IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS AND FURNACE FLUES
Year: 1857

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Rowan, of the firm of John Rowan and
Sons, of Belfast, in the County of Antrim, Engineers and Boiler Makers,
for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS AND FURNACE
FLUES."
Scaled the 22nd December 1857, and dated the 2nd July 1857.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Rowan at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
2nd July 1857.
I, WILLIAM ROWAN, of the firm of John Rowan and Sons, of Belfast, in
the County of Antrim, Engineers and Boiler Makers, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS AND
FURNACE FLUES," to be as follows :—
In order to economize the heat from the burning fuel I construct the flues
in any of the modes now in common use, but instead of leading the flues
directly away to the chimney I carry them over the top of the boiler, and
in these flues I arrange the pipes which convey the steam from the boiler to
the steam engine in as long and winding directions as may be, so as to obtain
the greatest possible amount of heating surface in these pipes, and thus impart
to the steam conveyed thereby an extra amount of heat. By this arrangement
I also prevent the loss of heat by radiation from the boiler itself.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Rowan in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
1st January 1858.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
ROWAN, of the firm of John Rowan and Sons, of Belfast, in the County of
Antrim, Engineers and Boiler Makers, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Second day of July, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-seven, in the twenty-first year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, IIer heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said William Rowan, Her special licence that I, the said William Rowan,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Rowan, my executors, administrators, and 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM
BOILERS AND FURNACE FLUES," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the
said William Rowan, my executors or administrators, by an instrument in
writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals, 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 William Rowan, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
that is to say:-
In order to economize the heat from the burning fuel I construct the flues
of steam boilers in any of the modes now in common use, but instead of
leading the flues directly away to the chimney I carry them over the top of the
boiler, and in these flues I arrange the pipes which convey the steam from the
boiler to the steam engine or other apparatus in as long and winding direc-
tions as may be, so as to obtain the greatest possible amount of heating surface
in these pipes, and thus impart to the steam conveyed thereby an extra amount
of heat, which would otherwise escape without producing any useful effect, and

page_text: the steam is thus superheated. By this arrangement I also prevent loss of heat
by radiation from the top of the boiler itself, which is enclosed in flues
containing gases which are of a higher temperature than the surface of the
boiler.
One of the most effective methods of carrying my Invention into effect is
shewn in the Sheet of Drawings hereunto annexed.
Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a steam boiler; Figure is a trans-
verse section of the same; and Figure 3 is a plan, partly in section, the
covering of the top flues being represented as removed, in order to shew the
arrangement of the flues and steam pipes. In each of these Figures the same
letters of reference apply to the same parts.
A is the boiler; B, B, are the internal furnaces and flues; and C, C, the
external side flues; D is the bottom fluc leading to the chimney, and which
in ordinary boiler furnaces would follow the side flues C, C; E is an arch
built over the boiler, and at such a distance from it as to leave adequate flue
space above the boiler; F is the steam dome on the boiler from which pro-
ceed the steam pipes G1, G2, G³, terminating with the shut-off valve H.
From this point the steam is conveyed away in any direction required. The
steam pipes G', G³, are carried by the brackets a, a, fixed to the boiler. To
the brackets a, a, are attached the plates b, b, extending nearly as far as the
length of the pipes G', G³, and forming with them partitions or divisions
between the upper side flues I, I, and the central flue J, J. K, K, arc
passages forming the communications between the side flues C, C, and the
upper side flucs I, I; and L, L, are passages connecting the central flue J, J,
with the bottom flue D, whence the products of combustion proceed to the
chimney after taking a course through the various flues, as indicated by the
arrows.
And having now described the nature of my said Invention, and one of the
best methods with which I am acquainted for carrying the same into effect, I
wish to observe that I do not restrict myself to the exact details herein given,
as considerable variations may be readily devised without departing from my
Invention. Although I have described and represented the whole arrange-
ment of the flues for a boiler, for the purpose of illustrating the nature of my
improvements, I do not claim such arrangement except in so far as relates
to the additional flues over the boiler, nor do I claim the system generally of
applying heat to the steam pipes for the purpose of superheating the steam
contained in them, this, as is well known, having been effected before by
others; but what I do claim is, the method of prolonging and extending

page_text: the flues over the top of the boiler, and the placing of steam pipes in such
flues for the purpose of super-heating the steam conveyed in the said pipes,
both as herein-before described...
In witness whereof, I, the said William Rowan, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Sixteenth day of December, One thousand eight a
hundred and fifty-seven.
WILL ROWAN.. (L.S.)