years, the margin of profits was so much larger than it is to-day that a manufacturer did not pay very much attention to economies in his boiler house. As long as he obtained sufficient steam to drive his machinery, the cost of his coal bill did not cut very much figure in his dividends. This has all changed in these days of keen competition, and the manufacturer is looking as carefully for savings in his steam plant as he is in his machine tools, his looms or his rolling mills. The Object of the Economizer. The object of the economizer, as its name implies, is to save fuel, which it accomplishes by utilizing the heat in the waste gases leaving the boilers, before they enter the chimney, for heating feed water for boilers or hot water for manufacturing purposes. In order to use as much as possible of the heat in the gases of combustion a steam boiler is provided with more or less heating sur- face, and as the hot gases pass over the surface this heat is gradually abstracted from them for the reason that the surfaces of the boiler are cooler than the gases. The rate at which these gases give up their heat depends on the difference of temperature between the gases and the water. The temperature of water in a boiler is very near the temperature of steam corresponding to its pressure, and therefore when the temperature of the gases by the ab- sorption of the heat begins to approach the temperature of the steam the absorption becomes very slow and a large extension of heating surface only produces a slight cool- ing effect on the gases. At this point the first cost of * Read before the Philadelphia Foundrymen’s Association, March 2, 1904. March 17, 1904 adding heating surface to the boiler is not counter- balanced by increasing evaporation. In boiler practice to-day the escaping gases will average from 450 to 550 degrees F., and as it is impracticable to use this heat by extending the heating surface in the boiler, by apply- ing an economizer and passing the cool feed water through it the lower temperature gases can be econom- ically utilized. We have recently installed in a large cotton mill power plant economizers where the ratio of heating surface in the economizers is equal to the heating surface in the boilers. The two plants are each arranged in five units, each unit consisting of two hori- zontal return tubular boilers of 100 horse-power each and an economizer. Out of each unit of 200 rated boiler horse- power between 400 and 500 horse-power is being de- veloped and the gases are leaving the economizer below 250 degrees F., thus using all the heat available. On tests recently made the plant is showing a very high efficiency, obtained at a minimum first cost of installa- tion. The Advantages Claimed. The advantages claimed for a fuel economizer are, as its name signifies, 1, and most important, the saving of fuel. On a modern, up to date steam power plant a sav- ing of 10 per cent. in fuel can be made, and in many cases under every day working conditions considerably more. 2. The steaming capacity of the boilers is increased. A manufacturer may find himself short 10 to 15 per cent. of boiler power, and, not wishing to put in an extra boiler, by putting in an economizer he can obtain the same result at a corresponding saving in fuel. In the boiler plant of our own foundry we are developing over 20 per cent. of the horse power used in the economizer. 3. A large volume of water above the boiling point is always available to take care of sudden demands for power when a heavy load comes on, thereby enabling the firemen to keep an even pressure of steam. 4. It prolongs the life of the boilers by the high temperature feed water, preventing expansion and contraction. 5. It purifies the feed water by depositing sediment in the apparatus where it can be easily blown off by reason of slow circulation and high temperature, keeping the sur- faces of the boilers much cleaner. 6. In large boiler plants, especially in large cities where labor is high, labor is saved in the handling of 10 per cent. extra coal and ash, which in a year’s time amounts to quite an item. Applications of the Apparatus. New applications for the use of the economizer are being developed every year in the utilization of waste _heat apart from the original one of saving heat from the waste gases from boilers. At the plant of the Rome Brass & Copper Company, Rome, N. Y., the economizers are being used for reclaiming the heat going to waste from the reheating furnaces. The gases from the furnaces instead of being taken out of short independent stacks from each furnace, are carried into a main flue taking the gases from all the furnaces through the economizer to a single stack and heating water from 100 to 300 degress F. At the Pennsylvania Steel Works, Steelton, Pa., the gases from the blast furnaces, after passing the boilers, are carried through economizers and with the automatic scrapers