AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING THE TUBES OF STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Davies, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's
Inn, in the County of Middlesex, and No. 87, St. Vincent Street, in the
City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and Patent Agent, for the Invention of
"AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING THE TUBES OF STEAM
BOILERS." A communication from abroad by Abraham Egenton, of
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America.
-
Sealed the 3rd April 1866, and dated the 26th October 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Davies at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
26th October 1865.
I, GEORGE DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of
Middlesex, and No. 87, St. Vincent Street, in the City of Glasgow, Civil
Engineer and Patent Agent, do hereby declare the nature of the said Inven-
tion for "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING THE TUBES OF
STEAM BOILERS," (a communication to me from abroad by Abraham Egenton,
of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States of America,) to be as
follows:-
This Invention consists in the use of an elastic or adjustable tube
communicating with the steam space of a boiler, and having at the end a

page_text: nozzle, which can be introduced into or directed towards any of the tubes
which form the flues of the boiler, so that a forcible jet of steam may be
injected into and through the said tubes, thereby cleansing the same from
all ashes and sediment which collects therein, and detracts from the effective
and economical operation of the boiler.. To the upper portion of the boiler,
near the front end of the same, is secured. an ordinary cock or screw valve,
which can be opened and closed at pleasure, and which communicates with
the steam space above the fire-box. To this cock is connected one end of a
pipe, which extends down the side of the boiler, and to the lower end of this
pipe is coupled a flexible tube of suitable material for withstanding the heat
and pressure of steam. To the end of this tube is attached a suitable nozzle,
and to the latter are secured suitable handles. When the boiler tubes have
become obstructed by the collection therein of the usual deposit of cinders,
tarry, and other matters the nozzle is raised by the handles, and is introduced
through the ordinary doorway into the fire-box, when the cock is opened, and
the nozzle introduced into or is directed towards one of the tubes to be
cleaned. The forcible jet of steam thus injected into and through the tube
quickly cleanses it by drawing from the interior all the ashes and sediment.
The attendant, owing to the flexibility of the pipe, can readily direct the
nozzle from tube to tube, so that the whole of the tubes are cleansed in as
many minutes as it usually takes hours to cleanse them by the ordinary
implements.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Davies in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
26th April 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
DAVIES, of No. 1, Serle Street, Lincoln's Inn, in the County of Middlesex,
and No. 87, St. Vincent Street, in the City of Glasgow, Civil Engineer and
Patent Agent, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-sixth day of October, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five, in the twenty-ninth year of
Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto
me, the said George Davies, Her special license that I, the said George
Davies, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the
said George Davies, my executors, administrators, or assigns, should at any

page_text: time agree with, and no others, from time to time and 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
MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING THE TUBES OF STEAM BOILERS," a
communication to me from abroad by Abraham Egenton, of Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania, in the United States of America, upon the condition (amongst
others) that I, the said George Davies, my executors or administrators, by an
instrument in writing under my hand and seal, or under the hand and seal of
one of them, 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 Office within six calendar
months next and immediately after the date of the said Letters Patent.
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said George Davies, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement in writing, and on reference to the accompanying Sheet of Drawings,
that is to say :-
This Invention consists in the use of an elastic or adjustable tube com-
municating with the steam space of a boiler, and having at the end a nozzle
which can be introduced into or directed towards any of the tubes which form
the flues of the boiler, so that a forcible jet of steam may be injected into
and through the said tubes, thereby cleansing the same from all ashes and
sediment which collects therein and detracts from the effective and economical
operation of the boiler.
Such being the nature and object of the said Invention for "An Improved
Mode of and Apparatus for Cleaning the Tubes of Steam Boilers," I will
now proceed to describe more in detail the manner in which the same is to
be or may be performed or carried into practical effect; and in order that the
same may be distinctly understood I have annexed hereunto a Sheet of
Drawings illustrative thereof, and have marked the same with figures and
letters of reference corresponding with those in the following explanation
thereof, that is to say:
Figure 1 is a sectional view of the fire-box end of a locomotive boiler
with the tube cleaning apparatus; and Figure 2, a front view of the fire-box.
A is the outer casing of the fire-box of the boiler; B, the fire chamber,
with which communicate the usual tubes a, a, b being the usual doorway
through which the fuel is deposited on to the grate c. To the upper portion
of the boiler near the front end of the same is secured an ordinary cock or

page_text: screw valve C, which can be opened and closed at pleasure, and which
communicates with the steam space X above the fire-box. To this cock is
connected one end of a pipe D, which extends down the side of the boiler,
and to the lower end of this pipe is coupled a flexible tube E of suitable
material for withstanding the heat and pressure of steam. To the end of the
-tube E is attached a suitable nozzle F, and to the latter are secured suitable
handles e, e.
When the boiler tubes a, a, have become obstructed by the
collection therein of the usual deposit of cinders, tarry, and other matter, the
nozzle F is raised by the handles e, e, and is introduced through the ordinary
doorway into the fire-box when the cock or screw valve C¹ is opened, and
the nozzle introduced into or is directed towards one of the tubes to be
cleaned. The forcible jet of steam thus injected into and through the tube
quickly cleanses it by drawing from the interior all the ashes and sediment.
The attendant, owing to the flexibility of the pipe E, can readily direct the
nozzle from tube to tube, so that the whole of the tubes are cleansed in as
many minutes as it usually takes hours to cleanse them by the ordinary
implements. It will be evident that the nozzle may be connected to the
permanent pipe D by a series of jointed pipes which will readily accomodate
themselves to the different positions which the nozzle has to assume.
deemed desirable the nozzle F may have two or more branches at its outer
end, so that several tubes a may be cleansed at the same time.
If
Having now described the nature and object of the said Invention for "An
Improved Mode of and Apparatus for Cleaning the Tubes of Steam Boilers,"
together with the manner in which the same is to be or may be performed
or carried into practical effect, I would remark in conclusion that the Inventor
does not confine himself to any specific construction and arrangement of the
devices herein described, but claims the use in connection with a steam boiler
of a flexible or adjustable tube communicating with the steam space of a
boiler, and provided at the outer end with a suitable nozzle, all substantially
as set forth for the purpose specified.
In witness whereof, I, the said George Davies, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Twenty fifth day of April, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-six.
GEORGE DAVIES. (L.8.)