Specification of John Wakefield : furnaces for boilers.

  • Wakefield, John.
Date:
1854
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Specification of John Wakefield : furnaces for boilers. Source: Wellcome Collection.

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    Wakefield's Improvements in the Construction of Furnaces for Boilers, §6. towards the centre of the furnace, making the furnace widest at the bottom contrary to the common practice. By this contrivance the flame and smoke as they ascend are urged (by the current of heated air ascending with them) to take a course somewhat across the fire and the bottom of the boiler, instead 5 of passing off at once in a straight line towards the flue, thus giving an increase of temperature to the smoke, and putting it in a condition to be partially ignited by any air that may have escaped decomposition by the rapidity of its passage through the tire. This improvement was first introduced by myself; but having used it openly before the date of the said Letters Patent, I do not 10 claim it as any part of the said grant. For brevity, these curved sides are usually called the curves, e, e, e, e, the jambs projecting from the sides of the furnace at the inner or farther end of the fire bars or grates, so as to there close the curves (d9 d, d9) perpendicularly from the top of the said curve to the bottom of the furnace. These jambs co-operate with the said curves in forcing 15 the flame from the sides to cross the fire before passing off to the flue ; ffifififfi the flues. I build my side flues (being those parts of the flues which pass along the sides of the boiler) wider at the bottom and narrower at their upper part (see Drawing B) than is the general practice, thus giving more room for the dust to lodge in at the bottom without impeding the draft, and SO thus forcing the hot air in its passage to the chimney to press more closely against the sides of the boiler at the upper horizontal part of the flue, which traverses that part of the boiler which is farthest removed from the direct influence of the fire. But though I wish here to call the attention of the builder to the circumstance as conducive to the effects aimed at in a well con- 25 structed furnace, I do not claim it as one of my said improvements, having used it publickly before the date of the said Patent. g9 g, the boiler ; hf h, the fire bars. I lay my bars farther apart at their further extremity and nearer each other in the fore part of the grate than is the common practice, accord¬ ing to which common practice the bars are laid parellel to each other. I was 30 the first person that introduced this improvement, but it is not claimed by me under the said Patent, having before the date thereof made it public. The advantage attending it are these: the bars being near each other in the front prevent the small coals from passing through when the fire is fresh fed, so that they get coked together before being pushed back to the hinder part of the 35 grate, and the bars at the hinder part being more asunder, admit more air where there is less danger of the coals falling through, as they are run into larger masses before they reach that part of the grate. But I have since* introduced another improvement, which forms one of the said improvements included in the said Patent. Instead of laying all and every of the fire bars