in use on the tubes there has been no trouble in keeping the tubes clean. The economizer is also being used for utilizing the waste heat from rotary cement kilns. In one of the large department stores in Philadelphia an economizer has been working successfully for some time, utilizing the waste heat from a Morse refuse de- structor, and economizers have been extensively used in connection with garbage destructors in Europe. In quite a number of the oil refineries of the Standard Oil Com- pany economizers are used for utilizing the heat from the oil stills and have proved a very profitable invest- ment. In bleacheries, dye works and other manufactories using large quantities of hot water the economizer is placed behind the boilers and the hot water is utilized in the manufacturing process, giving very considerable economy, where live steam had previously been used. In several of the large hospitals and laundries in the March 17, 1904 United States and Canada the economizer is furnishing the hot water for washing purposes. A very economical way for heating mills and factories by the hot water system is to use the economizer for heating the water. The water is pumped through the economizer into the heating system and returned again to the economizer. In passing through the system the water will lose about 20 degrees F. The water will return to the economizer from 160 to 170 degrees and leave from 190 to 200 de- grees F. We are now installing a plant for a large electric railway and light company who do a large public heat- ing business in the winter, for which the economizer is going to be used, and in summer, when the heating sys- tem is not in use, the economizer will be utilized for heating the feed water for the boilers. In the making of water gas the process is an alter- nating one. Steam is blown through for ten minutes and gas is made; then it is necessary to shut the steam off and blow air through the generator. carburetor and superheater and into the open air, to heat them up again for ten minutes; then the air is shut off and steam turned on again and gas made for another ten minutes, and so on alternately. During the process of blowing through a great deal of heat is lost, a large portion of which can be reclaimed by putting it through an economizer. It was feared, when first installing an economizer, that gas might accumulate in the economizer and cause an explosion, but if the pilot lights at the stack valve are kept burning there is no risk at all, Thus using an economizer, heating the water for the boilers, the water is heated up to a temperature cor- responding to the temperature of the steam in the boil- ers, usually about 350 degrees F. In addition, sufficient water can be heated to heat the water in the water seals of the gas tanks in the winter to prevent them freez- ing. In paper mills there is a field for economizers for utilizing the heat from the soda ash kilns as well as from the boilers. In the smelting of ores there is quite a percentage of valuable metal carried away in the fumes passing away up the stack, and long flues have been designed to cool off the gases and deposit this metal in the bottom of the flues, where it is carefully collected and reclaimed. This can be done far more efficaciously by installing an economizer and passing a large volume of water through to cool the gases, when they will de- posit the valuable metal into the chamber under the economizer. The Commercial Value of the Apparatus. We will now consider the commercial side. From our records we find that the average life of a well built economizer is from 15 to 20 years, with ordinary care and attention, and therefore it is a conservative basis to allow a 6 per cent. depreciation. From records of a number of large plants the cost of maintenance and re- pairs has not exceeded 1 per cent., but to be on the safe side allow 2 per cent. The value of an economizer varies in proportion to the cost of fuel and the heating value of that fuel, and the cost of installation varies according to the de- signs and conditions of each particular plant. Taking the averaging manufacturing plant, and estimating a saving of 10 per cent. in the total fuel consumed during the year, working 300 days during the year and ten hours per day, the economizer will show the following gross return on the investment: Per cent With coal at $5.00 a net tom. ....ccccccercccccccces 48.1 We CNOk OE GOD OB BOE DOs «ccc dviceacnccndoccnces 38.5 Wren ‘GUer GC TOO GS WOE COM. cece ccc wcvececsce 83.7 With Goal Gt 9.00 a met BOM... ccccccccccccccsccoss 28.9 With cool at BBO! a) Met: CORi.. ook cs ced ccicitic celdcdecs 24 WR, 2608 OF : 2.00. B. ROE. BOB occ cccctivecccfsecncees 19.2 Subtracting from this gross return per annum on the investment the cost of depreciation, maintenance and repairs, with coal at a cost of $2 per ton delivered in the boiler house, the economizer pays a good return on