IMPROVEMENTS IN VERTICAL STEAM BOILERS
Year: 1885

page_text: I THOMAS ROUNTHWAITE, Engineer, of No 14 Green Lane, Ardwick, in the City
of Manchester, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS
IN VERTICAL STEAM BOILERS to be as follows:-
I make the outer Shell of my Boiler cylindrical terminating at the lower end in
a hemisphere. I make the internal fire box, containing the grate bars, of a
spherical or nearly spherical shape, and I place it in the lower part of the outer
shell, in such a way, that the centre of the fire box, coincides or nearly so with the
centre from which the hemispherical end of the outer shell, herein before named,
has been struck. I unite this inside fire box, with the outer shell by two or more
tubes, one of which is of sufficient diameter to act as a firing hole, while another,
preferably at the bottom of the Boiler, serves to admit air to the furnace. On the
top of the spherical internal fire box, I fix a tube which acts as an uptake and
serves to convey the products of combustion into a combustion chamber placed
higher up in the Boiler, than the herein before mentioned spherical fire box.
Outside the Boiler I fit a smoke box communicating with a chimney, and I unite
the combustion chamber, with the smoke box by a number of horizontal or inclined
smoke tubes. To augment the heating surface I fit one or more cross water tubes
or field tubes, in the combustion chamber. When simplicity of construction is
desirable I dispense with the small smoke tubes and unite the internal fire box,
with an external smoke box, by a tapered uptake tube, in which cross water tubes
may be fitted.

page_text: -
I THOMAS ROUNTHWAITE of 14 Green Lane, Ardwick, in the City of Manchester
Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of my Invention for IMPROVEMENTS IN
VERTICAL STEAM BOILERS and in what manner the same is to be performed, to
be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement:-
I arrange Vertical Boilers with an outer cylindrical shell and terminating at
lower end in a hemisphere, and I form the top of a hemisphere or flanged dished
plate, thereto I fix steam domes by flanging and rivetting or by otherwise attaching
to top of boiler:
I also arrange horizontal or inclined smoke tubes by means of tube plates flanged
or otherwise attached to the shell of the boiler, and the spaces left outside the tube
plates are in such case utilized as a combustion chamber on the one side and as a
smoke box on the other side. The products of combustion from the internal fire box
are led to the combustion chamber by a tube thence through the smoke tubes to
smoke box, and thence to a chimney of any convenient shape.
In the simpler class of boiler I connect the internal fire box by means of tapered
uptake tube to the top of the boiler and thence to the chimney.
The internal fire box is made of a spherical form, and connected to outer shell by
one or more tubes flanged & rivetted or otherwise fixed, it is also connected at or
near the top by a tube communicating with the combustion chamber. The tubes
connected to outer shell are used as firing hole and air tube respectively, those not
used for these purposes-viz-fire hole and air tube have small holes cut in them
so that the water can freely circulate and thereby protect the plates at those parts
from the action of the intense heat and flames.
The internal fire box may also be formed of half a sphere and cylinder combined
with a top of a flanged dished shape, connected to top of boiler by a tapered uptake
tube and containing one or more water tubes.
I also make these boilers of a semi-vertical type, in which the combustion
chamber is internal and of a circular form with dished flanged end connected by
short tube to shell of boiler by rivetting and flanging or otherwise attached, the
top of the boiler is made up of a quarter sphere and cylinder attached thereto, the
smoke tubes are also made longer so as to make up the heating surface.
also make the boilers double in which case the combustion chamber or
chambers and internal fire box are sorrounded entirely by water, and in the single
combustion chamber I fix tapered water tubes to increase the circulation of the
water, and there are two smoke boxes with two uptakes and one funnel.
In the case of all boilers the combustion chamber is formed entirely inside the
shell and stayed thereto, and the combustion chamber and the internal fire box are
entirely sorrounded by water. The top of combustion chambers are made rigid
with the aid of dog stays.
Drawings No 1 & 2, sheet 1 show a vertical cylindrical boiler and spherical
internal fire box with tapered uptake tube fitted with cross water tubes and
funnel,

page_text: Drawings N° 3 & 4, sheet 1 show a vertical cylindrical boiler and internal
fire box, sphere and cylinder combined, with cross tube in fire box and cross tube
in tapered uptake.
Drawings No 5, 6, & 7, sheet 1 show a semi-vertical boiler, spherical internal fire
box and circular combustion chamber, internal and entirely sorrounded by water,
prolonged smoke tubes and smoke box.
Drawings N° 8, 9 & 10, sheet 2 show a vertical cylindrical boiler and spherical
internal fire box, combustion chamber, internal and entirely sorrounded by water,
and external smoke box.
Drawings N° 11, 12 & 13, sheet 2 show a double vertical boiler with spherical
internal fire boxes and two combustion chambers, internal and entirely sorrounded
by water and two external smoke boxes.
Drawings N° 14 & 15, sheet 2 show a double vertical boiler, with two spherical
internal fire boxes and one combustion chamber; internal (fitted with tapered water
tubes) and entirely sorrounded by water.