Meerschaum 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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) . ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ If the heat becomes more intense and steam is formed, the expansion is much greater, and some means must be provided to allow for it. This expansion can be allowed to relieve itself in the water main as explained above. When a check valve is placed on the piping, this means of escape is shut off and a safety valve must be employed. Without these reliefs, the pressure would be so great that an explosion would result. When steel pipe and steel boilers are used for storage tanks and connections, the pipe and tank will shortly start to rust and parts of the piping are stopped up with rust scales. ”

“ Cement and Vitrified Pipes are used for the manufacture of street and house sewers. In some places vitrified pipe is used for house drains, but in most cities this is strongly objected to; and in New York City no earthenware pipes are permitted within the house. The objection to earthenware pipes is that they are not strong enough for the purpose, break easily, and cannot be made gas-tight.
Lead Pipe is used for all branch waste pipes and short lengths of water pipes. The advantage of lead pipes is that they can be easily bent and shaped, hence their use for traps and connections. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Cast-iron pipes rarely exceed 48 in. in diameter, and even this diameter is only practicable where the pressure of the water is low. In the Thirlmere aqueduct the greatest pressure is nearly 180 ℔ on the square inch, the pipes where this occurs being 40 in. in diameter and 13⁄4 in. thick. These large pipes, which are usually made in lengths of 12 ft., are generally cast with a socket at one end for receiving the spigot end of the next pipe, the annular space being run with lead, which is prevented from flowing into the interior of the pipe by a spring ring subsequently removed ”

“ Their overflow-pipes are coated with soap and with the exuviæ of the skin to a degree which makes them usually the seat of an offensive decomposition. Their plugs and chains are almost invariably foul, and those devices which provide for closing the outlets by valves or plugs, somewhat removed from the strainers at the bottom of the bowl, bring the water in which the face is washed into an interchanging communication with a considerable length of foul and uncleanable waste-pipe—a communication that is made active by the bubbling of the contained air as the pipe fills with water. ”

“ 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. ”

“ 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 ”

“ If the conveying plant is to be efficient and of reasonable capacity, the pipes must be relatively large, and in order that the desired partial vacuum may be maintained in them (establishing a vigorous air current) without the use of an unduly large pump, it is important that air be admitted only through those nozzles which are actually in use. Also, when more than one nozzle is in use at the same time, it is necessary to keep each nozzle covered with material to such an extent that the same amount of air passes into each pipe. ”

“ The flexible tube is supported by chains that pass over the head of a derrick, F, mounted at the stern of the dredger, and then round the barrel of a steam winch. By this means the depth of the nozzle is altered, as required to suit the depth of water.
A man stands at the winch, and lifts or lowers the pipe as is required, judging by the character of the discharge from the pump. If the liquid discharged is very dark and thick the nozzle is too deep in the sand or gravel ”

“ Sometimes a wrought-iron pipe is used in a stove in lieu of a water back. It usually answers the same purpose, though its heating surface is not so great. It is best to use a pipe back where the boiler is not connected with soft water. The incrustation from the lime is such that the back soon becomes filled, and it is much more expensive to replace than one made of pipe. When the hot water is from the city water works, the supply is usually directly therefrom rather than from a tank in the attic. ”

“ There are no leaks in drainpipes through which sewage or sewage gases can escape. There are no cross connections between piping carrying water from different sources unless there can be reasonable certainty that all sources are safe and will remain safe. There can be no back siphonage of water from plumbing fixtures or other containers into the water-supply system.
Once a pipe has become polluted, it may be difficult to free it of the pollution. For this reason, building codes do not permit the use of second-hand pipe. All initial piping and parts and subsequent replacements should be new. ”

“ It must be dense enough and hard enough to resist all the working strains and influences that are likely to act upon it. The jointing of a steam pipe must resist the temperature of the steam, the water it carries with it, the changes of temperature when the pipe cools during intervals of work, and the strains due to the weight of the pipe, and also the internal pressure of the steam. If it expands differently from the metal in the pipe, it must be sufficiently elastic to compensate for this expansion, otherwise it will leak each time the pipes cool down. ”

“ The pipe also, through which the water is drawn up, must be stiffened and distended by means of metal rings; otherwise the external air, on the first stroke of the pump, would compress the pipe, so that it could admit no water. It is here seen that pipes made of sail-cloth are not so new an invention as many have supposed. That our present apparatus for conveying water256 to the fire-engine is much more ingenious, as well as convenient, must be allowed ”

“ Drawn lead pipe is a material possessing many merits, and hence it is used extensively. It should be remembered, however, that soft water attacks lead, and a sufficient amount of [41] lead is occasionally dissolved to cause dangerous poisoning of persons drinking water from such pipes. It is a good precaution in the case of new pipes to allow the water to run for a while, especially if it has been standing in the pipes over night. Tin-lined pipes, although more expensive, are much safer for use, but great care must be taken in making joints in such pipe, lest the tin be removed at the joints. ”

“ 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. ”

“ Every care should be given to make strong and sound joints for the suction pipe and delivery pipe, as the pump cannot do its proper duty should the pipes be leaky or draw air.
To find the total weight or pressure of water to be raised from a well, reckon from [23] the water level in the well to the delivery in the house tank or elsewhere. For example, if the well is 27 ft. deep, and the house tank is 50 ft. above the pump barrel; then you have 77 ft. pressure, or about 39 lb. pressure per sq. in. That portion of the pipe which takes a horizontal position may be neglected. ”