the investment. If a plant works 20 hours out of the 24, as a number of manufacturing plants do, the return doubles up. This estimate only takes into consideration THE IRON AGE. 5 the saving of fuel, to which should justly be added the gain from the other advantages mentioned in the first part of this paper. In the above estimate I have only considered the average boiler plant, taking a conservative estimate of 10 per cent. saving, but where hot furnace and other gases are available a much larger saving is being made. Description of the Apparatus. The economizer consists of a series of cast iron tubes, usually about 9 feet in length and 4 9-16 inches in external diameter, arranged in sections of various widths. The sections are formed by forcing the tubes simultaneously into top and bottom headers by means of hydraulic presses. The ends of the tubes are accurately turned to gauges, and the headers are bored out and reamed to standard measurements, forming a perfect metal to metal joint when pressed together. The sections are joined together by branch pipes or manifolds running length- wise, one at the top and one at the bottom on opposite sides, the branch pipes being outside the brick work which incloses the apparatus. Each tube is encircled by a set of triple, overlapping scrapers with bevel cutting edges, the lugs of which rest on lifting bars. These travel up and down the tubes at a slow rate of speed, the object being to keep the external surface free from soot. The soot drops down into the soot chamber be- tween the sections, where it is periodically cleaned out. The mechanism for working the scrapers 1s fixed on the top of the economizer, outside the chamber, and is driven from a countershaft or small independent engine or motor. Over each tube is placed a hand hole lid for cleaning out, and on the connecting branch pipes are also lids to clean out the headers, making all the internal surfaces accessible from the outside. The hand hole lids are all accurately turned to standard gauge and the headers reamed to match, making metal to metal joints. On a great many economizers now being erected, in place of using brick walls to inclose the chamber, a sec- tional sheet iron covering is used lined with 2 or more inches of magnesia and asbestos nonconducting material, which very much facilitates cleaning out and also saves considerable infiltration of air which takes place through ordinary brick work. Economizers have to stand the same pressure as boil- ers, as the feed water is pumped direct through the economizer into the boilers. They are now being built for pressure up to 250 and 300 pounds per square inch. —~-+e—_____ Fire Protection Engineering at Armour Institute.— There has recently been established at Armour Institute of Technology, Chicago, as a part of the regular cur- riculum, a course of training in fire protection engineer- ing, which, it is believed, will cause a more thorough and intelligent treatment of the problems of safeguarding property against damage by fire. It will furnish to municipal building departments, underwriting organi- zations, architects, fire insurance companies and large property owners men trained to recognize the conditions of necessary or unavoidable fire hazard and to apply all known safeguards where such conditions must exist. Chicago is the ideal place for the development of this branch of engineering, not only because its extensive and varied manufacturing interests present opportunities for detailed study of the hazards of factories, warehouses, department stores and the like, but also because it has the only research station in the world for the comprehensive experimental investigation of fire protection and fire haz- ards as they apply to devices and materials introduced for general use. The Underwriters’ Laboratories, 67 Twenty-first street, unique in the character and extent of the work to which they are exclusively devoted, will be utilized by the institute for the practical demonstra- tion of the principles underlying fire protection and causes of fires and for the experimental study of problems con- nected therewith. Armour Institute is the first technical college to undertake this work, and the plan is being in- dorsed by contractors, insurance companies and large property owners. i i ' ' : | ' ; An 8-ton traveling derrick, recently erected for the American Railway Traffic Company of Brooklyn, for service in connection with a system for disposing of the ashes of the city of Brooklyn, is shown in the accompany- ing engravings. The derrick is used to unload steel ash buckets from trolley flat cars, and to dump the ashes on a fill, which is being made at Neptune avenue, near Brighton Beach. The loaded buckets weigh approximate- ly 8 tons, and are dumped in the manner indicated in one of the illustrations. The derrick, as will be seen, is of extra heavy wooden construction, reinforced by heavy tie rods