IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES
Year: 1868

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Samuel Barlow, of Stake Hill, in the County
of Lancaster, Bleacher, Dyer, and Finisher, Thomas Edmeston,
of the same Place, Engineer, and Thomas Beeley, of Hyde
Junction Ironworks, near the City of Manchester, Engineer, for the-
Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM BOILERS AND OTHER
PURPOSES."
Sealed the 27th November 1868, and dated the 11th June 1868.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Samuel Barlow; Thomas
Edmeston, and Thomas Beeley at the Office of the Commissioners
of Patents, with their Petition, on the 11th June 1868.
We, SAMUEL BARLOW, of Stake Hill, in the County of Lancaster,
Bleacher, Dyer, and Finisher, THOMAS EDMESTON, of the same Place,
Engineer, and THOMAS BEELEY, of Hyde Junction Ironworks, near
the City of Manchester, Engineer, do hereby declare the nature of the
said Invention for "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM BOILERS AND
OTHER PURPOSES," to be as follows:-
This Invention is chiefly applicable to furnaces placed in the flues
of steam boilers, but it may be applied to other furnaces. The furnace
[Price 8d.]

page_text: consists of two sets of grate bars, the upper set being tubular and
containing water, as described in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to the within-named Samuel Barlow and Thomas Edmeston on
the Eleventh day of April One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven,
No. 1076, and the lower set is of the usual construction or tubular with
water passing through them. The tubes of the upper set of grate bars
are connected to front and back water chambers, the front one being
connected by a pipe or pipes to the lower part of the boiler and the
back one by a pipe or pipes or a water pocket to the upper part of the
flue; a bridge is placed above the upper set of grate bars and another
at some distance apart below the same. By this arrangement the
products of combustion from the fuel, which is placed chiefly on the top
grate bars, are drawn down and ignited by the fuel on the lower
set of grate bars, they then rise again through the top set, and then
pass over and under the back water chamber to the flue. The water is
caused to circulate through the hollow grate bars by the action of the
products of combustion on the pipe or pipes or water pocket connecting
the back water chamber to the top of the fluc.
The number and arrangement of the bridges can be varied so as to
cause the products of combustion to pass in any required manner
through the top or bottom sets of grate bars, or the fire can be kept
entirely or chiefly on the lower grate bars and the bridges placed so as
to vary the currents of the products of combustion.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent
filed by the sid Samuel Barlow, Thomas Edmeston, and Thomas
Beeley in the Great Seal Patent Office on the 10th December
1868.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, we, SAMUEL
BARLOW, of Stake Hill, in the County of Lancaster, Bleacher, Dyer,
and Finisher, THOMAS EDMESTON, of the same Place, Engineer, and
THOMAS BEELEY, of the Hyde Junction Ironworks, near the City of
Manchester, Engineer, send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty, Queen Victoria, by Her
Letters Patent, bearing date the Eleventh day of June, in the year of
our Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-eight, in the thirty-

page_text: first year of Her reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give
and grant unto us, the said Samuel Barlow, Thomas Edmeston, and
Thomas Beeley, Her special license, that we, the said Samuel Barlow,
Thomas Edmeston, and Thomas Becley, our executors, administrators,
and assigns, or such others as we, the said Samuel Barlow, Thomas
Edmeston, and Thomas Beeley, our 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 "IMPROVEMENTS IN FURNACES FOR STEAM
BOILERS AND OTHER PURPOSES," upon the condition (amongst others) that
we, the said Samuel Barlow, Thomas Edmeston, and Thomas Beeley,
our executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under our,
or their, or one of our or 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.
NOW KNOW YE, that we, the said Samuel Barlow, Thomas Edmeston,
and Thomas Beeley, do hereby declare the nature of our said Invention,
and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particularly
described and ascertained in and by the following statement (that is
to say):―
This Invention is chiefly applicable to furnaces placed in the flues
of steam boilers, but it may be applied to other furnaces. The furnace
consists of two sets of grate bars, the upper set being tubular and
containing water, as described in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to the within-named Samuel Barlow and Thomas Edmeston,
on the Eleventh day of April One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
seven, Number 1076, and the lower set is of the usual construction or
tubular with water passing through them. The tubes of the upper
set of grate bars are connected to front and back water chambers, the
front one being connected by a pipe or pipes to the lower part of
the boiler and the back one by a pipe or pipes or a water pocket to
the upper part of the flue; a bridge is placed above the upper set
of grate bars and another at some distance apart below the same.
this arrangement the products of combustion from the fuel, which is
By
**

