IMPROVEMENTS IN BURNING ALL HYDROCARBON OILS, SUCH AS CREOSOTE, PETROLEUM, PARAFFIN OIL, SHALE OIL, GAS TAB, AND OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF BEING USED AS FUEL
Year: 1867

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Metcalf, of Newton Heath, near Manchester,
in the County of Lancaster, for the Invention of "IMPROVEMENTS IN
BURNING ALL HYDROCARBON OILS, SUCH AS CREOSOTE, PETROLEUM, PARAFFIN
OIL, SHALE OIL, GAS TAB, AND OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF BEING
USED AS FUEL."
Sealed the 19th November 1867, and dated the 20th May 1867.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Metcalf at the
Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
20th May 1867.
I, THOMAS METCALF, of Newton Heath, near Manchester, in the County of
Lancaster, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "IMPROVE-
IN BURNING ALL HYDROCARBON OILS, SUCH AS CREOSOTE, PETROLEUM,
PARAFFIN OIL, SHALE OIL, GAS TAR, AND OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF
BEING USED AS FUEL," to be as follows:-
I take a rectangular box about eighteen inches long and six inches every
other way (or larger or smaller according to the heat required), to this I
attach a feed pipe of say half an inch in diameter more or less tapped into the
bottom part of the box at the front end; this feed pipe is connected with the
reservoir of oil, tar, creosote, petroleum, or other similar body. On the top

page_text: side of the box I have a supply pipe with a tap to open or shut in case of
accident, so as to do away with the danger of explosion. At the opposite end
of this cast-iron box I drill small holes about one-sixteenth of an inch, more
or less, and close to the top edge of the box; this box is fitted into the front
of the furnace or fire-place or any other convenient arrangement, and the tap
is opened in connection with the reservoir of oil or any other material to be
burned, and in entering the front end of the box is converted into gas and
rushes out of the small holes in the other end, this being ignited gives out an
intense heat, and if properly regulated does not make the slightest smoke or
smell.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Metcalf in the Great Seal Patent Office on the
20th November 1867.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
METCALF, of Newton Heath, Dear Manchester, in the County of Lancaster,
send greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Twentieth day of May, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven, in the thirtieth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me, the
said Thomas Metcalf, Her special license that I, the said Thomas Metcalf,
my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others as I, the said
Thomas Metcalf, my executors, administrators, and assigns, should at any
time agree with, and no others, from time to time and at all times there.
after 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
BURNING ALL HYDROCARBON OILS, SUCH AS CREOSOTE, PETROLEUM, PARAFFIN OIL,
SHALE OIL, GAS TAB, AND OTHER SIMILAR PRODUCTS CAPABLE OF BEING USED AS
FUEL," upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Metcalf,
my executors or administrators, by an instrument in writing under my, or
their, or one of 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.

page_text: NOW KNOW YE, that I, the said Thomas Metcalf, do hereby declare the
nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to be per-
formed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the following
statement thereof, reference being had to the Figures on the accompanying
Sheet of Drawings and to the letters of reference marked thereon (that is to
say):
:-
This Invention consists in improvel arrangements and apparatus for con-
verting hydrocarbon oils and similar matters into gas before they are consumed,
which arrangements and apparatus are applicable to stationary, marine, and
locomotive boilers, retorts, stills, warming pans, and all purposes where heat
is required. I construct a gas box of metal, earthenware, or other material
of any suitable length, and transverse shape or section, according to the demand
for heat or the purpose to which the heat is to be applied; to the top of the
gas box near its front end I attach a feed pipe communicating with the
reservoir containing the hydrocarbon, the pipe being provided with a tap for
regulating the supply or shutting it off; I also attach to the top of the gas
box a safety pipe with a tap or valve for preventing the danger of explosion
and at the opposite or back end of the box. I drill small holes. The gas box
is fitted into the front of the flue of the boiler or other vessel, and the front end
of the gas box heated by ignited fuel in a small. stove or grate, and when the
tap of the feed pipe is opened the hydrocarbon after entering the gas box is
immediately converted into. a large volume of gas which rushes through the
small holes into the flue,, and then being ignited gives out an immense body of
flame with an intense heat, there being no smoke nor smell when the supply
is properly regulated. I prefer to employ a separate cover at the front of the
gas box fixed by bolts or screws, and to have on the cover as many stuffing.
boxes as there are small holes at the back of the gas box for the purpose of
holding rods in the pointed ends for cleaning the small holes and closing them
when required, and in some cases I chamber off a portion of the gas box and
allow water to circulate through the chamber for preventing the small holes
and the back end of the box from being injured by the heat, there being tubes
through the chamber made by drilling holes through solid bars of metal cast
with the box when it is made of cast metal.
On the accompanying Sheet of Drawings Fig. 1 is an end elevation and
Fig. 2 a longitudinal section of part of an ordinary stationary steam boiler
provided with my improved apparatus for enabling bydrocarbon oils to be
effectually and economically burned. Figs. 3 and 4 are side and back eleva-
tions, and Fig. 5 a sectional plan of a rectangular gas box with a water.
chamber drawn to an enlarged scale; Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section shewing.

