IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING BUILDINGS, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO STEAK BOILERS OR STEAM GENERATORS
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Theodore Seydel, of Tavistock Place,
Tavistock Square, in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING AND VENTILATING
BUILDINGS, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO STEAK
BOILERS OR STEAM GENERATORS."
Sealed the 3rd November 1868, and dated the 9th May 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Theodore Seydel
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition,
on the 9th May 1868.
I, GEORGE THEODORE SEYDEL, of Tavistock Place, Tavistock Square,
in the County of Middlesex, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN APPARATUS FOR HEATING AND
VENTILATING BUILDINGS, PART OF WHICH IMPROVEMENTS ARE ALSO APPLICABLE TO
STEAM BOILERS OR STEAM GENERATORS," to be as follows:-
The said improvements have been designed to produce a steam heating

page_text: heated from one furnace with steam of moderate pressure, and wherc
the pressure can be easily regulated without the adoption of a safety
valve or any other apparatus which acts by allowing the steam to
escape.
The improved apparatus comprises,―
1. A steam generator of peculiar form.hereafter described, which can
also be used for supplying steam for steam engines and other purposes.
2. A regulator either to be worked by hand or self-acting, by which
the pressure of steam can be regulated and any excess prevented.
3. A heat diffuser which will be placed in the compartment to be
heated and connected by pipes with the generator.
The generator consists of a series of small pipes the lower ends of
which are closed by welding and the upper ends fixed in a box of cast
or wrought iron of suitable form. The latter rests upon the brickwork
surrounding the pipes. The hot gasses from the furnace pass round
these and heat the water contained therein. The steam thus developed
rises into the upper box and is conveyed from there by means of a
steam pipe into the different heat diffusers. The condensed water from
the latter is conveyed back into the generator by a tube which enters
the above-mentioned box and then divides into a number of tubes, one
of which will always hang down in the centre of each generating tube.
The water is thus discharged at the lowest point.
The generator can also consist of a number of tubes closed at top
and bottom, and with branches near the upper end to let the steam pass
away into the general steam pipe. The condensed water or feed pipes
will penetrate through the upper end, and will be carried down nearly
to the bottom in the same way as before. Should now the evaporation
in one tube be more rapid than in another the feed pipes acting as
syphons will still maintain the same water level in all.
If it should be desirable to increase the circulation of the water in
the tubes one or two concentric tubes can be inserted which will not
touch the bottom and will be kept in their places by small pieces of
galvanized iron fixed on their outer or inner surface.
The condensed or feed water can also be introduced from below, in
which case the generator will consist of a number of parallel wrought-
iron tubes connected at the lower ends by elbows, tee pieces, and crosses
amongst each other and with the return or feed pipe.

page_text: The top ends can also be connected in the same way amongst each
other and with the steam pipe, or they can be fixed in a cast-iron or
wrought-iron box of suitable construction as before. The upper part of
the pipes or the connections which contain steam must not be exposed
to the action of the flame.
The generator can receive the heat from a furnace connected with
it or from a cooking or any other stove. In every case, however, two
flues or branches of one flue must be provided, one of which leads from
the furnace through the generator and the other from the furnace direct
into the chimney. A movable valve or damper is arranged to admit
the whole or such part of the hot gases to the generator stove as will
be necessary for producing the proper amount of pressure and to let
the rest pass through the side flue. In closing the generator flue the
valve or damper will open the side flue at the same time to the same
gases without
extent, and by thus altering only the way of the hot
checking the combustion it will be possible to use the same stove for
cooking and other purposes. The furnace will be arranged in such a
way that the radiating heat from the burning fuel cannot act upon the
tubes, so that when the generator flue is quite closed no heat will be
transmitted to the tubes.
If the stove is not used for cooking, &c. the valve can be constructed
in such a way that part of the generator flue will be closed before the
side flue commences to open. By this means the combustion can be
checked to such an extent as may appear desirable for economizing fuel
and at the same time keeping the fire in good condition.
The valve, which may be of any form or construction, will be worked
either by hand in accordance with the indications of an ordinary pressure
gauge, or it will be self-acting. A small plunger working in a stuffing
box of the generator or in a separate barrel connected with it will be
kept down by weights or springs and will be pushed forward as soon
as the pressure reaches its maximum. It will then act upon the valve
and close the generator branch of the flue.
By modifying the weight on the plunger the maximum pressure of
steam will be regulated, and as a cube foot of high-pressure steam
contains more heat than a cube foot of lower pressure means are thus
obtained to regulate also the heat transmitted to the heat diffusers.
The heat diffusers consist of a series of vertical wrought-iron pipes
connected with each other by tee pieces, elbows, &c. at top and bottom,

