n engine
without a force pump. It is one of the necessities. You say, can't you
wash out a boiler without a force pump? Oh, yes! You can do it just
like some people do business. But I started out to tell you how to keep
your boiler clean, and the way to do it is to wash it out, and the way
to wash it out is with a good force pump. There are a number of good
pumps made, especially for threshing engines. They are fitted to the
tank for lifting water for filling, and are fitted with a discharge hose
and nozzle.

You will find at the bottom of boiler one or two hand hole plates-if
your boiler has a water bottom-if not, they will be found at the bottom
of sides of firebox. Take out these hand hole plates. You will also
find another plate near the top, on firebox end of boiler; take this
out, then open up smoke box door and you will find another hand hole
plate or plug near lower row of tubes; take this out, and you are ready
for your water works, and you want to use them vigorously; don't throw
in a few buckets of water, but continue to direct the nozzle to every
part of the boiler, and don't stop as long as there is any muddy water
flowing at the bottom hand holes. This is the way to clean your boiler,
and don't think that you can be a success as an engineer without this
process, and once a week is none too often. If you want satisfactory
results from your engine, you must keep a clean boiler, and to keep it
clean requires care and labor. If you neglect it you can expect
trouble. If you blow out your boiler hot, or if the mud and slush bakes
on the tubes, there is soon a scale formed on the tubes, which decreases
the boiler's evaporating capacity. You, therefore, in order to make
sufficient amount of steam, must increase the amount of fuel, which of
itself is a source of expense, to say nothing of extra labor and the
danger of causing the tubes to leak from the increased heat you must
produce in the firebox in order to make steam sufficient to do the work.

You must not expect economy of fuel, and keep a dirty boiler, and don't
condemn a boiler because of hard firing until you know it is clean, and
don't say it is clean when it can be shown to be half full of mud.

SCALE

Advertisements say that certain compounds will prevent scale on boilers,
and I think they tell the truth, as far as they go; but they don't say
what the result may be on iron. I will not advise the use of any of
these preparations, for se