IN CONSTRUCTION OF SLOW-COMBUSTION SMOKE- "IMPROVEMENTS CONSUMING GRATES
Year: 1881

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Frederick Edwards, junior, of Great Marlborough Street,
in the County of Middlesex, Stove Manufacturer, for an Invention of
IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF SLOW-COMBUSTION SMOKE-
"IMPROVEMENTS
CONSUMING GRATES,"
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Frederick Edwards, junior,
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 10th February 1881.
FREDERICK EDWARDS, junior, of Great Marlborough Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Stove Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
SLOW-COMBUSTION SMOKE-CONSUMING GRATES."
OF
The object of this Invention is to construct an efficient, simple, and inexpensive
grate for burning fuel on what is known as the slow combustion principle.
This consists in charging a fireplace with a body of fuel sufficient for the day's
supply, making a fire on the top of the body of coal, and allowing it to burn from
the top downwards till the whole is consumed.
"
Instead however of lifting the coal from below, as in Dr. Arnott's well known
plan, and having a sunk ash pit below the level of the hearth, I have no ash pit
but merely a plain hearth, and I expose the fuel, to the action of the air by means
of a balanced door or shutter which may be moved down in front of the bars as
the fire burns away until the shutter rests upon. the hearth, when the lowest
stratum of fuel will be exposed to the air.
.
This plan is somewhat similar to one patented by Mr. Goodchild in 1857,
(No. 2331), and to a method described by me in the first edition of my work on
Domestic Fireplaces," published in 1863; but both these schemes were practically
defective, owing to the mechanism for suspending and balancing the door being
situate at the back of the grate, where it was liable to rapid deterioration, and was
only accessible for inspection and repairs by taking out the grate.
In my approved smoke consuming grate I construct boxes or casings of metal
to contain the pulleys and counterweights for balancing the door, such casings being
situate one on each side of the front of the grate, and being cast in one with the
frame of the grate or attached thereto by screws or otherwise, as may be
convenient.

page_text: The inner side of each casing is grooved or flanged to form a guide for the side
edges of the door, and a chain from the said door passes over a pulley in the top
of the casing, and is attached to a weight suspended therein.
The front of each of these boxes or casings is provided with a detachable
covering plate, which may be readily removed should the mechanism within need
attention.
As a modification of this arrangement I may employ simple bracket pieces
carrying pulleys to receive the chains by which the door is supported. In this
case I am enabled to dispense with the casings above referred to for concealing the
chains and weights, and give to the weights themselves an artistic form somewhat
after the manner of the balance weights of gasaliers.
The basket of the grate I form by preference of solid firebrick, the bottom slab
being pierced by some 6 or 8 tapering holes to allow of the fine dust from the
cinders falling through. The above described arrangement of balanced door may
be applied to any form of grate, the bottom bars being covered if necessary with
an iron plate, or the air being simply excluded from the bottom of the fuel by
means of an ash pan fitted, practically air tight, into the recess below the grate.
In the space beneath the basket I provide by preference an ash pan, the front
of which when in its proper position will closely fit the opening of the recess in
which it is placed and will not project beyond the bars of the grate. This will
allow of the hanging door descending freely in front of it. I also provide a fender
guard and a wire basket or pocket to receive any dust or ashes which may fall from
between the bars of the grate, the back of this wire basket lying close against the
face of the balanced door above described, when the said door is in its lowermost
position.
If desired this wire basket may be formed in one with the ash pan, or be secured
thereto for convenience in handling.
With coals that make but little dust the bottom of the basket need not be
perforated at all, and in this case the ash pan may be dispensed with.
From the foregoing description it will be seen that all the working parts are
of the simplest and most. efficient character, and are so placed as to be instantly
accessible for cleaning or repairs at any moment and without displacing the grate
in any way.
With a view to regulating the chimney draught I provide a register operated by
a chain passing over a pulley and through the front of the grate, such chain being
provided with a ring or its equivalent, whereby it may be fixed in any required
position.
By the use of this grate the ordinary fender may be dispensed with, a narrow
pavement of tile being provided in lieu thereof under and around the fender guard,
while the only fire irons required are a simple instrument for pushing down and
lifting the hanging door, and a poker, fork, or trident for loosening the fuel.

