CHAPTER XV.

PORTABLE VACUUM CLEANERS.

Power Required 228 Weight of Efficient Portable Cleaners 228 Limit of Power Consumption When Attached to Lighting System 229 Disadvantage of Having Dust Bag at Outlet of Fan 230 Portables Equipped with Mechanically-Operated Brushes 231 Portables Exhausting Air Inside of Building 231

TABLES.

PAGE

1. Cleaning Tests of Dirty Carpets 34 2. Cleaning Tests of Carpets Filled with Quicksand 38 3. Cleaning Tests Using 1 oz. of Sand per Square Yard of Carpet 40 4. Comparison of Tests Made by Mr. Reeve and by the Author 48 5. Effort Necessary to Operate Cleaning Tools 51 6. Vacuum Required at Hose Cock to Operate Type A Renovators Attached to Varying Lengths of Different-Sized Hose 89 7. Air Quantities and Vacuum at Renovator with 1-in. Hose and 10 in. Vacuum at Hose Cock 90 8. Air Quantities and Vacuum at Renovator with 1¹⁄₄-in. Hose and 6 in. Vacuum at Hose Cock 90 9. Vacuum Required at Hose Cock to Operate Type C Renovators with Various Lengths of Three Sizes of Hose 91 10. Air Quantities Through Floor Brush with Various Sizes and Lengths of Hose, Operated on Same System with Type A Renovators 92 11. Horse Power Required at Hose Cock to Operate Bare Floor Brushes on Same System with Type A Renovators 93 12. Free Air Passing Brush Type of Bare Floor Renovator Operated on Same System with Type C Carpet Renovators 94 13. Horse Power at Hose Cock with Brush Type of Bare Floor Renovator Operated on Same System with Type C Carpet Renovators 94 14. Cubic Feet of Free Air Passing the Felt-Covered Floor Renovator Operated on Same System with Type A Renovators 96 15. Horse Power Required at Hose Cock to Operate Felt-Covered Floor Renovators Operated on Same System with Type A Renovators 96 16. Vacuum at Hose Cock with 2 in. Vacuum at Type A Renovator 97 17. Air Quantities when Bristle Bare Floor Renovators are Used in Conjunction with Type A Carpet Renovators at 2 in. Mercury 98 18. Pipe Sizes Required, as Determined by Air Passing Renovators 109 19. Friction Loss in Pipe Lines, with Carpet Renovators in Use Exclusively 109 20. Pressure Losses from Inlet to Separator in System for Cleaning Railroad Cars 121

ILLUSTRATIONS.

FIG. PAGE.

