The Chaplin's patent distilling apparatus with Steam pump for circulating water attached was an early design of an evaporator, a device for producing fresh water on board ship by distillation of seawater. An example of this apparatus has been recovered from the wreck of SS Xantho (1872),[1] an auxiliary steamship used in Australia to transport passengers and trade goods before ultimately sinking in Port Gregory, Western Australia in 1872. It is purported[by whom?] that the Alexander Chaplin distiller from the Xantho wreck is the only known surviving example of a Chaplin distilling apparatus on board a vessel of this period.
Manufacturer
Alexander Chaplin & Co. (also known as A.C. and Co., Alex. Chaplin & Co.) was a manufacturing syndicate based in the United Kingdom during the mid-19th century to early 20th century with its manufacturing and engineering plant facilities located at Cranstonhill Engine Works, Glasgow.[2] Of their numerous patented and manufactured products, one of the notable devices developed was the Chaplin's Patent Distilling Apparatus with Steam pump for circulating water attached.
Founded in 1857, the administrative office of Alexander Chaplin & Co. was located at 63 Queen Victoria Street, London, England,[3] before being taken over by Herbert Morris, LTD in 1932.[4] Well known manufacturers,[5] Alex. Chaplin & Co. prided themselves that their products were "always in stock or in progress".[6] Chaplins' produced a range of steam powered industrial products including steam cranes, hoists, locomotives, pumping and winding engines, ship's deck engines and sea water distilling apparatus, used throughout the world during the 19th and 20th century. Chaplin's patent sea water distilling apparatus with steam pump attached for circulating water was a very compact and convenient apparatus, designed for marine use but capable of adaptation for land use as well.
History
The Chaplin Apparatus was adopted by many important British and Continental shipping companies including the Peninsular and Oriental, Inman Line, North German Lloyd, and the Hamburg American Companies. The British Navy used such apparatuses.[5] The Board of Bureau Chiefs of the United States Navy considered supplying the cruisers USS Baltimore (C-3) and USS Philadelphia (C-4) with distilling apparatuses to provide fresh water for the boilers from distillation of sea water, but no reference was made to the Chaplin company in their reported discussions.[7] In addition to merchant and passenger ships, US gunboats used such distillers as well.[8][9]
Chaplin distillers were also used in land settings. During the Sudan Campaigns (1881–1885 and 1896–1899), British forces used the distillers to supply their soldiers with fresh drinking water in Suakin and Sudan. This supply of fresh drinking water was of utmost importance in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War. Similar distillers, such as Dr. Normandy's,[Glasgow.[2] Of their numerous patented and manufactured products, one of the notable devices developed was the Chaplin's Patent Distilling Apparatus with Steam pump for circulating water attached.
Founded in 1857, the administrative office of Alexander Chaplin & Co. was located at 63 Queen Victoria Street, London, England,[3] before being taken over by Herbert Morris, LTD in 1932.[4] Well known manufacturers,[5] Alex. Chaplin & Co. prided themselves that their products were "always in stock or in progress".[6] Chaplins' produced a range of steam powered industrial products including steam cranes, hoists, locomotives, pumping and winding engines, ship's deck engines and sea water distilling apparatus, used throughout the world during the 19th and 20th century. Chaplin's patent sea water distilling apparatus with steam pump attached for circulating water was a very compact and convenient apparatus, designed for marine use but capable of adaptation for land use as well.
History
The Chaplin Apparatus was adopted by many important British and Continental shipping companies including the London, England,[3] before being taken over by Herbert Morris, LTD in 1932.[4] Well known manufacturers,[5] Alex. Chaplin & Co. prided themselves that their products were "always in stock or in progress".[6] Chaplins' produced a range of steam powered industrial products including steam cranes, hoists, locomotives, pumping and winding engines, ship's deck engines and sea water distilling apparatus, used throughout the world during the 19th and 20th century. Chaplin's patent sea water distilling apparatus with steam pump attached for circulating water was a very compact and convenient apparatus, designed for marine use but capable of adaptation for land use as well.
The Chaplin Apparatus was adopted by many important British and Continental shipping companies including the Peninsular and Oriental, Inman Line, North German Lloyd, and the Hamburg American Companies. The British Navy used such apparatuses.[5] The Board of Bureau Chiefs of the United States Navy considered supplying the cruisers USS Baltimore (C-3) and USS Philadelphia (C-4) with distilling apparatuses to provide fresh water for the boilers from distillation of sea water, but no reference was made to the Chaplin company in their reported discussions.[7] In addition to merchant and passenger ships, US gunboats used such distillers as well.[8][9]
Chaplin distillers were also used in land settings. During the Sudan Campaigns (1881–1885 and 1896–1899), British forces used the distillers to supply their soldiers with fresh drinking water in Suakin and Sudan. This supply of fresh drinking water was of utmost importance in the 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War. Similar distillers, such as Dr. Normandy's,[who?] were on a much larger scale, distilling some 12,000 gallons of water per hour[dubious ],[10] whereas the Chaplin distilling apparatus used onboard vessels produced roughly 23 gallons of fresh water per hour.[11] Essentially, the distilled water produced for Egypt was made in a special apparatus with various forms of condenser employed. The principle for distillation is the same as the apparatus on steamships. On ships, steam is generated in one of the ships boilers then condensed, filtered and aerated in the apparatus. On land, the engines would have to be kept running in order to pump the distilled water out of the condenser.
