IMPROVEMENTS IN FIRE-LIGHTERS PROCESSES EMPLOYED IN THEIR MANUFACTURE." AND FUEL AND ARTIFICIAL
Year: 1882

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by James Templeman and Thomas
Carmichael at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 4th May
1882.
JAMES TEMPLEMAN, of Millstream Road, Dockhead Bermondsey, in the County
of Surrey, and THOMAS CARMICHAEL of Glasgow, in the County of Lanark, North
Britain "IMPROVEMENTS
IN FIRE-LIGHTERS
PROCESSES EMPLOYED IN THEIR MANUFACTURE."
AND
FUEL AND
ARTIFICIAL
IN
This Invention has for its object by improvements in the manufacture of fire-
lighters and artificial fuel to produce them more economically than heretofore and
so as to possess various practical advantages.
The improved fire-lighters are made of wood in small blocks of any convenient
form but preferably in rectangular blocks or in rectangular blocks which have
been diagonally halved. On every face of each block there are formed one or more
grooves each from a quarter of an inch to an inch in width and depth; and the
groove or grooves in one side is or are by preference made to communicate with
the grooves on the contiguous sides, the grooves being either parallel or inclined
to the edges of the block. A convenient size for the blocks is 3 × 2 × 2 inches
but they may be made a little larger or smaller, one or more holes being by
preference formed through each block when of the larger sizes and also when of
the other sizes in the case of some kinds of wood. With the improved block
described it is immaterial in what position it may be placed when used to kindle a
fire the grooves allowing air currents to pass in every direction and thereby
facilitating the burning of the block and the ignition of the coal or other fuel.
The grooves are by preference cut by means of circular saws set obliquely as the
material is thereby removed in the form of sawdust and can be utilised in
various ways. The grooves will generally be made parallel to the ends or sides
of the blocks but they may be inclined if preferred.
The woodblocks formed as herein before described may be used as fire-lighters
without further treatment (except drying if required) or they may be charred so
as to burn without smoke or flame, and to serve as artificial fuel. The wood
is however by preference subjected to the improved treatment and processes
hereinafter described which are also more or less applicable to other forms of
fire-lighters.

page_text: The wood may be treated so as to be dried, semi-charred or charred by a dry
furnace heat, by hot air, or by means of steam, or super heated steam, or by
boiling in rosin or a mixture thereof, and mineral or vegetable oil or spirit in
varying proportions.
In some cases the wood is partially dipped in melted rosin, or a mixture thereof,
and mineral and vegetable oils or spirit in varying proportions, the wood being
preferably as hot or nearly so as the liquid it has to be dipped into, and there is
thereby obtained a thin coating which is not liable to drop when ignited although
catching fire readily and being sufficient to ignite the entire block of wood.
Instead of dipping part of the wood blocks, say the bottom ends when dried,
semi charred, or charred, into a melted liquid, it may be partially coated by
dipping it in a powder mixture consisting of say preferably three parts of
ground rosin and one part of fine dried sawdust, or instead of sawdust, dried
ground tan, or other cheap vegetable matter dried and reduced to powder may be
used. This resinous mixture will sufficiently adhere to the wood provided the
latter is hot enough to soften the rosin in the mixture. The wood blocks thus
dipped may afterwards be heated in a stove or over a fire so as to thoroughly melt
the rosin mixture and make it adhere tenaciously to the wood. The rosin mixture
can also be melted by the wood blocks being placed in a chamber, and hot air
forced in by means of a blower or air pump. The foregoing treatment as applied
to variously shaped wood-blocks may also be applied to firewood loose or in
bundles. The ends of the bundle wood may also be dipped into the powdered
resinous composition above described, which would have this advantage over the
present method that it would not be so liable to drop, and at same time likely to
be as easily ignited. The wood-blocks instead of being only partially dipped or
coated may be wholly dipped or boiled in rosin, or a mixture thereof with any
mineral or vegetable oil, or spirit, such as turpentine, naphtha, turpentine substitute,
shale spirit, and the like, also with mineral or vegetable oils such as crude or
refined paraffin oil, crude or refined shale oil, petroleum, and petroleum bottoms.
When rosin and turpentine are mixed it is preferably in such a proportion as to
have a thick syrupy or treacly consistence when cold, and in mixing the two
together, the rosin should be melted only sufficiently to let the turpentine (heated
say in a water bath) mix freely with it, instead of putting cold turpentine into
very hot rosin. The same treatment should be applied with other spirits or highly
inflammable oils, when used instead of turpentine.
The wood blocks when treated with any oil having a disagreeable smell must be
subsequently treated to have the volatile spirit or oil removed so that the blocks
may be freed from disagreeable smell. This may be effected by having the blocks
enclosed in a hot chamber where air is excluded and heat is applied to cause the
evaporation of the volatile oil or spirit; or said blocks instead of being treated in
this manner in an enclosed chamber, may be put into a vessel containing boiling
rosin in order that the heat may draw out the volatile spirit or oil from the wood.
In treating the wood blocks by boiling or otherwise impregnating with rosin or
oils, grease, or mineral or vegetable spirit, it can either be done by thoroughly
saturating the wood, or by having only the outside impregnated therewith.
Where heat is applied or even required to be at a high temperature to get
certain resinous or oily materials to enter the pores of the wood, a less temperature
will suffice if an air pump is used, and the process carried on with the aid of a
vacuum.
In whatever way the wood-blocks are treated with resinous or oily matter they
should be finished by having all the superfluous matters drained from the surface
of the wood blocks, so that when sent out there may be no oil or resinous matter
adhering to the blocks so as to make them unpleasant to handle, or to cause the
oil or resinous matter to drop when they are ignited. For this purpose whether
the wood blocks are treated by being gently heated in oil or melted rosin and oil,
or otherwise; they are placed in iron vessels containing rosin in a melted state
which is brought up to the boiling point, and when in this state, the hot rosin is

