Boilers

At Sloss, the boiler plant was the source of power for most of the operation. Its boilers burned blast furnace gas, along with coal, to generate the heat needed to turn water into steam. That steam powered the blowing engines and turbo-blowers, the skip hoist, and the electrical generator in the powerhouse, while a network of pipes distributed water and steam throughout the plant. The company installed six boilers in 1910-11, and four more on the south side of the walkway in 1926-28. Six men operated the boiler plant, including a foreman, a fireman, and a laborer. The foreman bore ultimate responsibility for maintaining proper steam pressure and directed the fireman when more fire was needed. The fireman raked out hot ashes and added new coal, while the laborer, or ash puller, shoveled ashes into a wheelbarrow and carried them to the ash pit. On the day shift, two flue blowers and one reamer cleaned the boilers. The plant had enough boiler capacity to keep one boiler out of service at all times for cleaning. Workers recalled that the boilers could not run on straight gas and always needed some coal, though the amount varied with gas quality; when steam pressure dropped and fuel ran short, even the superintendent and other workers joined in shoveling coal to keep up steam, and the work continued until the job was finished, whether it took an hour or all night.

Birmingham, Alabama · United States