1. Early Type of Mechanical Cleaning Nozzle Using Compressed Air 6 2. Another Type of Compressed Air Cleaning Nozzle, Supplemented with Vacuum Pipe 8 3. Separators Used With Combined Compressed Air and Vacuum Machines 9 4. Piston Type of Vacuum Pump, Mounted Tandem With Air Compressor 9 5. Mr. Kenney’s First Renovators Vacuum Alone Being Used as Cleaning Agent 10 6. Air Compressors Arranged for Operation as Vacuum Pumps 11 7. Separators Installed by Mr. Kenney in Frick Building 12 8. Vacuum Renovator With Inrush Slot, Introduced by the Sanitary Devices Manufacturing Company 13 9. First Portable Vacuum Cleaner, Constructed by Dr. William Noe, of San Francisco, in 1905 16 10. Late Type of Spencer Vacuum Cleaning Machine, Operated by Multi-Stage Turbine Blowers 17 11. Type A, the Straight Vacuum Tool 26 12. Type B, with Wide Slot and Wide Bearing Surface 26 13. Type C, with Auxiliary Slot, Open to Atmosphere 28 14. Type D, with Two Cleaning Slots 28 15. Type E, with Inrush Slot on Each Side of Vacuum Slot 31 16. Type F, an Exaggerated Form of Type B 31 17. Tests of Three Renovators on Dirty Carpets 35 18. Cleaning Tests of Carpets Filled with Quicksand 39 19. Cleaning Tests Using 1 oz. of Sand Per Square Yard of Carpet 41 20. Three Series of Tests with Kenney Type A Renovators 45 21. Tests by Mr. Reeve, Using Type C Renovator 46 22. Tests by Mr. Reeve, Using Type D Renovator 47 23. Tests Showing Efficiency of Different Types of Renovators at Different Degrees of Vacuum 50 24. Early Type of Bare Floor Renovator 55 25. Later Type of Bare Floor Renovator 55 26. Another Type of Bare Floor Renovator 56 27. Bare Floor Renovator with Felt Cleaning Surface 57 28. Bare Floor Renovator with Unusual Form of Slot 58 29. Bare Floor Renovator with Hard Felt or Composition Rubber Strips 58 30. Bare Floor Renovator with Rounded Wearing Surface 59 30a. The Tuec School Tool 62 31. Round Bristle Brush for Carved or Other Relief Work 62 32. Rubber-Tipped Corner Cleaner for Use on Carved or Other Relief Work 62 33. Early Type of Upholstery Renovator 63 34. Upholstery Renovator with Narrow Slots to Prevent Damage to Furniture 64 35. Another Type of Upholstery Renovator with Short Slots 65 36. Hand Brush Type of Renovator 65 37. Form of Swivel Joint Connecting Stem to Renovator 72 38. Swivel Joint Arranged to Prevent Dust Lodging Between the Wearing Surfaces 73 39. Swivel Joint in Use 74 40. Another Use of Swivel Joint, Showing Possibilities of this Form 75 41. Operator Cleaning Trim of Door with Swivel Joint 76 42. Swivel Joint, with Screwed Union 76 43. Swivel Joint Having Ball Bearings 76 44. Action of Ball-Bearing Swivel Joint 77 45. Illustration of Defects of Plug Cocks 78 46. Bayonet Type of Hose Coupling, Introduced by the American Air Cleaning Company 82 47. All Rubber Hose Coupling Used by the Spencer Turbine Cleaner Company 83 48. Chart for Determining Hose Friction 86 49. Effect of Increase of Velocity on the Friction Loss 88 50. Another Test Showing Friction Loss Due to Velocity 89 51. Inlet Cock to Prevent Air Leakage when Not in Use 101 52. Type of Automatic Self-Closing Inlet Cock 102 53. “Smooth Bore” Pipe Coupling 103 54. Joint Made of Standard Pipe Flanges 104 55. Standard Durham Recessed Drainage Fittings Generally Used in Vacuum Cleaning Installations 105 56. Friction Loss in Pipe Lines 106 57-60. Diagrams Showing Operation of Brush and Carpet Renovators Under Different Conditions 110 61. Typical Floor Plan of Office Building Illustrating Number of Sweepers Required 114 62. Plan of Layout for Office Building Showing Best Location (at d) for Vacuum Producer 118 63. Vacuum Cleaning Layout for a Passenger Car Storage Yard 122 64. Arrangement of Piping Recommended as Best for Passenger Car Storage Yard 123 65. Good Location for Dust Separator Where Large Areas Are Served by One Cleaning System 125 66. Location of Separators at Centers of Groups of Risers for Large Systems 126 67. Early Type of Primary Separator, Used by Vacuum Cleaner Company 128 68. Primary Separator Used by the Sanitary Devices Manufacturing Company 128 69. Primary Separator Used by the General Compressed Air and Vacuum Cleaning Company 129 70. Primary Separator Made by the Blaisdell Engineering Co. 129 71. Secondary Separator Used by the Vacuum Cleaner Company 131 72. Secondary Separator