and gussets, THE IRON AGE. A Novel Method for the Disposal of Ashes. March 17, 1904 & Machine Company, 9-15 Murray street, New York City, in connection with C. R. Van Etten of the American Rail- way Traffic Company and R. P. Taylor of the Brooklyn Heights Railway Company. a a es The Bituminous Coal Situation. An impression prevails in certain quarters that there will be no stoppage at the mines pending a decision as to the wages basis from April 1. Already there are strong indications that the substantial element in the member- ship in all sections, even in Illinois, the stronghold of the opposition to any reduction, will line up behind President - Mitchell by voting for the 5.55 per cent. reduction in | | Ap 8-Ton Bucket at the Instant of Dumping. and designed throughout for severe wear in continuous service. One of the largest sizes of the Lidgerwood elec- tric hoisting engines is mounted on the rear of the der- rick, the hoist being operated by a 50 horse-power Gen- eral Dlectric railway motor. The effective radius of ac- tion is 30 feet, and the boom swings through 170 degrees. The derrick has been working day and night for several weeks, and for a large part of this time has been unload- ing buckets at the rate of four cars an hour, or one bucket every four minutes. The fastest work up to date has been one carload of four buckets in eight minutes, but the normal capacity is usually given as 100 tons an hour. The derrick was designed by the New Jersey Foundry wages and the two-year contract offered by the operators. There is always an element eager for a fight and for a test of strength or endurance, but it is believed that few large labor strikes are inaugurated that have not the support of the conspicuous leaders of the labor organiza- tions involved. When, therefore, the principal officers and leaders of the United Mine Workers cover the entire ground with an unanswerable argument against a strike, setting forth all that would be risked in such a contest, we become at once convinced that all danger of a strike is passing. It is interesting to note the changed tone of these same labor leaders, for in their address it is stated: “ We are now upon the eve of a Presidential election, and these THE March 17, 1904 years are proverbially dull, because of the commercial dis- turbances which they produce.” This is a radical change of policy from. that pursued in 1900, when the exigencies of a political campaign appeared to persuade the miners’ leaders that no better time could be selected for wresting concessions from the employers. The president of the third largest producing concern in soft coal in this country tells the story of the outlook: ““ Whether there is a strike or not, I look for a good de- mand for soft coal from now on, because the supply is not heavy, and only about sufficient for present needs. This is due to the slow, very slow, transportation. All the railroads are in the same condition because of the bad weather. It has been the worse winter on them for a long time. With ice, snow, zero weather and floods, they have been very much hampered in the movement of traffic. Now with the ground frozen to a depth of 3 feet under the tracks a thaw will produce what railroad men IRON AGE. 7 overwhelming majority in favor of adopting the proposi- tion.”’ Probably the president of the miners’ organization would not consider it germane to the subject to remind him that the industrial reaction to which he refers has been largely due to the work of himself and other leaders prominent in arrogant labor union agitation. Central Pennsylvania producers are advancing prices each day. The price of soft coal advanced from $2.80 last week to $3.30 for Clearfield coal, at tidewater. The cars unloaded here are not sent back to the mines, because of the congested condition of traffic, and many cars have been dispatched to the anthracite region. This is done to get as much as possible of that coal here, and the price of hard coal will not be reduced until conditions in the soft coal region are changed. It is stated that the con- tract prices for the Clearfield coal will be $1.35 at the mines, for the contract season, if the new basis of wages The Derrick About to Lift a Bucket from a Car. A NOVEL METHOD FOR THE DISPOSAL OF ASHBS. technically call a “ bad rail,” and, of course, there will be wrecks that no one in the world can foresee or prevent. Wrecks block tracks and delay traffic.” And while on the subject is may be stated that the Pennsylvania Railroad did not move a ton east from the mines for three days last week. So far as the Pittsburgh district, the Central fields and Ohio are concerned, it is the opinion that there will be no strike. Fears are entertained, however, by several offi- cials of the contending parties lest the Illinois and In- diana miners roll up a majority in favor of rejecting the ultimatum submitted by the operators. President Patrick Dolan of District No. 5 (Pittsburgh) says that in order to counteract the vote of the Illinois and Indiana miners the Executive Board will issue circulars to all the lodges urging the members to cast their votes in favor of ac- cepting the new scale. He said: “ We will do all in our power to avert a suspension of work. Considering in- dustrial conditions, I think the schedule presented to us is fair and reasonable. I do not expect anything but an is fixed. This, by the way, gives the men 60 per cent. more than they were receiving in 1897. ee ne The Corporation Profit Sharing.