The morning news., 1889-03-18
A NEW HEAT GENERATOR.
Marvellous Discovery OF a Philadelphia
Brick Manufacturer.
From the Chicago Tribune

Marvellous Discovery ofa Philadelphia
Brick Manufacturer.
From the Chicago Tribune.
PHILADELPHIA, PA, March 1.-THE dis
covery by Philadelphia manufacturer of
a new method of heat generation promises
if promises are to be trusted-to some day
| supplant all plans now employed-carbo-
| aceous, vaporous electrical and gaseous.
| The discovery was made two or three years
ago. and five patents have already been
| taken out. 1t has only recently, however,
| come to the notice Of scientific men, and
within the last few days Lorin Blodget.
Gen. Hazen and Col William Ludlow of
the United States engineer corps have in
spected the system and declare it to be
eminently practical. The principle is the
conversion of air into fuel. Coal is en-
plOyed as a kinder, but the actual con-
sumption of coal per day, it is claimed, will
be less than five pounds for the largest
domestic furnace. Not only will these new
stoves DO valuable for house-warming pur-
poses, but their capacity of 5000, or blow
pipe heat, will render them useful in fur
| mace or smelling works, where iron, glass,
steel, and even crystalline eau be readily
| melted in few moments from the time the
| fire is started, and at minimum cost. The
dome 5tic furnaces are brick-walled and con-
duct hot air to various parts of the house
through fues in much the same manner as
| the ordinary furnace.
The plant employed for this heat genera
tion has much the appearance of an ordi-
nary old-fashioned ssove. 1t is feet 6
inches high and 80 inches in diameter. Two
square draught doors open from the side Of
tue drum aud by these the amount of heat
| is regulated. An eight-iuch stove pipe pro-
trudes from the rear, the purpose of which
| is to convey cold air into the furnace in
| stead Of conveying the hot air out as in
common stoves. In place of the ordinary
fire CRATE there is a combined CRATE
and firepor OF peculiar construc-
tion. This device consists of
| circular row Of crate bars placed at a dis
tance of eight inches above the main pot,
which contains the greater part of the fuel.
| The superficial area of these upper bars is
| considerably greater in extent tnan that Of
| the lower CRATE, 50 that while the passage of
the air through the main mass of the fuel is
somewhat retarded, the currents that pass
| through the upper bars, meeting with less
| resistance, travel with much greater
rapidity. In this way two separate currents
of heated air are produced, one of which
enormously exceeds the other in velocity.
| About fifty pounds of coal-ether btu
| minous, anthracite, or mixel-are placed
IN the CRATE and Il layer of kindling wood
placed upon the top. The lower draught
| door being opened, the fire is lighted fron
1
burns downward. Two currents are imme-
| diately generated, of which the outsi le cur
rent-that passing through the upper CRATE
| bars-travels many times faster thau the
central current, which has to force its way
through the mass of fuel For the space of
few seconds the ordinary products of com
| bustiOn pass through the stlvepipe int }
the chimney f1ue. In a moment, how
ever, there is the sonnd of a mighty
rushing wind, the outward draught is
! reversed, and the air and smoke are driven
| down the fiue with a violent mo ion. At
| the same time the suction blast from the
| draught door ruSheS up into the combustion
chamber. The double current movement
| has caused the central part of the chamber
to be many degrees cooler than its other
parts and thus produced a vacuum. TIE
meeting of the two new currents produces
| within the chamber violent rotary
| cycionic motion on the same general princi-
| pie as the atmospheric cyclone. The roar
| ing of the wind within the stove is heard
easily at a distance of twenty rods, and in
| less than two minutes from the time of igni-
| tion the drum has become red hot.
| The heat is constantly cumulative, but is
| readily regulated by the partial opening or
closing of the draught-doors. After wood
| and coal have served as kindlers to the con-
denSed air they are practically unconsumed.
The upper layer is heated to bright incan-
ueScellCe, DuU HOb oVen uuTluS InS lOlgeSG
period of cyclonlc action is the coal tur ned
to ashes; although the furnace becomes SO
| hot as to melt glass and iron witlin three
minutes the carbon which kindles it re-
mains intact The volatile constituents of
the coal are wasted in some degree, but it
has been demonstrated that after three or
| four hours of intense heat its weight will
| have decreased no more than Der cent.
In addition to economy, it is claimed that
the heat created is far in excess of that
which may be measured by the consump-
tion of carbonaceous fuel. This wou d
establish as indisputable the fact that the
atmosphere itself is capable OF yielding
heat in proportion enormously greater than
any combustible substance now known.
Mr.. Blodget, who has no personal interest
in the new discovery, said yesterday it
meant the saving of millions OF
dollars annually to the coal con-
sumers of America, and was without
donbt one Of the greatest discoveries
of the age. The principle
Is simple enough" he said, ''if peo-
pie are only ready to accept it." Heat is
evolved by the condenSation Of aerial vol
umes, whether of isolated gases, hydrogen,
nitrogen, or oxygen, or of the mixture OF
these which constitutes the atmosp ere. All
Of these gases may be burned by intact
with incandescent carbon without convert
ing it into oxide or carbonic acid.
The discovery of the new source of heat
is due to Edward Fales, brick manu-
facturer Of Philadelphia, who has associated
several other gentlemen with him and
formed a company. They have recently
erected plants for smelling purposes in sew
eral large Philadelphia establishments.
Important to Florida Tour lists.