is, of course,
owing to the natural sluggishness of the temperature-recording
instruments, of whatever class they belong to, in responding to changes
of condition. As a matter of fact, the possibility of obtaining
correctly the entire conditions in a system running under greatly
varying loads is very doubtful indeed, and consequently great reliance
cannot be placed upon figures obtained under such conditions.

A few simple calculations will reveal to the tester his special
requirements in the direction of measuring tanks, piping, etc., for his
steam consumption test. Thus, assuming the turbine to be tested to be of
3000 kilowatt capacity normal load, with a guaranteed steam consumption
of, say, 14.5 pounds per kilowatt-hour, he calculates the total water
rate per hour, which in this case would be 43,500 pounds, and designs
his weighing or measuring tanks to cope with that amount, allowing, of
course, a marginal tank volume for overload requirements.

VIII. TROUBLES WITH STEAM TURBINE AUXILIARIES[7]

[7] Contributed to _Power_ by Walter B. Gump.

The case about to be described concerns a steam plant in which there
were seven cross-compound condensing Corliss engines, and two Curtis
steam turbines. The latter were each of 1500-kilowatt capacity, and were
connected to surface condensers, dry-vacuum pumps, centrifugal, hot-well
and circulating pumps, respectively. In the illustration (Fig. 76), the
original lay-out of piping is shown in full lines. Being originally a
reciprocating plant it was difficult to make the allotted space for the
turbines suitable for their proper installation. The trouble which
followed was a perfectly natural result of the failure to meet the
requirements of a turbine plant, and the description herein given is but
one example of a great many where the executive head of a concern
insists upon controlling the situation without regard to engineering
advice or common sense.

[Illustration: FIG. 76. TURBINE AUXILIARIES AND PIPING]

Circulating Pump Fails to Meet Guarantee

Observing the plan view, it will be seen that the condensers for both
turbines receive their supply of cooling water from the same supply
pipe; that is, the pipes, both suction and discharge, leading to No. 1
condenser are simply branches from No. 2, which was installed first
without consideration for a second unit. When No. 1 was installed there
was a row of columns from the basement floor to the main floor extendi