IMPROVEMENTS IN TANKS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES FOR CON. TAINING AND TRANSPORTING PETROLEUM, NAPHTHA, AND OTHER OILS AND LIQUIDS, TO PREVENT WASTAGE BY FIRE, OR FILTRATION, OR EVAPORATION, OR HAZARD OF LIFE
Year: 1865

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to George Washington Howard, of West Bloomfield,
in the State of Michigan, in the United States of America, for the
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN TANKS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES FOR CON.
TAINING AND TRANSPORTING PETROLEUM, NAPHTHA, AND OTHER OILS AND
LIQUIDS, TO PREVENT WASTAGE BY FIRE, OR FILTRATION, OR EVAPORATION, OR
HAZARD OF LIFE."
Sealed the 2nd January 1866, and dated the 25th August 1865.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said George Washington
Howard at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Peti-
tion, on the 25th August 1865.
I, GEORGE WASHINGTON HOWARD, of West Bloomfield, in the State of
Michigan, in the United States of America, do hereby declare the nature of
the said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN TANKS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES FOR
CONTAINING AND TRANSPORTING PETROLEUM, NAPHTHA, AND OTHER OILS AND LIQUIDS,
TO PREVENT WASTAGE BY FIRE, OR FILTRATION, OR EVAPORATION, OR HAZARD OF
LIFE," to be as follows:-
My Invention is applicable to oils, naphtha, and other liquids that have a less
weight or specific gravity than water. My stationary tanks are built with
tight sides and top but open bottom, placed into another vessel with open top,
[Price 8d.]

page_text: so as to nearly fit but not quite the oil receptacle resting on blocks, so as to
leave a free passage under the sides. I then run in water through a pipe or
manhole in the top, so as to make about six inches depth on the bottom; the
tank is then filled with oil, which floats upon the water, and while the process
of filling is going on, its weight 'causes a portion of the water to pass
under the bottom of the sides of the oil receptacle and float up between the
vessels so as to perfectly counterbalance the pressure of oil upon the inner
sides; the same hydrostatic pressure holds good as the oil is taken out of
the tank, the water recedes from the sides and returns to the bottom; also the
expansion and contraction of the oil is amply provided for by the same process,
and it enables me to close the top entirely tight, so as to prevent evaporation
and risk of fire. These tanks can be filled or emptied with syphon or pipes
in the top or through the sides, or forced out by letting in water; and the oil
is elevated through pipes in proportion to the pressure on the water. My
ordinary mode of discharging oil from stationary tanks to tanks on railway
cars is, run the grade of road low so as to fill the car tank by use of common
hose pipe, and I discharge the car tanks in the same way from an elevated
grade. These tanks can be made of large dimensions and of very light
material of any kind (but I prefer sheet iron), as there is no strain upon
them but what is counterbalanced, and the outer tank may be dispensed with
by placing them in a lake, pond, or reservoir of water. They may be parti-
tioned off into small compartments.
My portable tanks have all the advantages of the stationary ones, but are
constructed a little different. For railroad cars each tank is made to contain
a quantity sufficient for the burthen of a set of trucks, and return freights can
be loaded above the tank. The top at the centre is raised about six inches,
and the bottom centre drops about the same, with a further drop in centre of
the bottom into a well, which forms my water tank and is lined with light
iron. There is also a pipe passing from the top of the tank to near the
bottom of the well; at the upper end of this pipe is a small reservoir. I fill
in this reservoir one barrel of water, which passes from it through the pipe
into the well. I then fill the tank with oil through a pipe, the mouth of
which is raised above the top of the tank; another small pipe is attached to
the side of this pipe, with a stopcock to give vent while filling and emptying;
also one connected with the space between the inner and outer tanks. These
are all closed, and no ventilation given except a small one in the lid of the
sinall water reservoir on the top of the tank
*
The principle of my railway tank is applicable for vessels upon the ocean.
Any ordinary vessel is suitable for my improved tanks, A much weaker