page_text: SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent filed
by the said Frederick Edwards, junior, in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 10th August 1881.
FREDERICK EDWARDS, junior, of Great Marlborough Street, in the County of
Middlesex, Stove Manufacturer. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION
SLOW-COMBUSTION SMOKE-CONSUMING GRATES."
OF
The object of this Invention is to construct an efficient, simple, and inexpensive
grate for burning fuel on what is known as the slow-combustion principle.
This consists in charging a fire place with a body of fuel sufficient for the day's
supply, making a fire on the top of the body of coal and allowing it to burn from
the top downwards till the whole is consumed.
Instead however of lifting the coal from below, as in Dr. Arnott's well known
plan, and having a sunk ash pit below the level of the hearth, I have no ash pit,
but merely a plain hearth, and I expose the fuel to the action of the air by means
of a balanced screen or blind, preferably made of metal, which may be moved down
in front of the bars as the fire burns away until the screen rests upon the hearth,
when the lowest stratum of fuel will be exposed to the air.
This plan is somewhat similar to one patented by Mr. Goodchild in One thousand
eight hundred and fifty-seven, and to a method described by me in the first edition
of my work on "Domestic Fireplaces," published in. One thousand eight hundred
and sixty-three, but both these schemes were practically defective, owing to the
mechanism for suspending and balancing the door being situate at the back of the
grate, where it was liable to rapid deterioration, and was only accessible for
inspection and repairs by taking out the grate.
In my improved smoke consuming grate I construct boxes or casings of metal to
contain the pulleys and counterweights for balancing the screen, such casings being
situate one on each side of the front of the grate, and being cast in one with
the frame of the grate, or attached thereto by screws or otherwise as may bo
convenient.
The inner side of each casing is grooved or flanged to form a guide for the side
edges of the screen, and a chain from each side of the said screen passes over a
pulley in the top of each of the casings, and is attached to a weight suspended
therein.
The front of each of these boxes or casings is provided with a detachable
covering plate, which may be readily removed should the mechanism within need
attention.
In the accompanying Drawing Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section of a
slow combustion grate constructed according to my Invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical
cross section thereof, and Fig. 3 is a horizontal section taken on the line 1, 2, of
Fig. 2.
In these Figures A is the balanced screen or blind suspended in front of the
bars B by the chains and weights C. These weighted chains C are enclosed in
boxes or casings of metal D, and pass over pulleys & fitted to the upper part of the
casings D.
The boxes or casings D are grooved or flanged on their inner faces to form
guides for the balanced screen or blind, as shewn at d², Figs. 4, in which a box of
slightly different construction is shewn detached in front and side view. The

page_text: The
boxes or casings D in these Figures are formed in one with the front plate of the
grate, but in order to admit of ready access to and inspection of their interiors
should the mechanism need attention they are each fitted with a detachable
covering plate D¹, which may be removed by unscrewing the screws D2.
balanced screen is provided with a catch or projection a, by which it may be
lowered or pushed down in front of the bars as the fire burns away, until the
lowest stratum of fuel is reached, when the screen will be in its lowermost position,
resting on the hearth.
It will be seen that the screen and its mechanism may be readily inspected and
repaired without any necessity for unsetting or displacing the grate.
If desired the boxes D which contain the pulleys d and weighted chains C may
be made separate from the grate, and be secured thereto by screws, or in any other
convenient manner, as shewn in front and detached sectional view at Figs. 5
and 6.
As a modification of the arrangement above described for fitting the balanced
screen to fire places I may employ simple bracket pieces carrying pulleys to receive
the chains by which the screen is supported. In this case I am enabled to dispense
with the boxes or casings above referred to for concealing the chains and weights,
and give to the weights themselves an artistic form, somewhat after the manner of
the balance weights of gaseliers.
.
I have not thought it necessary to illustrate this arrangement, which will be
readily understood.
The general construction of the slow combustion grate will be best seen on
reference to Figures 2, 3, and 5 of the Drawings.
In these Figures F is the fender guard; G, the cinder bracket suspended by
hooks to the guard F; H, the fire basket; I, the closed ash pan, and K a dust
trough resting on the hearth..
.
The fire basket H is constructed preferably of fireclay, and is perforated at the
bottom with conical holes, as shewn, to allow of the dust and ash from the burning
fuel falling through to the ash-pan I, which rests upon the hearth, and is fitted
airtight within the space below the fire basket H, so as to completely prevent any
air from passing to the burning fuel through the perforated bottom of the fire
basket.
The trough K may be made in one with the ash-pan I if desired.
Instead of the perforated fireclay basket a solid bottom of iron or brick may be
used if the coal does not leave much débris, and a metal grating with thin bars
placed close together may be advantageously employed in some cases to allow of
the dust falling through.
It is however absolutely essential to shut off all air from below.
In order to regulate the chimney draught I provide a register E operated by a
chaine passing over a pulley e', and through the front of the grate, as shewn in
Figures 1, 2, and 5, such chain being provided at its free end with a ring or its
equivalent. The register E may be raised and held in any required position by
hooking the ring to one of a series of catches e² on the front of the grate.
Access to the register E and its fittings is provided for by making a portion of
the frame of the grate removable, as shewn at E', Fig. 5. This detachable top
plate E' is held in position by screws or equivalent means.
By the use of a grate thus constructed the ordinary fender may be dispensed
with, a narrow pavement of tile being provided in lieu thereof under and around
the fender guard, while the only fire irons required are a simple instrument for
pushing down and lifting the balanced screen or blind, and a poker-fork or trident
for loosening the fuel.
Having now set forth the nature of my Invention of "Improvements in the
Construction of Slow-combustion Smoke-consuming Grates," and explained in
what manner the same may be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood that
I claim, the adaptation to slow combustion grates of a movable screen or blind

page_text: suspended in front of the bars by means of chains and balance weights so arranged
as to be readily accessible for inspection and repairs without in anyway unsetting
the grate, substantially as herein shewn and described.
In witness whereof, I, the said Frederick Edwards, junior, have hereunto set
my hand and seal, the Ninth day of August, in the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and eighty one.
FRED, EDWARDS, JUNIOR. (L.S.)