page_text: placed chiefly on the top set of grate bars, are drawn down and ignited
by the fuel on the lower set of grate bars, they then rise again through
the top set; and then pass over and under the back water chamber
to the flue. The water is caused to circulate through the hollow
grate bars by the action of the products of combustion on the pipe
or pipes or water pocket connecting the back water chamber to the
top of the flue. The number and arrangement of the bridges can be
varied so as to cause the products of combustion to pass in any required
manner through the top or bottom sets of grate bars, or the fire can
be kept entirely or chiefly on the lower grate bars, and the bridges
placed so as to vary the currents of the products of combustion.
And in order that our Invention may be fully understood and readily
carried into operation, we will proceed to describe the two accompanying
Sheets of Drawings, reference being had to the figures and letters
marked thereon.
:
On Sheet 1, Figure 1 is an end elevation of a two-flued boiler to
which our improvements in furnaces are applied. Figure 2 is a
longitudinal section of the same; Figure 3 is a transverse section shewn
partly through both sets of grate bars and partly through the space
between the two bridges; and Figure 4 is a plan in section shewing
the upper and lower sets of grate bars.
a is the outer cylindrical shell or casing of the boiler; b, b, are the
internal flues; c, c, are the upper set of tubular grate bars; and d, d,
are the lower set of ordinary grate bars. The above parts are made in
the usual manner or as described in the Specification of Letters Patent
granted to the within-named Samuel Barlow and Thomas Edmeston
on the Eleventh day of April One thousand eight hundred and sixty-
seven, Number 1076. The tubular grate bars c are connected to the front
water chambers e and to the back water chambers f; the front water
chambers form the dead plate for the upper fire-grate, and they are
connected to the lower part of the boiler by the side pipes e' and
centre pipe e², which are made of copper or other suitable metal to
allow for the expansion and contraction of the tubes c; the back water
chambers are connected to the upper part of the flues 6 by the pipes
or water pockets, f¹. By this mode of connecting the water chambers
to the lower and upper parts of the boiler the water is caused to circulate
through the hollow grate bars c by the action of the products of
combustion on the pipes or water pockets f¹. The water chambers f

page_text: are suspended to the flues by the pipes or water pockets f¹ ; under the
chambers are the bridges g, which are made with perforations, as
shewn best in Figure 3. The bridges glare placed a little distance
from the bridges g, the bearers for the lower sets of grate bars d
being placed near to the bridges g¹. We wish to remark here that
although the lower grate bars are shewn solid and of the ordinary
description they may be tubular and have water passing through them,
as will be hereafter described in reference to Sheet 2. The bridges, g²
are supported by the upper grate bars c. When the fires are kindled
on the upper and lower sets of grate bars, and we find it most
advantageous to make the upper fires heavier than the lower ones,
the products of combustion from the upper fire are compelled by the
bridge g² to descend between the tubular bars c, and they become to
a great extent ignited by the heated gases rising from the incandescent
fuel on the lower grate bars d; the combined products of combustion
from both the fires then pass upwards between the grate bars c, and
after passing over the bridge g₁ they impinge against the pipe or water
pocket f, and thence are conveyed over and through the bridge g
to the flue b. By this improved arrangement of the fire grates.in
combination with the bridges the smoke is entirely or to a great extent
consumed, and by connecting the water chambers e and f to the
lower and upper parts of the boiler the natural law of ascending
currents by rarefaction is made available for producing a constant
circulation of water in the tubular grate bars and in the boiler, thereby
not only preventing the deposit of sediment in the boiler and in the
tubular grate bars but increasing very considerably the steam generating
powers of the boiler. The doors for the upper fire-grates are made
with slots to admit air in any convenient manner, but the doors of
the lower set of grate bars may be solid as usual, and air may also
be admitted at the under side of the lower set of grate bars. As it is
very desirable to clean the tubular grate bars occasionally and to replace
them with facility we construct the water chambers e and f, and connect
the tubes c to them, in the following manner-The ends of the tubes
passing through the side of the water chamber e are slightly shouldered
down, and they are secured by setting up the end of the tube and the
shoulder. The other ends of the tubes are secured to the side of the
water chainber f by means of ferrules fitting on the ends of the tubes,
which ferrules are also set up at each side. By this means both ends
of the tubes are secured rigidly to the water chambers, and when the

