IMPROVEMENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING HOT WATER FROM KITCHEN AND OTHER BOILERS TO BATHS, WASHSTANDS, AND FOR GENERAL USE IN DWELLING HOUSES AND OTHER PLACES, WHEREBY EXPLOSION IS ENTIRELY PREVENTED
Year: 1864

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to William Wilson, of the City of Manchester, in the
County of Lancaster, Ironmonger, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS
IN AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING HOT WATER FROM KITCHEN AND OTHER
BOILERS TO BATHS, WASHSTANDS, AND FOR GENERAL USE IN DWELLING HOUSES
AND OTHER PLACES, WHEREBY EXPLOSION IS ENTIRELY PREVENTED."
Sealed the 8th September 1864, and dated the 11th March 1864.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said William Wilson at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his Petition, on the 11th
March 1864.
I, WILLIAM WILSON, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
Ironmonger, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
MENTS IN AND APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING HOT WATER FROM KITCHEN AND OTHER
BOILERS TO BATHS, WASHSTANDS, AND FOR GENERAL USE IN DWELLING HOUSES AND
OTHER PLACES, WHEREBY EXPLOSION IS ENTIRELY PREVENTED," to be as follows:-
It is well known that kitchen-boiler explosions are caused by the supply of
water to the boiler becoming frozen by the action of the atmosphere, and as a
necessary consequence the small quantity of water contained in the boiler is
soon evaporated, and the boiler itself becomes heated perhaps to redness. The
extra heated steam or air arising up the pipes soon thaws the stoppage, and the
water coming down upon the heated boiler is immediately converted into

page_text: steam, and there being no room for the expansion an explosion inevitably
ensues. To remedy this a hot-water cylinder has been used in conjunction
with the boiler, and this consists of a thin copper or other metal cylinder of
any suitable capacity, the ends of which are "egged" or "bellied" out for
the purpose of strengthening it, which cylinder is placed vertically at a higher
level than the boiler in order that a flow pipe may be taken from the top of
the boiler into the cylinder, and another pipe, called the return pipe, is taken
from the bottom of the cylinder into the boiler; by means of these pipes a
continual circulation of the water is going on between the cylinder and the
boiler. A cold-water cistern at the top of the building supplies the cylinder
with cold water by means of a supply pipe connecting the bottom of the said
cistern with the bottom of the cylinder; at the bend of the said supply pipe,
where it turns to be attached to the bottom of the cylinder, a cock, tap, or
other description of draw-off valve is connected for the purpose of drawing off
any sediment which may lodge at the bottom of the cylinder. Another pipe,
called the expansion pipe, is connected to the top of the said cylinder, and
from thence it is carried upwards in a slanting or vertical direction to above
the lovel of the water in the cold-water cistern, and is there open to the
atmosphere. To carry or supply hot water to a bath, washstand, or any other
part of a building, a draw-off pipe is connected to the said expansion pipe at
any point below the level of the water in the cold-water cistern, and to which
any number of joints may be made to carry the hot water to the bed rooms,
kitchen, cellars, or any other part of the building below the level of the water
in the cold-water cistern. Should the supply of water to the cylinder be
stopped, either by the supply cistern becoming empty through any cause, or
the supply pipe being frozen, the cylinder and boiler still remain full, and they
can only be emptied by evaporation, which would be the work of many days,
but in this arrangement it is necessary to draw off the water which has been
lodging in the pipes previous to being able to obtain hot water.
In some
cases the draw-off pipe has been carried round the building and the other end
of the said draw-off pipe has been connected to the return pipe to the boiler,
and so the water has been caused to circulate round the building; but if a
stoppage occurred in the supply of water to the cylinder all the water could
be drawn out of the said cylinder by any cock, tap, or other description of
draw-off valve connected to the draw-off pipe below the level of the bottom of
the said cylinder.
Now this Invention has for its object improvements applicable to the
heroin-before described apparatus, whereby hot water can be circulated round
a building without the possibility of explosion from any cause, and the hot

