The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1882-10-11
A NORTH CAROLINA INVENTOR
a Furnace Without Smoke or
wasted Heat, anc ~ ithousa
Chimney.

The loss of heat in the furnaces of
steam boilers, even under the most favor
able Conditions, Is a problem that has
vexed the expert mechanical engineers Of
a century- With the present system OF
CONSTRUCTION this loss Is from p TO IS per
Cent OF the entire anodnt Every De
vice lu the way OF a smoke burner that
Ingenuity could suggest has been tried
without effect, ard the avenues Of expert
b'ent have been rensachrti III vain fJr
some plan that would enable the furnace
to burn the gases which escape combu.
ton IN the best vi cnimneys. This desir-
able eud seems at last to have been at
talued BY the novel device of dispensing
with a chimney entirely, and substituting
mechanical aspiration, the connection
with the admission To the furnace Of air
ld J I such quautltIe, a. are required u
consume the combuslible gases first and
the solid fuel afteIward, repeating the
changes whenever fresh coal is added.
his new proc IS Is the invention of +.
). Mailett, Jr.. OF New York. 1t is fully
protected n all countries by letters pat
ent, and its development Is in the hands
OF a compan beaded by III. j. Jewett,
plesidenl OF the Erie Railway q K
b Blanchard, Of the Erie Railway X )
Grant, of the Graut } locomotive Works:
ex Senator / { nlatt, aud other equally
well known citizens. If this innovation
IN furnace construction fLlhlls hereafter
the conditions OF a long test through
which the initial furnace has successfully
passed at New York, it is safe TO pro-
nounce 1t al invention Of great impor
taUce. The New .ork tests, according
70 the Leidld OF that city. nave shown a
loss OF fuel of less than 4 per cent. There
Is no chimney, aud 40 place for one The
great bars vi the iurDace are iron pipes,
with valves 10 the front of each one, all
connected by levers, 50 that the move
ment OF a single handle opens these
valves II also closes the ash pi1. he
air nasses through the hollow CRATE bars
under the glowing Goals, and when a fresh
charge of coal is thrown on the fire the
closed furnace become a retoTt, In which
! the fresh coal is distilled. while the car
buretted hydrogen vapors pass through
an aperture into a chamber under the
boiler. where they are brought into con-
tact WITH The heated air rushing through
the CRATE tubes. By this admlxture of air
the combustible gases are entirely con
sumed, leaving only the iDcombustIb!e
ga>es-that is, carbonic acid gas and nit
rogen to be disposed Of. When the coal
Is ~throughly distilled the air Is admitted
underneath the fire, and the combu: ton
of the solid fuel i, thus 3 surcd. The
waste gases are drawn away b. a revolving
fan at the side OF the boiler, attached to
4 strong case Of iron through which run
IN close coil the feed pipes. Into these
the feed water is forced from the bottom,
while the hot gases are drawn into the
| a. ,har f.n,, ,ha tAn minute ~
of water from the pipes strikes the gas,
and BY keeping it saturated With moisture
the contact with the water pipes results
in reducing LIS temperature from near
1000 degrees to less han POO. and the
torrent Of carbonic acid gas and nitrogen
is thus hurled through the eduction pipe
OF the fan to mix narmlessly with the at
mosphere. There is no suggestion of
smoke for the fine makes no smoke. 1t
is as clean as the flames Of an Argand
burner, and operates on the same princi-
pie.
Dhe fir-t application of this new dis
covery will be made to the boilers of the
Equitable Building, in New York There
ale eight OF these ID use, and Mr.. Mallett
proposes to do away with all but two Ot
them. A locomotive is being equipped
for the Erie Railway without smonestack
with an exhaust toto condensing compart
merts in the tender. The fan will be
placed 10 froEt, and the heated gases will
escape around the periphery of the boiler
casing. When the locomotive is finished
1t is intended 10 Civ 1t = trapscontinenta
TEST using any fuel that may be offered
along the roads over which it passes.
Fir. haliett is preparing a paper on his
Invention, 10 be submitted to the 2oya
ACADEMY of Scinces at Turin, which has
recently offered a plize of Il, 700 lire TO-
The mos. important discovery made il
two years. Controlled combustion" il
the designation which he has applied t.
the new system.