IMPROVEMENTS IN HOT BLAST STOVES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Horace Massicks, of the Oaks, and Walter Crooke, of
Duddon Villa, both in the Parish of Millom, in the County of Cumberland,
for an Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN HOT BLAST STOVES."
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Horace Massicks and Walter
Crooke at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 24th March
1881.
HORACE MASSICKS, of the Oaks, and WALTER CROOKE, of Duddon Villa, both
in the Parish of Millom, in the County of Cumberland. *IMPROVEMENTS IN
HOT BLAST STOVES."
Our Invention has for its object improvement in the construction of hot blast
stoves for heating the blast for blast furnaces.
We make use of a wrought iron vertical casing of a circular, elliptical, or other
section with a conical top, at the apex of which we form a manhole, and in the
cover of the manhole we fit an air valve that may be self acting.
The interior of the stove is made of brickwork, and comprises a series of
segmental passages, preferably concentric, and formed of any desired number of
circular and radial divisions or walls. The gases to heat the stove are admitted
from below to the centro of the stove, and the walls forming the passages terminate
alternately a short distance from the top of the stove, and have arches in each
alternate wall at the bottom, so that the gases and heat traverse the passages from
the centre to the outermost passages before being carried off by the chimney; thus
the heat is fully utilized, the greatest heat is always maintained at the centro,
and the periphery is the coolest part of the stove; this prevents loss of heat, and
preserves the casing.
The blast to be heated passes through the stove in the opposite direction.
We dispense with cleaning doors in the top of the stove, and directly over each
segmental passage we make a hole or we build into the roof a pipe of the requisite
size to admit a rod, chain, or cord. This rod or chain is lowered to the bottom of
the passage, and a scraper passed through one of the cleaning doors near the
bottom of the stove is attached to it, and is raised and lowered to remove the dust
from the passage. The scraper, formed preferably of a spring hoop, fits the sides of
the passage, and is open in the middle to allow the dust to fall through.
The scrapers are hoisted and lowered by means of a crane fixed upon the centre
manhole, the outer pulley of which is adjustable, and operate upon any of the
segmental passages that may require cleaning.
We also propose, when a chimney flue cannot be got, to fix a chimney upon the
top of the stove in place of the manhole, in which case the blast is first conveyed
to the top of the stove.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Horace Massicks and Walter Crooke in the Great Seal Patent
Office on the 20th September 1881.
HORACE MASSICKS, of the Oaks, and WALTER CROOKE, of Duddon Villa, both
in the Parish of Millom, in the County of Cumberland. "IMPROVEMENTS IN
HOT BLAST STOVES.".
Our Invention has for its object improvement in the construction of hot blast
stoves for heating the blast for blast furnaces.
We make use of a wrought iron vertical casing of a circular, elliptical, or other
section with a conical top, at the apex of which we form a manhole, and in the
cover of the manhole we fit an air valve that may be self acting.
The interior of the stove is made of brickwork, and comprises a series of
segmental passages, preferably concentric, and formed of any desired number of
circular and radial divisions or walls. The gases to heat the stove are admitted
from below to the centre of the stove, and the walls forming the passages terminate
alternately a short distance from the top of the stove, and have arches in each
alternate wall at the bottom, so that the gases and heat traverse the passages from
the centre to the outermost passages before being carried off by the chimney; thus
the heat is fully utilized, the greatest heat is always maintained at the centre, and
the periphery is the coolest part of the stove; this prevents loss of heat, and
preserves the casing. The blast to be heated passes through the stove in the
opposite direction.
We dispense with cleaning-doors in the top of the stove, and directly over each
segmental passage we make a hole or we build into the roof a pipe of the requisite
size to admit a rod, chain, or cord. This rod or chain is lowered to the bottom of
the passage, and. a scraper, passed through one of the cleaning doors near the
bottom of the stove, is attached to it, and is raised and lowered to remove the
dust from the passage. The scraper, formed preferably of a spring hoop, fits
the sides of the passage, and is open in the middle to allow the dust to fall through.
The scrapers are hoisted and lowered by means of a crane fixed upon the centre
manhole, the outer pulley of which is adjustable, and operates upon any of the
segmental passages that may require cleaning. We also propose, when a chimney
flue cannot be got, to fix a chimney upon the top of the stove in place of the
manhole, in which case the blast is first conveyed to the top of the stove.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily carried
into effect, we will describe the accompanying Sheet of Drawings, reference being
had to the Figures and letters marked thereon.
