CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS
Year: 1825

page_text: TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, WILLIAM
GRIMBLE, of Cow Cross Street, in the County of Middlesex, Gentleman, send
greeting.
any
WHEREAS His present most Excellent Majesty King George the
Fourth, by His Letters Patent under the Great Seal of Great Britain,
bearing date at Westminster, the Fourteenth day of May, in the sixth
year of His reign, did, for Himself, His heirs and successors, give and
grant unto me, the said William Grimble, His especial licence that I, the
said William Grimble, my exors, admors, and assigns, or such others as I,
the said William Grimble, my exors, 'admors, and assigns, should at time
agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times during the
term of years therein expressed, should and lawfully might make, use, exercise,
and vend, within England, Wales, and the Town of Berwick-upon-Tweed, and
also in His said Majesty's Colonies and Plantations abroad, my Invention
of "CERTAIN IMPROVEMENTS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING
SPIRITUOUS LIQUORS;" in which said Letters Patent there is contained a proviso
obliging me, the said William Grimble, by an instrument in writing under my
hand and seal, particularly to describe and ascertain the nature of my said
Invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, and to cause
the same to be inrolled in His Majesty's High Court of Chancery within

page_text: six calendar months next and immediately after the date of the said in
part recited Letters Patent, as in and by the same, reference being thereunto
had, will more fully and at large appear.
NOW KNOW YE, that in compliance with the said proviso, I, the said
William Grimble, do hereby declare that the nature of my said Invention,
and the manner in which the same is to be performed, are particularly described
and ascertained in and by the Drawings hereunto annexed, and the following
description thereof (that is to say):-
My improvements consist, first, in exposing the hot vapours which arise
from a still of the common or any other construction in numerous small pipes
or thin conduit tubes (of metal or other fit material, arranged in one or more
groupes or systems) to the cooling operation of the atmospheric air, in order
thereby to effect a separation of the vapour of pure spirit from the mixture of
aqueous and spirituous vapours, which unavoidably rises therewith from the
still, and in so disposing my said cooling pipes or apparatus that the liquor
or feints condensed from the said mixed vapours may immediately run down
again into the still, and by thus passing only pure and alcoholic vapours into
the worm tub, the condensing water therein is but in a very small degree
heated, and a perfect condensing and cooling is effected of the spirit drawn
off; and, second, in occasionally passing cool air or water of a proper tempe-
rature, contained in coursed or coiled pipes, through the vessel in which my
said small pipes terminate at top, in order to regulate the heat of the vapours
therein.
In the Drawings hereunto annexed, Figs. 1 and 2 represent a front sectional
view and a side view of my said apparatus, in which Figures the same letters
of reference apply to the same things in each of the views. My said apparatus,
as here represented, and consisting of one system of pipes or tubes, being
adapted to a 200-gallon still, and is shewn and mentioned herein as being
constructed of copper, and its 672 round cooling pipes (herein-after designated
by the letters c, c, c, c, &c.) as arranged on a square plan; but in none of
these particulars do I limit myself, but adapt the size of my apparatus and
the number of systems into which its pipes or tubes may be grouped to
the size and capacity of the still to which it may be applied; also
instead of copper I use any other fit metal or material, and either solder,
cement, flange, screw, or join the several parts in any fit manner. In
constructing my said apparatus, I also vary the number or the length
of cooling pipes or tubes according to the size of the still, and either
use round pipes or flattened tubes, or a mixture of these, for cooling the
vapours passing through them, and I arrange these pipes or tubes, whether

page_text: forming one or more systems or groups, on a square, a round, an elliptical, or
any other plan, according as convenience may require. A is the upper part of
a still of the common construction, wherein malt wash, low wines, feints, or
other fermented or alcoholic liquours, may be heated in order to separate their
alcohol by the process of distillation. B is a vessel of copper, with an open
bottom adapted for its fitting tightly on to, and being closely cemented or
luted to the top of the still A. The top of this vessel B is square, and is
covered by a square plate of copper b, b, tightly soldered, flanched, or other-
wise jointed thereon. In the said plate b, b, 26 rows of holes, containing 26
holes in each row, are punched, drilled, or formed, and upon each of the said
holes (except the four corner ones d; d) is soldered the lower end of a long
small pipe c of copper, having the same internal diameter with the hole, so
that each of these said pipes c, c, c, &c. (672 in number) is open to receive
the vapours directly as they rise from the still. The four corner holes in the
plate b, b, (being the outside ones of each of the outside 26 holes already
mentioned), are larger in size than the other holes, so as to receive through
them the pipes d, d, which last-mentioned pipes are turned up syphonwise
at their lower ends, in order that a quantity of the condensed liquor, by
lodging in the bend of these. pipes, may prevent the passing of the vapours
from the still up through these corner pipes, which are destined for the
descent of liquor returning into the still, as will be further mentioned herein.
C, C, represents a stay plate corresponding in size, and in the number and
positions of the holes therein, with the plate b, b, except that the 672 holes
(omitting the corner ones) are so much larger as to receive the pipes c, c, c, &c.
through them. This stay plate is retained in its place by a slight soldering
to each of the corner pipes d, d, and has no other service to perform, but
merely staying the whole of the pipes in their vertical situations. D is a
close vessel of copper, the bottom plate e, e, of which vessel may be slightly
curved upwards in the form of a dome, and be perforated with holes corre-
sponding exactly in number, situation, and size with the holes in the stay
plate C, C., The lengths of the four corner pipes d, d, already mentioned, are
such that they just pass through. their holes in the plate e, e, and they are
tightly soldered, cemented, or screwed into these holes, but so as to remain
open at top for receiving and conveying down into the still the liquor
condensed within the vessel D by the coldness of the surrounding air, such
liquor being for this purpose collected towards these corner pipes by the
curving or dome-like form of the bottom plate a, e, already mentioned. The
other and smaller pipes c, c, c, &c. (672 in number) are each so much longer
than the said corner pipes d, d, as to pass through and project a certain