page_text: and surrounded by a funnel of galvanized sheet iron or other material.
The air inside the funnel when being heated will rise and will be
replaced by cold air coming in at the bottom. A rapid circulation will
thus be produced which will be regulated by a throttle or other valve
in the lower part of the funnel.
The pipes instead of being connected by tee pieces, &c. can also be
fixed at top and bottom into an annular chamber of cast iron or brass,
the upper one of which communicates with the steam pipe and the lower
one with the condensed water pipe.
Instead of a number of small pipes two concentric tubes can be
used which are welded together at the top and the bottom and form
an annular space filled with steam. This double pipe will be surrounded
as before by a funnel, and will have inlet and outlet branches at top and
bottom.
The heat diffusers can have many other forms, but the principle 1
upon which they are constructed is to let the radiation of heat take
place only in the inside of a funnel or box to produce a circulation
of air through this funnel, and to stop the communication of heat by
closing it.
Cocks can be inserted into the steam and condensed water pipes to 2
shut off each heat diffuser separately. There will be no opening in the
whole system of pipes where steam could escape, but filling plugs will be
provided in the generator to replace any water which should have been
lost by leakage of the joints. The filling up can only be done when the
apparatus is cool.
2
If ventilation has to be obtained the throttle valve in lower part of
funnel will be replaced by a double valve in the top part, which by
being lifted or lowered or by having the relative position of the two
parts altered will make it possible either, 1, to let the whole of the
heated air go into the room; or, 2, to let part of the heated air go into 3
the room and part into a tube leading into a ventilating flue; or, 3,
to let the whole of the heated air pass into the ventilating flue and none
into the room; or, 4, to stop off the circulation of air through the funnel
and open a direct passage for the air of the room into the ventilating
fluc.
This ventilator can be constructed in different ways, and amongst
others in the following:-The top of the funnel will be closed and a
tube carried from it to a ventilating shaft or flue; holes will be cut
3!

page_text: into the funnel about one foot below the top which can be closed by a
cylindrical sliding valve. The cylinder forming the latter has a bell-
shaped partition with a conical valve in the centre which opens or shuts
off the communication between the part of the funnel below and that
above the valve.
It will now be seen that if the valve is above the holes the interior
of the funnel will be in communication with the room but not with
the ventilating flue, or the reverse will take place if it is below the holes.
If the conical valve is lifted a little the interior of the funnel will be
brought into communication with the ventilating flue, which with
various positions of the main valve will complete the series of degrees of
ventilation enumerated above. The valves are moved by a simple
arrangement of rods and levers.
The generator, the regulation of pressure on the double-fluc system,
the improved heat diffuser, and the ventilating apparatus as before
described can be entirely or partially applied to hot-water heating
apparatuses of every description, to other steam heating apparatuses, and
steam boilers.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent,
filed by the said George Theodore Seydel in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 7th November 1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, 1, GEORGE
THEODORE SEYDEL, of Tavistock Place, Tavistock Square, in the County
of Middlesex, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent bearing date the Ninth day of May, in the year
of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the
thirty-first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors,
give and grant unto me, the said George Theodore Seydel, Her special
licence that I, the said George Theodore Seydel, my executors, adminis-
trators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said George Theodore
Seydel, 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

