Gould Rotary Furnace and Condensing System

Gould Rotary Furnace and Condensing System (HMZOL)

Location: San Jose, CA 95120 Santa Clara County
Buy California State flags at Flagstore.com!
Country: United States of America
Buy United States of America flags at Flagstore.com!

N 37° 10.4', W 121° 49.578'

  • 0 likes
  • 0 check ins
  • 0 favorites
  • 447 views
Inscription
The rotary furnace was used to recover mercury from cinnabar ore. Finely crushed ore fro the fine ore bin entered the furnace by means of a feeder known as a shotgun or bump feeder. The feeder periodically injected a measured amount of ore into the rotary tube where it was heated above the dissociation temperature (1095 degrees F). High temperature plus injected air provided by the burner/blower also oxidized the sulphur within the ore.

The rotary tube slowly rotated so that ore was constantly mixed, exposed to the heat, and gradually fed toward the burner end, where spent ore dropped into the calcines bin.

Gases resulting from the heat consisted of mercury, sulphur, and water vapor, which along with an unavoidable amount of dust were drawn out of the furnace into a dust separator and on to the condenser. Mercury vapor was condensed back to its liquid form and, along with a small amount of rock dust, caught in rubber buckets. Sulphur vapor was exhausted into the air.

This rotary furnace was used in the Guadalupe mine from 1940 until the mine closed in the 1970s. The Guadalupe Rubbish Company donated the furnace to NAQCPA in 1987.
Specifications
Manufacturer: Mutual Engineering Co., South San Francisco, California
Model: Gould Improved Quicksilver Furnace Condensing System
Manufacture Date: 1940
Capacity: 15 tons per day
Fuel: Bunker Oil
Rotational power: 4.98 HP electric motor. Rotary tube rotation, about once per minute.
Details
HM NumberHMZOL
Series This marker is part of the Daughters of the American Revolution series
Tags
Placed ByNew Almaden Quicksilver County Park Association/The California State Society Daughters of the American Revolution
Marker ConditionNo reports yet
Date Added Tuesday, October 21st, 2014 at 12:54am PDT -07:00
Pictures
Sorry, but we don't have a picture of this historical marker yet. If you have a picture, please share it with us. It's simple to do. 1) Become a member. 2) Adopt this historical marker listing. 3) Upload the picture.
Locationbig map
UTM (WGS84 Datum)10S E 604195 N 4114745
Decimal Degrees37.17333333, -121.82630000
Degrees and Decimal MinutesN 37° 10.4', W 121° 49.578'
Degrees, Minutes and Seconds37° 10' 24.00" N, 121° 49' 34.68" W
Driving DirectionsGoogle Maps
Area Code(s)408
Closest Postal AddressAt or near 6800-6852 Deep Gulch Trail, San Jose CA 95120, US
Alternative Maps Google Maps, MapQuest, Bing Maps, Yahoo Maps, MSR Maps, OpenCycleMap, MyTopo Maps, OpenStreetMap

Is this marker missing? Are the coordinates wrong? Do you have additional information that you would like to share with us? If so, check in.

Check Ins  check in   |    all

Have you seen this marker? If so, check in and tell us about it.

Comments 0 comments

Maintenance Issues
  1. What historical period does the marker represent?
  2. What historical place does the marker represent?
  3. What type of marker is it?
  4. What class is the marker?
  5. What style is the marker?
  6. Does the marker have a number?
  7. What year was the marker erected?
  8. This marker needs at least one picture.
  9. Can this marker be seen from the road?
  10. Is the marker in the median?