Briar pipe

“ Wrought-iron pipes, with screw joints, are used by the Durham House Drainage Company, the joints being gas-tight. They have the advantage of being very durable and impervious to gases, but the disadvantage of being too permanent. If it is desired to change the position of a fixture, or to connect a new one, it is easy to break a hole in a cast-iron pipe, or to remove a portion of it, but where wrought-iron pipe is used this is almost impossible. ”

“ A fire pressure is much greater. Therefore, all direct-pressure pipes of lead should be extra strong. Tank-pressure pipes, those which connect with a tank in the attic or above a water-closet, may be medium strong. The terms “extra strong” and “medium strong,” as here used, are definite in their meaning, and apply to regular grades of pipe. The interior fixtures of an ordinary dwelling-house are supplied with lead pipe five-eighths of an inch in diameter, or iron pipe three-quarters of an inch in diameter. ”

“ If it be of cast-iron, a large hammer may effect the purpose: on the water-pipe being broken, the suction-pipe of the engine is placed in the opening so made. If the pipe be of lead, the opening in the street should be made of sufficient length to admit of one end of it, when cut, being turned into the engine. If the supply of water by this means be so great as to occasion waste, it may be regulated by the nearest stopcock on the water-pipe, by driving a wooden plug into the end of a cast-iron pipe, or compressing the end of a leaden one. ”

“ That form has descended to all modern piping for water, steam, and gas, because the best that a pipe can take. No other shape has, proportionately to capacity, so little surface for friction inside or rust outside. A locking-bar water pipe, devised by Mephan Ferguson, of Perth, Australia, is made of two plates of equal width, curved into semi-circles which are pressed at their ends into channel bars of [46] soft steel. As the locking-bars and joints are opposite each other, their joints can be tightly closed by a simple machine which exerts pressure in a straight line. ”

“ To avoid these conditions, the piping should be of brass or lead and the storage tank should be of copper. The installation cost of brass and copper is greater than steel, but they will not have to be replaced in two or three years, as is the case with other material. A valve should be placed on the cold-water supply to control the entire hot-water piping system. A pipe with a stop cock should be placed underneath the boiler and should extend [129] into a sink in the basement so that the boiler can be drained at any time for cleaning or repairs. ”

“ Bran or saw-dust is effective in stopping the small leaks which cannot be reached by the wedges. The good effect of the latter is likely to be destroyed by a rapid emptying of the pipe. If the water is drawn out faster than the air can enter through the air-valves, heavy vacuums are formed down long slopes, and the air forces its way in through the joints and between the staves. The result is that the pipe will frequently leak badly for some time after it is refilled, although it may have been tight previously.
A full pipe and a steady pressure are highly desirable. ”

“ Both cocks conduct to a pipe, wherein is placed a large wire, or metallic rod, which about fills the tube, and is perforated obliquely, or zig zag, to increase the length of the passage, and to mingle the tar and steam more intimately. The gases, or vapours, issue from a small orifice at the end of the pipe; and, being ignited by a little fire, into which it is directed, an intense and voluminous blaze is produced, and continues as long as the materials remain unexhausted. A hot brick, instead of the fire, answers the same purpose. ”

“ Another arrangement is to employ, instead of a cast or wrought-iron pipe, a number of round or flat-iron bars, fastened together at the top and bottom by rivetting to metal hoops in such a manner that intervals are left between each bar, through which the water can pass. Sometimes a solid pipe without the openings is used, but it is not found to be so satisfactory as the perforated pipe, because the latter allows a greater amount of water to pass through it into the soil, thereby furnishing a larger area of moist earth. ”

“ Water-pipes are made by lead being cast in moulds with a steel rod passing through their middles, according to the size required. The lead is poured into the space between the rod and the mould. After it is cool the rod is drawn out by machinery, and the mould which is made in halves is opened and the pipe taken out. The pipe is then much thicker and shorter than is required for use, but it is afterwards drawn between powerful iron rollers with grooves cut in their surfaces, an iron rod being again placed inside it. ”

“ For this reason, ventilating-pipes should never be made of thin iron (galvanized iron) , and should always be protected by a tar-coating. The crowns of lead traps (especially of water-closets) are often bitten into by rats in search of water. In all cases when the crown of a trap is perforated, there is rarely any leakage of fluid to indicate it, but offensive gases escape. All corroded traps and pipes [Pg 60] should be replaced by new ones, and not patched up. Holes in iron pipes may be closed by iron bands surrounding the pipe, and fastened with red-lead putty and screw-bolts (Fig. 32) . ”

“ There is no advantage in coating the surface of the pipe. To prevent decay, such pipe should carry water under pressure or be laid in a saturated soil, so that the wood of which it is made will always be saturated, and coating the wood may interfere with this. Under these conditions the life of such pipe is not known, but it is evidently very great. Large quantities of wood pipe have been removed from trenches in Boston, New York City. Philadelphia, Baltimore, and elsewhere, usually in perfectly sound condition. It was commonly made of logs of spruce, yellow pine, or oak, from 12 to 18 ft. ”

“ Investigation justified the assumption that wood pipe under a pressure of 130 lb. would give satisfactory service for 25 years, on which basis it would be less expensive than cast iron, and therefore it was used. Cast iron was considered preferable to steel for pressures not exceeding 310 lb. on account of its greater durability.
Wood Pipe.—Machine-made, spirally-wound, wood-stave pipe, made in sections from 8 to 12 ft. long, with the exterior surface covered with a heavy coat of asphalt, was selected in preference to unprotected, continuous, stave pipe. ”

