AN IMPROVED MODE OP AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CASKS
Year: 1863

page_text: LETTERS PATENT to Thomas Lucker Jacobs, of Burton-on-Trent, in the
County of Stafford, Cooper, for the Invention of "AN IMPROVED MODE
OP AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CASKS."
Sealed the 12th June 1863, and dated the 3rd February 1863.
PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by the said Thomas Lucker Jacobs
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the
3rd February 1863.
I, THOMAS LUCKER JACOBS, of Burton-on-Trent, in the County of Stafford,
Cooper, do hereby declare the nature of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED
MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CASKS," to be as follows:-
My improved mode of cleaning casks. consists in filling or nearly filling
the casks with water, and then introducing steam or air under pressure into
the water, so that the latter may be put in a state of ebullition. I prefer
to use steam, as it heats the water and materially assists in cleansing the
cask.
The apparatus I employ for the purpose is simply a steam boiler, to which
is adapted a pipe provided with a stop-cock for the purpose of controlling the
supply of steam. To this pipe is connected by a flexible joint another pipe,
which is perforated with holes, and this perforated part is inserted through

page_text: the bung-hole or other opening in the cask, and is plunged into the water, so
that the steam, when issuing under pressure from the perforations in the tube,
may bubble up in the water, and set the latter in a state of ebullition. When
the casks are very foul I submit them to a preliminary cleansing operation, in
which pulverized charcoal combined with some mineral acid is introduced
into the water. When the water has been kept in a state of ebullition for
some time the foul water is drawn off, and the operation repeated with clean
water. A little salt may also be used in the water to prevent acidity.
SPECIFICATION in pursuance of the conditions of the Letters Patent, filed
by the said Thomas Lucker Jacobs in the Great Seal Patent Office on
the 3rd August 1863.
TO ALL TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME, I, THOMAS
LUCKER JACOBS, of Burton-on-Trent, in the County of Stafford, Cooper, send
greeting.
WHEREAS Her most Excellent Majesty Queen Victoria, by Her Letters
Patent, bearing date the Third day of February, in the year of our Lord
One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, in the twenty-sixth year of Her
reign, did, for Herself, Her heirs and successors, give and grant unto me,
the said Thomas Lucker Jacobs, Her special license that I, the said Thomas
Lucker Jacobs, my executors, administrators, and assigns, or such others
as I, the said Thomas Lucker Jacobs, my 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 "AN IMPROVED MODE OF AND APPARATUS FOR CLEANING CASKS,"
upon the condition (amongst others) that I, the said Thomas Lucker Jacobs,
by an instrument in writing under my hand and seal, should parti-
cularly 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 I, the said Thomas Lucker Jacobs, do hereby
declare the nature of my said Invention, and in what manner the same is to
be performed, to be particularly described and ascertained in and by the

