A New Motive Power--super-heated Steam

Within three years past a citizen of Geneva, ill., Willïam E. Danford, who possosses the inventivo rnechauical faculty in a high degree, got up eurly one irosty morning to build a íivo in his stovo, aud heat the water in the kottle. After starting the üre he placed the kcttle t'ull of cold water on the top of the tint stoíe plitte, and sat down to muse over an iniprovemont in a reaping maoliine whioh he was building. Pretty aooD he saw the kettle vibrating ou the stove platc. This motion was confínUOU8. At first ha thoughl it was oaused by the water boiling, but taking ofi the lid ho discovored that it was rjot boiling ; stil 1 the regular vibiation coutinued - growing strouger, if anything. He then removed the kettle, when he dieoovered in the bottom ti saud hole, irorn whioh triekied slowly drops of water. This water coming in coatact with the hot stove plate wae instantly convertid ioto "super-hoated slearn." ïho explosión of the drop oí water produced the shock or inovement observed in the kettle The immeuse power generated from eo small a quantity of water as a single drop, arrested the atteution of the iuvoutor, and the questiou at once occurred to him, why canuol this power so vastly jreater than ordinary isteam be utilizad ? He looked over what authurilies he oould fir.d on the subject of steam in its various couditions - particularly in regard to super-hoated steam. He fouud that while its power was recognized aud defined, yet its etnptoyment was not coüsidered eilher safe or economie-al ; and, indeed, that little headway had ever been made tovvaids ils iutroduo tiou as a motor. After a few months searoh and reflec tion, he built au experimental model, to test an idea that had struck bina, and to his great satisfaction he found its performauoe equal to all he had hoped tor, aud its safety perfoctly demonstrable After making a series of experimeuts on his little machine, continuallv applying improvements that suggested themselves, he at leugth resolved to try the now invention on a largor scale, aud the result is vvituesaad in the eugine now in operation at No. 90 West Luke Street, üuut lor uim oy me v uiean Works of this city last spring. Tbere may be seen a five liarse power engiue of five inch cylinder aod eigbt inch tioke, doiug 12 to 15 borso power worlc, ia griudiug eorn, wiib tho cou sumption of one half the fuel of au ordinury engirió doing the suujü work. ïhe eugine is drivcn by stoam, super-heuted from 500 to 600 degrees Ftuvnheit, tbough it may be worked to advuntage ut 350 dugret'B. Mr. Daufocc'i'ó boiler differs from the ordinuiy boiler in having no water iu il - nptbing but bigbly rariiied stoam, telifch is geuerated us fust as conaumed by the eugiue. Iustead of a boiler he eallti it a '' generator." IÍÍ8 gendrator consista of a hollow cast iron g'obo, or large pot, 2è inehes thiek, suspended io ao oi'diuury furuace as a pot or keitlu may be suspended over the lire. Tbere is a caing to endose the fire aDd con duet it around the generator aud up th chimney, wherc, by the vay, much ca lorie it3 uselessly wasted. Au iron tube mada of f iocb gas pipe, eutera th globe or gütierator at the top, and i conduoted down to its center, where it teriuinates in a rose sprinkler, perforatod with forty or üfty fiae holes. By means oi an injoction pump, about a tablespoonful of water is toroed into the generator at eaoh stroke oí the pump, iú form of spray. Th is spray does rol come in coutact wnh the sidea ot tfre ïeuerator, lor before it can roaoh that Far it Las oxpanded into hot steam. No explosión caü take place beoauae thers is no water in the generator to explode The water froai the tube is alruady exploded on eutering the generator; that is, it pastee instautaneoualy i rom the Htato of spray iuto that of tuper-heated steam. No farther expausicn is possible If tbe super heated steaa sbould tseparute into its coniititueot gasus - oxygen aud bydrogoo - they wiuld produce uo greater pressure or expansión. The generator whiuh Mr. Danford is usiog ia capable of suutaining a prensure of 5,000 puuuds to tho square inch, bul tbe steam gunge shows that with 60( degress of heat tbere ia only 150 pounds of pressure. It is tbe opinión of Hora tia Allen, of the Novelty Works, New York, that the generator is unuecessarily tbick, Btroug und heavy, though it weighs leís iban half as Qjuoh as a six liorse powor boiler with water. Kr. Alleu ihiuks that a generator one iuoh thick of cast iron, is atn[ily strong. Röoently Dautüru's maoinue was testad aainst u tiitedu horsa power eugioe with locouiotive fluo boiler, eightiucii eyliodar aud fifteeu inch stroke. The name engineer alteuded to each, aud weigbed the eoal aud moasured the water. Tlie trial lasted throe days. The work dono was griudiog ooru, aud thé following wus the result : yifteen horno Panford's Gonlingint' aiiJ eritor live boiler. liorse engiub. 