Improvements in Treating and Preserving Casks, Milk Churns, and like Receptacles.
Year: 1899

page_text: Date of Application, 18th Dec., 1899
Complete Soecification Left, 18th Sept., 1900-Accepted, 15th Dec., 1900
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in Treating and Preserving Casks, Milk Churns, and
like Receptacles.
I, HERBERT CHARLES WILLIAMS, of 29, Highbury Quadrant, in the County of
London, Analytical and Consulting Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention to be as follows:
This invention relates to improvements in treating casks, barrels, milk churns
and other like receptacles of wood used for storage and in connection with alimen-
tary products for the purpose of preserving such receptacles and to effect the
destruction of all torms or animal and vegetable germs and organisms and for
eliminating, and counteracting the effect of, any essential oils or colouring or
other matter deleterious to the articles to be contained in the said vessels and
also for the purpose of closing the pores of the wood and impregnating the cells
thereof with a suitable antiseptic and innocuous substance.
In carrying out my process i advantageously first wash the cask or other recep-
tacle with hot water in which a small quantity of soda, may be dissolved, this
preliminary washing having for its object to remove any suriace dirt etc., which
may be present in the cask. The cask is then thoroughly rinsed out and allowed
to drain, being leit with the inside thereof moist only.
up.
A small quantity of strong ammonia is now poured into the cask which is closed
Hot air is then introduced, the said air starting at a temperature of about
150° F. but gradually increasing to about 300° F. The pressure at the com-
mencement of the operation is about 10 pounds per square inch and increases
to about 20 pounds but may vary according to the quality or condition of the
cask or other receptacle to be treated. During this operation the cask is rotated
or agitated and the hot air under pressure forces out the moisture present in
the wood through the pores of the same, the ammonia accompanying the water
in its passage. The water expelled from the cask carries away with it the acids
which may be present in the wood; the ammonia neutralizes any excess of acid
which may not be driven out with the moisture and it also precipitates iron
which is often present in wood used for casks. The hot air and the steam formed
from the moisture kill any germ life which may exist in the pores of the wood
and any volatile matters, such as turpentine etc., present are also driven out.
Furthermore, the resinous and other wood germs present are changed in char-
acter and rendered innocuous.
The antiseptic and innocuous substance to be used is now introduced into the
cask in sufficient quantity to impregnate its pores and the latter is again closed
up. The hot air under pressure is then again admitted into the cask which is
rotated or agitated by any suitable apparatus as before so that the substance is
melted by the temperature of the air and caused to coat the whole of the interior
of the cask. The pressure of the hot air is then sufficiently increased to force
the antiseptic and innocuous substance into the pores of the wood so as to thor-

page_text: oughly impregnate the same taking the place of the moisture etc., previously
eliminated.
The antiseptic and innocuous substance which I have found to give excellent
results in practice consists of an exceptionally hard wax called carnauba wax to
which I advantageously add a small quantity of salycilic acid to make it more
antiseptic and a little pure petroleum which I have found causes it to penetrate
more freely into the interstices of the wood. My experiments have shewn that
at the finish of the operation a cask treated in the above described manner and
with my special coating composition possesses a hard smooth internal surface
not sticky as is the case with casks coated with paraffin wax.
Any suitable apparatus may be used for rotating or agitating the cask and in
practice I have advantageously employed apparatus wherein the cask is held in
clamps clamping the ends or heads thereof and having arms extending to pivots
at the centre of the length of the cask so that the latter can be suspended on these
pivots and rotated without fear of leakage.
Dated the 1041
1000
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.
Improvements in Treating and Preserving Casks, Milk Churns, and
like Receptacles.
I, HERBERT CHARLES WILLIAMS, of 29, Highbury Quadrant, in the County of
London, Analytical and Consulting Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of
this invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, to be particu
larly described and ascertained in and by the following statement: —
This invention relates to improvements in treating casks, barrels, butter
churns and other like receptacles of wood used for storage and in connection with
alimentary products for the purpose of preserving such receptacles and to effect
the destruction of all forms of animal and vegetable germs and organisms and
for eliminating, and counteracting the effect of, any essential oils or colouring
or other matter deleterious to the articles to be contained in the said vessels and
also for the purpose of closing the pores of the wood and impregnating the cells
thereof with a suitable antiseptic waterproofing, airproofing and innocuous sub-
stance.
In carrying out my process I advantageously first "pickle" the cask or other
receptacle i.e. treat it with hot water, in which a small quantity of soda or com-
mon salt or both may be dissolved, this preliminary treatment having for_its
object to remove any surface dirt etc., which may be present in the cask. The
cask is then thoroughly rinsed out and allowed to drain, being left with the inside
thereof moist only.
A small quantity of strong ammonia is then poured into the cleansed cask
and the latter is closed up after which hot air is introduced, the said air starting
at a temperature of about 150° F. but gradually increasing to about 300° F.
The pressure at the commencement of the operation is about 10 pounds per square
inch and increases to about 20 pounds, but may vary according to the quality
or condition of the cask or other receptacle to be treated. During this operation
the cask is rotated or agitated and the hot air under pressure forces out the mois-
ture present in the wood through the pores of the same, the ammonia accom-
panying the water in its passage. The water expelled from the cask carries away

