AN IMPROVED FEED WATER HEATER
Year: 1873

page_text: LETTERS PATENTſto James Noah Paxman, of the Firm of Davey, ·
Paxman, and Company, of, Colchester, in the County of Essex, for
the Tantion of A Pennawan Dan W
.
¨PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said James Noah Paxman
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents with his Petition,
on the 19th June 1873.
I, JAMES NOAH PAXMAN, of the Firm of Davey, Paxman, and
Company, of Colchester, in the County of Essex, do hereby declare the
nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED FEED WATER HEATER,"
to be as follows:-
My Invention is designed to supply a want long felt for small fixed
agricultural and other engines, and relates to an improved apparatus for
heating the feed water in a simple and efficient manner, which apparatus
being small and easily attached is well adapted for this purpose.
The heater consists of a vessel in which the water to be heated is
mixed with the waste steam from the engine. This vessel communicates

page_text: with the receptacle for water, and is surmounted by an air chamber
from which it is separated by a perforated plate or plates. The pump
for supplying the engine draws water from the said receptacle and is
provided with a surplus pipe through which a portion of the water is
passed into the heater vessel above the perforated plate. The pump
being kept constantly at work supplies more water than is required for
the boiler, and the surplus is passed through the above mentioned pipe,
the quantity being regulated by a suitable cock. The surplus water
passes in fine streams through the perforated plate into the heater
vessel, wherein it is mixed with the waste steam introduced below
the perforated plate and passes down and out through a passage into the
water receptacle or tank. This action is continued until the water
reaches the maximum temperature to be obtained from the steam.
The air chamber serves to maintain a more uniform flow through the
perforated plate, the passages through which are in the aggregate
smaller in area than the surplus water supply pipe, so that when the
quantity of water supplied increases (it being somewhat irregular) the
water will rise higher in the air chamber and compress therein the air,
which by its elasticity will force the water through the plate at a
quicker rate.
If necessary means are provided for regulating the size of the
apertures in the plate, and to enable them to be readily cleared of any
deposit or incrustation which may lodge therein, for which purpose a
double plate may be employed, the one plate being adjustable on the
other.
"It is not at all necessary to stop the supply to the boiler should the
heater by any means become disarranged, as the cock on the surplus
pipe may be arranged to return the surplus water to the water rc-
ceptacle without passing through the heater.
The air vessel cover is fixed in such a manner that it can be readily.
removed for inspecting the inside of the heater or cleaning same.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent;
filed by the said James Noah Paxman, in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 19th December 1873.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JAMES
NOAH PAXMAN, of the Firm of Davey, Paxman; and Company, of
Colchester, in the County of Essex, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Nineteenth day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-three, in the thirty-
sixth year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto me, the said James Noah Paxman, Her special licence.
that I, the said James Noah Paxman, my executors, administrators, and
assigns, or such others as I, the said James Noah Paxman, 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 "AN IMPROVED FEED
WATER HEATER," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said.
James Noah Paxman, my executors or administrators, by an instru-
ment in writing under my, or their, or one of their hands and seals,
should particularly describe and ascertain the nature of the said In-
vention, 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 James Noah Paxman, do hereby.
declare the nature of 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, reference being had to the Sheet of
Drawings hereunto annexed, and to the letters and figures marked
thereon (that is to say) :-
My Invention is designed to supply a want long felt for small portable
and other steam engines, and relates to an improved feed water heater.
which is both simple and efficient and being of small size and casily
attached is therefore well adapted for this purpose,

page_text: The heater consists of a vessel in which the water to be heated is
mixed with the exhaust steam from the engine. This vessel commu-
nicates with the water tank or receptacle and is surmounted by an air-
chamber. The pump for supplying the engine draws water from the
tank and is provided with a surplus or overflow pipe through which a
portion of the water, is passed into the heater vessel above a perforated.
plate fitted therein. The pump being bept constantly at work supplies
more water than is required for the boiler and the surplus is passed
through the above-mentioned pipe, the quantity being regulated by a
suitable cock. The surplus water passes through the perforated plate in
the form of spray, and after being mixed with the waste steam, intro- .
duced below the said perforated plate, passes down and out through a.
passage back into the water tank. This action is continuous, the water:
being repeatedly passed through the cheater and returned to the tank
until it reaches the maximum temperature to be obtained from the
steam.
The air chamber serves to maintain a more uniform flow through the
perforated plate, the aggregate arca of the passages through which is
somewhat smaller than that of the surplus water supply pipe, so that
when the quantity of water supplied increases (it being somewhat
irregular) the water will rise higher in the air chamber and compress the
air, which by its elasticity will force the water through the plate at a
quicker rate.
If necessary I may employ two perforated plates, the one fitting
close upon the other, and the holes in the one in a certain pòsition 2
corresponding exactly with the holes of the other. One of these two
plates is made to turn upon a pivot or centre so that the holes in the one
may be made to coincide more or less with the holes in the other, and
thus diminish the apertures through which the water passes. This
arrangement would serve to regulate the passage of the water and offer
facilities for cleaning the perforations in the plates.
.
It is not at all necessary to stop the supply to the boiler should the.
heater by any means become disarranged, as the cock on the surplus
pipe may be a three way one with a return pipe to the tank, so that by
altering the position of the cock the surplus water will be returned to
the tank without passing through the heater.
The air vessel cover is fixed in such a manner that it can be readily
removed for inspecting the inside of the heater or cleaning same.

page_text: DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS.
Figure 1 is a front elevation showing the water heater as applied to a
vertical boiler; Figure 2 is a sectional elevation; and Figure 3 a plan
on a larger scale of the water heater and pump detached; whilst
Figure 4 shows the heater as applied to a portable engine. The same
letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the Figures.
A is the water heater vessel of cylindrical or other form fixed above
the tank or receptacle B, and communicating therewith at bottom by
an aperture (or a pipe) C as the case may be, by which the heated water
returns to the tank or receptacle. D is an air chamber open at bottom
and bolted on A from which it is only separated by the perforated plate
or diaphragm F fixed in the vessel A near the top as shown; G is the
entry for the exhaust steam beneath plate F, and H the surplus pipe
opening into the vessel above said plate. The air vessel D is preferably
provided with an internal flange E to prevent the water entering by
the pipe H displacing the air therein; I is the pump drawing water
from tank B through a strainer K for supplying the engine; L, cock
on surplus pipe H; M, valve through which the surplus water is forced
by the pump.
Having described the nature of the Invention and the manner of per-
forming the same, I would observe that I lay no claim to heating the
feed water by mixing the same with the exhaust steam, but what I
claim as the Invention to be protected by the herein-before in part recited
Letters Patent is, a feed water heater consisting of a vessel fitted with
a perforated plate and air chamber, substantially as described, through
which vessel a continuous circulation of the water is maintained by the
pump to mix it with the waste steam introduced therein as specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said James Noah Paxman, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Seventeenth day of December, in
the year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and seventy-
three.
JAMES NOAH PAXMAN. (L.S.)