Source
Joseph Evans & Sons, Pump Makers, Wolverhampton, England.
Catalogue"A" Steam & Air-Operated Pumps, July 1947 Edition issued to and obtained from the now closed Beckton Gas Works, North Thames Gas Board.
Description
Floor standing vertical single-acting ram pump.
Construction
The cast iron barrel and valve boxes are cast integral with the vertical column and back standard which carries the crankshaft bearing supporting the flywheel. The vertical column forms an air vessel and back standard a vacuum chamber. The ram is cast iron and works in a deep gunmetal-bushed stuffing box. Suction and delivery valves are gunmetal spring-loaded wing type, working in gunmetal seats and are accessible through doorways in the column. The crankshaft is made of steel, revolving in adjustable gunmetal bearings. The piston is made of steel, the crank pin brasses and kite pin brasses are adjustable by a single cotter. The cast iron steam pistons are fitted with cast iron rings. In applications where the pumped material is corrosive or pumping is intermittent, then gunmetal rams, stuffing box bushes and gunmetal-bushed glands are fitted.
Range
There are three variants the 705, 712 and 714 range. All are outside packaged with the 705 being a floor standing vertical single acting ram pump, the 712 a double version of the 705 and the 714 a compound version of the 712.
The specification of the 705 version is shown below.
| 705 Single-Acting | |||||
|
Size SteamxPumpxStroke |
Gallons / hour (water) |
Max Flywheel Speed (R.P.M.) |
Size SteamxPumpxStroke |
Gallons / hour (water) |
Max Flywheel Speed (R.P.M.) |
| 4"x2"x4" | 280 | 105 | 10"x6"x8" | 3670 | 75 |
| 4"x2½"x4" | 440 | 105 | 10"x7"x8" | 4990 | 75 |
| 5"x3"x5" | 730 | 96 | 10"x8"x8" | 6520 | 75 |
| 5"x3½"x5" | 990 | 96 | 10"x9"x8" | 8260 | 75 |
| 5"x4"x5" | 1300 | 96 | 12"x7"x8" | 4990 | 75 |
| 6"x3½"x5" | 990 | 96 | 12"x8"x8" | 6520 | 75 |
| 6"x4"x5" | 1300 | 96 | 12"x9"x8" | 8260 | 75 |
| 6"x4½"x5" | 1650 | 96 | 14"x8"x10" | 6520 | 60 |
| 7"x4½"x6" | 1850 | 90 | 14"x9"x10" | 8260 | 60 |
| 7"x5"x6" | 2290 | 90 | 14"x10"x10" | 10200 | 60 |
| 7"x6"x6" | 3300 | 90 | 14"x12"x10" | 14680 | 60 |
| 8½"x5"x6" | 2290 | 90 | 16"x10"x10" | 10200 | 60 |
| 8½"x6"x6" | 3300 | 90 | 16"x12"x10" | 14680 | 60 |
| 8½"x6"x8" | 3670 | 90 | 16"x14"x10" | 19990 | 60 |
Collection
There is now only one Joseph Evans Ram steam pump in the collection.
- Ram vertical 4x2x4, No.29297, 1934, Huddersfield Chemical Works
- #Ram vertical 5x4x5, No.37935, 1950, Nantgarw Coke Works
- #Ram vertical 5x4x5, No.43141, 1955, Phurnacite Fuel Works
- # These two ram pumps have been transferred to the Museum of Power, Internal Fire located in West Wales near Aberporth, Ceredigion.
Ram vertical 4x2x4, No.29297, 1934, Huddersfield Chemical Works
Size: 4" steam cylinder, 2" pumping cylinder with 4" stroke and 24" diameter flywheel.
Series: 705 outside packaged single acting ram.
This pump was acquired from Sam Weaver Restorations of Llangurig, Powys, Mid-Wales in November 2013 and is understood that it originated from a chemical works in the Huddersfield area. It is the smallest version made in the Evans range of vertical floor mounted ram pumps.
The pump is complete and original with the registration No.29297 clearly stamped on the cylinder, body flanges and the end of the crankshaft. The ram is bronze along with the wearing surfaces of the pump gland, similarly the valves and seats are also bronze.
