Boiler-waters, Scale, Corrosion, Foaming

PREFACE. THE relative value of one boiler to another may, in many cases, be measured by its scale-forming propensity with a given water. Purify this water and all boilers come much nearer a uniform value per unit of heating-surface. This work has for its object to furnish steam-users with in- formation regarding water, its use, and troubles arising from the use of water, and remedies that may be used or applied the gain being more efficient generation of steam. It is due to the Railway real progress has been made in the softening Master Mechanics Association that of water for loco- motives, along which line much work is being done, and the same line of work is now being taken up by trial corporations. manufacturers and indus- The author wishes to thank all who have aided him in his work credit has been given, as far as possible, to those to whom credit is due, and he sends the book forth as a pioneer on the subject in this country, and he will be glad to receive suggestions, just criticisms, and new material looking toward a more perfect and rounded-out work in the near future. PATERSON, N. J., Oct. 1st, 1906. WILLIAM WALLACE CHRISTIE. v TABLE OF CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. PAQB WATER, ITS PROPERTIES, MATERIALS FOUND IN WATER, WATER ANALYSIS 1 CHAPTER II. BOILER-SCALE TRANSMISSION OF HEAT-CONDUCTIVITY OF SOLIDS 39 CHAPTER III. CORROSION 68 CHAPTER IV. FEED-WATER PIPES BLOW-OFF PIPES TUBES 103 CHAPTER V. PRIMING AND FOAMING 117 CHAPTER VI. OIL GREASE ZINC 128 CHAPTER VII. HARDNESS OF WATER 142 CHAPTER VIII. FEED-WATER HEATERS ECONOMIZERS WATER-SOFTENING CHAPTER IX. CHAPTER X. MISCELLANEOUS TABLES 217 vii 154 177 OF THE UNIVERSITY OF BOILER-WATERS. CHAPTER I. WATER, ITS PROPERTIES, MATERIALSFOUND IN WATER, WATER ANALYSIS. STEAM-MAKING is the important thing in all steam-plants next in importance to the boilers themselves is the water to be evaporated as steam. Water is a combination of the two very abundant elements, hydrogen and oxygen, in the proportion of two parts hydrogen by volume to one part oxygen H20 it is also one part by weight of hydrogen to eight parts of oxygen. All living things, plant and animal, contain a large proportion of water. Water as used in power-plants is seldom sent to the boiler in a proper condition of purity, as is evidenced by the large number of boilers in which scale or corrosion is found. Distilled water should not be used unless a certain amount of raw water be added to it at regular intervals to prevent entirely or lessen its corrosive action. The most desirable feed-water is soft water, either that naturally soft or water that has been treated by one of themany methods of water-softening now in use, which destroy scale-forming proper- ties. Rain-water, a water we should think would come to us pure, is never entirely so, frequently containing one to three parts of inorganic impurities per 100,000 parts of water. 2 BOILER-WATERS. Snow and rain always contain gases of atmospheric origin, among which are oxygen, nitrogen, and carbonic acid. Nitrogen. . . Ammonia. . Nitric acid. Chlorine. . . Lime. .......