The three principal points enumerated above were subdivided as follows: I. To get the crew interested: a. Publish information. b. Entertain the crew-make the men happy. c. Rate our own men up to fill vacancies. d. Show the men the results of their work. 2. To systematize : a. Auxiliary watches. b. Steaming watches. c. Liberty and leave. d. Advancements in rating. e. Organizations: 1. Auxiliary stations. 2. Fire-rooms. 3. Engine-rooms. 4. Power and light. 5. Fresh-water tank-galleys, washrooms and laundry. 6. Turrets and torpedo-room. 3. To teach and encourage true economy: a. Calibrate all instruments. b. Record performances methodically. c. Evade nothing-analyze performances with accuracy and fairness. d. Teach methods of obtaining economy: 1. By illustrated lectures. 2. By personal supervision. 3. By enforcing every order published. e. Periodical upkeep. f. Constant study of the machinery installation for im provement. g. Constant study of the rules for the engineering competitions and explaining them to the officers and men. h. Coaling ship. An inspection of the fire-rooms under way disclosed that the men knew practically nothing about intelligent firing, and as the coal that would be used en route to Guantanamo would be an important percentage of the total used for the year, it became urgent to adopt correct methods. Accordingly, colored slides were made and illustrated lectures on firing were immediately started. The system of firing taught and developed differed materially from any system in use ashore or afloat. The boiler layout is shown in Sketch No. 1. All the boilers are fitted with superheaters excepting Nos. 5 and 6 in fire-room No. 2. There are four furnace doors to each boiler. The bunker doors are indicated by the small b's. The forced draft blowers, two for each fire-room, one port and one starboard, are directly over the fire-rooms. In order that the men would benefit from the lectures, it was necessary to be most clear and to use simple language. They were, therefore, made to realize from the start. that there were only three things for them to learn and understand: The necessity of team-work; the proper use of the tools given them; the coal and the air. THE FIRST TALK In order to understand the system of firing to be explained to you, it is necessary to know something about the things you have to use. To burn coal-that is, to have a fire-there must be air passing through the coal. There is something in the air which the fire must have in order to burn and create the heat that is to be passed on to the water in the boiler. This is oxygen, and without it the fire will not burn; if the supply is too small the fire will smoke and there is the loss due to unburned coal going out the smoke-pipe; if there is too much oxygen the combustion will have been completed too soon and only cold air will reach the important parts of the boiler. About 21 parts of the air is oxygen and if it is all used in the furnace you are tending, then you are doing the very best that is possible. In naval boilers on board ship such perfect combustion cannot be reached and from 12 to 14 per cent CO2 formation is considered very good work. The oxygen uniting with the carbon in the coal forms what is known as carbon dioxide (CO) and, as stated, if the smoke-pipe gases contain over 12 per cent the boilers you are firing are doing their duty. In the plates that I am going to show you I have used colors to designate what is meant. Yellow means that the fire is hot. When you look into the furnace and see a mass of brilliant flames-white-yellowish tongues of fire-that mass or spot needs coaling. Red means that the fire is burning well and should not be disturbed, it may be given a sprinkling of coal. The green is used to indicate green coal-coal that has not had time to burn, or coal that had no air. This part of the fire does not need coal, it may require working by the hoe from above or it may need slicing beneath it. Blue stands for coking-a very bad, wasteful practice, as the air cannot get through the fire and the coal cokes, it does not burn. This blue crust must be broken. The black is the ash or clinker that must be removed. You should now know what the colors mean when I show you the lantern slides. Before using the lantern, however, it is necessary that you understand the importance of team-work. Team-work throughout the entire department is required. This means working together. As an example: Illustration No. 1: Boilers Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4 and boilers Nos. 11, 12, 13 and 14 are steaming. Orders are given to clean fires in boilers Nos. 1, 2, 13 and 14. This should not be done until boilers Nos. 11, 12, 3 and 4 have their fires built up and are in good shape to keep the steam up. In other words, if the boilers that are to carry the greater part of the load are given a slight reserve by, say, heavier fires, the shock will be cushioned when the load is thrown on them. A football player always braces himself as the quarterback calls the signals. As the fires to be cleaned are being burned down, work the others up so that they may be well braced to take the strain when the signal comes to clean fires. Illustration No. 2: Chief water tenders must have all their fires of the same thickness so that a few (thin) fires will not be taking all the draft, this will make work at the fires equal. Illustration No. 3: Water tenders must keep their water level constant with 3 or 4 inches in the glass, it should never go up or down over an inch and the chief water tender must have the same water level in all his steaming boilers, this will help the firemen. Illustration No. 4: Firemen, third class, must keep the fire-rooms neat and swept up (a fireman on the fires should not have to do this). Firemen, third class, detailed to get out coal can greatly assist the fireman by doing the following things: Help by opening and shutting the doors; help by putting the coal handy to all fires (a fireman should not have to reach way over to the other end of the fire-room for a shovelful of coal); help by giving the fireman plenty of space to work in, do not get in his way. In addition to obtaining team-work, the following instructions for carrying fires, for regulating fires and for method of firing will be carefully observed: Any man, fireman (first class, second class, or third class), water tender, chief water tender or of other rating, who has any suggestions and who believes he can better the results obtained will tell the officer of his watch. If you do not agree that this is the practicable, economical method of firing and can suggest a better way for saving coal, it is your duty to visit the office and tell your ideas to the senior assistant. If you find it difficult at first to fire in the manner that follo you must, however, stick to it, obey your orders, and I assure y that before your third steaming watch is through you will find it easier to keep up steam and that it is also easier to clean fires. The fires will not be as dirty and the boilers will remain cleaner and tighter as, by this method, they will not have been subjected to fluctuating heats or unwarranted and harmful "pushing and forcing." 66 During inspections it has been noticed that the old method of coking" is being followed. This is a costly method and must stop from now on. Any man found "coking" will be considered as having disobeyed orders and not having the interests of his ship at heart. Bad fires are those that are: a. Not level. b. Full of holes. c. Full of hollows. d. Broken up by slice bar. e. Of different thickness throughout the furnace. f. Bad, in that half the fire is coking instead of giving off heat by burning. g. Bottom of grate dark in spots, light in other spots. The bright spots are getting all the air. h. Furnace door not shut tight. i. Furnace door kept open too long, the fire does not burn, it chills. j. Thick, dark and heavy fires. 1. Low in back, high in front. m. Unable to see back wall on account of blinding wall of white flame which will burn out before reaching the tubes. FIRING COAL IN THE FIRE BED When burning soft bituminous coal the best results are obtained if the fires are kept level and rather thin. The best thickness naturally depends upon the coal and the strength of the draft. As already explained, in the steam-boiler furnace, the hot fuel is made to burn by passing a current of air through it. This current of air supplies the necessary oxygen and carries away the gaseous products of combustion. If, now, the amount of coal in |