“ The life of screw pipe is not as long as extra heavy cast-iron pipe. This is the only serious objection to screw pipe, which must be renewed after a term of years, while extra heavy cast iron lasts indefinitely. Screw pipe is never used underground. When piping is required underground, extra heavy cast-iron pipe is used. ”

“ In heating by hot-water pipes, those hermetically sealed are by far the most dangerous, as the strength of the pipes to resist the pressure is the only limit of the heat to which the water, and of course the pipes, may be raised. In some cases a plug of metal which fuses at 400° is put into the pipes, but the heat to which the plug is exposed will depend very much on where it is placed, as, however great may be the heat of the exit pipe, the return pipe is comparatively cool. ”

“ It is bad practice to support the main steam pipes over boilers by hangers from the building as the building may settle in a different degree from the boiler hence the steam pipes are not properly supported, i.e., they are either strained unnecessarily by the strain upon the hangers or they are permitted to support themselves; it is better to support them by iron props underneath, made by screwing a flange upon the end of a piece of pipe of proper length and having a wrought iron crotch with thread and nut for adjustment inserted in the upper end. ”

“ The pipe leading from the meter is fitted with a strong tap, by turning which, all the gas may be shut off from the tubes that convey it to the different burners in the house, and from this pipe the smaller pipes (made of a sort of solder or of lead) are taken to the various rooms. In order to carry the tubes through a wall, it is necessary to use the brick bit and the brick auger for boring a hole to receive it, while to support it against a wall or along the top of a [67] ceiling the Gasfitter uses wall hooks, the hammer and the tongs for holding and bending the pipe to its proper direction. ”

“ The lead is put on the thread and when the thread is made up the lead will have been forced into any imperfection that may be in the threads and the joint will then be water-tight. White lead and oil should be used on nickel-plated pipe as other pipe compounds are too conspicuous and look badly. A pipe compound should be used with discretion, for if too much is put on a burr of it will collect in the bore of the pipe and reduce it considerably. ”

“ Such pipes have usually, but not invariably, a smoother inner surface than those which are unlined, hence, when they are used, less friction is presented to the flow of water, and there is less tendency for the pipe to leak. ”

“ The hot-water flow pipe close to a water back or coil frequently becomes thickly covered with scale. If the pipe is brass, it may be disconnected and treated with acid and then washed out with hot water. If the pipe is galvanized iron and in bad condition, it will probably be more satisfactory to replace it with new pipe. ”

“ A 'circulation-pipe' might be attached to a boiler on the kitchen range for this purpose, but in the present case such a contrivance would cost more than the iron pipe carried from the bath-room to the flue that is warmed by the kitchen fire. A good way to build this ventilating flue is to inclose the smoke-pipe from the range, which may be of iron or glazed earthen pipe, in a larger brick flue or chamber (Fig. 1) , keeping it in place by bars of iron laid into the masonry. The rising current of warm air around the heated smoke-pipe will be as constant and reliable as the trade winds. ”

“ All the fittings in the pipe system of a plant should be of the best quality, and the piping for high pressures should be extra heavy to withstand the test of time and usage. Water pipes, when of commercial wrought iron, should be galvanized.
In laying out a line of piping or in replacing a portion of an existing line the measurements should be taken from center to center of the various fittings; the allowance for the threaded part of the pipe can be made after the center-to-center and over-all measurements have been made and before the pipe is cut. ”

“ This arranges a combination whereby a drip pan can be suspended for catching the drip, the construction being illustrated. It is preferable to line the pans with galvanized iron so as to preclude possibilities of leakage. The wooden construction of the ordinary class is usual.
Ratio of Piping. —Regarding the quantity of pipe required, this in a measure depends upon the insulation of the cellars and the temperature of brine circulated. With brine at a temperature of 10° F., one lineal foot of pipe will supply radiation sufficient for twenty cubic feet of cellar. ”

“ This was a mistake, for bored pipe has a rough interior and a reduced capacity. The inspection and culling are difficult and unsatisfactory, and imperfections readily apparent in a stave frequently escape detection in bored pipe.
Pipe Joints.—The chamber and tenon of this pipe is an all-wood joint, 4 in. deep. An iron sleeve makes a better and stronger joint. It compensates for any lack of initial tension in the banding over the chamber of the wood joint, and secures full advantage of the swelling of the wood. Cast iron is better than steel ”

“ It would be infinitely better to run the pipes at once through the wall to the outside. Few persons have any idea of the carelessness of plumbers’ work—of the bad junctions, and of the rapidity with which pipes get out of order and decay. When a leaden pipe carrying water is led into a water-closet discharge pipe, it is frequently simply puttied in, and very soon the dried putty breaks away, and there is a complete leakage of gas into the house. Even if well joined the lead pipe will, it is said, contract and expand, and thus openings are at last formed. ”

“ A more serious objection to galvanized pipes may be the fact that the zinc coating, unless applied with great care, soon wears off and ceases to protect the pipe against rust. Copper tubes, lined with tin, are occasionally used, but are expensive and troublesome to put up. In some of the Eastern States drawn seamless brass tubes are used for hot-water pipes. Their only advantage over lead would seem to be their neater appearance and less liability to sag, although changes of temperature affect brass pipes by expansion and contraction, causing leaky joints. ”

“ Of course one length of pipe is not sufficient to go to any great distance, and a joint has frequently to be made, the solder used for this purpose being so easily melted and so readily combining with the pipe itself, which is of almost the same material, that the flame from prepared tow blown to an intense heat by the blow pipe is sufficient for the purpose. The rasp is used for filing the surface at the ends of the pipes where they are to be joined, and the waxed rushes to try the joints in order to see that there is no escape of gas through some small hole. ”