page_text: vessel will answer the purpose than for any other burden, as the strain and
stress of the pressure of water that the vessel floats in is counterbalanced by
the oil in the tank. My mode of construction is to see that the vessel is.
substantially lined and fastened upon her timbers, well caulked and pitched so
as to be perfectly water-tight, with bulkheads about every thirty feet, under
which the horizontal part of the lining or flooring over the standing ballast is
raised, with wells sunk at the lowest points between each bulkhead, and
holding if convenient one per cent. of the capacity of the space between each
bulkhead. The spars, and if necessary some of the main stauntions, enclose
like a flue of a boiler, and make this casing or tube for spars answer for the
connecting pipe of the water to the reservoir on the deck of the tank. These
tanks can be made any depth to suit the burthen of the vessel, and the oil in
this way can be carried in one half the space of that in barrels.
A large
manhole or hatchway is provided in every bulkhead for the purpose of back
loading, which should not be put in until the tank is scrubbed out and the
bottom'covered with loose plank. These hatchways are closed when loaded
with "oil," as substantially firm and tight as a manhole in a steam boiler.
Reservoirs on the deck are made in the form and manner of those for
railway cars. Should the vessel take fire, and burn down, and finally sink,
these tanks would float off. The oil from vessels will mainly have to be
discharged by pumps; each storage yard should be provided with a small
engine for that and other convenient purposes. Tanks to navigate inland
waters, rivers, and harbors by the help of a tug may be made very large,
partitioned off in square or oblong rooms or compartments, so that each space
will be separate and distinct for different lots or qualities of oil. These tanks
are constructed with a flat bottom and straight wall double sides; they are
contracted at an angle of forty-five degrees until they meet, forming the ends,
and an air space is left between the double sides. They float the deck of the
tank above the surface of the water; the double sides and bottom are decked
over. There is a raised manhole in the centre of each compartment for the
filling and discharging of oil; under it there is a manhole bored through the
bottom of the outer tank. Before the oil is let in each tank is nearly filled
with water, and as each is filled with oil the water recedes by passing through
the hole in the bottom, and returns when the oil is taken out. The oil is
discharged by pumps. These tanks can be guaged more simply and as
accurately as a single barrel by means of a glass tube. This floating tank is
provided with anchors and lines sufficient to handle and move her,

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said George Washington Howard in the Great Seal Patent Office
on the 23rd February 1866.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, GEORGE
WASHINGTON HOWARD, of West Bloomfield, in the State of Michigan, in
the United States of America, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twenty-fifth day of August, 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 Washington Howard, Her special license that I, the said George
Washington Howard, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such
others as I, the said George Washington Howard, my executors, adminis-
trators, 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 TANKS AND OTHER RECEPTACLES FOR CONTAINING
AND TRANSPORTING PETROLEUM, NAPHTHA, AND OTHER OILS AND LIQUIDS, TO PREVENT
WASTAGE BY FIRE, OR FILTRATION, OR EVAPORATION, OR HAZARD OF LIFE," upon
the condition (amongst others) that I, the said George Washington Howard,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascer-
tain 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 Washington Howard, 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 or Specification, reference being had to the figures and
letters marked on the two accompanying Sheets of Drawings forming part
thereof (that is to say):-
My Invention is applicable to oils, naphtha, and other liquids that have a
less weight or specific gravity than water. On Sheet 1, Figure 1 represents
a sectional elevation of one of my stationary tanks, which are built with
cylindrical or other shaped sides a, and a dome or other shaped top b, but
open at the bottom; this vessel is placed into another vessel c, which may be

page_text: a
made of sheet metal; or a chamber of brick or stonework, may be employed.
This vessel or chamber c is made with open top, so as to nearly fit the inner
vesselbut not quite the oil receptacle a resting on blocks, so as to leave a
free passage under the sides. When storing, the oil I run waters through the
manhole e until the bottom is covered about six inches in depth; the tank is
then filled with oil, which floats upon the water, and while the process of
filling is going on, the weight of the oil causes a portion of the water, to pass
under the bottom of the sides a, and float up between the vessels a and c, so
as to perfectly counterbalance the pressure of oil upon the inner sides; the
same hydrostatic pressure holds good when the oil is taken out of the tank,
as then the water recedes from the sides and returns to the bottom. The pipe
d is to carry off any surplus water. It is also evident that the expansion and
contraction of the oil is amply provided for by the same process which enables
me to close the top entirely tight, so as to prevent evaporation and risk of fire.
These tanks can be filled or emptied with syphons or pipes in the top or
through the sides, or the oil may be forced out by letting in water; and the
oil is elevated through pipes in proportion to the pressure on the water. My
ordinary mode of discharging oil from stationary tanks into tanks on railway
cars is by making the grade of the road low, so as to fill the car tank by-the
use of a common hose pipe, and I discharge the car tanks in the same way
from an elevated grade. These tanks can be made of large dimensions' and
of very light material of any kind, but I prefer light sheet iron, as there is no
strain upon them but what is counterbalanced, and the outer tank may, be
dispensed with by placing them in a lake, pond, or reservoir of water, as
shewn in Figures 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, and 7.
Figure 2 is a vertical section, and Figure 3 a plan of a tank placed in a
cistern, pond, or reservoir; the blue dotted lines in the Drawing represent the
water which surrounds the tank, and the yellow lines the oil enclosed within
it, as in Figure 1. In Figures 2 and 3 the tank or vessel a is made like a
gas holder, but it may be made rectangular, or of any shape suitable to its
location with equally good effect. This tank is placed in a cistern, pond, or
pit c, the sides of which are made water-tight and of any suitable construction
to give the necessary strength to resist the pressure of the fluids contained in
the tank and cistern. The tank or vessel a may be of sheet iron, wood, or
any other suitable material, open at the bottom and covered with a roof b, as
a security against fire, with a manhole or trap door e in the roof. The bottom
of the tank rests upon blocks on the bottom of the cistern, leaving an opening
between the tank and the cistern to allow the water to flow freely into and
out of the tank. The oil may be conveyed into the tank through a pipe, f

