Grates burn through carelessness. You may as well make up your mind to
this at the start. You never saw grate bars burn out with a clean ash
box. They can only be burned by allowing the ashes to accumulate under
them till they exclude the air when the bars at once become red hot.
The first thing, they do is to warp, and if the ashes are not removed at
once, the grate bar will burn off. Carelessness is neglecting something
which is a part of your business, and as part of it is to keep your ash
box clean, it certainly is carelessness if you neglect it. Your coal
may melt and run down on the bars, but if the cold air can get to the
grates, the only damage this will do is to form a clinker on the top of
grates, and shut off your draught. When you find that you have this
kind of coal you will want to look after these clinkers.
Now if you should have good success in keeping steam, keep improving on
what you know, and if you run on 1000 pounds of coal today, try and do
it with 900 tomorrow. That is the kind of stuff a good fireman is made
of.
But don't conclude that you can do the same amount of work each day in
the week on the same amount of fuel, even should it be of the same kind.
You will that with all your care and skill, your engine will differ very
materially both as to the amount of fuel and water that it will require,
though the conditions may apparently be the same.
This may be as good a time as any to say to you, remember that a blast
of cold air against the tubes is a bad thing, so be careful about your
firedoor; open it as little as, possible; when you want to throw in
fuel, don't open the door, and then go a rod away after a shovel of
coal; and I will say here that I have seen this thing done by men who
flattered themselves that they were about at the top in the matter of
running an engine. That kind of treatment will ruin the best boiler in
existence. I don't mean that once or twice will do it, but to keep it
up will do it. Get your shovel of coal and when you are ready to throw
it in, open the door quickly and close it at once. Make it one of your
habits to do this, and you will never think of doing it in any other
way. If it becomes necessary to stop your engine with a hot fire and a
high pressure of steam, don't throw your door open, but drop your damper
and open the smoke box door.
If, however, you only expect to stop a minute or two, drop your damper,
and start your injector if you have one. If you have none, get one.
An independent boiler feeder is a very nice thing, if constructed on the
proper principles. You can't have your boiler too well equipped in this
particular.