IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER BY MEANS OF STEAM
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Hamilton Woods, of Salford, in the County
of Lancaster, Engineer, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER BY MEANS OF STEAM."
Scaled the 19th March 1869, and dated the 24th September 1868..:
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Hamilton Woods at
the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on'
the 24th September 1868.
I, HAMILTON --WOODS, of Salford, in the County of Lancaster,
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the said. Invention for " Ix-
PROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER BY MEANS OF "STEAM," to be
as follows:
***
My Invention has reference principally to the 'heating of the com-
paratively large quantities of water employed in "mashing and .otlier
operations in breweries, distilleries, and the like, but is also applicable to
the heating of water for other purposes. The water to be heated is'con-
tained in a tank or cistern 'made' of wood; metal, or other suitable and
ordinary material or meterials, and of any suitable and ordinary form,
and dimensions, my improvements relating more particularly to the forms
and arrangements of the steam pipes fitted to or in the said tanks or

page_text: cisterns in manner as follows, namely, the said tank is fitted with one
or more sots of steam chests or main pipes, which are by preference fixed
in the interior of the said tank and at a short distance above the bottom.
thereof, cach of the said chests being connected to a corresponding chest
by means of a number of bent tubes, each tube being attached by one
end to one of the said chests and by the other end to the other one of
the said chests, the said tubes penetrating the body of water in the tank
to a suitable distance in a vertical or other suitable direction in order
that the steam when passing from one chest to the other through the
said tubes may impart heat to the water. The steam enters one of the
said chests and passes through the above-mentioned tubes to the other
chest, or if preferred the said chests may be divided by suitable partitions
in such a manner as that the steam shall pass through a portion of the
tubes from one chest to the other and then return by another set of
tubes to another portion of the first chest, this return of the steam to the
first chest being repeated. if desired as often as is convenient. If
required more than one set of steam chests may be fitted to one tank,
the said chests being arranged in rows parallel with each other through-
out the tank or parallel with two or more sides of the tank or otherwise
as found to be most convenient, the several sets being without con-
nection one with the other and seperately supplied with steam, or the
ends of the chests or of a portion of the said chests may be connected
together so as to form a rectanglo or a ring, or otherwise combined
together as found most suitable to the form and dimensions of the tank,
the chests so combined being either divided internally by means of the
partitions as hercin-before described, or having a continuous internal
communication between the several chests so connected together and
being supplied with steam at one or more points. Suitable arrangements
are made to enable the water produced by the condensation of the steam
to be withdrawn or discharged from the interiors of the chests, for which
purpose I sometimes form a chamber under the whole of the bottom of
the tank or under a portion thereof into which the water is discharged
through pipes communicating with the several steam chests or portions
of steam chests, the water being withdrawn or discharged from the said
chamber by any suitable means which will prevent the passage of steam
with the water, the steam in the said chamber assisting to some extent
to heat the water in the tank.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said Hamilton Woods in the Great Seal Patent Office
-on the 24th March 1869.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, HAMILTON
Woods,. of. Salford, in, the County, of Lancaster, Engineer,, send
greeting.
WHEREAS, Her most. Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fourth day of September, in
the
year of our Lord One thousand cight hundred and sixty-eight, in
the thirty-second year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and
successors, give, and grant unto me, the said Hamilton Woods, Hor
.special license that I, the said, Hamilton' Woods, my executors, adminis
trators, and assigns,. or such others as. I, the said Hamilton Woods,
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 APPARATUS FOR HEATING WATER BY MEANS OF STEAM,"
upon the condition, amonst others, that I, the said Hamilton Woods,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my,
or their or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describa
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 Hamilton Woods; do hereby
declaro the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same
is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and
by the following statement and accompanying Drawings, that is to
say:
My Invention has reference principally to the heating of the com-
paritively large quantities of water employed in mashing and other
operations in breweries, distilleries, and the like, but is also applicable to.
the heating of water for other purposes. The water to be heated is con-
tained in a tank or cistern made of wood, metal, or other suitable and
ordinary material or materials and of any suitable and ordinary dimen-
sions, my improvements relating more particularly to the. forms "and