page_text: and be drawn out through another pipe g, the mouth of which is below the
surface. of the oil.
Figure 4 represents a view in perspective of a tank constructed according
to a modification of my Invention; Figure 5 is a vertical longitudinal section
of the same, the blue lines indicating the depth of the immersion of the tank
in the water.
The oil tank a may be of any suitable size, form, or material. In this
instance the tank is represented as rectangular, and formed of sheets of metal
placed edge to edge and secured to strips of wood. It may be provided with
a removable cover b, having an opening e in it for the admission of the oil.
The strips of wood project below the bottom of the tank and form legs or feet
on which it may rest. These feet prevent the lower edge of the tank from
settling on the bottom of the reservoir, which would obstruct the passage of
the water into and out of the tank. Floats i of sufficient buoyancy to sustain
the upper edge of the tank the requisite distance above the surface of the
water in the reservoir are secured to the sides of the tank. The tank may
thus either rest upon the bottom of the reservoir or float upon the surface of
the water (according to its depth) without disturbing its contents; and it may
'even be transported from place to place, or be allowed to rise and fall with
the tide. The tank may be placed in a vat, pond, lake, or even in a running
or tidal stream, with equal utility, and may be filled or emptied in any suitable
way.
As the oil enters the tank, 'owing to its lighter specific gravity it
'separates from the water with which it had become commingled in the well
and floats upon the surface of the water and gradually displaces it, the water
escaping at the bottom of the tank. In 'this manner the tank may be filled
until the oil is within an inch or two of the bottom, as shewn by the yellow
lines in Figure 5. The outward pressure of the oil upon the inner sides of the
tank being counteracted by the pressure of the water upon its outer sides, it
follows that the joints of the tank are always relieved from hydrostatic
pressure, no matter whether it be full or empty, for as the oil flows in the
water passes out, and vice versa.
Figure 6 is a plan, and Figure 7 a longitudinal section of another modifica-
tion of my floating tanks. These tanks are intended to navigate inland waters,
rivers, and harbours, by the aid of a tug, or by floating with the current.
Those tanks can be made very large, so as to 'contain from five thousand
to fifty thousand barrels, and they are or may be partitioned off in square or
oblong rooms or compartments, so that each space will be separate and distinct
from the others, for different lots or qualities of oil. This tank is contructed
with a flat bottom, and sheet iron double roof b, and sides a, running parallel