In July 2014 restoration commenced and the pump was stripped back to its individual components. Several problems were soon discovered; the top half of the big end bearing was found to be completely wrecked, with the shell in pieces, wafer thin and worn away allowing the crankshaft crank journal to rub on the underside of the steel con-rod strap. Each c/s bearing had been raised at some time previously by 1/16 inch using strips of copper sheet placed under each bottom bearing half and furthermore the inside c/s bearing had been reversed possibly to counter-act the wear with the result that lubricating oil rapidly drained out through the original oil inlet, now at the bottom of the bearing!
Four new bearings; big end, small end and two crankshaft each using hollow cast phosphor bronze tube grade SAE 660 have been made. (Grateful acknowledgement to Tony Harcombe of Westcott, Dorking for kindly slitting the blanks). During August 2015 the pump was re-assembled and on 3rd September 2015 successfully tested on air, following a few minor tweaks, the pump now runs smoothly. On Sunday 4th October 2015 the pump was sucessfully run for several hours at the Twyford Waterworks Autumn Rally.
#Ram vertical 5x4x5, No.37935, 1950, Nantgarw Coke Works
Size: 5" steam cylinder, 4" pumping cylinder with 5" stroke and 30" diameter flywheel.
Series: 705 outside packaged single acting ram.
This pump was one of a pair purchased by Simon Carves Ltd in 1951 for the new Nantgarw coke works, Treforrest, South Wales and used for transferring milk of lime solution to the concentrated ammonia plant, where ammonia was removed from the gas stream. Sometime in the 1970s the ammonia plant was shut down at Nantgarw and the ammonia liquor taken in bulk to the Phurnacite Plant at Mountain Ash for further treatment in their ammonia plant.
The lime plant at Nantgarw fell into disuse and remained derelict until the coke works closed in 1987. During those intervening years the brass bearings and other non ferrous fittings were 'removed', leaving both pumps incomplete.
The two pumps were purchased as scrap, dismantled and removed from site in 1988, No. 37978 by the Westonzoyland Trust to Somerset and 37935 by myself. A few spares were also obtained from the stores but no bearings. The base plates were also saved.
Upon further stripping the steam cylinder valve chest flange was found to be badly cracked and in two pieces due to frost damage. This has been professionally repaired by the Caerphilly Tar Plant coded welder, Gerald Palmer, just prior to the site closing.
The pump has now been fully restored. New bearings have been acquired along with piston and valve rods, slide valve and ram block. It runs well on compressed air. This pump has now been transferred to the Internal Fire Museum in West Wales.
Video (6.4MB 10s) :Running on Compressed
Air - Front View Running Slowly
Video (6.4MB 10s) :Running on Compressed
Air - Front View Running at Speed
Video (6.7MB 10s) :Running on Compressed
Air - Left View Running Slowly
#Ram vertical 5x4x5, No.43141, 1955, Phurnacite Fuel Works
Size: 5" steam cylinder, 4" pumping cylinder with 5" stroke and 30" diameter flywheel.
Series: 705 outside packaged single acting ram.
This pump was one of a pair purchased by Coal Products Ltd in 1961 for the new No 2 by product plant at the Phurnacite smokeless fuel plant, Mountain Ash, South Wales. They were used for transferring the milk of lime solution to the concentrated ammonia plant where ammonia was removed from the gas stream. The weak ammonia solution was then converted to concentrated ammonia liquor and sold to fertilizer manufacturers.
Following the construction of a new effluent treatment plant, rationalisation occurred resulting in the closure of the concentrated ammonia plant at Nantgarw and the transfer of their weak ammonia solution to the Phurnacite plant for onward processing. This arrangement continued until the closure of the Nantgarw works and reductions in capacity at the Phurnacite plant made the manufacture of concentrated ammonia liquor uneconomic.
Although the two ram pumps are the same size, the Nantgarw pump (37935) is fitted with 6 bolt steam cylinder and valve chest covers, compared to the Phurnacite pump (43141), which has 4 bolt covers. The latter pump is also fitted with a stellite-faced ram and the eccentric and valve rods are bronzed bushed, which reflects the high standard of plant maintenance at the former Phurnacite Plant. There are also other minor differences between the main body castings.
The two pumps were purchased in 1988 from the scrap compound, along with a few spares.
No 43141B is now at the Westonzoyland site in Somerset, No 43141A has been fully restored and runs well on air; it has since been relocated to Internal Fire Museum, West Wales where it is run on steam during steaming days.
Video (6.6MB 10s) :Running on Compressed
Air - Left View
Video (6.2MB 10s) :Running on Compressed
Air - Right View
