Improvements in and relating to Domestic Refuse Destructors.
Year: 1894

page_text: Date of Application, 10th Jan., 1894
Complete Specification Left, 10th Oct., 1894-Accepted, 10th Nov., 1894
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Domestic Refuse Destructors.
We, HENRY PERCY BOULNOIS, a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers,
of 7 Devonshire Road, and JOHN ALEXANDER BRODIE, an Associate Member
of the Institution of Civil Engineers, of 13 Kelvin Grove, both of Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of this invention to be as
follows:-
This invention relates to domestic refuse destructors, and the object is to provide
means whereby householders may be enabled to conveniently burn refuse matter
and especially vegetable refuse matter, which at present is allowed to accumulate
in the ash-pit where decomposition results, accompanied by the formation of
obnoxious and deleterious gases.
The destructor is formed in one of the fire places in the house,-preferably in the
kitchen fire place, and in addition to the advantage which results from the ash-pit
being used only for the reception of ashes, etc. which are not injurious to health,
there is an additional advantage due to the economy of fuel, as the refuse matter
which is burnt, possesses considerable calorific power.
According to our invention, we construct and arrange the destructor as
follows;-
The destructor, as before mentioned, is formed by utilising one of the household
fire grates, so that the ordinary fire serves to supply the heat necessary to ensure
the combustion of the refuse material, the heat produced by the said combustion
being, of course, utilised and a corresponding saving of fuel effected.
We provide a suitably shaped receptacle in which the refuse material is placed,
the lower portion of the receptacle being in the fire grate, preferably just in front
of the boiler when one is fitted. The receptacle is preferably made of iron, and the
portion within the fire is protected by fire clay or cast iron blocks; the dimensions
at the bottom of the receptacle are larger than those at the top, in order to
facilitate the passage of the material downwards.
The bottom of the receptacle is provided with vertical and horizontal gratings
which form a connection between the fire and the refuse material. The bottom of the
receptacle is preferably slightly above the bottom bars of the grate, and the
gratings are arranged so that sufficient draught is induced to support combustion
within the destructor and to carry off the gases resulting from the combustion of
the refuse through the hot part of the fire where they are cremated; in some cases
an opening at or near the bottom of the receptacle may be provided through which
the inaterials are allowed to travel forward into the hot portion of the fire. The
bottom grating may also be adapted to swing so that the finer material after
incineration may pass through into the ash pan.
The top of the receptacle is provided with a sliding air-tight door which may be
operated by a lever in front of the fire place, and in order to minimise the risk of
gases escaping from the top of the receptacle, we lead a pipe or pipes from the
upper portion of the interior thereof down to the hottest part of the fire, through
which the gases, which would otherwise accumulate, pass and are cremated.
The refuse is not allowed to accumulate but is placed in the receptacle at once,
and as it passes down, it is first dried and then burnt as described.

page_text: It will be seen that if the invention should be generally adopted, it would form
an important factor in dealing with town's refuse, as the quantity of ash-pit refuse
to be collected would, in that event, be very considerably reduced.
Dated this Ninth day of January 1894.
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicants.
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Domestic Refuse Destructors.
We
HENRY PERCY BOULNOIS, a Member of the Institution of Civil Engineers,
of 7 Devonshire Road, and JoHN ALEXANDER BRODIE, an Associate Member
of the Institution of Civil Engineers, of 13 Kelvin Grove, both of Liverpool in the
County of Lancaster, 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 :-
This invention relates to domestic refuse destructors, and the object is to provide
means whereby householders may be enabled to conveniently burn refuse matter
and especially vegetable refuse matter, which at present is allowed to accumulate
in the ash-pit where decomposition results, accompanied by the formation of
obnoxious and deleterious gases.
The destructor is formed in one of the fire places in the house, preferably in the
kitchen fire place, and in addition to the advantage which results from the ash-pit
being used only for the reception of ashes, etc., which are not injurious to health,
there is an additional advantage due to the economy of fuel, as the refuse matter
which is burnt, possesses considerable calorific power.
According to our invention, we construct and arrange the destructor as
follows;-
The destructor, as beforementioned, is formed by utilising one of the household
fire grates, so that the ordinary fire serves to supply the heat necessary to ensure
the combustion of the refuse material, the heat produced by the said combustion
being, of course, utilised, and a corresponding saving of fuel effected.
We provide a suitably shaped receptacle in which the refuse material is placed,
the lower portion of the receptacle being in the fire grate, preferably just in front
of the boiler when one is fitted. The receptacle is preferably made of iron, and the
portion within the fire is protected by fire clay or cast iron blocks; the dimensions
at the bottom of the receptacle may be larger than those at the top, in order to
facilitate the passage of the material downwards.
The bottom of the receptacle is provided with vertical and horizontal gratings
which form a connection between the fire and the refuse material. The bottom of
the receptacle is preferably slightly above the bottom bars of the grate, and the
gratings are arranged so that sufficient draught is induced to support combustion
within the destructor and to carry off the gases resulting from the combustion of
the refuse through the hot part of the fire where they are cremated; in some cases
an opening at or near the bottom of the receptacle may be provided through which
the materials are allowed to travel forward into the hot portion of the fire.
bottom grating may also be adapted to swing so that the finer material after
incineration may pass through into the ash-pan.
The
The top of the receptacle is provided with an air-tight sliding door which may
be operated by a lever in front of the fire place, and in order to minimise the risk
of gases escaping from the top of the receptacle, we lead a pipe or pipes from the
upper portion of the interior thereof down to the hottest part of the fire, through
which the gases, which would otherwise accumulate, pass and are cremated.