1 ire surface. 310 fuut. 23 X ftet. Pressur.' per inch 40 Iba. 110 lijs. i'oul consumej perhour.. 101 :z 10a. 5.% Iba Water evaporated per lioúr 80 gals. 'j gaLs. OoiD grouud pr hox 13 bush, 27 busb These figures teil their own story. With onu-lourteunth part oí tho tiro surface, tliirty three per cent, inoro labor was done by Danfurd's littlé generator tban was aocoujpliihed by a fifleen-horse locomoiive boiler, and tLat too witli oue-half the consumption oí fuel. Dsnford's generator actually gofc tweutyhorse power work out of an eugiue built i for a tive or six Iiorse boiler. Tentytive gallons of water in the form of auper-hoatod sttiam pro ved 'to be thirtyty three per centmore povverful than ei"hty gallons of watjr iu the shapo of ' suturated bteam, Iu other words, ono gallon of wator in tb e oonditioo ut' " dry steain," is cquul tQ elh'uieut power to nearly live gallons in the condition ol " wot steuni." Consider tho treinendous power super-hcated stoam would givc tu a river or ocoun steamer. A ñve hunüred hoi'.so powur entine na now rated would be mado to exort two thousand horso power of forcé ngainst tho wavcs, winds or currents. Muy not the Atlantic yet be crossed from Now York lo Liverpool wilhio a week by vtssols propelled by super-heatod stourn. The tirst question tbe visitor asks of tho inveulor or Lis agont is, " will tho generator explode f" Mr. Dauford defios auy cügiueer to blow il up. The positive limit to tho oxpan.-ive power of ateaiii ho claims to have ascertainod. His generator holds about as mueh as a arrel, eay 3J cubic feet, To fill this with steam roquires abom 4 eubio inchos f water at 212, and when the heat is p to 612, or tha.melting pointof lead, bere is still iess thau a guüou of water aporized within tho generator, and vheu tho pressure exooeds eertain limita, iie steam blows olï at tho safety valve. 'he cominoa boilor cf sis borso power ontains somothing liko CO cubic feet of vator, vvhicb, ií suddonly converted into team, would fill 1,700 times tg own )ulk. Henee, uo boiler oould contuin :. It would tear through a oíuiqou's hiekueas, The causa of boiler exploioD8 raay be tracod to tho suddou conersion of too much water into steam. It does seein as if Mr. Dauford had olved the problem of perfect safety by imply keopitjg his stook of water outide of the boiler iustead of inside of it, as is the preiient oustüin, and using it as he needs it ïho watr m the tank is safe and harmless; but confinad in a boiler over u ijeroo hoat it bccouies an gry and terrible in ts wrath. As the term " Buper-healed stearn" ís destined heroaftor to becomu a, familiar word, it is proper toexplain iu ineaning. Mauy pei'sons buppoe it means water heated uni.il it is resolved back into its original elemonts of oxygen and hydrogen giisea. But this is an error. Webster defiues it thus ; super-hoaj.ed steam - steain reiuovüd from contact with wá ter, and heated untii it reKemble.s a pariect gas; eullod also sur-uharged Bteam, uud hydraus stoam, and drv steam. Steain heated ouly uulil the water t Qolds a usponsiou is vaporized, is erronoously called " super heuted staarn," Saturated tteam is stearn as delivered froiu a tuass of water uud holdiug water a suspension ; mechanically oailed, also, wet eteam. Froin tbcse dofiuitions it will be seeu that tliü steam ia tbe common boiler ia saturatcd steara, wbilo that produoed by Danford's generator is supar-hcated or dry steam - tbat is ií. huida uo water in suspeLBiou. The luttor is much more powerful f'or ineclianiüül par poses than the formor, A ooiiipuny has beeu organizad for the introductioo of this inventiün into geQrul uae, with Horutio Allen, ot' the NovaUy Works, New York, as Presi dent. lis eapitul is $2,200,000, aud it proposes to gruut the right of usitig the iiivontion to mauuiucturors throughuut the vvoiid, for a reasonáblu royalty udud each horse