FUEL SUPPORTS FOR STOVES, FURNACES, & FIRE BOXES HAVING A DOWNWARD DRAUGHT
Year: 1885

page_text: I, EMILE R. WESTON, of Bangor in the County of Penobscot & State of Maine,
one of the United States of America, Chemist, do hereby declare the nature of my
invention for "FUEL SUPPORTS FOR STOVES, FURNACES, & FIRE BOXES HAVING
A DOWNWARD DRAUGHT" and in what manner the same is to be performed to
be particularly described and ascertained in & by the following statement :—
My invention relates to Stoves, Furnaces, or Fire Boxes having a downward
Draught and consists of. First, peculiarly formed & constructed supports upon
which the fuel used in the stove or furnace rests while burning and hollow
diaphragms connecting with such supports and Secondly in the peculiar arrangement
of such Fuel Supports.
It is illustrated in the accompanying drawings in which
,
Fig. 1 is a partly sectional or broken front elevation of a stove having my
invention applied.
Fig. 2 is mainly a sectional side elevation of the same.
Fig. 3 is a sectional side elevation of a part of a stove showing a modified
application of my supports.
Fig. 4 is a sectional side elevation of the fire-box of a locomotive engine having a
modified form of my invention applied.
Fig. 5 is a view of my Fuel Supports & Diaphragms placed together as in use
& on an enlarged scale as compared with the other Figures and partly turned
forwards to show the top of the Supports.
Fig's. 6, 7, 8, & 9 are end views of some different forms of my Fuel Supports..
Fig. 10 is a plan & elevation of diaphragms used as spark arresters in particular
cases.
Similar letters refer to corresponding parts throughout the several Figures.
:
A is a stove. B B my Fuel Supports. C. C. hollow diaphragms. D is an air
space or draught. E fire-box. P combustion chamber, a is the top of E. a¹ the
back of E. b, c¹ & d registers, o door to fire-box. e flues in fuel supports and

page_text: diaphragms apertures in sides of fuel supports. h combustion spaces between
supports. h¹ draughts or combustion spaces between diaphragms. n false bottom
to A. air passage between false bottom & back of stove. g a space between
front ends of supports & front of stove. r space between back ends of diaphragms
& back of stove. 8 flat perforated diaphragms. t smoke pipe. ware ribs or
flanges on the ends of B & C. is a space or chamber above the diaphragms C.
y is a small door in the bottom of the combustion chamber P.
My objects are to accomplish as perfect a combustion of the fuel as possible and
to utilize as fuel substances hitherto regarded as valueless for that purpose.
My fuel supports B are made of fire clay or some highly refractory material of
any convenient shape but preferably as shown in the drawings. They are hollow
longitudinally & provided upon the sides with small apertures f and the tops which
take the place of grate bars in ordinary stoves may be formed in various shapes as
desired and as partially shown in Fig's 6, 7, 8, & 9.
Upon one or both sides of each support B at each end is formed a flange w
designed to separate that support when in position from the next & form a flue or
combustion space h between each pair of supports. The particular shape of the
supports is not important but may be varied to suit the stove or furnace to which
they are to be applied. In the drawings they are so shaped that when in place
they form a bearing or resting place for: the fuel inclining upwards from the front
to the back of the fire-box E.
For use as shown in Fig's. 1, 2 & 5, I also provide the diaphragms C, similar in
shape to the supports B, hollow longitudinally and provided with ribs or flanges w
upon one or both sides at each end similarly to the supports B but without the
apertures f.
The arrangement of the supports B and diaphragms C for use is as follows; the
supports B are placed on edge side by side the flanges w separating each support
from the next and leaving the flues or combustion spaces h between the supports B.
The bottoms of the forward ends of the supports B rest upon the false bottom n of
the stove & the tops of said ends bear upon the inside of the front of the stove
leaving the space g. The hollow diaphragms C are placed together similarly to the
supports B, the bottoms of their back ends resting upon the false bottom n & the
tops of their back ends bearing upon the inside of the back of the stove leaving
the space r.
The inner ends of the supports B and diaphragms C are brought
together at the middle of the stove & the longitudinal hollow spaces in B & C form
a continuous flue or draught e from rear to front. By this arrangement of the
supports B & diaphragms C their lower edges slope upwards from front and rear to
the middle of the stove & leave beneath them the space P which forms a combustion
chamber,
In construction I provide the stove A formed with the fire-box E inclosed by the
top a and back a² & having the door c for the introduction of fuel & the adinission
of air when desirable. The top a reflects back escaping heat upon the fuel. Above
the bottom of the stove & together with the bottom forming the air passage or
draught. D is placed the false bottom n upon which arranged as described the
supports B and diaphragms Crest & which serves as a bottom to the combustion
chamber P. The false bottom n extends back only so far as the inner lower corner
of the diaphragms C leaving the space n' for the passage of air up through the
space & into the flue e in C. At a is a register to regulate the draught
through D.
'
In operation the fuel is placed upon the supports B in the fire-box E. Air is
The fuel being
supplied through the door c or a register c in or above the door c.
ignited & the draft being downwards the flames pass through the combustion
spaces between the supports B into the combustion chamber P. The register d
being opened a draught of air passes through the passage D & through n' and
into the flues e of the parts .C & B and is discharged in jets through the apertures f
into the combustion spaces h, there meeting. the flame, smoke, gases, and residuum