By the order of H.M. Council on 5 December 1865, Government emigrant, troop and other passenger vessels fitted with this distilling apparatus were permitted to sail with only half the required amount of water under Section 26 of the Passengers Act 1855. This act states "Any passenger ship propelled by sails only, or by steam engines of less power than is sufficient, without the aid of sails, to propel the ship at the rate of five statute miles per hour, may be cleared out and proceed on her voyage, having on board, in tanks or casks, only half the quantity of pure water required by the said Act to be carried for the use of the passengers, provided that…there be on board such ship an efficient apparatus for distilling fresh water from salt water".[12] This, combined with the convenience and compact size of the apparatus made the Alexander Chaplin model very popular.
In direct competition with Alexander Chaplin, Dr. Alphonse Normandy’s (1809–1864)[13] apparatus is another successful distiller. It consists of three essential parts, the evaporator, the condenser and the refrigerator. The apparatus passes a mixture of steam and gasses from the evaporator to the tubes of the condenser. Normandy's distiller was very complex in structure, consisting of many numerous working parts. With an elaborate layout and expensive cost, the distiller wasn't economically viable for smaller vessels. In France, the apparatus of Rocher and Nantes and that of Galle and Mazeline of Havre, have been "highly appreciated by French authorities and French seamen".[5]
For successful preparation of potable water from seawater, the following conditions of a distilling apparatus were deemed essential. First, the distilled product must be aerated so it may be immediately available for drinking and storage purposes. Second, the amount of coal used to obtain the maximum volume of drinkable water must be at a minimum expenditure level and third, the apparatus' working parts must be simple enough to prevent from breaking down and to enable unskilled attendants to safely operate. "The Alexander Chaplin distilling apparatus is among the forms of apparatus which have most fully satisfied such conditions".[5]
Apparatus
The integrated circulating pump of the later arrangement could also be used as a fire engine in the event of an emergency. The outlet pipe from the cooling water chamber could be fitted with a cock, by which way the water could be directed to a fitted union to which a fire-hose could be attached.
The optimum arrangement would place the apparatus in the stokehold or anywhere below deck where a reliable steam and cooling water supply could be efficiently provided. It could also be placed on the main deck or any other convenient part of the vessel, subject to adequate water and steam supplies being maintained. As long as fuel was available to make steam, the Chaplin distiller offered a potential economic benefit in that the space and weight previously set aside for larger water tanks could be used more productively to carry additional cargo.
According to the manufacturer's specifications and a report generated by Dr. Frederick Penny PhD, F.R.S.E Professor of Chemistry, Andersonian University,[15] Glasgow,[14] the distiller filtered out noxious chemicals such as lead, copper,
The integrated circulating pump of the later arrangement could also be used as a fire engine in the event of an emergency. The outlet pipe from the cooling water chamber could be fitted with a cock, by which way the water could be directed to a fitted union to which a fire-hose could be attached.
The optimum arrangement would place the apparatus in the stokehold or anywhere below deck where a reliable steam and cooling water supply could be efficiently provided. It could also be placed on the main deck or any other convenient part of the vessel, subject to adequate water and steam supplies being maintained. As long as fuel was available to make steam, the Chaplin distiller offered a potential economic benefit in that the space and weight previously set aside for larger water tanks could be used more productively to carry additional cargo.
According to the manufacturer's specifications and a report generated by Dr. Frederick Penny PhD, F.R.S.E Professor of Chemistry, Andersonian University,[15] Glasgow,[14] the distiller filtered out noxious chemicals such as lead, copper, tin and iron through the use of a series of iron plates with perforated holes and matting. These plates were located in the large box-like structure at the bottom of the apparatus.
Precisely when the Chaplin Distiller was installed on Xantho is open to conjecture. It is known that from 1864 to 1870, Xantho operated out of Wick, West Sussex and was permitted to take excursions to sea. It is possible that this apparatus was installed during this period of time.[16] It is more feasible however that this device was installed at a later date as part of the major refurbishing programme implemented by the metal merchant Robert Stewart, who, in 1871, completely and radically re-engineered the ship, replacing the original side paddlewheel steam propulsion with a new marine fire tube boiler and screw propulsion, utilising a secondhand Horizontal Trunk Engine designed by John Penn and Son.[17]