IMPROVEMENTS IN THE MANUFACTURE OF FIRE LIGHTERS
Year: 1880

page_text: PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Edwin Elford and Andrew Carr
at the Office of the Commissioners of Patents on the 2nd November 1880.
EDWIN ELFORD, of Exeter, in the County of Devon, Merchant, and ANDREW
CARR, of Topsham, in the same County, Gentleman. "IMPROVEMENTS IN THE
MANUFACTURE OF FIRE LIGHTERS."
The object of this Invention is to produce fire lighters from peat in a more
economical manner than heretofore and of superior quality to those at present in
use.
In manufacturing fire lighters from peat in the ordinary manner, the sods are
disintegrated in suitable machines, and the resulting pulp or dust is then kneaded
up with some inflammable substance and moulded under pressure into cakes. It
has, however, been found that the pressing or moulding renders the fire lighters too
compact and consequently they are too slow of ignition. Besides this a large plant
is required for the purposes of disintegrating as well as for the pressing or
moulding.
Now, according to our Invention the sods of peat are cut from the peat bed as
nearly as possible of uniform dimensions, and they are left to dry by exposure to
the air. When dry the sods are submitted to the action of a set of circular saws,
by which they are cut into pieces of a uniform size suitable for use.
The pieces so
cut up are then exposed in a suitably arranged cage or basket to a bath of
dissoled resin, or an equivalent liquid combustible, until the peat has become
thoroughly saturated with the same.
When this is effected the cage is withdrawn from the bath and allowed to drain
for a few seconds, after which the saturated cakes are emptied out onto a layer of
dry pulverized peat and coated with the same, so as to give immediately a dry
surface and absorb any drippings or excess of liquid, thereby avoiding waste and
preventing the adhesion of the cakes to each other.
The fire lighters thus formed are next to be dried, for which purpose they are
laid upon racks, which will allow of a free circulation of air round them. When
dry the cakes will be ready for sale or use.
The liquid combustible which we have found to answer well for the saturation
of the peat consists of strained resin and crude resin oil, which we employ in the
following proportions, viz., one ton of resin and 120 gallons of resin oil to one ton

page_text: of peat. Or instead of the resin oil, Stockholm tar oil, refined tar oil, or pitch oil
may be employed. The resin and the resin oil are combined, the two being boiled
together and maintained at boiling point during the manufacture of the fire
lighters.
By the mode of manufacture above explained, we are enabled to produce fire
lighters in a more economical manner than heretofore, as the plant required is of
the simplest character, and we also obtain an article the action of which is more
efficient than those hitherto used, as the blocks being less compact become more
rapidly ignited, and when ignited burn with a larger and brighter flame. The
blocks are also less brittle than those made by compression from disintegrated peat, 1
and are therefore less liable to break and lose their marketable value during
transit.