Improvements in Apparatus for Coating the Interior of Casks, Barrels, and other Vessels, with Paraffin Wax or other Material.
Year: 1897

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION,
TRUVIDIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Apparatus for Coating the Interior of Casks,
Barrels, and other Vessels, with Paraffin Wax or other
Material.
I, CHARLES HENRY MEYER, of Commercial Road, Shepton Mallet, in the County of
Somerset, Brewer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention has reference to apparatus for coating the interior of casks, barrels
and other vessels with paraffin wax or other material such for example as resin, pitch
and the like for the purposes in the case of wooden casks or vessels of closing the
pores of the wood and thereby obviating the escape of carbonic acid gas or other gas,
of preventing the wood imparting any objectionable flavor it may have to the con-
tained liquid and also of preserving the wood and keeping it sweet; in the case of
metal casks or vessels, the coating prevents chemical action between the metal and
the contents of the vessels.
According to this invention the paraffin wax or other coating material is applied to
the interior of the casks or vessels by spraying it by means of a nozzle inserted into
an opening in the vessel as for instance the bunghole of a cask.
In carrying out the invention according to one modification thereof, I employ an
open tank containing the coating material which is kept in a sufficiently liquid or
viscous state by any suitable source of heat such for example as a steam coil in
the tank, or a range of gas burners or other externally applied heat. Submerged
The
in the tank is a cylinder (or other shaped vessel) having an inlet valve which when
open allows the cylinder to become filled with coating material from the tink.
valve is connected with a cask support above the tank in such manner that when a
cask is upon the support the valve is closed, and when the cask is removed the valve
opens. Carried up from the lower part of the cylinder and preferably from a well or
sunk part of same is a pipe at the upper end of which is a spraying nozzle.
nected with the cylinder is a pipe leading from a compressed air supply.
Con-
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-The coating material in the tank
being in a sufficiently liquid state the submerged cylinder becomes filled therewith
through the valve. The cask to be coated is then placed on the support so that the
nozzle enters the bunghole, and the valve automatically closes. Compressed air is
next admitted to the cylinder and the coating material is thereby forced from the
cylinder up the pipe before described to the nozzle from which it issues as a spray
and coats the interior of the cask. Any of the material which does not reach and
adhere to the wall of the cask falls back through the bunghole into the tank.
Instead of forcing the material to the nozzle by compressed air as above described

page_text: it may be pumped up from the tank or be drawn through the delivery pipe and
nozzle by vacuum; in the latter case the nozzle should fit the bunghole her-
inetically and the vacuum may be produced by connecting the tap hole with an
exhaust apparatus.
In practice it will generally be found convenient to employ one
long tank with a number of cylinders, cask supports, spraying nozzles and com-
pressed air pipes as above described.
According to another modification, the tank, instead of being open, is hermetically
closed, in which case the submerged cylinder before described may be dispensed with,
as the delivery pipe to the nozzle will receive the coating material direct from the
tank. In this modification the top of the tank is preferably recessed to receive the
surplus material from the tank, and this surplus can be run back into the tank from
time to time by opening a valve.
The air pressure and the temperature and consequently the degree of liquidity
of the coating material should be regulated according to the size of the cask to be
acted on.
Sinal casks will require less pressure and a lower temperature than larger
ones because the spray from the nozzle has not so far to travel.
I find when paraffin
wax is the coating material used that a temperature of about 160° Fahrenheit is
suitable in the case of a 4 gallon cask.
Dated the 2nd day of December 1897
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56 Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.
Improvements in Apparatus for Coating the Interior of Casks,
Barrels, and
Vessels, with
or
Paraffin Wax
other
Material.
other
I, CHARLES HENRY MEYER, of Commercial Road, Shepton Mallet, in the County of
Somerset, Brewer, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and in what
manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained
in and by the following statement :-
This invention has reference to apparatus for coating the interior of casks, barrels
and other vessels without removing the head with paraffin wax and the like for the
purposes, in the case of wooden casks or vessels, of closing the pores of the wood and
thereby obviating the escape of carbonic acid gas or other gas, of preventing the
wood imparting any objectionable flavor it may have to the contained liquid and also
of preserving the wood and keeping it sweet and free from mould or fungoid growths;
in the case of metal casks or vessels, the coating prevents chemical action between
the metal and the contents of the vessels.
According to this invention the paraffin wax or other waxy coating material is
applied to the interior of the casks or vessels by spraying it by means of a nozzle
inserted into an opening in the vesssl as for instance in the bunghole of a
cask.
In carrying out the invention according to one modification thereof, I employ an
open tank containing the coating material which is kept in a sufficiently liquid or
viscous state by any suitable source of heat such for example as a steam coil in the tank,
or a range of gas burners or other externally applied heat. Submerged in the tank
is a cylinder (or other shaped vessel) having an inlet valve which when open allows
the cylinder to become filled with coating material from the tank. The valve is
connected with a cask support above the tank in such manner that when a cask is
upon the support the valve is closed, and when the cask is removed the valve opens.

