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PRACTICAL IDEAS...here's the trading post for
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Sfinff and maintenance short cuts
aSTIVB ElONKA, Aaoehf editor
Burning Coal With Sawdust Shows Big Savings
When less than three cari.oaos of coal were on hand at beginning of last major coal strike, Superioiende/H Ken neth Russell of Sauk County Hospital and Home turned to sawdust. Piles of sawdust were scattered through the vicinity. Ho not only saved on fuel, but also improved performance by burning this sawdust and coal.mixture.
He tried vorlous mixtures. Best luck came from S0% (by weight) aawdust for summer firing, and between 80 nd 40% for winter. Thai depended on load that weather conditions called for. Saw.
Buried steam //a# SEROSE
mill operators hove found their waste
product a drug on the market, also o fire
heard in (heir laeaHtf. -Sawdust, haw*
ever, is on a eome-nnd-get-it-bssis.
Figures for period before Jan. 1,1950
when aowdusi burning was begun, show
this small plant saves four carloads of
cool a year. At average cost of 8475
per carload, that'a near 12000 a year.
Cuy Wheeler, engineer, reporti less
ash, (ewer tube blowings since using
coal-sawdust mixture. There has been
a slight increase in flyash.
E C Cneconr
Reedsburg, IPiIs.
Sttem Cska/st 'Concrete trench Am*
Hoe Takes Care Of Misalignment
One or our products solved a teriu,
pump-failure problem at the THenaeS
Co. A centrifugal pump driven byjj
15-hp motor supplies 250 gpm at cool
ing water at 120 psi to conveyor-Let
vuleanizers. * Intake pipe could net
aligned too well with intake lids,
pump. So rigid metal pipe and ciRjn^
on intake side of pump broke ofteo
cause of vibration and stresses csoi
by slight pump misalignment.
We replaced metal pipe by a lenfil
of suction hose, that's built to take pt
sores involved. It's flexible enough
absorb misalignment and vibtstkm. .
Bucko Jones
Trenton, JV. /.
Finding and Correcting Bad Steam Leak
Steam for eight large lumber-processing kilns was piped through lines half buried in earth. Unei tan under ahop floor, with about 2-ft clearance between door Joists and pipeline.
W found a harrMo-helieve condi tion. Two feel of hot water (nearly boiling) ley over and around the pipe. Only way ol finding leak wos to shut down kilns and let water seep away. .*.. That took three days. We crowled through wet mud to inspect suspicious ' spots. At each spot we lore up the floor, as nearly above the spot as we could. Rut we were hampered by piles of lumher stock and machinery on floor above.
Then we iumed on ateam again and tried to locnljte leaks.
After two or three nonproductive at* tempts, leak finally showed up. An 8-in. ell had given up the unequal struggle for survival. Local mechanic had rem* edied the trouble by installing o 6-in. ell in place. He ran nipples from new ell inio 8-in. pipe both ways. Then somehow He poured lead around the two nippies, on both sides of ell, something like o belhand-spigot joint in under ground cast-iron pipe, f repaired with standard piping and built a concrete trench with wooden cover.
H B McDeftMtn Cincinnati, Ohio.
Quick Way to Take
Pipe Temperature
Even need a thermometer in a hurry < check operating conditions? Electd'-
clan's "gunk" and thermometer solve* problem, sketch.
Pad the stuff lo size and shape f*r job. Place thermometer on pipe in At tired spot, and press pad firmly hot gently around thermometer bulb sod pipe. This not only holds thermomeiw to pipe but act* #a a pretty good Insol*'. tor. Then you read temperature hi: whatever Js flowing in pipe accurately
enough for field checks. Don't use lb'*
idea on hlgh-temperaiure lines.
E R Eckert
New York. N. Y-
RIANT ORCKATtON ANO MAINTENANCE SECTION
ro**1 i
Skiinngg UI p Cable Slack
!xc,-rt*inU cable is a big help for
Acid Lance Cleans Scalded Tubes
Sable power tools like drills. But 55 long coble isn't needed, it snakes
SSaodd tke'Boor. Thai's dangerous. We uke up cable's slack with aim-
Iged, photo. Reel is made of %-ln.-
5k wood. Cable Is kept from unravel-
ftby locking its ends la grooves. Lock-
Ifdots are right angle or L-shape
Mves. When not In use, hang up.
P T Bowes
London, England
Wg built an acid lanes to remove stub born scale from water heaters, con densers, and simitar beat exchanger*. Acid is saved, surface deterioration re tarded, and tough cleaning jobs are done with a little effort. Completely plugged tubes are often .cleared.
To make lance to dean %-in. tubes for a hot-water watertube heater, use %-Jn. standard black pipe, two feet longer than tubes. With hack saw, cut teeth In one end as ohown. Thread op
posite end. Then eoseharden tire teetb. Just heat
metal red hot with acetylene torch for e distance of two Inches. Shut off the
oxygen, and use pure acetylene flame that covert the glowing metal with a heavy coatlog of carbon soot. Before pipe loses red color, quench In water.
Thread pipe Into a %-in. braes globe-
Screw a long-threaded nipple bio this bole and fasten it aecurely. To do this, slide olose-fittbg flat metal washers over each end of the nipple, and ose efeotricitn'a lock nuts to force them tightly against the side of the pail. Coot the inside of container with hot pitch or
asphalt. Be oereful not to plug pipe. Hang acid pail on hook from ceiling,
or pfaee on a wall as shown. Then fasten free end of %*in. hose to nipple.
When using lance, an inhibited hydro chloric odd fa beat for most scales. Lacking an Inhibitor in odd, one part of acid to four parts of water gives good results without herm to metaf. Use a small trickle of sold while work
ing lance lo loosen scale. A few dances of inhibitor added to
o 100-lb carboy of acid is about rightH N Jobletn fori Dodge, Iowa
jjtasei Handle U Safe
valve, having s composition rubber seat. To opposite side of valve, assemble a 6-ln, nipple end union, followed by a short nipple, reduced to fit Inside a
in. rubber hose. For acid supply, drill a hole on tide,
Eorron's Not*-.--Caution: Make ante add container is fastened to wall to (l cannot be upset on someone. Also, be sure only responsible person does thfi job or damage will be more than good
ft nave balanced draft for our boll- near bottom of a 16-quart wooden poll. gamed from denning xoith add.
Whan fireman secures a boiler be-
use of drop in load he may forget to ^pen uptake damper or "balance float"
Watch Those Light Metal Ladders
manually when he lights oft again- Reakm is that damper does not open quick taosgb when he lights ofl first burner. * A fueman burned his hand while holding the torch during o flare-back. ! offset torch handle, sketch. Torch now hangs on light-off port without fireman'* hood being homed.
L hi' Maotinit Rego Park. N.Y.
Alloys of aluminum and magnesium ere light and resist moisture. When Overloaded, unlike wooden ladder,
there's e deflection warning instead of
sudden break. But you must examine metal Udder*
for sharp edges and burrs on the side rails. AUo (or soil metal rivets that
might shear off under load. Remember, metal ladders are conductors of elec tricity. Never use around electrical equipment. Have o pointed warning attached lo all metal ladders. That's
the only way to prevent accidents. --National Safbtt Council
{Continued on page 126)
^wemsh it33
( PUNT OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE SECTION
IAS