APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING OUT THE SEDIMENT FROM THE WATER IN STEAM BOILERS, AND PREVENTING INCRUSTATION OF THE SAME
Year: 1855

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Edmund Topham, of Mansfield Road, Nottingham,
for the Invention of "APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING OUT THE SEDIMENT FROM
THE WATER IN STEAM BOILERS, AND PREVENTING INCRUSTATION OF THE SAME."
"
Sealed the 8th February 1856, and dated the 11th August 1855.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Edmund Topham at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 11th.
August 1855.
I, EDMUND TOPHAM, of Mansfield Road, Nottingham, do hereby declare the
nature of the said. Invention of "APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING OUT THE SEDIMENT
FROM THE WATER IN STEAM BOILERS, AND PREVENTING INCRUSTATION OF THE SAME,"
to be as follows:-.
This Invention consists in adapting to the interior of steam boilers, and
at the bottom thereof, certain apparatus, designed for the purpose of agitating
the water therein occasionally, so as to prevent incrustation by the adhesion
of the sediment contained in the water to the boiler, a circumstance of con-
stant occurrence with steam boilers as heretofore constructed, and by which
they become much injured, and the effect of the fuel very much lessened.
By the use of the following apparatus the above objections may be obviated,
and the durability of the boiler and effect of the fuel much improved.
The apparatus consists of a shallow scraper, fitting loosely within the boiler,
and having one, two, or more rods attached thereto, for actuating the same

page_text: from the outside of the boiler, said rods passing through glands or stuffing
boxes of the ordinary kind, by which the rods are kept water-tight whilst in
action. At the back end of the bottom of the boiler there is an opening,
beneath which is affixed a pipe for carrying off the sediment which has
been precipitated from the water in the boiler during the day, the discharge
of the sediment being effected by the attendant moving the before-mentioned
scraper to and fro by means of a suitable handle affixed to the outer ends to
which the scraper is attached.. As.the frequency with which the scraper is
to be used will depend greatly upon the quality of the water, it must there-
fore be left to the discretion of the workman in charge of the boiler to use
it as often as he finds necessary. For general purposes about once in every
24 hours will be found sufficient.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Edmund Topham in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
11th February 1856.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, EDMUND
TOPHAM, of Mansfield Road, Nottingham, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of August, 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
Edmund Topham, Her special licence that I, the said Edmund Topham, my
executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said Edmund
Topham, my executors, 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 "APPARATUS FOR CLEANSING OUT
THE SEDIMENT FROM THE WATER IN STEAM BOILERS, AND PREVENTING INCRUSTATION
OF THE SAME," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Edmund
Topham, my executors 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 the said. Invention, and in what manner the same was
to be performed, 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.

page_text: | NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Edmund Topham, do hereby declare
the nature of the said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be
performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, that is to say:-
My Invention consists in adapting to the interior of steam boilers, and at
or near the bottom and angles thereof, certain apparatus, 'designed for the pur-
pose of agitating and drawing off the water in the boiler occasionally, so as
to prevent incrustation occasioned by the adhesion of the sediment (contained
in the water) to the boiler, a circumstance of constant occurrence with steam
boilers as heretofore constructed, and by which they become much injured,
and the effect of the fuel very much lessened.
By the use of the following apparatus, the above objections may be obviated,
and the durability of the boiler and effect of the fuel very much improved.
The apparatus consists of a shallow scraper, fitting loosely within the boiler,
and having one, two, or more rods attached thereto, for actuating the same
from the outside of the boiler, said rods passing through glands or stuffing
boxes of the ordinary kind, by which the rods are kept water-tight whilst in
action. At the back end of the bottom of the boiler there is an opening,
beneath which is affixed a pipe for carrying off the sediment which has been
precipitated from the water in the boiler during the day; the discharge of the
sediment being effected by the attendant moving the before-mentioned scraper
to and fro by means of a suitable handle or wheels affixed to the outer ends of
the rods, to which the scraper is attached; or, if necessary, said scrapers may
be actuated at stated intervals of time by a steam engine. As, however, the
frequency with which the scraper is required to be used will depend greatly
upon the quality of the water, it must therefore be left to the discretion of
the workman in charge of the boiler to use it as often as he finds it necessary.
For general purposes about once in every twenty-four hours will be found
sufficient.
In order to explain my said Invention as completely as possible, I now
proceed to describe the best means I am acquainted with for carrying the
same into practical effect, reference being had to the illustrative Drawings
hereunto annexed, and to the numeral figures and letters of reference marked
thereon respectively, as follows:-
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS.
At Sheet 1, Figure 1 is a longitudinal and vertical section of an egg-end
boiler, shewing the application of my Invention thereto; Figure 2 is a trans-
verse and vertical section, through the line A, B, at Figure 1; Figure 3 is a

