Improvements in the Setting of Steam Boilers or Generators.
Year: 1889

page_text: Improvements in the Setting of Steam Boilers or Generators.
I JAMES YATE JOHNSON of 47 Lincolns Inn Fields in the County of Middlesex
Gentleman do hereby declare the nature of this invention which has been communi-
cated to me from abroad by the Edge Moor Iron Co. of Philadelphia in the
United States of America and in what manner the same is to be performed to be
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :—
These improvements relate to horizontal steam boilers or generators set in brick-
work. As in the accompanying drawings the boiler illustrated is of the Galloway
type I will describe the Invention as applied to such a boiler although it is to bo
understood that the Invention is applicable to horizontal boilers set in brickwork
generally. The Galloway boiler has heretofore been supported in the setting upon
special shaped fire brick forming the apex of the side walls of a horizonal Huo
beneath the boiler through which Hue the products of combustion pass directly to the
chimney, these products upon leaving the internal flue at the rear end of the boiler,
enter two side flues, one on each side of the boiler through which they pass to the
front end where they enter the lower flue before mentioned and the space required
for these sido flues to enter the lower flue is the only part of the boiler unsupported
in the manner described. The boiler is not secured in position otherwise than by the
side walls and the supports before mentioned so that its expansion and contraction is
liable to produce an end movement and as the covering of the flues at the rear end
prevents any movement in that direction, the movement when it occurs must always
be toward the front end and this opens a communication into the lower flue, through
which products of combustion can pass directly to the chimney without passing along
the outside of the boiler shell as it is desired that they shall do. To avoid this disposi-
tion to such objectionable movement many, and perhaps most, horizontal boilers are
supported upon the side walls of the boiler setting by brackets rivetted upon the
shell of the boiler and many are suspended from cross beams above the boiler which
beams rest upon the side walls of the setting, but in all cases the brickwork of the
side walls is built against the boiler and in very many cases these walls are pressed against
the boiler by strong clamping plates united by cross bolts above and below the boiler.
The various arrangements above mentioned are intended to maintain the boiler and

page_text: the brickwork of the setting in contact and in the position which is originally designed
for them and in which they are first built, but as the boiler must expand and contrac
from the conditions of its use, it has been found practically impossible to maintain
the boiler and its setting in the same relative position. It is one object of the present
improvement to remedy this defect, another object is to improve the draught and
facilitate the removal of ashes which must accumulate in the flues, a further object
is to increase the heating surface, and to these ends this invention consists in a steam
boiler, provided with two supports, one of which is fixed and the other of which is
moveable, so that the expansion and contraction of the boiler must take place from
and to its fixed support the boiler being also provided with a fixed safety support
which will receive and sustain the weight of the boiler in case the movable support
shall fail to act. The boiler is further provided with a chamber which surrounds the
boiler except at the firing end, so that products of combustion shall have access to the
entire exterior of the boiler within this chamber. And in order that the Invention
may be clearly understood reference is made to the drawings forming, part of this
specification in which Figure 1 represents the setting, in vertical section, and a side
view of the boiler in position therein. Figure 2 is a horizontal cross section of the
brickwork, with a plan view of the boiler in place. Figure 3 is a vertical cross
section of the boiler and setting upon the lino a b Figure 1. Figure 4 is a front
elevation of the rocker support with the, saddle in which the boiler rests, Figure 5 is
a vertical cross section of the rocker support and its saddle, Figure 6 is a plan and
Figure 7 is a side view of this saddle. Figure 8 represents the setting as arranged
when the rocker support is placed at the front end, outside of the closed chamber, and
Figure 9 is a plan of the same, Figuro 10 is a front elevation of the rocker support
for this arrangement, Figure 11 is a plan of the saddle and Figure 12 is a plan of the
rocker frame. In all of the figures of the drawings similar letters refer to similar
parts.
The vertical section shown in Figure 1 represents the boiler A in position, supported
at the front end by the cross wall B of the brick setting, this support is also shown
in Figure 2, this cross wall is built against the boiler and embraces its wholo cir-
cumference, the side walls are shown in Figures 2 and 3, they are composed preferably
of hard red brick lined inside with fire brick, a small air space being left between
the red brick and the fire brick, those side walls are surmounted by a brick arch
preferably of the same matorials as the side walls and built with an air space as in
the side walls. In the top of this arch, openings are made as shown in Figure 1, to
recoive the nozzles or parts which connect with the safety valves, the main steam pipe,
and the man hole. The space between these nozzles and the brick work may be filled
with any kind of packing that will withstand the heat and obstruct the passage of air
(such for instance as mineral wool, asbestos fibre or curled hair) as if left open the
air will rush in to some extent and cool the surfaces exposed to it. The rear end of
the brick setting is contracted as shown in Figures 1 and 2 and the arch covering of
this contracted part is shewn by dotted lines in Figure 3, the object of this con-
struction being to prevent the products of combustion after they pass out from the
rear end of the boiler, from flowing directly over the top of the boiler. This flow is
further prevented by the angle iron C which is curved to fit under the arch covering
of this contracted part of the brick work without touching it and is suspended from
the top of the boiler shell by the straps c c which are bent to hook over the top of the
boiler shell but which are not fastened to it. In the centre of the rear wall, see
Figures 1, 2 and 3, I place a cleaning door D, through which the ashes that
accumulate in the boiler flue and under the boiler, can be readily removed. The
lightest of these ashes will settle upon the top of the angle iron C between it
and the brick arch above it and thus present an almost perfect barrier to the direct
flow of the products of combustion over the top of the boiler without interfering with
its freedom to expand and contract with the changes of temperaturo to which it must
be subjected. As thus arranged it will be observed that the boiler is placed within
a closed chamber the walls of which do not touch the boiler except at one end
where they completely enclose and support that end in a fixed position, providing,

