IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM, OR OBTAINING FRESH WATER FROM SALT WATER OR IMPURE WATER BY EVAPORATION AND CONDENSATION
Year: 1884

page_text: I, OLIVER MATTHEWS Row, 107 Walton Lane, Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
"IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM, OR
OBTAINING FRESH WATER FROM SALT WATER OR IMPURE WATER BY EVAPORATION
AND CONDENSATION to be as follows:-
In obtaining water by condensation at sea and in those countries where only
impotable water is obtained it usually happens that the apparatus has to be worked
by men of little technical education, and elaborate machinery made on the best
scientific principles for obtaining the largest amount of distilled water with the
least amount of labour and fuel-is often of little value in those cases where it has
to be worked by common sailors or soldiers, or ignorant aborigines, owing to its
liability to derangement through want of skill in the operator.
Now my invention is designed to be worked after a few minutes instruction by
any one without fear of getting out of order.
My apparatus consists-
1st of an ordinary boiler with blow off cock steam-pipo and safety valve weighed
to atmospheric pressure, and a feed pipe so arranged that it shall automatically keep
the boiler at a given height.
2nd of an annular condenser formed of a series of annuli composed of two
cylinders or cones of sheet or plate metal, and strengthened all the way up by rings
perforated alternately at opposite sides, that is if No 1 ring be perforated on the
north side, No 2 will be perforated on the south side, No 3 on the north and so on
By this means the vapour has to take a zig zag course from the entrance end of the
condenser to the exit-so is well agitated and brought in contact with the con-
densing surfaces; the ends of these associated annuli all preferably open into the
same cover by rings and tubes or by open ends.
3rd in a tank preferably placed sufficiently high to automatically supply
condensing water to the condenser.
4th in a peculiar arrangement of pipes by which the condensing water shall
automatically feed the boiler to a uniform height.
It is as follows.
The condensing water is preferably caused to enter the condenser at the bottom
and leave at the top, the steam enters the condenser at top, and the condensed

page_text: water leaves at the bottom. The warm condensing water escaping from the top of
the surface condenser falls down a pipe to about the normal level of the water in
the boiler. The pipe stops at this point, but at this point a side pipe is taken from
the vertical pipe, and brought with a syphon dip to the bottom of the boiler.
A little above the junction of this pipe with the vertical circulating pipe from the
condenser, I place the over-flow pipe. Consequently so long as the boiler needs
water, the water from the circulating pipe runs into it, but the moment it has filled
up to a head equal to that of the overflow pipe the surplus water runs to waste;
where the pressure on the boiler or condenser is liable to vary instead of being
always at atmospheric pressure, or where pressure is used for industrial purposes
before condensation, I may add a float and valve to regulate the height of the
water in the boiler.
Dated this fifteenth day of November 1884

page_text: COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
I, OLIVER MATTHEWS ROW, 107, Walton Lane, Liverpool in the County of
Lancaster, Engineer do hereby declare the nature of my said invention for
IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO APPARATUS FOR CONDENSING STEAM OR
OBTAINING FRESH WATER FROM SALT WATER OR IMPURE WATER BY EVAPORATION
AND CONDENSATION and in what manner the same is to be performed, to bo.
particularly described and ascertained in and by the following statement :-
In obtaining water by condensation at sea, and in those countries where only
impotable water is obtained, it usually happens that the apparatus has to be worked
by sailors or soldiers, or ignorant aborigines, and elaborate machinery made on the
best scientific principles, for obtaining the largest amount of distilled water with
the least amount of labour and fuel, is often of little value, in those cases, owing to
its liability to derangement, through want of skill in the operator.
Now my invention is designed to be worked after a few minutes instruction by
any one without fear of getting out of order.
The invention is best explained by the accompanying drawings in which Figure 1
shows a perspective view (also used for the illustrated journal) Figure 2 an elevation
of the apparatus partly in section, and Figure 3 a detail view partly in section of
the self acting feed regulator. In this A is the boiler of any ordinary construction,
in this case it shows a wrought welded boiler with longitudinal flange joint, to
facilitate cleaning when the apparatus may require it. B is the chimney. C stoam
pipe leading from boiler to condenser D which may be of ordinary kind, in this
case a tubular condenser having tubes terminating at top in chest d and at bottom
in chest E, the steam in passing through these tubes becomes condensed and falls in
the form of water through pipe h into chamber H and filter I, the water is aerated
by means of an air pipe connected at K, in chambor H, the condensed steam after
passing through filter I issues forth fit for drinking purposes through pipe . The
filtering material is contained between perforated plates i i, the steam is condensed
by the cold circulating water coming in contact with the outer surface of the tubes,
the said cool water being admitted into condenser casing F through branch fand
cock G from a tank or other vessel fixed above the level of condenser connected to
cock G by pipe X, the cooling water passes up through condenser and out through
branch and down pipe J being in a heated state, having absorbed the heat of the
steam in its passage through condenser, a portion of this heated water now goes
into boiler as feed to take the place of the evaporation through a branch pipe j, one
branch being connected to a syphoned feed pipe M which on reference to Figure 3
will be readily noticed has the preference, this branch being fixed at the required
level of the water in boiler when the feed rises in boiler to the required level as
indicated at water gauge cock U, the superfluous water overflows at the branch and
runs to waste through pipe M K¹ is an air pipe to prevent the syphoning of water

page_text: many cases.
from the boiler in the wrong direction. The arrangement of the branch pipe j for
regulating the feed to boiler may be varied in many ways, or the condenser may be
brought to a lower level and the feed pipe and overflow connected direct, the over-
flow being placed just above the water level and the feed pipe below, so that as
long as the water does not rise in the boiler to the normal water level no wator
shall overflow, but as soon as it reaches this point the overflow prevents further rise.
The arrangement of feeding direct from the condenser would not be convenient in
O is blow off pipe connected to boiler and cock P for the purpose
of blowing away the sediment of dirt and salt that will accumulate in the boiler,
this may be opened at intervals or the handle of cock P may be connected to
handle of cock G by connecting rod p and so regulated that on opening cock G
to admit cooling water to condenser it would at the same time open cock P, so
that the same amount of water would continually blow away from the boiler as
was being evaporated and condensed, and the density would be kept down to
of solidity or thereabout. The form of connecting these two cocks may be varied
for instance, they may be opened and shut by screw regulation.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1
:
1st. The manufacture and use of apparatus for evaporating and condensing water,
constructed as a whole, substantially as described.
...2nd. In combination with water evaporating and condensing apparatus such as
described, an automatic feed apparatus so arranged that the overflow of the con-
densing water shall run into the boiler so long as the water in the boiler does not
rise to a given level, but so arranged that when the water in the boiler does rise to
that level, it shall back up the water in the delivery pipe, vessel, or condenser, so
as to overflow into an over flow pipe arranged at that level, substantially as
described.
3rd. In combination with the stop valve admitting water for feed purposes,.
a stop valve on the blow off pipe connected with it in such manner that each shall ;
be opened in a given ratio to the other.
Dated thin þó Tul.. 100%
"
WM P. THOMPSON & Co.,
Of 6, Lord Street, Liverpool, and
323, High Holborn, London,
Patent Agents for the Applicant.