Specification of Joseph Bramah : steam engines and boilers.
- Bramah, Joseph.
- Date:
- 1854
Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Specification of Joseph Bramah : steam engines and boilers. Source: Wellcome Collection.
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Licence: Public Domain Mark
Credit: Specification of Joseph Bramah : steam engines and boilers. Source: Wellcome Collection.
![Bramah's Improvements in the Construction of Steam Engines and Boilers. I do not mean to rest the merits of these said improvements on any new principle or effect producible by the operation of steam on this extraordinary machine, which has already reached its present perfection by abler hands ; but, as every improvement which has yet appeared in public use, falls vastly short of that simplicity which a more studious organization will afford, I here declare 5 that this object of simplification has been my chief inducement on this occasion. It is well known by all acquainted with this useful piece of mechanism that all engines heretofore constructed consist of a great complexity of parts, by which they are rendered difficult to understand, tedious to manage, and very trouble¬ some and expensive to keep in perfect working order, especially when in the 10 hands of those of but ordinary skill, and on these accounts are rendered less generally applicable, and productive of public benefit to a less extent than they otherwise would be, provided these objections were judiciously removed. This object, connected with a wish to render the whole expence of this highly valuable machine less formidable, and to enable them with effect to be fabri- ] 5 cated on much smaller scales than has usually been done, I here declare have been the points I had in view at the commencement of these efforts to promote the public interest, and which points or particulars are principally effected in the following manner, viz1^:— First, I propose by one simple handle or lever, only acted upon by two 20 drivers or stops fastened to the plug tree in the usual way, or to any other moving part of the machine, to perform all the offices of the working geer as well in a double as single acting engine. By this improvement the necessity of introducing the usual plurality of handles, levers, rods, axis, and helpers, which render engines so complicated as above stated, will be avoided, and 25 consequently they will not be liable to the objections above alluded to. Secondly, I use instead of valves, for the purpose of opening and shutting the communication between the boiler and the steam cylinder, and also between the latter and the condensor, hollow cones, made of very hard brass or other proper materials, so contrived and stationed as to be wholly secluded from the 30 action of the outer air in every part, and capable of being turned in any direction from without by means of a spindle or axis passing through an air¬ tight stuffing box or otherwise; these cones are ground and fitted into an outer hollow case of iron or other metal, on the principle of a cock, so as to be perfectly air and steam tight when in use. In this outer case is provided a 35 reservoir for the reception of oil or grease, which constantly lubricates the exterior surface of the cone on the inside of said case, and causes it to move freely, and likewise prevents the loss of perfection by its friction with the sides of the oufjer case, where it moves steam and air tight as aforesaid. These](https://iiif.wellcomecollection.org/image/b30742511_0004.jp2/full/800%2C/0/default.jpg)
