[Illustration: J. I. Case Return Flue Traction Engine.]
concerning the operation and care of steam boilers.
A. By suitable piping leading from a steam dome on top of boiler.
Q. What is a steam dome and how is it made?
A. A steam dome is cylindrical in shape, is made usually of boiler plate flanged and riveted over a hole on top of boiler.
A. Its use is to afford space for dry steam to collect.
Q. What is a mud drum, and of what use is it?
A. The mud drum is cylindrical in shape, made of boiler iron flanged and riveted over a hole on under side of boiler, in which mud and sediment may collect, and is of great value on a return flue boiler.
Q. What are boilers furnished with so that they may be easily cleaned?
A. The man-hole is a hole cut in boiler large enough to admit a man and is covered by a portable plate which can be fastened absolutely tight. Hand-holes are small holes cut in boiler in convenient places into which a hose can be placed and the boiler washed out and the mud and scale removed. Hand-holes are covered with portable plates which can be fastened absolutely tight.
Q. How can a boiler be protected from the cold?
A. By a non-conducting jacket which keeps off the cold, retains the high temperature of the boiler and prevents the radiation of heat.
Q. What materials are used for jacketing a boiler?
A. Plaster, wood, hair, rags, felt, paper and asbestos.
A. Wood is put on in long strips close together like barrel staves, fastened with hoops and usually covered with sheet iron. The other materials are put close to the boiler and held in place by sheet iron or canvas. They are sometimes put on with an intervening air space between them and the boiler.
A. It protects the material from being burned or otherwise injured by the heat.
Q. Is there no radiation through these coverings?
A. Yes, but the loss is very slight, as the temperature of covering should never rise above what just seems warm to the hand.
Q. How should you feed water to a boiler?
A. Continuously during the whole time that steam is being used.
A. Yes, by running the pump faster or slower according to the amount of water required.
A. Because it maintains the water in the boiler at a uniform level and gives the most perfect action.