page_text: the gas box without the water chamber and encased in brickwork at the
front of the boiler; and Figs. 7 and 8 are views of a circular or cylindrical
gas box.
a represents the shell of the boiler; b, the front end; c, the flue; d, the gas
box; e, the small grate or stove; f, the cistern for containing the petroleum or
other hydrocarbon to be burned; g, h, the supply pipe and tap; i, j, the
safety pipe and tap; k, the water chamber in the gas box; k', the tubes in the
chamber; 1, the water cistern for supplying it; m, n, the circulating water
pipes; o, the small holes at the back of the box; p, the moveable cover of the
box; 9, the stuffing boxes; and r, s, the rods and pointers for cleaning the
small holes and closing them when required.
For petroleum and dense hydrocarbons I prefer to form below the cistern f
a steam chamber as at t, Fig. 1, and supply it with steam from the boiler,
there being a small outlet pipe u for taking off the water of condensation.
The boiler shewn in Figs. 1 and 2 has no flue nor casing of brickwork at the
front, and the small grate or stove e for heating the gas box is placed at the
front of the boiler, the box being supported on the top of the frame of the fire-.
door w, and the cross bar a and the top part of the front of the flue is enclosed
by the plate y with the exception of the aperture z between the sliding plates
a for the admission of air.
When
In Fig. 6 brickwork is built up in the front of the boiler and the fire-grate
placed in it, the gas box being supported as before described, or by any suitable
means. When the apparatus is not at work, in consequence of no steam
being required, the tap h of the feed pipe g is closed and the tap j of the safety.
pipe open, and the small holes o closed by means of the pointers s.
i
steam is required to be generated a small fire is made in the grate or stove e,
and after the box d is heated the tap j of the feed pipe is opened to allow the
petroleum or other hydrocarbon to enter the box, drop by drop, to be converted
into gas by the heat, it being instantly ascertained by the emission from the
safety pipe whether too much or too little hydrocarbon enters the box. When
the proper quantity is regulated the pointers s are pulled out of the smal
holes by the handles 6 on the rods'r and the safety tap closed; and then the
gas rushes through the holes to the flue where it is immediately ignited by the
heat from the small fire and gives out an immense volume of flame having an
intense heat, the flame impinging on the heating surface of the boiler and
generating the steam from the water. The dimensions of the gas box may be
varied to any extent, and the box placed in a vertical or angular position
according to the direction of the flue, and the small holes may be of any
number and size to suit the requirements. When desired the small grate or

page_text: stove may have an independent chimney outside the boiler, but in this case
the gas from the gas box would have to be ignited by the attendant. It is
evident that the forms of the grate or stove may be varied to an indefinite
extent in some cases, causing the heat to act upon the bottom of the gas box,
and in others to act on all the sides, and also that the box may be heated by
placing it in a chamber heated by hot air, or superheated steam, or by one or
more jets conducted from the box itself. When desired, instead of making a
water chamber at the back of the gas box I use a steam chamber without
tubes, and turn ordinary or superheated steam into it from any convenient
source. The gas from the hydrocarbons mixing with the steam becomes still
more heated and rushes out in a combined state, producing when properly
ignited an immense body of clear flame without smoke.
Having now described the nature and particulars of my said Invention, and
the manner in which the same is to be performed, I desire it to be understood
that I claim, the improvements in burning all hydrocarbon oils, such as
creosote, petroleum, paraffin oil, shale oil, gas tar, and other similar products
capable of being used as fuel, as such improvements are herein described and
illustrated in the accompanying Sheet of Drawings.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Metcalf, have hereunto set my
hand and seal, this Nineteenth day of November, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-seven.
Signed, sealed, and delivered by the
within-named Thomas Metcalf,
in the presence of
E, J. HUGHES,
Patent Agent,
Manchester.
THOMAS METCALF. (L.S.)