IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1855

page_text: .
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Julius Jeffreys at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th
July 1855.
I, JULIUS JEFFREYS, of Kingston Hill, in the County of Surrey, do hereby
declare, the nature of the Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS " to
be as follows—
My Invention consists of improvements upon a furnace patented by me in
the year One thousand eight hundred and forty-six. Instead of confining the
whole of the fuel between tubes, bars, or pierced walls, I place the front fresh
fuel on an ordinary grate much inclined, at the back of which is a narrow.
trench into which the bright fuel falls, formed of two rows of tubes vertical or
inclined, kept from overheating by the circulation of the water of two contiguous
boilers, the water in one boiler standing at a higher level than in the other, but
the steam spaces of the two communicating. The smoking current from the.
front fire passes between the upper portions of the back row of tubes, which are
longer than the front row, into a deflecting chamber formed in one boiler, and,
sweeping round and down its concave surface, re-enters between the lower ends
of this row of. tubes and the wall of bright fuel in the trench; and thence

page_text: passing between the shorter row of upright tubes into a receiving chamber in
the other and lower boiler, this bright current relieved of smoke flows through
numerous ordinary horizontal tubes into the chimney. The former boiler
covers the back part of the inclined furnace. In front the roof of the furnace
is made of brickwork, or of sheets of metal so placed as to form wedge-shaped
slits for carrying blasts of air vertically down upon the fuel and for stoking the
back of the fire., Along the bottoni of the narrow trench, are, moveable trays
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Julius Jeffreys in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 11th
January 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, JULIUS
JEFFREYS, of Kingston Hill, in' the County of Surrey, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of July, in. the year of our Lord One
thousand eight hundred and fifty-five, in the nineteenth year of Her reign,
did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the said
Julius Jeffreys, Her special licence that I, the said Julius Jeffreys, my exe-
cutors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Julius
Jeffreys, my exécutors, 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN STEAM BOILERS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Julius Jeffreys, my exe-
cutors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under-my, or their, or
one of their hands and seals, should particularly describe and ascertain the
nature of thc said Invention, and in what manner the same was to be per-
formed, 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:
43
NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Julius Jeffreys," 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 thereof, that is to say:
My Invention consists of improvements upon a furnace patented. by me in
1846... Instead of confining the whole of the fuel between tubes, bars, or

page_text: pierced walls, I place the fresh fuel in an ordinary grate much inclined, at the
back of which is a narrow trench into which the bright fuel falls, formed of
two rows of tubes vertical or inclined; and kept. from overheating by the
circulation of the water of two contiguous boilers, the water in one boiler
standing at a higher level than in 'the other, but the steam spaces of the
two communicating. The smoke current from the upper fire passes between
the upper portion of the back row of tubes, which are longer than the front
row, into a deflecting chamber formed in one boiler, and, sweeping. round
and down its concave surface, re-enters between the lower portion of this
row of tubes into the wall of bright fuel in the trench; and thence passing
between the shorter row of upright tubes into the receiving chamber in the
other and lower boiler, this bright current relieved of its smoke flows through
numerous ordinary horizontal tubes into the chimney. The former. boiler
covers the back part of the inclined furnace. In front the roof of this furnace
is made of fire brick, or of sheets of metal so placed as to form wedge-shaped
slits, for carrying blasts of air vertically down' upon the fuel and for stoking the
back of the fire. Along the bottom of the narrow trench are moveable trays
for catching the melted slag or cinder.
.
The peculiar construction of boiler and furnace by which I carry 'out-my
Invention will be seen in Figures 1, 2, 3, and 4, while Figures 5, 6, 7, and 8
are different modifications of the plan.
The first feature is a fresh fuel furnace A, A, placed above a main boiler
B, B, and in a reversed position, with its front and fire door C facing towards
the chimney, while its ash-pit a, a, is formed on the inclined top of this boiler.-
The next feature is a high level boiler D, D, forming the top of the chief
part of the furnace A, A, and extended down to enclose the back of this furnace
and the fire end of the main lower boiler B, B., "
Thirdly, a'spacious arched deflecting space E, E, is thus formed between the
furnace A, A, and the fire tubes b, b, b, &c. of the lower boiler.'
Fourthly, in the most complete form of the Invention, this deflecting place
is divided by rows of long water tubes I, I, connecting the upper and lower
part of the high boiler D, D, and extending across the whole fire way in a
vertical or inclined position: (as shewn); parallel to each other at about one or
one and a half inches apart. In front of this row is another row of 'shorter
tubes i, i, connecting the upper and lower portions of the main boiler B, B,
and forming between them and the long tubes a fire trench F, F, for
receiving bright fuel from the upper furnace and banking it up into a wall of
fire F, F, which as it consumes is continually descending and discharging it's
slag and ashes into a pit ff, below, from whence their excess, forced 'onwards