page_text: arrangements of the steam pipes fitted to or in the said tanks or cisterns
in manner as follows, namely, the said tank is fitted with ono or more
sets of steam chests or main pipes, which are fixed in the interior of the
said tank and at a short distance above the bottom thereof or are formed
in or upon the bottom of the said tank, each of the said chests being
connected to a corresponding chest by means of a number of bent tubes,
each tube being attached by one end to one of the said chests, and by
the other end to the other end of the said chests, the said tubes
penetrating the body of water in the tank to a suitable distanco in a
vertical or other suitable direction in order that the steam when passing
from one chest to the other through the said tubes may impart heat to
the water. The steam enters one of tho said chests, and passes through
the above-mentioned tubes to the other chest, or, if preferred, the said
chests may be divided by suitable partitions in such a manner as that
the steam shall pass through a portion of the tubes from one chest to
the other, and then return by another set of tubes to the first chest, this
roturn of the steam to the first chest being repeated if desired as often
as is convenient. If required more than one set of steam chests may be
fitted to one tank, the said chests being arranged in rows parallel with
cach other throughout the tank, or parallel with two or more sides of
the tank, or otherwise, as found to be most convenient, the several sets
being without connection one with the other, and seperately supplied with
steam, or the ends of the chests, or of a portion of the said chests, may
be connected together so as to form a rectangle or a ring, or otherwise
combined together as found most suitable to the form and dimensions
of the tank, the chests so combined being either divided internally by
means of the partitions as hercin-before described, or having a con-
tinuous internal communication between the several chests so connected
together, and being supplied with steam at one or more points. Suit-
able arrangements are made to enable the water produced by the
condensation of the steam to be withdrawn or discharged from the
interiors of the chests; for which purpose I sometimes form a chamber
under the whole of the bottom of the tank, or under a portion thereof,
into which the water is discharged through pipes communicating with
the several steam chests, or portions of steam chests, the water being
withdrawn or discharged from the said chamber by any suitable means
which will prevent the passage of steam with the water, the steam in
the said chamber assisting to some extent to heat the water in the
tank.

page_text: In order that the said Invention. 'may be fully, understood and be
readily explained in, detail I have supplied to accompany this Specifi-
cation a Sheet of Drawings made to a scale of about three-quarters of
au inch to one foot, and having similar letters of reference marked' upon
corresponding parts in the various Figures.
Referring in this place to the said Drawings, Fig. 1. represents
vertical section through the centre of a circular tank, and Fig. 2 is á
plan thereof; Fig. 3 is a vertical longitudinal section taken on the centre
line of a rectangular tank, Fig. 4 being a plan and Fig. 5 a vertical
cross section thereof taken at right angles to Fig. 8; Figures 6, 7, and 8
are curtailed vertical sections illustrating modifications in the arrange-
ments of the heating apparatus.
In the various Figs. a, a, are the tanks or cisterns to contain the
liquid to be heated; b, b, are the steam chests; and c, c, are t the stcam
or heating pipes.
In the examples illustrated the tanks are formed of cast-iron plates
united together by means of flanches in the ordinary manner, but,
they may be formed of any other suitable material or materials as
preferred.
In Figs. 1 and 2 the tank a is made of a circular or cylindrical form,
and is fitted with four curved steam chests 6, 6', the said chests being
supported by chairs or feet d, d, which rest upon the bottom of the
tank. Each of the said chests is divided into two compartiments by
means of partitions, as shewn by the dotted lines at x, x, in Fig. 2, and;
the outer chests b, b, are each provided with an inlet branch'e, the,
flanch 2, which is jointed and fastened to the outside of the cistern, being
larger in diameter than the flanch 3, which is attached to the steam,
chest in order that an orifice may be formed in the side of the said.
cistern sufficiently large to admit of the passage thereinto of the said.
flanch 3. The chests b, b, are connected with the chests 6', b¹, by,
mcans of the metal pipes or tubes c, c, it being preferred that the said-
pipes be varied in length in a similar manner as is shewn in the:
Drawings, in order that the downward currents of fluid may encounter>
an increasing heat as they descend. The outer ends of the branches e, e,
are connected with the pipes from which the supply of steam is obtained,
and suitable valves are provided to regulate the admission of the steam
to the chests b, b, the steam admitted flowing through the pipes c, c,.
backwards and forwards from one chest to the other in the direction