page_text: longitudinal and vertical section of a square-end boiler with my Invention
applied thereto; Figure 4 is a transverse and vertical section, through the line
C, D, at Figure 3.
At Sheet 2, Figures 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, are modifications of the former
arrangements. At each of the foregoing Figures I employ similar letters of
reference to denote corresponding parts, in so far as such parts appear or can
be seen at each of the said Figures respectively...
At Figures 1 and 2, Sheet I., A, A, is the boiler, within which the following
parts are placed:-B is a perforated pipe, the length of which extends to the
extreme cylindrical parts of the boiler; said pipe lies upon the bottom of the
boiler, and is securely fixed thereto in any convenient manner. From this pipe
à branch pipe C proceeds in a vertical direction, and is secured by a flanch at
its upper end to the inside of the boiler, as exhibited; a hole being formed in
the boiler as large as the inside diameter of the pipe C, over which another
pipe D is securely fixed, and furnished with a cock E; this pipe proceeds to
a culvert, or other suitable discharge outlet. G, G, are a series of scrapers,
mounted upon a rod H, and securely fixed thereto at equal distances of about
twelve inches, more or less. The above rod is supported by guides h, h,
through which it slidės, by imparting notion thereto through the agency of
the bell-crank lever I, rod K, and handle L, the fulcrum of said handle
being a pin at l.
I would here remark that an important feature in this Invention consists in
having the several holes or perforations in the pipe B of less area (taken col-
lectively) than the area of the opening of the outlet cock E, in order that the
pipe B shall not fill with water and sediment as fast as it is discharged
through the said cock, and it is upon this principle of action that this Inven-
tion is mainly dependent for its proper performance. The scrapers G have
reciprocating movement imparted thereto by connecting the rod H to the
lower arm of the bell-crank lever I, the fulcrum of said lever being a pin at i
in the casting M, said casting being securely fixed to the boiler by screw bolts
or other convenient means. To the arm I* of the lever I the rod K is con-
nected; said rod passes through a stuffing box at N, securely fixed on the out-
side of the boiler, and to the upper end of said rod the vibrating handle L is
connected. Thus, it will be seen, that upon imparting motion to the handle L,
such motion will be transmitted to the lever I and scrapers G, connected there-
with, and in this manner and by these means the water in the boiler may be
agitated, and the sediment in the water kept in suspension, instead of being
allowed to precipitate, and become incrusted upon the boiler. The mode of
operating with the above apparatus is as follows:-Supposing the boiler to be

page_text: charged with water and set to work, the attendant from time to time (according
to the quality of the water) agitates the water by means of the handle L, or
by mechanism, as aforesaid, and immediately after he opens the 'cock E, when
the pressure of the water within the boiler forces the water mixed with sedi-
ment through the cock E, the water continuing to enter the tube B through
the perforations therein, but not filling it so fast as the contents of the said
tube are discharged through the cock E, and thus to ensure the whole length
of the tube being charged with water, and thus effectually cleansing the boiler
throughout its entire length, instead of removing the water from one part only
of the boiler, which would be the case if the area of the perforations were in
excess of the area of the orifice in the cock.
.
In adapting my Invention to boilers of other forms of construction than
that above described, it will appear evident that the particular arrangement
of the above apparatus will depend upon the shape of the boiler, and must
therefore be so arranged as to prevent the accumulation of sediment at the
angles of the boiler, and should the peculiar shape of the boiler require it,
more than one of the before-mentioned apparatus may be employed for
effecting the above object, and when this is the case, the said several apparatus
may, if practicable, be connected together, or they may be worked separately,
as above described and represented. The Drawing at Figures 3 and 4
exhibits the adaptation of my Invention to a boiler constructed with square
ends; and the difference between the arrangement there exhibited and that
before described and represented at Figures 1 and 2. is as follows:-The
pipe B at Figures 3 and 4 is carried through the front end of the boiler, and,
if practicable; the discharge cock E is fixed thereto, as exhibited. The rod H,
to which the scrapers are affixed, passes through water-tight glands, or stuffing
boxes N, N, or any other convenient arrangement, and the lever handle L,
employed for imparting motion thereto, is affixed to the end of the boiler, as
exhibited. The tube B at the back end of the boiler should be placed some
two or three inches, more or less, from the end of the boiler, to prevent lodge-
.ment of sediment at such part; the end of the tube is also perforated, with a
hole to allow the water to enter at the end, as well as around the tube, care
being taken that the total area of all the holes in the tube is so calculated as
to be less than the area of the orifice of the discharge .cock, as before stated.
And I would here remark that I do not intend to limit or confine myself. to
these precise modes of arranging the apparatus employed for effecting..the
cleansing of boilers, but have only given them as examples of the means by
which my said Invention may be carried into practical effect..
For instance, supposing the boiler at Figures 3 and 4 to be required, to be