page_text: by the incumbent pressure towards the ash door G, is from time to time"
'drawn away; the trench F, F, being wedge-shaped, keeps the fuel in a loose
state with free interstices. The smoke current from the fresh fuel in the
furnace A, A, in passing between the upper portion of tlie long row of
tubes I, I, where there is no fuel' in the way, is thrown into eddies by them,
which action tends to mix it up well with the oxygenous air. accompanying
it; it then sweeps round and down the rest of the free deflecting space E, -E;
and heating the concave water casing D, D, the smoke becomes inverted,
and re-entering between the lower part of the tubes I, I, permeates the wall
of fire F, F, and passing between the short tubes i i, enters the ordinary fire
tubes b, b, of the main boiler B, B. The smoke in passing through the
bright fuel is necessarily ignited, arriving, as it does, charged with an
abundance of oxygenous air, the supply of which is increased at will through
the air and stoking holes H, H, in the arched water casing D, D, of the
boiler D, D.
By this arrangement of stoking holes in a water casing opposite the middle
of the fuel, every part of the fire lies within easy access of the stoker, though
the furnace should be given the largest dimensions, and a water casing being
placed between him and the furnace, the stoker can tend the fire at "ease
unoppressed by the heat. The bright fire is kept by the trench F, F, of
unvarying dimensions. In experiments made by me twenty-five years ago I
found such a wall fire to consume fuel with great rapidity, and to admit a
current through its interstices much more freely than a fire of equal area lying
horizontally on a grate.
A further principle comprised in this Invention is that of making the
residual heat of the smoke current (namely, that which must go off to the
chimney, say, 400°,) to do duty twice. Starting with a supplementary charge
of heat from the fresh fuel at A, A, it imparts this to the water tubes I, I, and
concave of the boiler D, D; falling by this in temperature towards its residual
state, it enters the intense fire F, F, and receives a second and full comple-
mentary charge of heat, which it expends in the fire tubes b, b, of the main
boiler, and enters the chimney with its original residual heat. Thus two charges
of effective heat are carried by one current of residual, which cannot fail of
proving a very economical disbursement of heat. Both the long and the short
trench tubes of this boiler may be so made as to be easily removed in repairs,
and all other parts of both boilers may be equally accessible. The water
spaces of the boilers must be separate, as the level of one is higher than of the
other, but their steam pipes communicate..
A simple form of this Invention is exhibited in Figure VIII., which corre-

page_text: sponds in construction with a furnace made upwards of twenty-six years ago
for heating a large kiln, and which led to the subsequent trial of a vertical
or wall fire.
In this modification, the inclined long tubes I, I, as seen in Figure VII., are
removed, and common fire bars I, I, Figure 8, are substituted for them, with
an ordinary ash-pit f, f, below them, the short tubes shown in the dotted
lines i, i, being retained or not. This fire has in all other respects the same
construction, parts, and advantages as the first form, shewn in Figures 1 to 7;
but the smoke current, not being carried through the body of the bright fuel,
but sweeping chiefly over its surface, cannot be as inevitably consumed; yet
the smoke current becoming inverted as before in the deflecting chamber, and
receiving an accession of air through the stoking holes H (commanded by
doors), and impinging with force on the bright fuel, in its descent must be
nearly all consumed.
In witness whereof, I, the said Julius Jeffreys, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Tenth day of January, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
FRED HARRIS.
JULIUS JEFFREYS. (L.s.)