page_text: a is an ordinary fire-grate from which the hot gases pass over a
fire-bridge 6 and heat the pipes suspended in the space c. The steam
developed rises into the upper box, and is conveyed from there by means
of the steam pipe d into the different heat diffusers. The condensed
water from these is conveyed back into the generator by a tube e, which
by dividing into as many tubes as there are generating tubes is made to
discharge the water near the bottom of the latter.
The generator can also consist of a number. of tubes closed at top
and bottom, and with branches near the upper end to let the steam pass
away into the general steam pipe. The condensed water or feed pipes
will penetrate through the upper end, and will be carried down nearly
to the bottom in the same way as before. Should now the evaporation
in one tube be more rapid than in another the feed pipes acting as
syphons will still maintain the same water level in all.
The condensed or feed water can also be introduced from below, as
shown in Figure 7, and by dotted lines in Figure 1, or the generator
can consist of parallel wrought-iron tubes (Figures 9 and 10) connected
at top and bottom by elbows, tee pieces, and crosses amongst each other
and with the steam and condensed water pipe.
If it should be desirable to increase the circulation of the water in
the tubes one or two concentric tubes can be inserted which will not
touch the bottom and will be kept in their places by small pieces of
galvanized iron fixed on their outer and inner surface, as shown in
Figure 9.
·
The generator, which can be a boiler of any description, and need not
have the improved form above described, receives the heat from a furnace
connected with it, as shewn by Figures 1, 2, and 3, or from a cooking
or any other stove detached from it (Figures 6, 7, and 8). In every
case, however, two flues or branches of one flue must be arranged, one
of which leads from the furnace through the generator and the other
from the furnace direct into the chimney. A movable valve or damper
is arranged to admit the whole or such part of the hot gases to the
generator stove as will be necessary for producing the proper amount
of pressure, and to let the rest pass through the side flue.
In Figures 1 and 2 it will be seen that if the valve f has closed the
opening g the hot gases will have to pass into the side flue h, when
they cannot give off heat to the generator, and through the opening i

page_text: into the chimney. The position of the openings (Figure 5) is such that
if the valve closes one it opens the other to the same extent, and by
thus altering only the way of the hot gases without checking the com-
bustion it will be possible not only to keep up a bright fire but also
to use the same stove for cooking and other purposes. It is essential
that the furnace should be so arranged that the radiating heat from the
burning fuel cannot act upon the tubes, so that when the generator flue
is closed no heat will be transmitted to the tubes.
Figure 6 gives a horizontal section, Figure 7 a vertical section, and
Figure 8 a back elevation with the valve casing removed of a detached
generator and stove. The way of the hot gases through the generator
and back again into a passage leading to the lower opening k is
indicated by arrows. The valve consists here of two parts connected by
a spindle, and if % is closed the passage will be opened which admits
the gases direct into the chimney.
If the stove is not used for any other purpose the valve can be con-
structed in such a way that part of the generator fluc will be closed
before the side flue commences to open. By this means the combustion
can be checked to such an extent as may appear desirable for econo-
mizing fuel, and at the same time keeping the fire in good condition.
The valve, which may be of any form or construction, will be worked
either by hand in accordance with the indications of an ordinary
pressure gauge, or it will be self-acting. A small plunger 2 working
in a stuffing box of the generator (Figures 1 and 3) or in a separate
barrel connected with it by a pipe (Figures 6 and 8) will be kept down
by weights or springs, and will be pushed forward as soon as the pressure
reaches its maximum; it will then lift up the lever on to which the
valve is attached, and will lower the latter. The generator branch will
then be partly or entirely closed and the other opened.
By shifting the weight on the lever, by compressing the springs, or
by otherwise altering the weight on. the plunger, the maximum pressure
of steam will be regulated; and as a cubic foot of high-pressure steam
contains more heat than a cubic foot of lower pressure means are thus
obtained to regulate also the heat transmitted to the heat diffusers.
The working of ordinary dampers of steam boilers by means of a
plunger or piston acted upon by the pressure on the boiler is not new
and does not form part of the Invention.