page_text: distance above the plate e, c, and each of such pipes c, c, c, being tightly
soldered or otherwise jointed as aforesaid into its hole, these pipes remain
open throughout, for the free ascent of vapours through them from the still
into the vessel D, without the ascent of such vapours being impeded by the
descent of condensed liquor through the same pipes. When it is required
to produce spirit of great strength I sometimes assist the atmospheric conden-
sation in the vessel D by introducing a horizontal tier of pipes or tubes 9, 9,
9, 9, 9, either round or flattened, and of any fit diameters or sizes, continuously
traversing the said vessel (D) in the seven parallel courses, whose ends are
represented in Fig. 2; or I use any greater or less number of such parallel
courses, or dispose the said continuous pipe or tube in a coil, either round,
square, or of any other fit figure, and forming one or more of such horizontal
tiers, supported on bars of metal i, i, extending across the said vessel D, or
supported in any other fit manner, such continuous tube or pipe passing
through and being soldered or otherwise tightly jointed into the sides of the
said vessel, and extending between the entrance pipo shewn as broken off at
f, and the exit pipe shewn as broken off at h, and through the said tier or tiers
of coursed or coiled pipe or tube within the vessel D, I pass a jet or stream of
cool air or water, either cold or tepid, in such a degree as experience may
shew to be most operative in duly regulating the condensation of any aqueously
mixed vapours which may arrive in the vessel D. In the top of the vessel D
a short open tube E is soldered, within which tube a therinometer is cemented,
having its bulb within the vessel, and freely exposed to the vapours therein,
in order that its stem extending above the tube may indicato and shew the
temperature of the said vapours within the vessel D, as directions to the
attendant on the still and its fire, for so regulating the intensity of the fire
under the still from time to time that spirituous vapours only, unmixed with
steam or the vapour of water, may exist in this vessel D, and pass off there-
from by the pipes F, F, the end G of these pipes being intended to enter
and be cemented to the worm pipe, immersed in a tub of cold liquor, such as
is commonly in use. Sometimes I use two elliptical pipes F, F, coming out
of the vessel D and uniting below into one such pipe before they reach the
worm pipe, as is represented in the Drawings hereunto annexed; yet I do not
limit myself in this particular, but sometimes use one or more round pipes,
or one or more flat tubes, for the conveyance of the spirituous vapours from
the vessel D to the worm pipe accordingly as convenience may require. In
like manner I sometimes vary the mode of applying the thermometer used
for indicating the heat of the vapours within the vessel D, sometimes using a
bent thermometer tube, having its stem and scale attached to the front side

page_text: of the vessel D, and its bulb projecting horizontally therefrom through such
front side, and being cemented therein; or I employ a pyrometric barof zinc
or tin, or of any other very expensive metal, passing across the middle of
the said vessel D so as to be fully exposed to the vapours contained therein,
for acquiring the same temperature from time to time with the said vapours,
one end of which pyrometric bar I firmly attach to the inside of the vessel D,
and the other end of such bar (the said-bar being of greater length than the
breadth of the said vessel D) I pass, through a. stuffing, box or collar of
leathers in the opposite side of the said vessel, so as to prevent the exit or
escape of vapour, and yet allow this end of the said bar to slide freely in or
out, accordingly as the said bar expands or contracts through the greater or less
heat which the vapours in the said vessel communicate to it; and I'cause this
projecting end of the pyrometric bar, by means of a suitable system of levers,
to carry or actuate an index moving against an experimentally graduated scale
of degrees for indicating to the attendant of the still and its fire the exact
temperature at all times of the vapours in the vessel D; but I lay no claim
of Invention or exclusive use as to any one of these modes of indicating the
temperature of vapours in the vessel D, but do hereby expressly declare,
ascertain, and limit my claims of Invention and exclusive use under the
herein-before in part recited Letters Patent to the following particulars, that
is to say:
First, to the system or systems of small pipes or thin tubes herein-before
described, wherein I expose the mixed vapours arising from the still to the
cooling influence of the atmospheric air, thereby to effect a separation of the
vapours of pure spirit from the mixture of aqueous and spirituous vapours by
condensing the said aqueously. mixed vapours, and to the disposing of the
said cooling pipes or tubes in such a manner above the still that the condensed
liquor from the said aqueously mixed vapours may immediately run down
again into the still; and,
Second, I claim the use of the courses or coils of pipes or tubes 'g, 9, 9, &c.,
carrying a stream of cool air, or of cold or tepid water, through the vessel D.
for assisting or regulating the condensation therein, as herein-before is
mentioned.
In witness whereof, I, the said William Grimble, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Third day of November, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.
WILLIAM (L.B.) GRIMBLE.

page_text: AND BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the Third day of November, in
the year of our Lord 1825, the aforesaid William Grimble camo before our
said Lord the King in His Chancery, and acknowledged the Specification
aforesaid, and all and every thing therein contained and specified, in form
above written. And also the Specification aforesaid was stamped according
to the tenor of the Statute made for that purpose.
Inrolled the Third day of November, in the year of our Lord Ono
Inrolled the Third day of November, in the year of our Lord Ono
thousand eight hundred and twenty-five.

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