page_text: the desired length,and then contracted at an angle of forty-five degrees, until
they meet to form the ends. The air space between the platesforming thedouble
sides is from three to eight feet, according to the size of the tank, to give the
required buoyancy, and for holding the roof of the tank sufficiently out of the
water. There is a raised manhole ein the centre of each compartment for filling
and discharging the oil, and a hole is bored through the bottom of each com-
partment of the tank under the manhole to admit water before the oil is let in.
As each compartment is filled with oil the water is expellod through the said
hole, and returns when the oil is pumped out or otherwise discharged.
Figure 8 represents in section a common tank, to which my improvements
are applied. At the top of the tank is placed a small reservoir (, from which
the pipe & descends to near the bottom j of the tank. A small quantity of
water is poured into the tank through the pipe k, and when the oil is run
into the tank the water rises into the pipe k, as shewn by the blue lines; by
this means, when the oil expands or contracts, owing to variations in the
temperature, the water will freely give space by passing from the bottom of
the tank into the reservoir 7, thus obviating the necessity of giving the oil
ventilation, and removing danger of explosions, and preventing waste by
evaporation.
k
On Sheet 2, Figure 9 represents one of my improved tanks applied to a
railroad car. The tank a is made to contain a quantity sufficient for the
burden of the pair of trucks n, and when the oil has been discharged return
freights can be loaded above the tank. The centre of the top 6 of the tank is
raised about six inches, and the bottom j slopes about the same or rather
more, with a further drop in the centre of the bottom, which forms a well m,
containing water; the bottom of the tank and the sides are lined with an
inner casing, and a space of one quarter of an inch, or more or less, is left
between the lining and the bottom and sides. The lining is also continued
into the well m. The pipe passes from the top of the tank to near the
bottom of the well. At the upper end of this pipe is a small reservoir /; this
reservoir is filled with water, which passes from it through the pipe k into the
well m; the tank is then filled with oil through the pipe o, the mouth of
which is raised above the top of the tank; another small pipe pis attached to
the side of this pipe, with, a stopcock to give vent while filling and emptying
the tank. There is also a stopcock q at the bottom of the 'well mito discharge
the water, and another marked 2, connected to a pipe reaching upwards to the
level of the bottom of the tank for the discharge of the oil. These stop-
cocks are all closed, and no ventilation given except through a small tap in
the lid of the reservoir .... As the tank, is being filled with oil, its' weight
"

page_text: causes a portion of the water to pass from the well m, under the sides of the
lining or inner tank at the bottom of the well, and floats up between them
precisely in the same manner as in the stationary tanks above described;
when all is filled and closed there is but little commotion from surging, the
space between the tanks being so small. There is still water enough left to
fill the well m, which provides for the expansion and contraction of the oil;
as the oil expands it forces a portion of this water up through the pipe k, and
deposits it in the small reservoirl, and it returns as the oil cools and contracts.
The oil is discharged by a hose secured to the tap and pipe r. The cock q is
to discharge the water when requisite.
The principle of my railway tank is also applicable for vessels upon the
ocean. Any ordinary vessel is suitable for my improved tanks. A much weaker
vessel will answer the purpose than for any other burden, as the strain and
stress of the pressure of water that the vessel floats in is counterbalanced by
the oil in the tank.
Figure 10 represents a longitudinal section, and Figure 11 a transverse
section of a vessel, to which my improved tanks are applied. In this instance
it is essential that the vessel be substantially lined and fastened upon her
timbers, the lining to be well caulked and pitched, so as to be perfectly
water-tight, and with bulkheads about every thirty feet, under which the
horizontal part of the lining or flooring of the tank over the standing ballast
is raised, with wells m sunk at the lowest points between each bulkhead, and
holding about one per cent. of the capacity of the space between each
bulkhead. The spars, and if necessary some of the main stauntions of the
vessel, are enclosed like the flue of a boiler, and make these casings or tubes
for the spars or stauntions answer for the connecting pipes of the water to the
reservoirs on the roofs of the tanks. These tanks can be made any depth,
to suit the burden of the vessel, and the oil in this way can be carried in one
half the space of that in barrels. A large manhole or hatchway is provided
in every bulkhead for the purpose of back loading, which should not be put in
until the tank is scrubbed out and the bottom covered with loose planks.
These hatchways are closed when loaded with "oil," as substantially firm and
tight as a manhole in a steam boiler; should the vessel take fire and burn
down, and finally sink, the said tanks would float off. The "oil" from vessels
will mainly have to be discharged by pumps, and each storage yard should be
provided with a small engine for that and other convenient purposes.
Having thus described the nature of my Invention, and several convenient
modes of carrying the same into operation, I wish it to be understood that I
do not limit myself to the details given, but what I claim is the method

page_text: herein described and shewn in the Drawings, of constructing tanks or
receptacles for containing and transporting volatile oils and liquids, whereby
leakage and evaporation are prevented; and I also claim the mode of
preventing loss by expansion and contraction and evaporation applied to
tanks of the ordinary construction, as shewn and described in reference to
Figure 8.
In witness whereof I, the said George Washington Howard, have here-
unto set my hand and seal, this Twenty-first day of December
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-five.
GEORGE WASHINGTON HOWARD. (L.S.)