Improvements in or Appertaining to Apparatus Applicable for Heating the Feed Water or Causing Circulation in Steam Boilers.
Year: 1887

page_text: Date of Application, 7th Sept., 1887
Complete Left, 7th June, 1888
Complete Accepted, 13th July, 1888
Improvements in or Appertaining to Apparatus Applicable for
Heating the Feed Water or Causing Circulation in Steam Boilers.
I, ROBERT FRASER of K 21, Exchange Buildings, in the City of Liverpool Steam-
ship Owner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as follows:-
This invention consists essentially in causing the feed, or the water taken from one
part of the boiler, or both, to pass through a secondary heating apparatus outside, the
water can then be discharged into the boiler, preferably near the top.
The heating apparatus may be a vessel or chamber of metal lined (or otherwise)
with fire brick, asbestos, or other suitable material in which the pipe carrying the
water traverses from bottom to top or vice versa in a coil. It may, however, be of any
other suitable form with large heating surface. It can be heated either with solid,
liquid, or gaseous fuel, and either with a furnace at the bottom or with a series of
burners arranged to act on the heating surface, or the fuel can be sprayed or fed into
the chamber continuously, or be charged so as to partially or wholly fill the heating
space.
The feed or water preferably from the lower part of the boiler can each be brought
to this apparatus by a separate branch to a three-way or other cock, and can be
supplied as mentioned in a prior application of mine with reversible filters so that both
the feed and the circulating water, or either of them, can be filtered before entering
the heating apparatus. A safety valve and preferably also a self-acting check valve
can be attached to the exit pipe from the subsidiary heating apparatus before it enters
the main boiler.
The subsidiary apparatus can be placed in front, behind below or at the side of the
boiler, or even in rare cases above it, and the waste gases from the subsidiary
apparatus conducted to the uptake of the furnaces or other flue of the main boiler.
The advantages of using the subsidiary apparatus are these: First, I obtain nearly
all the advantages of a circulating pipe placed in the furnace of the main boiler
without the disadvantages entailed through the position of that pipe in the furnace.
Secondly, this circulating apparatus can be thrown out of gear by simply changing
he direction of a three-way cock, so as to send the feed water and circulating water

page_text: direct into the boiler, it can then be prepared at leisure while the boiler is at work.
Thirdly. It being entirely independent of the boiler, the filtering apparatus can be
arranged in any convenient position. Fourthly, where oil or gaseous fuel is used it
can be controlled by a tap and turned off or on, or regulated instantaneously as
required.
Dated this 6th day of September 1887
WM. P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in or Appertaining to Apparatus Applicable for
Heating the Feed Water or Causing Circulation in Steam Boilers.
I, ROBERT FRASER of K 21, Exchange Buildings, Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Steam Ship Owner do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
--
In my specifications Nos. 3210 of 1887 and 11719 of 1887, I have described and
illustrated a system of water circulating and feed heating apparatus in connection
with steam boilers, in which the feed water, or the colder water from the bottom of
the boiler is heated in pipes passing through the furnace and entering the boiler at a
higher point. In some cases, however, it may not be possible to have water pipes in
the furnace. My present invention is therefore for improvements on my former ones,
and for performing the heating in a subsidiary furnace or chamber.
Referring to the drawings:
Figure 1 is a front elevation of a three furnaced boiler fitted with my improved
apparatus.
Figure 2 is an enlarged sectional view of an automatic valve I shown in Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a section along line x x, Figure 2.
Figure 4 shows a modified form of automatic valve combined with a shut
off valve.
Figure 5 is an enlarged sectional view of a combined feed and circulating valve
similar to the valve J, shown in Figure 1.
Figure 6 is an enlarged sectional view of the valve J, shown in Figure 1.
A is the feed heating and circulating pipe. The heating apparatus B' is preferably
a vessel or chamber of metal lined (or otherwise) with fire brick, asbestos, or other

