Large Scale Central

Cross head mounted injector

What is the name of the type of boiler feed injector that is mounted to th cross heads?

Devon Sinsley said:

What is the name of the type of boiler feed injector that is mounted to th cross heads?

Devon,

I’m an “old” steam guy, but I have never heard of an injector actuated by the movement of an object on a crosshead. The principle of how an injector works is that a venturi action occurs across a port inside of the injector and then that causes COLD water to be forced into a pressurized boiler through a check valve. An injector does NOT depend on moving parts to work.

You MIGHT be thinking of a crosshead water pump which draws water from a water source like a tender tank and then pumps that water by the reciprocating action of the crosshead connected to a piston and piston rod. Crosshead pumps were used on early steam engines (at least railroad steam engines) on locomotives like the early Americans. They didn’t have the capacity to provide a lot of water for the larger boilers that would evolve later.

Ah, a book I have has pages available online at Google Books, pages 125 and 126 of,

A History of the American Locomotive: Its Development, 1830-1880By John H. White

https://books.google.com/books?id=1A4iiGAz628C&pg=PA125&lpg=PA125&dq=locomotive+crosshead+pump&source=bl&ots=pu5tEnx-Ux&sig=ACfU3U3_alLoL71Xe2ob4QEBFqkAkTnKYA&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjS1_PF5ozoAhUPOq0KHaTJC-wQ6AEwD3oECAkQAQ#v=onepage&q=locomotive%20crosshead%20pump&f=false

I think referring to crosshead water pump. Yes they were used on some early locomotives. See the link below. Problem was no movement, no water.

There were also a few axle driven pumps not dissimilar to our small scale axle pumps.

https://www.trainorders.com/discussion/read.php?10,3241004

Gary Armitstead said:

Devon Sinsley said:

What is the name of the type of boiler feed injector that is mounted to th cross heads?

Devon,

I’m an “old” steam guy, but I have never heard of an injector actuated by the movement of an object on a crosshead. The principle of how an injector works is that a venturi action occurs across a port inside of the injector and then that causes COLD water to be forced into a pressurized boiler through a check valve. An injector does NOT depend on moving parts to work.

You MIGHT be thinking of a crosshead water pump which draws water from a water source like a tender tank and then pumps that water by the reciprocating action of the crosshead connected to a piston and piston rod. Crosshead pumps were used on early steam engines (at least railroad steam engines) on locomotives like the early Americans. They didn’t have the capacity to provide a lot of water for the larger boilers that would evolve later.

Gary that is exactly what I was referring to and likely why I could not find it in a google search because I was calling it an injector and not a pump. But that IS what I was referring to, so thank you.