—The United States Steel Corporation have just completed their distribution of preferred stock to heads of departments and other im- portant employees under the provisions of the profit shar- ing agreement made a year ago. This part of the offer did not affect the employees as a whole, but the more im- portant men. Under it a certain amount of money, a per- centage of the net profits, was set aside to be distributed among these beneficiaries, provided that the net profits reached $80,000,000. The percentage increases in a slid- ing scale with the net profits. The division of this pre mium to employees is one-half in cash, one-quarter in stock to be held in the treasury for five years, the em- ployee to receive the income therefrom and to become the full owner if he remains in the employ of the company until the expiration of the five years. The other quarter 8 THE IRON is in stock to be distributed annually, and this distribu- tion has just been made. The recipients received with their stock a certificate which covers their claim to the other one-quarter in stock which has the five years pro- viso. It is not given out what amount of stock was thus distributed. It was bought in the open market at pre- vailing prices. +e = Mineral Production in Canada. Summary of the Dominion Geological Survey. ToRONTO, March 12, 1904.—In the calendar year 190:5 Canada’s mineral production amounted to $63,226,510. This is the calculation of the Geological Survey, whose summary report for the year has been given out. Of the total, $33,707,403 is credited to metallic products, the re- mainder coming under the head of nonmetallic minerals. Gold is the largest item in the former list and coal in the latter, the value of the respective outputs being $18,834,- 490 and $15,957,946, the two items thus accounting for more than half the value of the total mineral yield of the country. Other noteworthy figures are the follow- ing: $5,728,261 Nickel Silver Coke Iron ore exports Pig iron from Canadian ore 5,650,000 The total production is slightly below that of 1902, which was valued at $63,885,999, and considerably below that of 1901, which was valued at $66,339,158. The de- crease in the production of pig iron is 16.77 per cent. of the quantity made in 1902. Of pig iron produced from Canadian ore solely there was a shrinkage of 41.32 per cent. With regard to pig iron and some other products, this is to be said—that the falling off in quantity was com- pensated for in some measure by the higher market price realized. The following remarks are made in the report concerning iron: Exports of iron ore were 868,233 tons, valued at $922,521. About 81,035 tons of iron ore from Canadian mines were charged to blast furnaces in Canada and valued at the furnace at about $247,229. In addition to the above Canadian ore, 485,911 tons of imported ore, valued at $823,147, were used in Canadian fur- naces. The total quantity of pig iron manufactured from both Canadian and imported ores was 297,885 tons, of which 19,614 tons were made with charcoal as fuel and 278,271 tons with coke. Among exports during the calendar year, 1903, were the following: $5,219,860 3,702,368 Plumbago, crude... $26,280 Copper, fine, in ore, &ec Copper,, black coarse, cement copper and copper IR. a i usw me Lead in ore, &c.... Nickel in ore, matte, &e. 1,116,099 Platinum in concentrates, &c.. Silver in ore, &c... Mica Grindstones, factured Stoves 25,226 426,466 Machinery, N.E.S... Scrap iron or steel. Hardware, N.E.S... Steel and manufac- Pe Wivcwesavc 2,078,328 Lime 131,412 Metals, N.O.P...... 554,900 Plumbago, manufac- tures of 88,285 304 1,989,474 196,020 17,412 Production at Sydney, N. 8. An interest in the affairs of the Dominion Iron & Steel Company has lately been shown by the Sydney Board of Trade. At the last meeting of that body it was unanimously decided that the time had come when some information was due from the company to the city. Business has suffered, it appears, in consequence of the state of unsettlement of the last few months. A committee was sent to see the managing directors, who informed it that the work in connection with the coal washing plant is proceeding satisfactorily and that the plant will be in operation in July. Two of the blast fur- naces are producing pig iron in satisfactory quality and quantity. It is not