page_text: with it the acids and other deleterious matter which may be present in the wood;
the ammonia neutralizes or precipitates any excess of tannic acid and destroys
or renders innocuous other matter which may not be driven out with the mois-
ture. The hot air and the steam formed from the moisture kill any germ life
which may exist in the pores of the wood and any volatile matters, such as tur-
pentine etc., present are also driven out. Furthermore, the resinous and other
wood gums present are changed in character and rendered innocuous.
The antiseptic and innocuous substance to be used is now introduced into the
cask in sufficient quantity to impregnate its pores and the latter is again closed
up. The hot air under pressure is then again admitted into the cask which is
rotated or agitated by any suitable apparatus as before so that the substance is
melted by the temperature of the air and caused to coat the whole of the interior
of the cask. The pressure of the hot air is then sufficiently increased and main-
tained so as to force the antiseptic and innocuous substance into the pores of the
wood and thoroughly impregnate or saturate the fibres of the same, taking the
place of the moisture etc., previously eliminated.
Instead of vaporizing the moisture existent in the cask by means of the hot
air and freeing it with the ammonia through the wood I may where no moisture
is present in the cask, use steam in lieu of the hot air.
I have found in practice that it is not always necessary to introduce the ammonia
and impregnating composition separately as the same result may be attained
by adding the impregnating composition at the same time as the ammonia, as
the latter being highly volatile fulfils its function before the composition is suffi-
ciently fluid to be forced into the pores of the wood. I however, prefer to intro-
duce the ammonia before the composition as above described as otherwise the
composition may melt and be forced into the pores of the wood before the passage
of the ammonia through the cask has been effected.
In order to remove the cold air originally in the cask, I advantageously allow
the hot air to initially rush through it, and for this purpose I bore a small hole
in the head of the cask, which is afterwards plugged up and the ammonia and
composition introduced as above described.
An antiseptic and innocuous substance which I have found to give excellent
results in practice consists of an exceptionally hard wax called carnauba wax to
which I advantageously add a small quantity of salycilic acid to make it more
antiseptic and a little pure petroleum which I have found causes it to penetrate
more freely into the interstices of the wood. My experiments have shown that
at the finish of the operation a cask treated in the above described manner and
with my special impregnating composition possesses a hard smooth internal sur-
face not sticky as is sometimes the case with casks coated with paraffin wax by
the methods usually in vogue.
Any suitable apparatus may be used for rotating or agitating the cask and
in practice I have advantageously employed apparatus of the kind illustrated
in the accompanying drawing, in which:-
Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the apparatus:
Figure 2 is a plan of the part of the apparatus which holds the cask or the
like and imparts an irregular rotary movement to it:
Figure 3 is a longitudinal section of the device for attaching the compressed
air pipe to the cask or the like, the said figure being drawn to a larger scale than
Figures 1 and 2; and
Figure 4 is an end view thereof.
a is an air compressor driven by the steam engine 6 supplied with steam from
the boiler c. d is a pipe through which the air is forced to the cask or the like e
by the compressor a and f is a furnace through which the pipe passes so that
the air is heated in its passage, the said pipe being preferably arranged in a zig-
zag or serpentine manner as shewn, whereby a large heating surface is obtained.
9 is a pressure gauge and a thermometer for respectively indicating the pres-
sure and temperature at which the air is maintained in the cask or the like. ¿ is