page_text: withdrawn, by means of a plug at the bottom of the vessel, the blocks being
allowed to remain, all air holes being closed to prevent the wood from charring.
After remaining in the iron vessel until cold, the wood blocks will be found hard
and brisk, and all superfluous oil and resinous matter sufficiently removed. The
5 same effect can be produced by means of hot air.
When it is desired to have a fire lighter (especially for cooking) to burn free
from smoke this may be effected by having the wood blocks charred and afterwards
boiled in melted paraffin wax, the hot paraffin being drawn off, so as to leave the
wood blocks free from superfluous paraffin, or these charred wood blocks may be
treated by saturating them with a solution of saltpetre and afterwards drying, so
that on simply applying a light to any part of the wood blocks so treated the
ignition of the whole may be effected without flame.-Instead of specially charring
fresh wood the charred blocks or pieces of wood obtained in the manufacture of
acetic acid from wood may be utilized by impregnating with either solid paraffin
or saltpetre in the manner already described.
Existing kinds of fire lighters with pieces of wood of various shapes and
constructions joined together by morticing, nailing, tying, or otherwise may also be
improved by being subjected to the treatment herein specified for partially dipping
or coating or thoroughly saturating the wood blocks.
The process described as applied to charred wood may be applied to charred tan,
charred sawdust, or charred spent hops, or other waste vegetable matter charred
and the mixture pressed or moulded (while heated or cold) into a variety of
shapes. And composition fire lighters made of sawdust, spent dried ground tan,
spent hops, and the like may be moulded or pressed into the pyramid shape with
perforations, or grooves in them at one or all sides or centrally thereof. In
addition to this pyramid shape the dovetailing principle could also be applied to
compositon fire-lighters of other shapes, such for instance as those hereinbefore
referred to, and to those having the bottom part reduced to a central point or a
sharp ridge, and the top part made concave to correspond with the bottom part, so
that the shape would answer extremely well for packing, and when required for
use prove a most suitable shape, especially where cheap material was used, as the
shape of either of the above two would clearly indicate which was the bottom and
which the top and where it should be lighted.
In one particular process the wood blocks are put into a large iron vertical
cylindrical boiler so as to fill it half or two thirds full, and weights are put on the
top of the wood blocks to keep them from floating. Rosin in a liquid state, or
rosin mixed with a little oil or spirit is then put into the iron vessel, say by
turning the stop-cock of an adjacent iron vessel. The liquid rosin should be
brought up to about half the height of the iron vessel, which has a furnace below
it. The rosin or other oily or resinous material is then boiled; so as to expel
water from the wood, the vapor being led off to a condenser. When the water
from the wood has been removed and the wood blocks more or less impregnated,
the liquid rosin is drawn off very hot, all air passages are closed to prevent
charring and the wood is allowed to remain in the iron vessel until the following
day, or until it is cold when the wood blocks can be removed. If any smelling oil
is used, such as shale oil, after it has been drawn off, liquid rosin should take its
place, and the wood blocks boiled a short time in it, so as to remove any spirit or
smelling volatile oil from the wood blocks, or in place of using rosin as is here
described, the wood blocks after being treated say with crude shale oil, or any other
unpleasant smelling oil, could be removed to a closed chamber, all holes being
closed, to exclude air and prevent charring, and then heated to expel any volatile
matter from the wood. The use of an air pump is advantageous as with it, it will
require less heat to impregnate resinous or oily matter, and might also help to
keep smell down, as when a strong heat is applied it is apt to decompose either
wood or oil and thereby produce a product of an unpleasant nature; the dis-
agreeable smelling portion of crude oils could also be removed previous to the
treatment of the wood.

page_text: For another modification of the process a large boiler or tank is used, with a
perforated false bottom and means for preventing the wood-blocks from floating,
with connections from a vessel containing hot resinous or oil mixture, also from hot
air cylinders, and with a discharge cock at the bottom. The wood blocks being
placed in the vessel, a low heat is applied at the bottom and hot air forced in from
the top, the moisture from the wood-blocks is allowed to pass off, and the wood-
blocks in this manner becoming very dry and hot the hot resinous liquid is then
poured in, and the whole boiled sharply for a short time. The rosin liquid is then
drawn off, and the hot air is forced in at a very high temperature, which takes off
any superfluous rosin or oil from the wood blocks.