page_text: Carried up from the lower part of the cylinder and preferably from a well or sunk part
Connected with the
of same is a pipe at the upper end of which is a spraying nozzle.
cylinder is a pipe leading from a compressed air supply.
The operation of the apparatus is as follows:-The coating material in the tank
being in a sufficiently liquid state the submerged cylinder becomes filled therewith
through the valve. The cask to be coated is then placed on the support so that the
nozzle enters the bunghole, and the valve automatically closes. Compressed air is
next admitted to the cylinder and the coating material is thereby forced from the
cylinder up the pipe before described to the nozzle from which it issues as a spray and
coats the interior of the cask. Any of the material which does not reach and adhere
to the wall of the cask falls back through the bunghole into the tank.
Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings are respectively a vertical section
and a plan showing an apparatus constructed according to my invention as herein-
before described.
In these figures, 1 is a tank closed at its upper end by means of a loose top or
cover 2, and at its lower end by means of a fixed bottom 3, a suitable space being
left between the bottom 3 and the extreme lower end of the tank 1 to allow of
arranging a ring gas burner 4 underneath the bottom of the tank.
*.
An opening 2 is cut in the loose top 2 of the tank and on the two narrow sides
of this opening are arranged two bars 5, 5 suitably curved to receive the cask to be
treated (shown in dotted lines). These bars 5, 5 are bolted or hinged at their rear
ends with a certain amount of play to the loose top 2, and their forward ends are
connected together by a cross piece 5º.
The said forward ends are also connected to springs 6, 6 which are attached to
brackets 6ª, 6ª fixed to the side of the tank and which have a constant tendency to
raise the bars 5, 5 together with their connecting cross bars 5ª for a purpose here-
inafter described.
Inside the tank at a suitable level there is arranged a metal cylinder 7 formed
with a well 7 in its bottom into which dips the lower end of a pipe 8 which extends
up through the top of the cylinder, through the upper part of the tank and out
through the opening 2ª in the loose top of the same.
12 is a
This pipe 8 is provided at its upper end with a perforated spraying nozzle 9 which
is adapted to enter the cask to be treated, through the bunghole of the same when
the cask is placed in position upon the supporting bars 5, 5. A valve casing 10
containing a valve (not shown) is fixed at its delivery end 10 to the cylinder 7
whilst its lower or inlet end 10 communicates with the lower part of the tank. The
valve spindle 10° is connected by means of a rod 11 to the cross bar 5ª.
pipe provided with a controlling cock 12ª, leading from a source of supply of com-
pressed air into the upper part of the cylinder 7. The cock 12ª has a groove in its
plug and a hole in its shell to allow the air to escape from the cylinder 7 when the
wax is running into this cylinder. Around the pipe 8 and underneath the
opening 2 is arranged a perforated straining dish 13.
A hinged lid 2b is provided in the loose top 2 for the purpose of charging the
tank 1 with paraffin wax or other coating material. The tank can be emptied through
a cock 14 provided at the lower part of the tank, 15 is a thermometer for indicating
the température of the wax inside the tank.
The raising force of the springs 6, 6 is so adjusted that so long as there is no cask
upon the bars 5, 5 the said springs will raise the bars 5, 5 and their connecting
cross bars and thereby open the valve in the valve casing 10 through the medium
of the valve spindle 10 and connecting rod 11. Consequently the paraffin wax
which has been charged into the tank 1 and which is melted by the heat of the gas
burner 4, will flow past the valve into the cylinder 7.
Now if a cask be placed upon the bars 5, 5 the weight of the cask will overcome
the force of the springs 6, 6 and by depressing the bars 5, 5 and 5° will close the
valve 10, thereby shutting off all cominunication between the tank 1 and the interior
of the cylinder 7. If now compressed air be admitted into the cylinder 7 through
the pipe 12 the liquid paraffin wax in the said cylinder will be forced up through