page_text: that the other end shall be so supported as to yield readily in a longitudinal direction;
to this end there is provided the rocker support E, (see Figures 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11
and 12) which consists of the rocker frame E, its base plate F and the saddle G.
This saddle G is composed of two pieces which do not touch each other but, which
are held in their proper relative position by the loop strap d d (sec Figures 4, 5, 6, 10
and 11). The upper side of this saddle is curved to fit the boiler while the under
side is straight with a recess in the bottom to receive the upper end of the rocker
frame E. The curved and straight portions of the saddle are united by strong ribs
or webs as shown and the upper end of the rockor frame is so constructed as to
embrace one rib on each half of the saddle to supplement the loop strap d d and
prevent the two halves of the saddle from separating in case the loop strap d d
should break. The upper and lower ends of the rocker frame E are made alike,
consequently the base plate F must be made so that the rocker frame will embrace
it as it does the two halves of the saddle so that when this base plate (which rests
upon a suitable foundation) is secured in place the boiler will be firmly secured
transversely, while it will be perfectly free to move longitudinally, so far as this
support is concerned. The rocker frame may be made hollow and be provided with
the circular openings e e for the purpose of introducing a current of cool air through
this support if the exigencies of its use should ever require it. It is perhaps
possible that some failure in the brick work or some obstruction between the boiler
and the rear end of its closed chamber might prevent the rocker frame from moving
back and forth and that then a crawling of the boiler might take place which might
be unobserved until the rocker frame was so far out of position as to permit the
boiler to fall. Or the rocker frame itself being exposed to long continued heat
might break and thus permit the boiler to fall. To guard against any such
contingency a fixed safety support H is provided (see Figures 1, 2 and 3) which
support consists of a brick pier in the rear of the rocker support E, the top of this
pier conforming to the shapo of the boiler but not touching it, so that in case the
rocker frame should fail, the boiler could only settle down upon this safety support,
which it could do without damage to itself or to the brick work of its setting. The
position of this safety support is such as to guard the rocker frame from the direct
flow of the products of combustion as they pass out from the rear end of the boiler.
These products after passing through the chamber on the outside of the boiler shell,
pass out through the flue I into the main flue J and from thence to the chimney (see
Figures 1 and 2). As thus arranged the boiler is perfectly free to expand and
contract without producing any strains between it and the setting tending to the
injury of either. The products of combustion as they leave the boiler are discharged
into a chamber which must necessarily be very large and as the passage through it
is direct, there will be the least possible obstruction to the draught, so that the
height of the chimney may be reduced, the area being great, the current will be slow
so that the greatest deposit of ashes will occur here, which is the most convenient
point for their removal, and the whole exterior of the boiler shell except the front
head, being exposed to the heat of the outgoing products of combustion, the heating
surface is increased beyond that of any other boiler of the character hereinbefore
mentioned.
I have described the boiler as fixed at the front or firing end and supported upon
a rocker frame within the closed chamber where the rocker frame is exposed to
the heat of the products of combustion, which in the Galloway Boiler is not
important, but the boiler may be fixed at the back end upon a brick pier within
the closed chamber and the rocker frame may be placed at the front end outside
of the closed chamber, the front wall of this chamber having a circular opening
formed in the brickwork to permit the boiler to move freely therein without touching
it. The space between the boiler and the brickwork may be filled with any kind
of soft packing that will withstand the heat, such for instance as mineral wool,
asbestos fibre or curled hair, to prevent the indraught of air without interfering with
the free movement of the boiler (see Figures 8 and 9). The circular opening
through the front end of the closed chamber will then become the fixed safety

page_text: support. The saddle G will have less weight to carry than when it is placed
inside of the closed chamber, and it may therefore be shortened so as to go into the
recess in the masonry provided for the blow off pipe and valve as shown in
Figures 9 and 10, while the upper end of the rocker frame E may be enlarged
and provided with a circular opening to admit this blow off pipe as shown in
Figure 12.
I am aware that boilers have been set in brickwork and provided with yielding
supports but in all such cases the brick work has supported the boiler at more than
one place so that the effect of expansion and contraction cannot be eliminated and
the support has been that of rollers which will become clogged with ashes so that
they cannot turn and moreover they afford support only upon a line which cannot
be maintained and no provision has been made in such cases to guard against the
effects of failure in the yielding support.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention and in what manner the same is to bo performed I declare that what
1 claim is :-
1. A horizontal steam boiler enclosed within a chamber (except at the firing end)
so that products of combustion shall have access to the entire exterior of the boiler
within the chamber, in combination with a rocker support and a fixed safety support
substantially as and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
2. In combination with a steam boiler and a suitable support, the saddle G
composed of two pieces united by the loop strap d d substantially as hereinbefore
described.
3. A steam boiler and the saddle G in combination with the rocker frame E
which supplements the loop strap d d substantially as hereinbefore described.
4. In combination with a steam boiler the rocker support composed of the rocker
frame E, its base plato F and the saddle G, arranged and combined substantially as
and for the purposes hereinbefore set forth.
5. A horizontal steam boiler setting arranged or constructed substantially as
herein before described and illustrated in Figures 1, 2 and 3 or in Figures 8 and 9 of
the accompanying drawings.