page_text: indicated by the arrows in Fig. 2. The water resulting from the con-
densation of the steam flows through the pipes g, g, into the chamber
from which it is discharged through a steam trap, or an ordinary cock
or valve may be employed in lieu of the said steam trap as preferred.
The chamber may be increased in size if preferred, so as to correspond
in diameter with the diameter of the tank, or nearly, in which case
the. cistern is provided with a false bottom, the space between the
said false bottom and the real bottom answering the purpose of the
chamber / and assisting in the heating of the liquid contained in the
cistern.
In Figs. 3, 4, and 5 a rectangular cistern is represented. In this
example the cistern is fitted with eight steam chests arranged in manner
as shown in Fig. 4, and the said chests are divided into compartments
by the partitions x, x, and are fitted with branches e, e, for the supply
of steam, and pipes g, g, for the discharge of the wasto water in manner
differing little from that of the example last described. The steam
enters cach of the branches e, and flowing through the divided portions
of the said branch enters the chests b, b; and in the case of the clicsts
having been divided by partitions, as in the previous examples, flows
through the pipes c, c, in the direction indicated by the arrows in the
left-hand portion of the view, but when the said chests are not so
divided the steam flows in the direction indicated by the arrows in the
right-hand portion of the view.
Fig. 6 is a view of the lower portion of a circular cistern, and Fig. 7
is a cross section of the lower portion of a cistern similar in form and
dimensions to the rectangular cistern herein-before described, both of the
said views illustrating a modification in the construction of the steam
chests. In these examples the steam chests are formed or partly formed
in the process of moulding and casting the plates which are to form the
bottom of the cistern. In the said process of .moulding and casting the
chambers b, b, are formed in the plates, and the said chambers are after-
wards closed by plates ff, of cast iron, wrought iron, or other suitable
metal, the said plates being attached to the plates / by means of bolts
or rivets, or by other suitable and ordinary means, in order to render
the chests steam-tight. The steam is admitted to the chests so formed
through the pipe 7, and suitable pipes are arranged to admit of the dis-
charge of water from the said chests, as has been herein-before described,
and as shown at g in Fig. 6.
Although the steam chesis shown in Figs. 6 and 7 are herein described

page_text: as being formed in the bottom plates by casting they may be attached
to the bottom plates by means of bolts or rivets, or by other suitable
mcans.
Fig. 8 represents a slight modification of the arrangement last
described. In this example each of the plates which are to form the
bottom of the tank or cistern is cast with a hollow or recess extending
over nearly the whole of its surface, so that when a plate of cast or
wrought iron, copper, or other suitable material is attached to the afore-
mentioned plato a space 6 will be left between the two plates, which
said space will constitute a steam chest or chamber which may be
employed to heat the contents of the tank in manner as herein-before
described.
It will be seen that each plate constitutes in itself a portion of a
double bottom to the tank or cistern to which it is fitted.
Having now described the nature of my said Invention, together with
means of carrying the same into practical effect, I wish it to be
understood that I claim as being of my own Invention,―
First. The method of imparting heat to water or other fluids by
means of steam pipes applied, fitted and acting substantially in manner
as herein described and as illustrated in the attached Drawings.
Secondly. The construction and arrangement of the steam chests
acting in conjunction with the aforesaid pipes, substantially as herein
described and as illustrated in the attached Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Hamilton Woods, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, this Twenty-third day of March, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine.
HAMILTON WOODS. (L.S.)
Signed and scaled by the said
Hamilton Woods, in the presence
of
EDWARD K. DUTTON,
Agent to the Petitioner,
3, Smithy Door,
Manchester.