page_text: set in brickwork, it will appear evident that the cock E and lever handle L
will then require to be differently arranged, according to the manner in
which the boiler is to be set, which will vary with every different construction
of boiler.
In instances in which the sediment contained in the water is too light to be
precipitated, and therefore floats upon the surface thereof, in such cases I
propose to remove the sediment by arranging the apparatus in the manner
exhibited at Figures 5, 6, 9, 10, of Sheet 2. At Figures 5 and 6 it will be seen
that the tube B; instead of being placed at the bottom of the boiler, as at
Sheet 1, is placed near the surface of the water in the boiler; and at the
opposite side of the boiler, and nearly on the same plane, I place and support
by its ends and at its centre the rod H, upon which are fixed a series of
single or double fans G, so that upon rotatory motion being imparted in the
direction of the arrows flight to said fans by means of the handle G', or
other convenient means, the floating sediment will be agitated and thrown to
the opposite side of the boiler, and entering the perforations in the tube B,
will be removed thereby, and the surface of the water skimmed, as it were.
And this mode of removing the sediment contained in water may be used
either separately or in combination with the arrangement previously described
with reference to Sheet 1, the same letters of reference being employed to
denote corresponding parts at both Sheets of Drawings.
Figures 9 and 10 exhibit two other modes of effecting the lastly above-
mentioned object. At Figure 9, A* is a gutter, extending the whole length
of the boiler, with the upper edge about one inch from the surface of the
water level; B*, a perforated pipe, similar to that before described, and
marked B at Figures 5 and 6%; the intention of the above gutter is to
accumulate the sediment as the water is agitated by the action of the fan or
fans G. For large boilers it may be desirable to employ two of such said
gutters, in which case it would be desirable to use two fans, as at Figure 10,
moved in opposite directions by any suitable mechanical arrangement. And
in applying my said Invention to boilers known and distinguished as multi-
tubular boilers, I propose to remove the sediment therefrom by arranging
the apparatus in the manner exhibited at Figures 7 and 8 of Sheet 2, and
have employed similar letters of reference to denote corresponding parts to
those exhibited at the previously described Figures. The principal point of
difference between this last-mentioned arrangement and the former ones
consists in the use and employment of short tubes b, in lieu of perforating the
tube B, for the purpose of effectually removing the sediment from the angles
of the boiler. I do not, however, intend to limit or confine myself to this

page_text: mode, as the same result may be obtained by using a perforated pipe B, and
employing a series of scrapers for removing the sediment and agitating the
water, in a similar manner to that previously described and represented at
Sheet 1.
Having now fully described and set forth the nature and object of my said
Invention of "Apparatus for Cleansing out the Sediment from the Water in
Steam Boilers, and Preventing Incrustation of the same," together with the
best means I am acquainted with for carrying the same into practical effect,
I would remark, in conclusion, that I claim as my Invention, the use and
employment of a perforated tube or tubes and scrapers or agitators, and a
gutter or gutters, arranged, combined, and constructed in the manner exhibited
by the Drawings, and upon the principle above stated.
In witness whereof, I, the said Edmund Topham, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Fifth day of February, in the year of our Lord.
One thousand eight hundred and fifty-six.
Witness,
ALEX. PRINCE, Patent Agent,
4, Trafalgar Square.
EDMUND TOPHAM. (L.s.)