IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS STOVES FOR HEATING BUILDINGS, APARTMENTS, AND OTHER SIMILAR PLACES
Year: 1859

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Charles Chalmers, of Merchiston Castle Bank,
Morningside, Edinburgh, in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain,
Gentleman, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS STOVES FOR
Sealed the 20th April 1860, and dated the 15th November 1859.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Charles Chalmers at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
15th November 1859.
I, CHARLES CHALMERS, of Merchiston Castle Bank, Morningside, Edinburgh,
in the County of Mid Lothian, North Britain, Gentleman, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN GAS STOVES FOR HEATING
BUILDINGS, APARTMENTS, AND OTHER SIMILAR PLACES," to be as follows, that is
to say:-
This Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of stoves for
heating buildings and apartments by means of the combustion of gas.
Under one modification this new and improved stove consists of a metal
chamber, which may be of a cylindrical or other figure in transverse section.
This chamber is closed at the top and bottom; it is set on end, and is sup-
ported upon suitable castors or ornamental feet. A closely fitting door is
made in the stove or chamber opposite to the part where the burner is arranged
for the purpose of igniting the gas, and on the other side of the stove there is

page_text: an inlet tube, which extends inwards to the centre of the stove, and is then
bent upwards in a vertical direction. This tube is made sufficiently large to
admit of the gas pipe and burner being fitted within it, and at the same time
leave an annular passage for the admission of air through it.
through it. A Bunsen
burner is fitted at the extremity of the gas pipe, the flow of the gas being
regulated by means of an ordinary cock arranged outside the stove. A
secondary tube, made of copper or other suitable metal, and similar to an
elongated cylindrical gas chimney, is fitted to the air pipe in which the burner
is arranged. This tube extends upwards nearly to the top of the stove, and
it serves to convey the heated air directly to the upper part of the stove where
the heat is absorbed by the surrounding metal of the chamber, and so radiated
or given off into the building or apartment.
The most important feature in the arrangement of this stove is the mode of
getting rid of the vitiated air and products of combustion. These impurities
are carried off at the lower part of the stove by means of a pipe, which, is
carried out from the bottom or near to the bottom of the stove. This pipe
extends either outside the building or is carried into a contiguous chimney. As
the external air flows in through the inlet pipe, and passes around and through
the gas flame, it becomes very highly heated, and the heated air as it impinges
against the top of the stove parts with a portion of its heat, and so becomes
specifically heavier in proportion. The current of heated air as it ascends
continuously occupies the place of the cooler portion of the air, and thus the
vitiated air is caused to descend and pass off by the outlet pipe. In its down-
ward passage the air gives off its heat to the surrounding metal of the stove,
so that it passes away by the outlet pipe, carrying with it little or no heat.
In this manner the whole of the heat is economised and rendered available,
wbilst the building or apartment is kept entirely free from the impurities
arising from the combustion of the gas.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the said Charles Chalmers in the Great Seal Patent Office on.
the 14th May 1860.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, CHARLES
CHALMERS, of Merchiston Castle Bank, Morningside, Edinburgh, in the
County of Mid. Lothian, North Britain, Gentleman, send greeting..
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Fifteenth day of November, in the year of our Lord

page_text: One thousand eight hundred and fifty-nine, in the twenty-third year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Charles Chalmers, Her special license that I, the said Charles Chalmers,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Charles Chalmers, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times thereafter
during the term therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use,
exercise, and vend, within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland, the Channel Islands, and Isle of Man, an Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN GAS STOVES FOR HEATING BUILDINGS, APARTMENTS, AND OTHER SIMILAR
PLACES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Charles Chalmers,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should particularly
describe and ascertain the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner
the same was to be performed, and cause the same to be filed in the Great
Seal Patent Office within six calendar months next and immediately after
the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Charles Chalmers, do hereby declare
the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the
following statement, reference being had to the accompanying Drawings, and
to the letters and figures marked thereon, that is to say:-
My said Invention relates to the arrangement and construction of stoves for
heating buildings and apartments by means of the combustion of gas. Under one
modification this new and improved stove consists of a metal chamber, which may
be of a cylindrical or other figure in transverse section. This chamber is closed
at the top and bottom; it is set on end, and is supported upon suitable castors
or ornamental feet. A closely fitting door is made in the stove or chamber
opposite to the part where the burner is arranged for the purpose of igniting
the gas, and on the other side of the stove there is an inlet tube which extends
inwards to the centre of the stove, and is then bent upwards in a vertical
direction. This tube is made sufficiently large to admit of the gas pipe and
burner being fitted within it, and at the same time leave an annular passage
for the admission of air through it. A Bunsen burner is fitted at the extremity
of the gas pipe, the flow of the gas being regulated by means of an ordinary
cock arranged outside the stove. A secondary tube made of copper or other
suitable metal, and similar to an elongated cylindrical gas chimney, is fitted
to the air pipe in which the burner is arranged. This tube extends upwards
nearly to the top of the stove, and it serves to convey the heated air directly
to the upper part of the stove, where the heat is absorbed by the 'surrounding

