MINE VENTILATING MACHINE.

Thames Advertiser, Volume VII, Issue 1835, 9 June 1874, Page 3

MINE VENTILATING MACHINE.

In our issue of 'the 28 th ulfc., we Bpoke of having seen an improved machine for ventilating mines* the.invention of Oaot. W. Williams, of San Francisco. .The moving-parts 1 are enclosed hi,.a' large upright box, made in different .sizes to suit the requirements of p irticular, mines. Within this box a cup-shaped dylinder, is placed, swimming in. water, and tue'motion of the piston-rod, actuated by "steampower, produces a strong current of air at both its up.vard and downward stroke, By/referring toi the cut, the operation of the machine will be easily understood. The dotted lines at the lower part of tho cut indicate the water, which is placed in the machine for the purpose of cooling the air beforo it is forced into the mine.. I'h'e cup-shaped piston, B B is moved up and down through this water by means of the piston-rod 0, and draws in and forces out the air. D, is the receiving valve, F, the discharge valve of. the upper part of the machine :,d, is,the'receiving valve, and f, the discharging valve for "the lower part. H and G- aro discharging and receiving pipes, of the upper and lower piriions respectively. Whou tho piston is drawn up, the air enters from the surface through thepipe M, and valve d, into the receiving pipe (■?, and through the passage «', into the interior of • the machine.. On; the down-strokoair is drawn through the pipe M',.valve. D, and passage S, iuto the upper part of the machine A, and onthe piston being raised to dra v the air into the lower part of the machine through tho valve d, at the same timo forces a current out of tho upper portion of the machine through the valve F, into tho mine. I<y thismsans it will be seen that the machine Is double acting, taking in and forcing out air at every stroke, whether up or down. Thismichine can bo placed at anyrequirorf depth in the mine and at the the sanio time receive i s full supply of air from tho surface through tho pipe M, ifo grease or oil is used, thus preserving the air in its pure stato. There is at'all times about six feet of water in tho under portion of the machine, and the up-stroko of the cup piston going to tho top of the maoliine, with the water running down oh the sides keeps the inner part of.tho machine deluged with wator, by which means the air is cooled before it is delivered i-ito tho. mine. Should the supply of air he taken from the surface in tho extreme boat of summer it would be cooled below a temperate heat .while passing through, Tho piston fits closely to the sides of tho box, so that when it is raised considerable water follows it, and running down the sides cools the air in the upper as well as the lower part. Oapt. Williams originally invented the single-acting machine,' and used it practically with great success in England; his late inprovem:nt has doubled.its capacity and otherwise perfected it, as tho. water, is used not only for cooling tho air but as a packing for the piston. The, 1

foot stroke, 30 strokes a minute, the size of the model we saw (three feet square, surface) would deliver 2799,360 cubic inches of air per minute, and by the inventor's improvement the samo stroke; doublo acting, would force 5,598#20 cubic iuches of cool air into tho interior of tho mine in one minute. Oapt. Williams w sure that he can deliver from 7,000 to 8,000 cubic foet of air per minute into any part of a mine with a machine.requiring two-horse power to run it. _ A great advantage in a machine of this class is that it can be constructed by auy carpenter aud put up at a niino with very'little labour or expense The'power required to turn it is very small' indeed, as compared with other machines in use for ventilating mines. It may bo attached to tho pumprod of the mine or run by any other convenient means. The power required is in faot very little as the uvchanum is quite Eimplo and there is vory little motion. A man with a windlass-crank can worbit if necessary. Different sizes of this machine are made to suit the requirements of different wines.— I model cut accompanies the description. -Scientific Press, -