A FURNACE, WHICH I CALL THE VESTAL FUR- NACE, POR CARBONIZING PEAT, TURF, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES
Year: 1853

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Hans Wallace Allen at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
18th April 1853.
(Void by reason of notice to proceed not having been given within the
time prescribed by the Act.)
I, HANS WALLACE ALLEN, Civil Engineer, of 98, Great Portland
Street, Portland Place, London, and of 19, Montpellier Terrace,
Cheltenham, in the County of Gloucester, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "A FURNACE, WHICH I CALL THE VESTAL FUR-
NACE, POR CARBONIZING PEAT, TURF, OR OTHER SUBSTANCES," to be as
follows:-
NB. The drawing represents the furnace, which is cylindrical, the
left half to be in front elevation, and the other half in vertical section.
A, A, is the body of the furnace, the lower part of which has an
inclination outwards. B, is a platform or floor of any building, under
which the furnace will be partly constructed, and upon which the peat.
or other substances arrive by waggons on the tramway C. The portion
of the furnace from this platform B, is supposed to be in excavation.
D, is a damper for controuling the supply of air, and which works on a

page_text: pivot. E, is a doorway, through which the furnace is fed by the persons
employed on the platform B, for this particular purpose. F, is the
cutter, moving likewise on a pivot G, which, at first, is withdrawn by
the assistant underneath the platform B, to allow of the charge or load
put in at E, to descend to the bottom of the furnace H. The load is
then ignited through the doorway I, and allowed to burn until fully
carbonized, which the assistant below can at all times ascertain by
opening the door K. Having satisfied himself as to the load being done,
he replaces the cutter, which separates the charge in the lower part of
the furnace from the upper, which still remains lighted. He next
proceeds to draw the charge, which is accomplished in the following
manner. L, is the grating of the furnace, and M, is another damper;
he draws both this grating and damper; which run on grooves, and
allows the load to descend by its own gravity into a receiver N, which
is placed in a waggon on a tramway, which receiver, after the tundish
O, is taken off, is covered by an air, tight cover, and immersed in a tank
of water close. by up to a certain height, so as to cut off all air, and
allow of its more rapid cooling. P, is a metal plate, upon which the
furnaces are placed at about 5 to 6 feet apart, from centre to centre.
Q, is the waggon to hold the receivers, and carry them away to be
cooled.
The foregoing part is intended to char the peat, &c., in sods, some-
thing in the form of a brick. The next portion to be described, is an
arrangement for carbonizing the mould resulting from the cutting of
turf, and which may be collected from the bog without being cut, but
being harrowed up.
.
This arrangement consists of an outward cylinder X, which surrounds
the bottom, part of the furnace, A. It, is made to revolve. on bearing
wheels Y, by means of a cog wheel Z, placed on a flange attached to
the cylinder, which is driven by a crank and pinion a. It has also
horizontal friction wheels b, top and bottom, to keep it as much as
possible to revolve on its centre, which the action of the cog wheels
& pinion would tend to destroy. It is loaded from the platform B,
through the hopper d, and discharged through openings in the metal plate
into the receiver, the same manner as the furnace. e, is an indicator

page_text: or cut in the outward cylinder, to allow the assistant to see the progress
of the charge; it is furnished with tale. f, are brackets or arms, placed
diagonally on the inside of the cylinder, in order to displace as much
as possible (in revolving the outward cylinder, the mould which is lying
against it, so as to bring it in contact with the inner cylinder, which is
much hotter, and for the better mixing together the mould in the
internal space between the cylinders, for its more perfect carbonization.
The whole of the furnace, outward cylinder, receivers, and waggons,
are to be made of iron; the bottom part, as shown in the drawing, will
be composed of masonry.