page_text: the pipe 8 and out through the perforations of the nozzle 9 in the form of a spray
against the internal walls of the cask. Any excess of paraffin wax will run out
through the bunghole and then through the opening 2ª into the strainer 13 whence
it will pass through the perforations of the latter in a clean condition, freed from
any chips &c. which it may carry with it, back into the tank 1. On completion of
the treatment the compressed air is shut off, and on removing the treated cask, the
springs 6, 6 will open the valve 10 so as to allow of a fresh charge of paraffin wax
entering the cylinder 7 from the tank 1.
In treating wooden casks it is of advantage before coating the same with paraffin
wax as described to treat the interior of the casks with hot air. This has the effect
of opening the pores of the wood and thus facilitating the impregnation of the
wood with the paraffin wax in the subsequent coating operation.
Also it is of advantage, after casks of any material have been coated with wax as
described, to treat the interior of the casks with cold air preferably from an ordinary
blowing fan, with the object of rapidly solidifying the coating of wax before dust &c.
can settle upon the same and before the wax can leave the pores of the wood. There-
fore in carrying out my invention in the case of wooden casks I first introduce hot
air, then the melted wax and then cold air. The hot air, and cold air may
conveniently be introduced by placing the casks on stands adjoining the coating
apparatus shown in Figures 1 and 2 and introducing air, nozzles into the bunghole.
According to another modification of the invention, the tank instead of being open
is hermetically closed, in which case the submerged cylinder before described may be
dispensed with, as the delivery pipe to the nozzle will receive the coating material
direct from the tank. In this modification the top of the tank is preferably recessed
to receive the surplus material from the tank, and this surplus can be run back into
the tank from time to time by opening a valve.
This form of apparatus is shown in Figure 3, in which the submerged cylinder 7,
the movable supports 5, 5, 5*, the valve 10 and the springs 6, 6 shown in Figures 1
and 2 are dispensed with. The cask is received upon fixed supports or bars 16. The
tank 1 is divided into an upper open part and a hermetically closed lower part by two
fixed heads 17, 17 the space 17ª between which is supplied with steam through a
pipe 18 and thus serves as a heating jacket for the upper part of the tank. The wax
is charged into the lower part of the tank 1 and is forced up through the pipe 8 and
out at the nozzle 9 by the pressure of compressed air admitted through the cock 12".
12b is a cock for controlling the air outlet. 19 is a pressure gauge connected to the
pipe 12.
The excess wax flowing through the perforations of the strainer 13 accumulates on
the upper head 17 and can be returned from time to time to the lower part of the
tank through a cock 20 controlling a passage way between the upper and lower
heads 17 and adapted to be operated from the outside.
Figure 4 is a vertical section of a modification similar to that shown in
Figures 1 and 2 but differing therefrom chiefly in that the supports or bars 5, 5
upon which the cask rests when in position are fixed and that the filling of the inner
cylinder 7 is effected by opening an outside cock or valve 10 which is operated by the
same lever 11 which operates the compressed air cock 12ª. The lever 11ª is con-
nected directly to the cock 12" and indirectly to the cock 10 by the intermediation of
the rod or link 11b and the lever 11º. When the lever 11 is in one position it closes
the air cock 12" and opens the cock 10 so that the melted wax flows from the tank 1
to the inner cylinder 7; when on the other hand the lever 11ª is in another position
it opens the air cock 12* and closes the cock 10 so that the compressed air enters the
cylinder 7 and forces the melted wax up through the pipe and out through
the perforations of the nozzle 9.
In coating casks fitted with metal bunghole bushes it is desirable to prevent the
liquid wax from coming in contact with the metal bush, particularly in cases where
the outside flange of the bush has indented letters or figures.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 illustrate an improved device which I prefer to employ for this
purpose. This device which is shown separately in Figures 5 and 6, and in position

page_text: in a metal bunghole bnsh in section in Figure 7, consists of a ring or annular
liner 25 of rubber or other suitable flexible material formed at its outer end with a
flange 26.
The barrel-portion of the ring 25 is made slightly longer than the
internal bore of the metal bush 27 in which it is intended to be inserted, and it is
formed on its outer periphery about midway of its length with a circumferential
protuberance 25 of slightly greater diameter than the internal hore of the bush 27.
The inner end of the barrel portion of the ring is slightly bevelled on its inner surface.
On the ring 25 being inserted with slight force into the bush 27, the protuberance 25*
will be flattened out with the result of forcing the inner bevelled end of the barrel-
portion of the ring to curl lipwise over the inner end of the metal bush 27
as shown in Figure 7, and thus prevent the wax from entering between the ring
and the bush.
The interior of the metal bush is thereby completely protected from contact with
the paraffin wax during the coating process. The flange 26 serves the two fold
purpose of retaining the ring in position and facilitating its removal from the bush
and also of preventing the inscription on the face of the bush, (such as the name of
the brewery &c.) from being filled up with wax. The ring can be readily removed
when the wax coating has set.
In practice when coating casks according to this invention on a large scale, it will
generally be found convenient to employ one long tank with a number of cylinders,
cask supports, spraying nozzles and compressed air pipes as above described.
The air pressure and the temperature and consequently the degree of liquidity of the
coating material should be regulated according to the size of the cask to be acted on.
Small casks will require less pressure and a lower temperature than larger ones because
the spray from the nozzle has not so far to travel. I find when paraffin wax is the coating
material used that a temperature of about 160° Fahrenheit is suitable in the case of
a 4 gallon cask.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. For coating the interior of casks, barrels or other vessels with paraffin wax or
other waxy material, apparatus comprising a tank or receptacle for containing the
coating material, means for heating this material, supports arranged above the said
tank or receptacle for receiving the cask to be coated, a spraving nozzle adapted to
be introduced into the cask or other vessel through the bunghole or other opening of
the latter, and communicating through a pipe with a vessel adapted to receive a charge
of coating material from the tank through a valve, means for closing the said valve,
and means for admitting compressed air to the said vessel for forcing the coating
material there-from through the spraying nozzle into the cask, substantially as
herein before described.
2. For coating the interior of casks barrels or other vessels with paraffin wax
or other waxy material. Apparatus constructed, arranged and operating substantially
as described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.
3. For coating the interior of casks barrels or other vessels with paraffin wax or
other waxy material. Apparatus constructed, arranged and operating substantially
as described with reference to Figure 3 of the accompanying drawings.
Datel
J. C. MEWBURN & ELLIS,
55 and 56, Chancery Lane, London, Chartered Patent Agents.