page_text: a safety valve for determining the pressure of the air and j is a damper which
I advantageously provide in the chimney for the furnace f whereby the combus-
tion of fuel in the furnace can be regulated to correspondingly regulate the
temperature or the air in the pipe d.
The device in which the cask or the like is mounted whilst being treated,
comprises the end pieces or clamps k, k attached to screws, screwing through
the ends of a trame m which surrounds the cask, the said frame being pivoted
midway between its ends as at m², m², to a fork n on a shatt o designed to rotate
in bearings P, 2 on a trame q. By thus pivoting the frame m the cask, whilst
being rotated, can be oscillated, this compound movement enabling the inside
of the cask to be thoroughly coated by the composition liquened by the heat of
the compressed air introduced through the pipe d. The clamps k, k are securely
held against the cask ends by lock nuts k, k². ? is a cam for effecting the
oscillation of the cask or the like, the said cam being fixed and operating upon
a rolls connected to the frame m through the medium of a rod t and a connect-
ing fork u, the rod t sliding in a guide t' on the fork n.
The pipe d is provided with the flexible portion to allow of the oscillations
of the cask, one end of the said portion being connected to the cask whilst the
other end is free to rotate on a bearing as the cask is rotated, the pipe being
connected to the bearing as shewn in Figure 1. For securing the end of the
flexible portion d of the supply pipe to the cask or the like i advantageously
provide it with the device shewn in Figures 3 and 4, that is to say, employ a
nozzle w connected to the end of the pipe portion d' and adapted to pass into the
bung hole of the cask. inis nozzle nas pivoted in it two hooks w¹, w' designed
to engage behind the inner surface of the cask as shewn in Figure 3, the said
hooks being held in position by a ring a screwed on to the nozzie w, a washer y
of leather or the like being interposed between the ring and the cask to make
a tight joint.
I have found in practice that, when the outside of the cask is at the normal
temperature of the room in which the process is being conducted, the pores of
the wood are not sufficiently open so that the operation of forcing the antiseptic
and innocuous substance completely through the wood in order to thoroughly
impregnate it, is greatly retarded. To obviate this I may provide for heating
the outside of the cask by suitable means, such for example as the jacketed
chamber z, Figure 1, which chamber surrounds the cask or the like and is advan-
tageously heated by the exhaust steam from the engine b, the exhaust pipe b
being connected as shewn. 2' is a discharge pipe for the steam from the chamber z.
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. A process for treating casks, butter churns and like receptacles, such pro-
cess consisting in introducing hot air under pressure into the pickled and moist
cask so as to drive out or render innocuous the impurities from the pores of the
wood, and in then introducing an antiseptic and innocuous substance which is
melted by the hot air and driven by the maintained air pressure into the wood
so as to thoroughly impregnate the wood and fill the cleansed and emptied pores
thereof, the cask being agitated by any suitable means so that the whole of the
surface is impregnated substantially in the manner herein before described.
2. In a process of the kind described in Claim 1, the employment as the anti-
septic substance of carnauba wax to which may be advantageously added small
quantities of salicylic acid and pure petroleum, substantially as, and for the pur-
pose, herein before described.
3. In a process of the kind described in Claim 1 the introduction into the cask
before or simultaneously with the antiseptic and innocuous substance of a small
quantity of strong ammonia, the said ammonia being driven through the pores

page_text: of the wood and having for its object to neutralize or precipitate any excess of
acid contained therein and to destroy or render innocuous other deleterious
matters, substantially as described.
4. Casks treated by the process hereinbefore described.
G. F. REDFERN & Co.,
4, South Street, Finsbury, London, Agents for the Applicant.