page_text: of the primary combustion, and affording fresh oxygen causes a secondary & most
intense combustion to ensue. The flames darting downward through h into the
combustion chamber P reach & heat the hollow diaphragms C to an intense heat.
It is apparent that the hollow supports B & diaphragms C once heated the air
afterwards passing through the flues e is delivered as a hot blast into the spaces
& the secondary combustion greatly promoted. So complete is this secondary
combustion that all the unconsumed products of the primary combustion including
the smoke are totally consumed and annihilated in the combustion spaces h and
combustion chamber P & nothing remains but a hot draught which escapes through
the spaces h between the diaphragms C into the chamber x and thence through
the smoke pipe t to the chimney. An insignificant quantity of ashes alone remains
in the combustion chamber P to remove which I provide the door y.
The hollow diaphragms C serve the double purpose of conducting and heating
the blast necessary for the secondary combustion & of obstructing the escape of the
heated air from the combustion chamber P.
By means of my invention I accomplish a smokeless and odourless combustion of
the dust or slack of bituminous coal, sawdust, lignite & other substances of little or
no value as fuel and this combustion is perfect & free & is attained with the
greatest ease.
A simpler form of my invention is shown in Fig. 3 where the hollow diaphragm C,
false bottom n, draught D and register d are dispensed with-the supports B being
placed as before. In this case the back a¹ of the fire-box E is prolonged downwards
to form a bearing for the back ends of the supports B & close the abutting ends of
the flues e. The draught in this application of my invention is supplied as before
through the upper door c or register c³, or in some cases through the register b
directly into the flues e and through the apertures finto the combustion spaces h.
The whole space between the lower upwardly inclining edges of the supports B
& extending up behind the back a¹ of the fire-box E and including the spaces P
there becomes a combustion chamber & in practice I find that an excellent
combustion is attained by this modification of my invention. With this form of
my device I sometimes use the flat perforated diaphragms s to obstruct the escape of
heat from the combustion chamber P. This form of my invention is also applicable
to the fire-boxes of locomotive and stationary engines and I have shown it applied
to a locomotive engine in Fig. 4. If in this latter application the intense draught
should carry with it sparks I have provided the spark arrester shown in Fig. 10
consisting of slabs or bricks of refractory material set in the back end of the
combustion chamber in the quincunx order with alternating spaces.
&
It is not necessary that the supports B and diaphragm C be formed with the
flanges w but in place thereof similar flanges or ribs may be formed upon the lining
of the stove or upright strips may be inserted between the ends of B & C or any
equivalent means adopted whereby each support or diaphragm may be separated
from the next and the ends of the spaces h h' filled.
Having now particularly described & ascertained the nature of my said
invention & in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
1. In a stove, furnace, or fire-box having a downward draft the fuel supports B
formed with the longitudinal flues e and apertures ƒ and with or without the
flanges w.
2. In a stove furnace, or fire-box having a downward draft the diaphragms C
formed with the longitudinal flues e with or without the flanges w.
3. In a stove, furnace, or fire-box having a downward draught the combination
of the fire-box E having the back a'; door c; register c¹; fuel supports B placed
between the fire-box E & combustion chamber P and having the flues e, apertures f
& flanges w; register b; combustion spaces h; & combustion chamber P with or
without the diaphragms 8.

page_text: 4. In a stove, furnace, or fire-box having a downward draft the combination of
the fire-box E; door c; register c¹; fuel supports B placed between the fire box E
& combustion chamber P & having the flues e, apertures f, flanges w; combustion
spaces h; combustion chamber P; diaphragms C having flues e and flanges w; air
passage D communicating with the flues e; and register d.
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