page_text: The improved form of heat diffusers is represented by Figures 11
and 12 of the annexed Drawing. They consist of a series of vertical
wrought-iron pipes connected at top and bottom, which are filled with
steam and are surrounded by a funnel of galvanized sheet iron or other
material. The air in the funnel when being heated will rise, and will
be replaced by cold air coming in at the bottom, by which a rapid
circulation will be produced. This circulation will heat a room much
quicker and more effectually than if the heat would only be communi-
cated by radiation. The circulation can be regulated or entirely stopped
by a throttle valve » (Figure 11), or by any other valve which may be
either in the lower or upper part of the funnel.
The pipes of which the heat diffuser is composed can be connected
at top and bottom by elbows, tee pieces, crosses, &c., or else they can
be fastened in an annular chamber s, t, Figures 11 and 12, made of.
cast iron, brass, or any other material. The upper one s. of these.
chambers will communicate with the steam pipe, the lower one with
the waste water pipe.
Another form of the heat diffuser would be the following:-Two
concentric tubes will be welded or fastened together at top and bottom,
and will form an annular space filled with steam. The connection with
the steam pipe will be at the top, that with the condensed water pipe
at the bottom as before. This double pipe will also be surrounded by
a funnel, and the air to be heated will then pass along inside the inner
pipe, and between the outer pipe and the funnel.
Instead of one pair of concentric pipes two or more can be used, in
which 'case they will be connected with each other at top and bottom.
The heat diffusers can also have many other forms, but the principle
upon which they are constructed is to let the radiation of heat take
place only in the inside of a funnel or box to produce a circulation of
air through this funnel, and to stop the communication of heat by
closing it.
Cocks can be inserted into the steam and condensed water pipes to shut
off each heat diffuser separately. There will be no opening in the whole
system of pipes, for steam must not be allowed to escape, but should
there be any slight leakage the generator will have to be filled up now
and then by means of a filling plug n, Figure 3.

page_text: In some cases it may be necessary to let off the whole or part of
the air contained in the pipes, which can be done by cocks or plugs
arranged in suitable places.
Figure 12 of the annexed sheet shows the way in which ventilation
will be obtained by applying a double valve in the top part of funnel.
The latter is connected by an elbow pipe u with a ventilating flue or
chimney, and is also perforated with holes (2) which admit the hot air
into the room. By arranging the valves in such a way that the com-
munication with the room or with the chimney can be opened and closed
at pleasure any degree of ventilation can be obtained.
In Figure 12 a cylindrical valve has been shewn, which being
made to slide up and down will cover or open the holes 2; the upper
part of the valve has a conical shape, and the opening in its centre is
covered by a valve w. If this valve is raised from its seat air will be
admitted to the chimney and ventilation will take place. A small
wrought-iron tube y carries the valve o, and a thin rod inside of it the
valve w. By means of a nut o fixed on the lower end of the tube in such
a way that it can revolve freely the rod is screwed up and down and
the valve w lifted and lowered. The lever z worked by a screw with
nut lifts and lowers the tube y connected with the valve v.
The improved generator, the regulation of pressure on the double-
flue system, the improved heat diffuser, and the ventilating apparatus
can be applied partially or entirely to hot-water heating apparatuses
of every description, to other steam heating apparatuses, and to steam
boilers.
Having thus particularly described my said Invention, and the manner
in which the same is or may be used or carried into effect, I have to
state that I do not restrict myself to the precise details herein-before
described, but I would have it understood that what I claim is,―
First. The form and arrangement of steam generator or boiler, sub-
stantially as herein described and shewn on the accompanying Drawings,
or any mere modification thereof.
Second. The regulation of pressure and the prevention of an excess
of pressure by the double-flue system, substantially as herein described
and shewn in the accompanying Drawings, or any mere modification
thereof,

page_text: Third. The form and arrangement of heat diffusing apparatus, sub-
stantially as herein described and shewn in the accompanying Drawings,
or any mere modification thereof.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Theodore Seydel, have
hereunto set my hand and seal, this Seventh day of November,
in the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
eight
GEORGE THEODORE SEYDEL. (L.S.)