page_text: water can be immediately drawn without any waste from any cock, tap, or
other description of draw-off valve, and in the application of a glass guage to
indicate the height of the water in the cylinder in case of a stoppage of the
supply of water to the said cylinder, and consist in taking the draw-off pipe,
which is connected at one end to the expansion pipe, to or below the level of
the bottom of the cylinder after it has passed close by every cock, tap, or other
description of draw-off valve, from thence carrying it above the level of the
top of the cylinder and then bringing it down again and connecting the other
end of the said draw-off pipe to the return pipe to the boiler, and this
descending part of the pipe, which is connected to the return pipe to the
boiler, is called the safety or warning pipe, and may be formed of glass, and
so constitute a glass guage to indicate the height of the water in the cylinder.
At the point above the level of the top of the cylinder, where the said draw-off
pipe bends to descend to the return pipe, a small air pipe, of any diameter, is
attached, and the other end of the said small air pipe is connected to the
expansion pipe, so that from any cause should the circulation be stopped it
would be impossible to "syphon" the water out of the cylinder and boiler in
consequence of being able to draw either water or air from the expansion
pipe. Through the said draw-off pipe the hot water is continually circulating,
and as the draw-off pipe passes close by every cock, tap, or other description
of draw-off valve, hot water may be immediately drawn from any point below
the level of the water in the cold-water cistern, with the exception of that
part of the draw-off pipe which descends from above the level of the top of the
cylinder down to the return pipe, and which has been named the safety or
warning pipe. In all cases it is preferred to connect the draw-off pipe at the
highest practicable level at which it is desirable to draw hot water, and after
passing the bath cock or other largest outlet the said draw-off pipe may be
gradually diminished in size as it descends down to the return pipe to the
boiler. It is well known that as water is heated it rises to the surface, and
therefore as the draw-off pipe is attached at the highest practicable point to
the expansion pipe, the lightest and hottest water is always drawn first, and as
the circulating or draw-off pipe passes close by every cock, tap, or other
description of draw-off valve in the building, hot water can be immediately
drawn without any loss or without first dislodging the water in the pipes.
Should the supply of water to the cylinder be stopped, the hot water can only
be drawn off to the level of the connection of the small air pipe with the safety
pipe, and thus the cylinder is left full and can only be emptied by evaporation,
thereby doing away with the possibility of explosion. When no more water
can be drawn off it is a sign that a stoppage of the supply to the cylinder has

page_text: occurred, and then, by reference to the glass guage, the height of the water
in the cylinder may be immediately known, and the proper steps taken to
have the cause of the stoppage of the sunnly removed.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said William Wilson in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
10th September 1864.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
WILSON, of the City of Manchester, in the County of Lancaster, Tronmonger,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of March, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and sixty-four, in the. twenty-seventh year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said William Wilson, Her special license that T, the said William Wilson, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said William
Wilson, 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 AND
APPARATUS FOR SUPPLYING HOT WATER PROM KITCHEN AND OTHER BOILERS TO
BATHS, WASHSTANDS, AND FOR GENERAL USE IN DWELLING HOUSES AND OTHER
PLACES, WHEREBY EXPLOSION IS ENTIRELY PREVENTED," upon the condition
(amongst others) that I, the said William Wilson, my executors or adminis-
trators, 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 Offico within six calendar months
next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said William Wilson, do hereby declare
the nature of this my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement:-
It is well known that kitchen-boiler explosions are caused by the supply of
water to the boiler becoming frozen by the action of the atmosphere, and as a
necessary consequence the small quantity of water contained in the boiler is

page_text: ensues.
soon evaporated, and the boiler itself becomes heated perhaps to redness.
The extra heated steam or air arising up the pipes soon thaws the stoppage,
and the water coming down upon the heated boiler is immediately converted
into steam, and there being no room for the expansion an explosion inevitably
To remedy this a "hot-water cylinder" has been used in conjunction
with the boiler, and this consists of a thin copper or other metal cylinder of
any suitable capacity, the ends of which are egged or bellied out for the
purpose of strengthening it, which cylinder is placed vertically at a higher level
than the boiler, in order that a flow pipe may be taken from the top of the
boiler into the cylinder, and another pipe, called the return pipe, is taken from
the bottom of the cylinder into the boiler. By means of these pipes a
continual circulation of the water is going on between the cylinder and the
boiler. A cold-water cistern at the top of the building supplies the cylinder
with cold water by means of a supply pipe connecting the bottom of the said
cistern with the bottom of the cylinder; at the bend of the said supply pipe,
where it turns to be attached to the bottom of the cylinder, a cock, tap, or
other description of draw-off valve is connected, for the purpose of drawing off
any sediment which may lodge at the bottom of the cylinder. Another pipe,
called the expansion pipe, is connected to the top of the said cylinder, and
from thence it is carried upwards in a slanting or vertical direction to above
the level of the water in the cold-water cistern, and it is there open to the
atmosphere. To carry or supply hot water to a bath, washstand, or to any
other part of a building a draw-off pipe is connected to the said expansion
pipe at any point below the level of the water in the cold-water cistern, and to
which any number of joints may be made to carry the hot water to the bed-
rooms, kitchens, cellars, or to any other part of the building below the level of
the water in the cold-water cistern. Should the supply of water to the
cylinder be stopped either by the supply cistern becoming empty through any
cause, or the supply pipe being frozen, the cylinder and boiler still remain
full, and they can only be emptied by evaporation, which would be the work
of many days, but in this arrangement it is necessary to draw off the water
which has been lodging in the "draw-off pipes" previous to being able to
obtain hot water. In some cases the draw-off pipe has been carried round the
building, and the other end of the said draw-off pipe has been connected to
the return pipe to the boiler, and so the water has been caused to circulate
round the building; but if a stoppage occurred in the supply of water to the
cylinder all the water could be drawn out of the said cylinder by any cock,
tap, or other description of draw-off valve connected to the draw-off pipe below
the level of the bottom of the said cylinder.

