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 collar. 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. The 705 is a floor standing vertical single acting ram pump, the 712 is a double version of the 705 and the 714 is compound version of the 712.

The specification of the 705 version is shown below.

Collection

There are 2 Joseph Evans Ram pumps:

1. Ram vertical 5x4x5, No.37935, 1950, Nantgarw Coke Works
2. 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 Simon Carves Ltd in 1951 for the new Nantgarw coke works, Treforrest, South Wales and used for transferring milk of lime slurry 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 liqueur 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 to Essex. 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 since been repaired by welding, but has limited any future running to compressed air operation only.

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 is currently on display at the Museum of Power, Langford, Maldon in Essex.

Watch video (6.4MB 10s) :Running on Compressed Air - Front View Running Slowly

Watch video (6.4MB 10s) :Running on Compressed Air - Front View Running at Speed

Watch video (6.7MB 10s) :Running on Compressed Air - Left View Running Slowly

Restored at Langford Essex

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 milk of lime slurry 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 4 bolt steam cylinder and valve chest covers, compared to the Phurnacite pump (43141), which has 6 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 is on display at the Museum of Power, Langford, Maldon in Essex and is regularly run on compressed air.

Watch video (6.6MB 10s) :Running on Compressed Air - Left View

Watch video (6.2MB 10s) :Running on Compressed Air - Right View

During restoration	Restored at Langford Essex
Restored at Langford Essex

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