The Mechanical Handling and Storing of Material

THE MECHANICAL DISPOSAL OF ASHES FROM STEAMERS 237 All the later vessels of the British Navy are now fitted with these ash expellers, as well as the most important of the liners, including those of the Cunard, White Star, P. & O., etc. The system introduced by Horace See, though exceedingly simple, requires very careful attention to all its details, and although an ejector of imperfect design may handle the ashes very well, the cost of renewals and repairs, and, shall we say, the life of the machine, depend upon the excellence of construction of the vital parts. Figs. 328 to 332 show one of the ejectors as now made by Trewent & Proctor, Ltd., and installed in steamers, with the details to a larger scale. The system has already been described in its general outline, and is so simple that it requires very little comment, w is the receiving hopper for the ashes : it is fitted with a grating to prevent very large objects from falling in ; this hopper is also fitted with a water-tight lid. T is the knee piece which supports the lower terminal of the apparatus : it also bears the nozzle for the jet, an inspection hole s, and an air inlet, p is the control cock for the ejector jet from the hydraulic main, m is a pressure gauge, d the hydraulic main, v the discharge pipe, y the bent portion of the delivery pipe, x removable segments of the same pipe, and z the ship’s side valve. The operation is as follows : As soon as the pressure in the main from the pump has reached 190 to 200 lb. per square inch by the gauge m, the control cock p is opened quickly, when the pressure will fall to 150 lb., and must be maintained at that. The jet so admitted into the discharge pipe will eject any ashes or clinkers filled into the hopper w at great speed through the ship’s side valve z, which, of course, has been opened previously. The control cock p is a very important part of the system, and we, therefore, give a separate illustration of it in Fig. 333 ; the bore of the cock is gently tapered from the supply pipe to the nozzle, and the interior of the movable part of the cock is fitted with an escape valve which opens at a pressure of 200 lb., and has an outlet to the bilges. The nozzle is loose so that different sizes can be fitted to suit different heights of lifts for the ashes; the cock is also sometimes fitted with a by-pass branch for use when the ejector is shut off. A modified form of the control cock is shown in Fig. 334; this type is fitted on bulkhead and connected by a separate pipe to the ejector piece t ; the nozzle in this case is fitted to this latter part ; as the illustration