Used by the General Compressed Air and Vacuum Cleaning Company 131 73. Secondary Separator Used by the Sanitary Devices Manufacturing Company 132 74. Type of Dry Separator Used as Secondary Separator 134 75. Form of Complete Separator Used by the Vacuum Cleaner Company 135 76. Complete Separator Brought Out by the Electric Renovator Manufacturing Company 136 77. Complete Separator Made by the American Radiator Company 137 77a. Interior Construction of Dunn Vacuum Cleaning Machine 140 78. Power Consumption and Efficiency of Air Compressor Used as a Vacuum Pump 143 79. Modification of Reciprocating Pump Made by the Sanitary Devices Manufacturing Company 144 80. Power Consumption and Efficiency of Modified Reciprocating Pump 145 81 and 82. Indicator Cards for Clayton and Modified Pumps 146 83. One of the Pumps Installed in Connection with the Vacuum Cleaning System in the New York Post Office, the Largest Reciprocating Pump Used for this Purpose up to the Present 148 84. Interior Arrangement of the Garden City Rotary Pump 149 85. Power Required to Operate Garden City Type of Rotary Pump 150 86. Arrangement of Double-Impeller Root Type Rotary Pump for Vacuum Cleaning Work 151 87. Rotary Pump Arranged with Double-Throw Switch for Reversing Pump 152 88. Power Consumption and Efficiency of Root Type of Pump 153 89. The Rotrex Vacuum Pump, Used by the Vacuum Engineering Company 153 90. Late Type of Centrifugal Exhauster Made by the Spencer Turbine Cleaner Company 154 91. Power and Efficiency Curves for the Spencer Machine 155 92. Interior Arrangement of Invincible Machine, Manufactured by the Electric Renovator Manufacturing Company 156 93. Power Consumption, Vacuum and Efficiency of First Types of Invincible Machine 157 94. Power Consumption, Vacuum and Efficiency of Invincible Machine After Valve Was Fitted to Discharge 158 95. Four-Sweeper Invincible Plant Installed in the United States Post Office at Los Angeles, Cal. 159 96. Centrifugal Pump with Single Impeller, Manufactured by The United Electric Company 161 96a. Test of Centrifugal Pump with Single Impeller 162 97. Steam Aspirator Used by the American Air Cleaning Company 163 98. Steam Consumption of Steam Aspirator 164 99. First Type of Controller Introduced by the Sanitary Devices Manufacturing Company, known as the “Unloading Valve” 167 100. Test of Controller Connected to Suction of 8-Sweeper Piston Pump 168 101. Type of Controller for Use on Pumps Without Valves 169 102. Regulator for Motor-Driven Vacuum Pump, Manufactured by the Cutler-Hammer Manufacturing Company 170 103. Inspirator Type Vacuum Contactor, Used to Control Pilot Motor of Cutler-Hammer Controller 171 104. Vacometer for Use in Testing Vacuum Cleaning Systems 190

PREFACE.

The contents of this work are compiled from the observations of the author through the seven years during which he has been engaged in the preparation of specifications for, and the testing of, complete plants installed in the buildings under the control of the Treasury Department.

During this time it has become necessary to alter no less than five times the stock form of specifications for stationary vacuum cleaning plants which were adopted by the Government, with the intent of obtaining the widest competition possible with efficient and economical operation, in order to keep pace with the variation and improvement in the apparatus manufactured. As each new type of system has come on the market a personal investigation at the factory, together with tests, has been made. An exhaustive test of carpet renovators was also conducted, using one of the Government plants. In addition the vacometers recommended for use in capacity tests were carefully calibrated, using the machine at the Department of Agriculture.

The writer wishes to acknowledge the aid received from the various manufacturers in furnishing illustrations and data on their machines, to Messrs. Ewing & Ewing and Prof. Sidney A. Reeve for data on tests made by Prof. Reeve and used in defending the Kenney basic patent.

In analyzing the results of his tests and observations, the writer has endeavored to put his own conclusions into concrete form for the use of the consulting engineer and has not entered into the problems to be encountered in the design and manufacture of the various forms of apparatus.