page_text: following statement, reference being had to the Drawings hereunto annexed,
and to the letters and figures marked thereon (that is to say);:-
My improved mode of cleaning casks consists in filling or nearly filling the
casks with water, and then introducing steam or air under pressure into the
water, so that the latter may be put in a state of ebullition. In carrying out
my Invention I prefer to use steam, as it heats the water and materially
assists in cleansing the casks, but air under pressure may be employed in
place of or in addition to the steam.
The apparatus I employ for the purpose, when steam is used, consists
mainly of a steam boiler, to which is adapted one of two pipes provided with
stop-cocks for the purpose of controlling the supply of steam. To the end
of one of the pipes is connected (by a flexible joint) another pipe, which is
perforated with holes, and this perforated part is inserted through the bung-
hole or other opening in the cask, and is plunged into the water contained
therein, so that the steam, when issuing under pressure from the perforations
in the tube, may bubble up in the water, and set the latter in a state of
ebullition.
The arrangement of apparatus which I prefer to use for the purposes of my
Invention is shewn in the accompanying Drawings, in which Fig. 1 represents
the arrangement of pipes for conveying steam and water to the cask; Fig. 2
is an end view, and Fig. 3 is a side view, of a cask prepared and strengthened
by proper bracings to undergo the cleansing operation. One of the pipes
(shewn in Fig. 1) is connected with a steam boiler and the other to a water
vessel, neither of which are shewn in the Drawing.
a, a, is the steam pipe, which may be connected with any ordinary steam
generator; 6 is the water pipe (either for hot or cold), and is connected with
a suitable tank or reservoir. On the steam pipe a is affixed a series of
couplings c, c, and on the water pipe 6 are affixed similar couplings d, d.
The two pipes a and b are provided with stop-cocks e, e, and are connected to
the T-piece f, so that steam or water may be conveyed to the telescope union
or flexible joint g. As each pipe is supplied with a stop-cock, both steam and
water may be simultaneously supplied to the cask under operation, and mixed
in any proportion at the junction or T-piece. The telescope sliding or flexible
pipe g is inserted into the bung-hole or other opening in the cask, as shewn.
in the sectional view, Fig. 4, or where the union joint g is alone used, as
shewn in Figs. 4*, and this opening may be rendered tight, if necessary, at
any time by means of a conical plug h, or by means of a conical collar and
weight h*, as shown in the detached sectional view, Fig. 5. Through the

page_text: telescope sliding pipe 1 admit water of steam at picasure from
a and b.
In operating with the apparatus, I first fill or partly fill with water the
cask; and when it is thus charged I close the stop-cock on the water pipe,
and turn on the steam through the other pipe; this will set the water in
ebullition at 212° Fahrenheit, so that by continual boiling for a given time I
boil out all feculent matter that may be attached to the internal surface of the
cask; but in order to bring out from the pores of the wood the acetous or
putrid deposit that may have been absorbed therein, and which it is of the
greatest importance to remove, the bung-hole is made steam-tight by means
of the arrangement shewn at Fig. 5. A pressure of steam equal to the
exigency of the case may then be put on, and this will have the effect of
thoroughly taking out or expelling all the deleterious matter that have
been absorbed in the wood, so that the cask may then be effectually cleansed
by simply washing it out with clean water.
may
In order to prevent the cask, when under operation, from expanding or
giving way either longitudinally or transversely from the pressure of the
steam, I brace it together, and strengthen it longitudinally by means of rods
and bars i, i, and cross pieces j, j, which are secured in place either with
screws or by means of wedges k, as shewn in the Drawing. These cross
pieces are secured to circular blocks n, n, which fit against the ends of the
cask between the chines, and will therefore prevent the ends from being forced
out by the pressure of the steam. In order to strengthen the cask trans-
versely, circular clips 1, 1, constructed in two halves, are made to encircle the
cask externally, and to clasp it firmly round its circumference by screwing up
the clip screw m. By this means I prevent the cask from expanding' or
giving way in either direction, and I am enabled to keep up any reasonable
pressure of steam therein that may be required.
When the casks are very foul I submit them to a preliminary cleansing
operation, in which pulverized charcoal combined with some mineral acid
When the water has
greatly diluted with water is introduced into the water.
been kept in a state of ebullition for some time by means of the apparatus
above described, the foul water is drawn off, and clean water having been
introduced, the operation is repeated. A little salt may also be used in the
water to prevent acidity.
Having now described my Invention of "An Improved Mode of and
Apparatus for Cleaning Casks," and having explained the manner of carrying
the same into effect, I claim as the Invention secured to me by Letters

page_text: Patent as aforesaid, the mode herein set forth of cleaning foul casks by
means of steam and water.
Second, I claim the apparatus herein set forth, whereby the above-mentioned
object may be effected.
In witness whereof, I, the said Thomas Lucker Jacobs, have hereunto
set my hand and seal, the Thirty-first day of July, in the year of our
Lord One thousand eight hundred and sixty-three.
Witness,
RICПP. MAYGER,
of Burton-on-Trent.
THOMAS L. JACOBS. (L.s.)