An Improved Steam Condenser

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The illustration represents a simple and i n expen si ve condenser designed to condense exhaust steam at a relatively high temperature, thus obviating excessive back pressure on the engine piston. The improvement has been patented by Michael and James V. Spelman and William H. Graves, of Shreveport, La. The shell of the condenser is formed of t WO parts, united by flanges and bolts, and within its lower part is an inverted cone receiving vessel having an overflow pipe delivering into the bottom of the shell. Above the receiveris an inverted cone perforated distributer, supported by the upper part of the shell immed iately below a deflecting cone wherein slides a vertical perforated tube, to more or less fully close the outlet from the condenser. The exh au st pipe d elivers into the condenser centrally at the bottom (the drain pipe leading from one side), and the entering steam is directed upward in divid ed currents until it strikes the deflecting cone at the top, when it is forced downward through the distributer, to be further divided and thrown evenly throughout the whole upper part of the shell, causing it to condense rapidly, and the water of condensation being caught by the receiver an d flowing o ut thioug h the drain pipe.

Scientific American Magazine Vol 73 Issue 23This article was published with the title “An Improved Steam Condenser” in Scientific American Magazine Vol. 73 No. 23 (), p. 357
doi:10.1038/scientificamerican12071895-357a

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