page_text: The refuse is not allowed to accumulate but is placed in the receptacle at once,
and as it passes down, it is first dried and then burnt as described.
In the accompanying drawings which illustrate our invention,
Figs. I. and II. show the invention as applied to an existing fire place of ordinary
construction,
Figs. III. and IV. show our invention also applied to a fire place of ordinary
construction but in which the boiler is somewhat modified in shape to suit the
requirements of the destructor, and
Figs. V. and VI. show an arrangement in which the destructor is formed integral
with the boiler and is surrounded by the water in the boiler.
Throughout the drawings, similar parts are indicated by the same reference
figures, and in the case of sections, the direction in which they are viewed, is
indicated by the small arrows placed adjacent to the letters denoting the plane
of section.
Referring in the first place to Figs. I. and II., which are sectional elevations on
the lines A. A. and B. B, respectively, 1 is the receptacle having an air-tight
door 2, adapted to open either by sliding, or by a pivotal motion as shown in Fig. I.;
the latter construction of door has the advantage that when open to receive the
refuse matter (in which position it is shown in the drawings) it forms a hopper to
receive the latter and at the same time closes the destructor proper. The lower end
of the receptacle opens into the lower portion of the fire and is fitted with a
swinging grating 3 down which the material passes into the fire; in some cases a
vertical grating may be fitted to the lower portion of the front of the receptacle
but we find, generally, that the front grating may be dispensed with when a
swinging bottom grating is provided as shown, in which case, the refuse material is
completely burnt by the cross draft of hot gases as they pass to the flue 4.
The destructor is arranged, as shown, in front of the boiler 5 which, in this case,
is of the usual construction, and the front plate of the receptacle protected by a
second plate with an intervening air space. The bottom of the destructor should
be some distance above the bottom bars 6 of the grate, and the top well above the
top of the fire.
A pipe (not shown in the drawings) may be led from the upper portion of the
destructor to the lower portion of the fire, to prevent an accumulation of gases in
the upper part of the destructor.
Referring now to Figs. III. and IV., which are sections on the lines D. D.
and E. E. respectively, the boiler 5' is now so shaped that the front of it forms the
back of the destructor which is completed by side plates, a front piece 7 secured to
the side plates and a hinged door 2¹. The gratings may be dispensed with and the
material passed down the destructor into the fire through the opening 8. In this
construction we provide, instead of the pipe referred to in describing Figs. I.
and II., flues 9 leading from the destructor, through the boiler, into the main
flue 4; these flues prevent the accumulation of gases in the destructor, and, when
used in conjunction with a damper 10 in the main flue, serve, when the said damper
is closed, to pass the hot gases through the destructor and so promote the com-
bustion of the refuse material therein. The front plate 7 is made hollow so as to
form an air casing through which cool air may be circulated.
In Figs. V. and VI. (which are sections on the lines F. F. and G. G. respectively),
the construction is almost exactly similar to that just described except that the
destructor is now integral with the boiler and that the former is surrounded by the
water in the boiler. The boiler 5" shown in this arrangement is somewhat longer
vertically than the other two examples, and the top of the destructor is conse-
quently well above the top of the fire.
The destructor may be formed either of cast or wrought iron and in either case
those portions in the hottest parts of the fire should be protected by refractory
material or by an air or water jacket as described.
It will be seen that if the invention should be generally adopted, it would form

page_text: an important factor in dealing with town's refuse, as the quantity of ash-pit refuse
to be collected would, in that event, be very considerably reduced.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of our said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, we declare that what we
claim is ;-
1. The improvement in domestic refuse destructors which consists in combining
with a fire grate, a receptacle the upper end of which is adapted to receive the
refuse and the lower end of which communicates with said fire grate; substantially
as described and illustrated.
2. The improved domestic refuse destructor, substantially as described and
illustrated with reference to Figs. 1. and II.
3. The improved domestic refuse destructor,
illustrated with reference to Figs. III. and IV.
4. The improved domestic refuse destructor,
illustrated with reference to Figs. V. and V1.
1004
substantially as described and
substantially as described and
SLOAN & LLOYD BARNES,
Castle Chambers, 26, Castle Street, Liverpool,
Agents for the Applicants.