page_text: Now this Invention has for its object improvements applicable to the
herein-before described apparatus, whereby hot water can be circulated round
a building without the possibility of explosion from any cause whatever, and
the hot water can be immediately drawn without any waste from any cock, tap,
or other description of draw-off valve, and in the application of a glass guage
to indicate the height of the water in the cylinder in case of a stoppage of the
supply of water to the said cylinder, and consists in taking the draw-off pipe
(which is connected at one end to the expansion pipe) close past every cock,
tap, or other description of draw-off valve from which it is desirable to draw
hot water, provided that they are not below the level of the top of the cylinder,
and then connecting the other end of the said draw-off pipe to the return pipe to
the boiler. If there are any taps or cocks below the level of the top of the cylinder,
branch pipes should be taken from the draw-off pipe down to them, or the
draw-off pipe may be taken close past them, provided that the pressure of
water upon the cylinder is sufficient to force the water round, and in this case
the said draw-off pipe after passing all the taps or cocks should be carried above
the level of the top of the cylinder previous to being brought down to be
attached to the return pipe to the boiler, and at that point, where the said
draw-off pipe bends to descend to the return pipe to the boiler, one end of a
small air pipe, of any diameter, should be connected, and the other end of the
small air pipe should be connected to the expansion pipe, so that from any
cause should the circulation be stopped it would be impossible to "syphon"
the water out of the cylinder and boiler in consequence of being able to draw
either water or air from the expansion pipe. Through the said draw-off pipe
the hot water is continually circulating, and as the draw-off pipe passes close
by every cock, tap, or other description of draw-off valve, hot water may be
immediately drawn from any point below the level of the water in the cold-
water cistern. In all cases it is preferred to connect the draw-off pipe at the
highest practicable level at which it is desirable to draw hot water, and after
passing the bath, cock, or other largest outlet the said draw-off pipe may be
gradually diminished in size as it descends down to the return pipe to the
boiler.
It is well known that as water is heated it rises to the surface, and there-
fore as the draw-off pipe is attached at the highest practicable point to the
expansion pipe, the lightest and hottest water is always drawn first, and as the
circulating or draw-off pipe passes close by every cock, tap, or other descrip-
tion of draw-off valve in the building, hot water can be immediately drawn
without any loss or without first dislodging the water in the pipes. Should
the supply of water to the cylinder be stopped, the hot water can only be