intended to increase their number AGE. March 17, 1904 until the washing plant is complete and coke available. Four open hearth furnaces are running, and others will be started as soon as the demand for steel increases. The finishing of the rod and billet mills has been de- layed because of the nonarrival of certain machinery, but it is expected that the rod mill will be in operation next month and the billet mill a few weeks later. The plans for the rail mill are about completed, and it is expected that the board will approve of them at the next meeting. It appears that a quantity of Sydney steel has been sent to England to test its fitness for the manufacture of rails. The experiment is to be carried out under the supervision of the Dominion Government inspector, who will see that the raiis produced from the steel are placed at different points on the Intercolonial Lines and tried by actual service. There is to be a meeting of the com- pany’s directors at Montreal in a few days. Graham Fraser, who has been examining steel plants in the United States, may have some new ideas to introduce. Trade Returns. For the eight months ending with February Canada’s exports amounted to $144,599,291 and its imports to $154,761,238, as against $152,084,622 and $135,592,489, re- spectively, in the corresponding period of the fiscal year immediately preceding. Tariff Attracts American Branches. Canada owes to its tariff some important industrial acquisitions from the United States. The Deering Har- vester Company would scarcely have established the very extensive branch works they are completing in Hamilton, Ont., if harvest machinery were on the free list. On most farm implements and machinery the duty is 20 per cent., and on a considerable number of articles of this class it is still higher. While the duty on the finished articles was left at the same rates as were in force under the Conservative Government, the duty on pig iron and steel was reduced. To these conditions are to be added the facts that the production of both pig iron and steel has increased in Canada in late years, and that Canadian buyers are usually able to get advantageous price terms on American iron and steel. Further, on all imported material sent out of the country in the form of finished product the Canadian manufacturer is entitled to a re- fund of 99 per cent. of the duty paid. The last gain which may be credited to the tariff is that of the American Locomotive Company’s enterprise. That company have purchased the plant of the Locomo- tive & Machine Works Company of Montreal, which _works are situated at Longue Pointe, near Montreal. It cannot be said that the country has acquired them from the United States, for the works were erected and the operation of them was begun by Canadians. But the transfer of them to the American Locomotive Com- pany means the substitution of Canadian for a consid- erable proportion of American production—that is, the American Locomotive Company will make at their Canadian plant much of what they would otherwise have supplied to this market from their United States shops. British locomotive builders have lately been able to give more attention to the needs of this market than they were 12 months ago, and possibly the advantage of the tariff preference in their favor, amounting to from $1000 to $2000 per locomotive, may have influenced the American Locomotive Company to make the present purchase, There should be good business for the loco- motive manufacturers for some time, as this winter has shown the inadequacy of the motor power of the Grand Trunk, as last autumn’s grain movement showed the in- sufficiency of the Canadian Pacific’s. The Canadian Northern has not yet all it needs, the Tenniskaming & Northern Ontario has yet to be equipped, and the Grand Trunk Pacific, whose construction is certain to be pushed along rapidly, will have large orders in a few years. C. A. G Je 3 o————_ Henry James, for many years connected with the Pen- coyd Iron Works, and also the American Bridge Company, is now with the Philadelphia Roll & Machine Company as their roll designer and head of the roll department. March 17, 1904 THE A New Type of Elevator [lachinery. One of the most difficult problems which confront architects, contractors or owners in the construction of a building is the proper distribution of floor space. This is especially true in a structure built for manufacturing purposes, where every inch must be considered. The model factory of to-day is equipped with such machinery that no space is wasted, and to this end the use of elec- tricity for power has contributed in no small measure. After some 30 years’ experience in the manufacture of elevator machinery, the Eaton & Prince Company of Chi- cago have perfected a new type of direct connected elec- tric elevator machine, shown in the illustration accom- panying this article, which is arranged to be suspended from t