page_text: suitable material, in which the pipe A carrying the water traverses from bottom to
top (or vice versa) in a coil. The apparatus may, however, be of any other suitable
form with large heating surface. It can be heated either with solid, liquid, or
gaseous fuel, and either 'with a furnace at the bottom, or with a series of burners
arranged to act on the heating surface, or the fuel can be sprayed, fed, or blown, into
the chamber continuously, or be charged so as to partially or wholly fill the heating
space.
The circulating water (preferably from the lower part of the boiler B) can be
brought to this heating apparatus by a separate branch A³ and the feed water by a
separate branch leading to a three way cock or check valve J, hereinafter called, the
combined feed and circulating valve. Two forms of this combined valve are set forth
in detail in Figures 5 and 6.
In Figure 6, A is the outlet to the circulating pipe; A' is the inlet from the same,
and C is the feed inlet. D' is an ordinary shut off valve controlling the outlet A
J is a ball valve, adapted to cut off communication with either of the inlets A' and C³.
The valve D¹ being open and the feed shut off, the ball valve is in its lower position,
and the water circulates from A' over the top of the valve and out at A'. When the
feed is put on, the ball valve rises to its upper position as shown in dotted lines, and
shuts off the circulating water. In Figure 5 a double valve P is substituted for the
ball valve J. The double valve P is arranged with its ground surfaces p p at a
distance from each other less than the distance between the valve seats to an extent
equal to the ordinary lift of a valve of this size and description, so that one or other
valve must inevitably be open. The action of this valve is precisely similar to the
valve shown in Figure 6.
A reversible filter L can be used for the feed or circulating water or both as
described in my previous specification No. 11719 of 1887, but if the circulating water
be filtered, it is forced or drawn through the filter by a pump or injector. The filter
and its connections are so arranged that it can be reversed and cleansed either by the
feed water, the steam from the boiler, or the water from the bottom of the boiler,
or from a branch pipe from a donkey. This will be readily understood by the
dotted arrows in Figure 1. The full arrows in this figure show the direction of the
feed and circulating water, when the apparatus is working.
One or more relief or safety valves H may be placed upon the circulating pipe.
An automatic valve combined with a shut off valve D is also placed in proximity to
the boiler, both at the entrance to and exit from the heating and circulating pipe A.
The automatic valves are arranged in such a manner, and in such a position that
should a fracture take place in the heating and circulating pipe between the shut off
valves D, the former valves will close and arrest the flow of water from the boiler.
The automatic valves may be of various kinds, and they are preferably placed either
close against the outside of the boiler, or just within it. They stand normally open
when the pressure in the circulating pipe is not less than that in the boiler.
The automatic valve I shown in Figure 1 is shown in detail in Figures 2 and 3. It
is placed inside the boiler at the end of the heating and circulating pipe in such a
position that the weight or buoyancy the ball G shall always tend to keep the valve
open. G' is the valve seat. The ball is retained in its normal position by the cap G³,
which is provided with guiding strips g and with water openings g.
In Figure 4 an automatic valve is shown which consists of a simple plate or disc E
mounted on a bent spring E' attached to the inside of the boiler, so as to stand
normally in an open position. The short pipe E2 forms a continuation of the heating
and circulating pipe, and is placed directly below the disc E, so as to serve as a seating
for the same.
The subsidiary apparatus can be placed in front, behind, below, or at the side of the
boiler, or even in rare cases above it, and the waste gases from the flues and funnel
can be used to heat it, and the waste gases from the subsidiary apparatus can be
conducted to the furnaces or to the uptake of the furnaces or other flue of the main
boiler.
The advantages of using the subsidiary apparatus as these, Firstly while some

page_text: furnaces are too small to admit of an internal pipe, I obtain nearly all, if not all, the
advantages of a circulating and feed heating pipe placed in the furnace of the main
boiler. Secondly, the circulating apparatus can be thrown out of gear by simply
changing the direction of a three way cock R, and then shutting a valve Q, so as to
send the feed water and circulating water direct through the pipe a¹ into the boiler.
Thirdly, It being entirely independent of the boiler, the filtering apparatus can be
arranged in any convenient position. Fourthly; where oil or gaseous fuel is used it
can be controlled by a tap or valve, or blower, or fan and turned off or on, or
regulated instantaneously as required.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. In combination with a steam boiler, a subsidiary furnace or chamber for heating
the feed and circulating water, or circulating water only, substantially as and for the
purposes described.
2. In combination with a subsidiary circulating apparatus and furnace or chamber
substantially as claimed in claim 1, the arrangements for cutting off the same, and
enabling the boiler to be used all the same, whether the subsidiary furnace or heating
chamber, heating pipe, or either, be in use or not, substantially as described.
3. The various forms of three way compound cock or valve, substantially as
described and as illustrated in Figures 5 and 6.
Dated this 6th day of June 1888.