page_text: heat of the fire causes the tubes to expand in length the pipes e¹ and e².
connecting the water chambers e to the end of the boiler yield to the
expansion without injuring the joints. The water chambers e. and J.
are made with lids, as shewn best in Figure 2, and these lids are
connected by bolts to the chambers; when these lids are removed
the tubes c can be examined or cleaned internally with great facility.
On Sheet 2, Figure 5 represents an end view partly in section, and
Figure 6 a longitudinal section of a boiler to which a modification
of our improved furnace is applied. In these views the parts
marked a, b, c, e, and are made in the manner above described,
but the lower set of grate bars d are in this instance made tubular
instead of solid as before. The tubular bars d are connected at the
front end to the water chamber hand at the back end to the water
chamber f, into which the back ends of the tubes c are also secured;
this double water chamber acts also as a bridge. The outer ends of
the water chambers e and h are connected by the pipes ', and the
abutting ends are connected by the branches on the centre pipe e²;
this centre pipe and the side pipes e¹ form the communications between
the front water chambers and the lower part of the boiler.
The space
between the water chamber f and the upper part of the flue 6 is closed
with fire-brick, and the water chamber f is connected as before to the
upper part of the flue by the tube or water pocket 1, thus establishing
the circulation in the boiler and through both sets of tubular grate bars.
The water chambers e, f, and h are all made with lids, so that easy access
may be had to the tubes for cleaning or repairing. In this furnace we
have shewn a door i below the water chamber h, by opening or closing
which the admission of air to the under side of the grate bars d can be
regulated. Figure 7 is a section through the tubular grate bars c and d
shewing a separate back water chamber f for each set of grate bars;
these chambers are connected by the tube f2. Figure 8 is a section of
the double water chamber f shewing how the same may be strengthened
by a stay f3.
Having thus stated the nature of our Invention, and described several
convenient modes of carrying the same into operation, we wish to observe
that we do not limit ourselves to the details given, as the number and
arrangement of the bridges may be varied so as to cause the products
of combustion to pass in any required manner between the top or bottom
sets of grate bars, or the fire can be kept entirely or chiefly on the

page_text: lower grate bars and the bridges can be placed so as to vary the upward
and downward currents of the products of combustion; but what we
claim is,-
First. The improved combinations and arrangements of fire-grates
and bridges described by means of which the products of combustion
are conveyed downwards from the upper fire-grate so as to meet the
products of combustion ascending from the lower fire-grate whereby
the smoke is consumed and fuel economized.
Secondly. The improved arrangements of tubular grate bars and water
chambers or bridges and the mode of connecting them at different
levels to the interior of the boiler whereby a constant circulation is
maintained in the manner and for the purposes described.
Thirdly. The improved mode of connecting the tubular grate bars
to the water chambers, as shewn and described.
Fourthly. The application of lids to the water chambers of tubular
grate bars, as shewn and described.
And lastly. Connecting the front water chamber or chambers to the
front of the boiler by copper or other pipes that will yield to the
expanding and contracting of the tubular grate bars.
In witness whereof, I, the said Samuel Barlow, have hereto set
my hand and seal, this Eighth day of December, One thousand
eight hundred and sixty-eight.
SAMUEL BARLOW.
(L.B.)