page_text: drawn off to the level of the connection of the small air pipe with the safety
pipe, and thus the cylinder is left full, and can only be emptied by evaporation,
thereby doing away with the possibility of explosion.
That this my said Invention may be the more readily seen and understood,
I have hereunto annexed a Drawing illustrating an elevational section of a
house having my improved method of supplying hot water applied, like letters
and figures being used to denote similar parts.
A is the boiler at the back of the kitchen fire, and B is the thin copper or
other metal "hot-water cylinder" used in conjunction therewith, which must
be placed on a higher level than the boiler; C represents a cistern at the top
of the building fed by the pipe D from any source, and regulated by the ball-
cock a; E, a cold-water supply pipe connecting the bottom of the cistern C
with the bottom of the cylinder B, and thereby supplying cold water to the
said cylinder; F is the flow pipe taken from the top of the boiler A into the
cylinder B, which flow pipe should rise a short distance up inside the
cylinder; & G is the return pipe connecting the bottom of the cylinder
with the bottom of the boiler; H is the expansion pipe, carried up above
the level of the water in the cold-water cistern C, and I is the draw-off
pipe branching off the said expansion pipe; J represents that part of
the draw-off pipe which descends from the top of the cylinder down to
the return pipe, which is called the safety or warning pipe, and which,
by being constructed of glass may so constitute a glass guage to indicate the
height of the water in the cylinder B, in case of a stoppage in the supply of
water to the said cylinder; K is a cleansing pipe used for removing any
sediment which may lodge at the bottom of the cylinder, and which is actuated
by the cock 6; L, L, illustrate washstands; and M is a bath, all of which are
supplied by hot water from the draw-off pipe; N represents a slopstone; and
O, a "copper" supplied by hot water through the branch pipe P; Q, Q, Q, Q, Q,
are hot-water cocks, taps, or other description of valves; and R, R, R, R, are
cold-water cocks, taps, or other valves, supplied by cold water from the feed
pipe D. The dotted lines marked S represent the draw-off pipe I carried
down beneath the level of the top of the cylinder when the pressure upon the
cylinder is considered sufficient, and when it is desirable to draw hot water
immediately at the slopstone N or "copper" O. In case of this arrangement
being required, that part of the draw-off pipe from c to d and the branch
pipe P would be dispensed with, and the hot water would be drawn at the
slopstone or copper" through the short branch pipe T'; after passing all the
taps, cocks, or other valves the pipe S would have to be taken to the level of "
<<

page_text: the top of the cylinder previous to being connected to the return pipe, and a
the bend of the pipe, where it turns to descend to the return pipe, a small ai
pipe e should connect the pipe S with the expansion pipe H. U represents the
draw-off pipe bent in its course so as to form a heated rail, upon which linen
or clothes may be hung, and so be readily and speedily dried or aired, or the
heated rail may be used as a towel rail.
The manner in which this improved arrangement works may be thus
described-As the water becomes heated in the boiler A, the hottest water,
being the lightest, rises through the flow pipe F into the cylinder, and from
thence it proceeds up to the top of the expansion pipe H, at the same time tho
cold water descends down the return pipe G to take the place of the hot water,
and so a circulation commences. As the draw-off pipe is connected to the
return pipe the water contained in it soon becomes displaced, and a circulation
commences and continues through the said draw-off pipe. In the course of
time the whole contents of the cylinder become heated, and is therein stored
up ready for use, and should the water ever arrive at the boiling point, the
expansion pipe H, being open to the atmosphere at the top, allows for any
expansion which may take place.
It will be readily seen that this arrangement is based upon the principle
that hot water always rises to the surface, and that cold water, although
introduced beneath it, will not mix with hot water; it will also be apparent
that the possibility of being able to draw water at all in this arrangement
depends upon the column of cold water exercising its influence upon the
contents of the cylinder, and should that pressure be removed it would be
impossible to draw or syphon water out of the cylinder, even although the
draw-off pipe is taken below the level of the cylinder, in virtue of being able to
draw air from the expansion pipe through the small air pipe e.
more water can bo drawn off from the hot-water cocks it is a sign that a
stoppage of the supply to the cylinder has occurred, and then, by reference to
the glass guage, the height of the water in the cylinder may be immediately
ascertained, and the proper steps taken to have the cause of the stoppage
removed.
When no
Although the cylinder is represented as being in the kitchen, it should be
understood that it would work equally well in the next storey above, and in
that case it might be enclosed, and so form a warm closet.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of this my
said Invention, and the best method with which I am acquainted for carrying
the same into practical effect, I wish it to be distinctly understood that I do

page_text: not confine myself to the precise details, relative proportions, or dimensions,
as the same may be considerably varied without departing from the Invention;
but what I particularly claim is,―
Firstly, connecting the draw-off pipe to the return pipe to the boiler in the
manner and for the purpose herein-before described and set forth, whereby it
becomes an absolute impossibility to empty the cylinder, and so all cause of
explosion is entirely prevented.
Secondly, the application and use of a safety or warning pipe and glass
guage to indicate the contents of "hot-water cylinders" in case of a stoppage
of supply to the said cylinder, as herein-before described and set forth, or any
mere modification of the same.
Thirdly, and lastly, forming the draw-off pipe into a heated rail for the
purposes herein-before described and set forth, or any mere modification of
the same.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Wilson, have hereunto set my
hand and affixed my seal, this Ninth day of September, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-four.
WILLIAM (L.S.) WILSON.
Witness,
J. G. WILSON,
Of the Firm of J. G. Wilson & Co.,
Patent Agents,
Manchester.