Fig. 1 is a vertical section of a hot blast stove constructed according to our
Invention; Fig. 2 is a plan in section of the same, and Fig. 3 is a plan, and Fig. 4
is a section of our improved gas and blast valve. Similar letters refer to similar
parts on the different views. a, a¹, a³, and a³ are four vertical circular walls or
divisions made of firebrick or other suitable material, and there are vertical radial
walls or divisions b extending from the middle of the stove to the wall a, and from
near the top to near the bottom of the stove. The wall a is covered with a casing
of wrought iron, and it extends from the bottom of the stove to the top; the
wall a¹ extends from the bottom of the stove to within a short distance of the
top; the wall a extends from the bottom to the top of the stove, but has an
arched opening c at the bottom of each segmental passage; the wall a³ extends
from the bottom almost to the top of the stove. The wall a³ would form a
cylindrical chamber in the centre of the stove, but the radial walls b divide it into
•

page_text: segments for the greater part of its length. d is the top of the stove, which we
make conical, and we form a manhole at the apex fitted with an air valve h¹ that
may be self acting. Also air valves are placed on each side of the hot blast and
gas branch, as marked by the letter h; these latter are connected with a gas
burner. Instead of using cleaning doors in the top of the stove we make a hole or
build into the roof a pipe e directly over each segmental passage to admit a rod,
chain, or cord f, which is attached to a scraper g through one of the cleaning
doors i at the bottom of the stove. The scrapers are made preferably of spring
hoop, and fit each segmental passage. The scrapers are raised and lowered by a
rotatory cranej on the top of the stove, thus entirely and quickly removing the
gas dust adhering to the brickwork inside the stove. We place, by preference, a
cleaning door i¹ near the top of the stove that may be used when necessary for
repairs. k is a tubular passage leading from the middle of the stove to the pipe
that admits the gas to be burned into the stove. The passage k also leads to the
pipe m that conveys the hot blast to the furnace for smelting the ore. n is a cross
passage communicating with the outer segmental passages at the bottom of the
stove that allows the exhausted products of combustion to pass from the stove to
the chimney through the valve 0; p is the pipe that admits the cold blast to be
heated in the stove, and driven to the smelting furnace through the pipe m.
On Figs. 3 and 4, r is the seating of our improved gas or hot blast valve; & is a
tube cast in it through which water circulates; 71, 71, are guides in which the
hollow valve s slides; 8 is the valve spindle in which are the pipes t, through
which water is caused to circulate in the hollow space formed inside the valve 8' ;
is a rack fixed to the spindle; is a wheel gearing into the rack; u, v, are
standards carrying the wheel u; a is the cover which secures the valve in its
place in the pipe or in the pipe m; y is the gland through which the spindle s³
passes. The mode of operation is as follows:-The hot and cold blast valves in
the pipes m and p are shut; the gas to be burned in the stove to heat it is supplied
through the pipe 7, the valve in being open. Air for combustion is admitted
through the inlets h at the bottom; the greater portion of the gas is consumed in
the centre of the stove, and there the heat is most intense; the gas partly or
wholly consumed travels in the direction shown by the arrows on Fig. 1 to the
top, when another valve h' is opened to admit air and complete the combustion.
The gas then goes over the top of the circular wall a³; it descends through the
segmental passages, of which the wall a² forms the outer side; it ascends through
the segmental passages, of which the wall a¹ forms the outer side, then descends
through the segmental passages, of which the wall a forms the outer side, and is
carried off through the cross passage n and valve o (which is open) by the chimney.
Almost the whole of the heat having been absorbed by the inner walls of the
stove, the chimney valve o and the gas valve in the pipe are then closed, and the
hot blast valve in m and cold blast valve in p are opened; the cold blast enters
the stove through the passage n, ascends the passages between a and a², descends
between a¹ and a², ascends between a³ and a³, descends the passages enclosed by
a³, by which time it is highly heated, and is then conveyed through k and m to
the smelting furnace; two or more stoves are thus used to work a furnace, each
alternately being heated. By the use of our Invention a great saving in cost of
construction is effected. We obtain a hotter blast than by stoves of the ordinary
construction, as the most intense heat is always at the centre of the stove, and the
blast is conveyed direct from the centre to the furnace; the stove is much more
durable, as the outer wall is comparatively cool, and little heat is lost by radiation.
The conical top is made at a slight cost, it is very strong, and of the requisite form
to resist the pressure from within. The improved valve and valve seating for
or hot blast are not liable to injury from excessive heat owing to the circulation of
water through the pipes.
Z
gas
Having stated the nature of our Invention, and described the manner of
performing the same, we would state that we do not restrict ourselves to the
exact details given, as they may be varied without departing from our Invention,

page_text: and the stove may be made of an elliptical or other shape instead of circular; or a
greater or less number of walls may be used.
We declare that we claim,-
1. In a fire-brick stove for heating the blast for blast furnaces the combination
of the circular walls a, a, a, a³, with the radial walls b, the said walls terminating
alternately at a suitable distance from the top of the stove and having arches in
each alternate wall at the bottom to allow a passage for the gas and air communi-
cating with the passage k and cross passage n, whereby the gas for heating and
the air to be heated by the stove are conveyed through it, and the greatest heat
is always maintained at the centre of the stove, substantially as shown and
described.
2. The conical top & shown and described.
3. The pipes e built into the top of the stove, substantially as and for the
purpose shown and described.
4. The combination and arrangement of the parts forming the improved hot
blast stove shown and described.
In witness whereof, we, the said Horace Massicks and Walter Crooke, have
hereunto set our hands and seals, this Fifteenth day of September, in the
year of our Lord One thousand eight hundred and eighty one:
HORACE MASSICKS
(T.A)