page_text: metal of the chamber, and so radiated or given off into the building or apart-
ment. The most important feature in the arrangement of this stove is the
mode of getting rid of the vitiated air and products of combustion. These
impurities are carried off at the lower part of the stove by means of a pipe
which is carried out from the bottom or near to the bottom of the stove. This
pipe extends either outside the building or is carried into a contiguous chimney.
As the external air flows in through the inlet pipe, and passes around and
through the gas flame, it becomes very highly heated, and the heated air as
it impinges against the top of the stove parts with a portion of its heat, and
so becomes specifically heavier in proportion. The current of heated air as it
ascends continuously occupies the place of the cooler portion of the air, and
thus the vitiated air is caused to descend and pass off by the outlet pipe.
In its downward passage, the air gives off its heat to the surrounding metal of
the stove, so that it passes away by the outlet pipe carrying with it little or
no heat. In this manner the whole of the heat is economised and rendered
available whilst the building or apartment is kept entirely free from the impu-
rities arising from the combustion of the gas.
. And in order that my said Invention of improvements in gas stoves for heating
buildings, apartments, and other similar places may be properly understood, I
shall now proceed to describe the Figures on the explanatory Sheet Draw-
ings, for the purpose of showing certain modifications under which my improve-
ments may be judiciously carried out in practice, that is to say:-
Figure 1 on the accompanying Sheet of Drawings is an elevation, showing
one arrangement of my improved gas stove, and Figure 2 is a vertical sectional
view corresponding to Figure 1. As delineated in the accompanying
Drawings, the stove consists of an ornamental casing A, formed by preference
of iron; this casing forms a cylindrical chamber, which is closed at the upper
part by a decorative cupola. The stove is by preference placed near to a
chimney B, as shown in Figure 1, which serves as a channel to carry off from
the stove the air which is vitiated by the combustion of the gas. At the back
part of the stove a tubular passage C is made, which is continued inwards to
the centre of the chamber A, and is then bent upwards at right angles to the
extent of a few inches. This tubular passage forms an inlet for the due
supply of air to the burner D, which is arranged at the upper part of the
tubular passage C, and is attached to the gas supply pipe.E.
The flow of gas
to the burner is controlled by the cock F outside the stove, the other portion
of the pipe E being connected to the gas main from whence the supply for
the house is obtained. The pipe E is arranged centrally in the air passage C,
and the air flows equally round and up through the central aperture in the

page_text: To
burner, so as to ensure an ample supply of air for the complete combustion of
the gas, and the efficient heating of the apartment. The burner used for the
purpose may be one of the Argand kind, or one arranged with concentric
flames, and known as the "Bude burner," or any other suitable arrangement
may be applied according to the amount of heat required from the stove.
the upper end of the air passage C is fitted a copper or other metal chimney G;
this chimney serves the purpose of the ordinary gas glass in drawing up the
flame, and more effectually consuming the gas, at the same time it being a
better conductor, the heat from the burner is more quickly radiated. The
chimney G is carried up into or near to the cupola of the stove so that the
upper part becomes highly heated, and this heat is given off by radiation to
the surrounding atmosphere. The large amount of radiating surface forming
the, exterior of the stove serves to heat quickly the air of an apartment, and
raise, its temperature to a genial and pleasant warmth. At the front part of
the stove is a door H, by means of which the gas is ignited; this is done by
removing the chimney G, and passing a taper or other light into the stove,
and turning on the gas. The vitiated air and gaseous products of combustion
are carried down to the lower part of the stove by the continuous inflowing
current of air which is drawn in through the tubular passage C by the com-
bustion of the gas. This burnt air and the products of combustion are carried
away by the pipe I, which passes out from the bottom of the stove, and is by
preference carried into a neighbouring chimney B, or direct to the external
atmosphere.
In lieu of this arrangement, the pipe I may be carried into the open air, or
the waste heat may be applied to any useful domestic purpose for which it
may be suitable. The outlet pipe I is fitted with a throttle valve J, for the
purpose of controlling and regulating the emission of the heated air to suit
the consumption of gas in the stove, and the amount of radiated heat required
in the apartment. In cases where it is required to supply the air of the
apartment with a certain amount of moisture, the upper part of the cupola
terminates in an ornamental vase K for holding water, the slow evaporation of
which supplies the requisite amount of humidity. In this way large or
small apartments may be economically heated, the heating medium being so
perfectly under controul, that its services may be brought into use or dispensed
with at the instant required. These stoves, when manufactured in plain metal,
may be produced at a very small cost, and be readily adapted to rooms where
an ordinary stove would be inadmissible; or they may be got up with every
attention to external decorative effect, so as to harmonize with the fittings of
the apartment in which they are placed.

page_text: Having now described and particularly ascertained the nature of my said
Invention, and the manner in which the same is or may be used or carried
into effect, I would observe, in conclusion, that what I consider novel and
original, and therefore claim as the Invention secured to me by the herein-
before in part recited Letters Patent is,―
First, the general arrangement and construction of gas stoves or apparatus
for heating buildings, apartments, and other similar places, as herein-before
described, and delineated in the accompanying Drawings.
.
Second, the system or mode of arranging and constructing gas stoves
in which the heated air and products of combustion are carried away from the
bottom or lower part of the stove, as herein-before described, and shown in
the accompanying Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Charles Chalmers, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, this Twelfth day of May, One thousand eight hun-
dred and sixty.
CHARLES CHALMERS. (L.S.) •