GB2077906A

GB2077906A - Solid-fuel-fired appliance

Info

Publication number: GB2077906A
Application number: GB8117323A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1980-06-13
Filing date: 1981-06-05
Publication date: 1981-12-23
Also published as: GB2077906B

Abstract

A heating appliance fired by solid fuel comprises a free-standing boiler assembly (2) permitting location within a domestic residence without any bricking-in. The boiler assembly (2) includes a forwardly-open body member (4) in the lower regions of which is mounted a grate (6) for receiving thereon solid fuel. A water container (12) comprising an interconnected rear portion (14) and a front portion (16) is supported in the intermediate regions of the body member (4). An exhaust duct (66) extends from the upper regions of the body member (4) to vent to atmosphere. Exhaust gases can flow from a fire in the grate to the exhaust duct (66) either through a first passageway (18) formed in the water container (12) or through a further passageway (26) in front of the water container (12), control means (28, 32) being provided to open and close said first and further passageways (18, 26) as required. Ducts (38, 40) with associated control means supply air to inlet ports below the grate (6). <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Solid-fuel-fired appliance This invention relates to heating appliances fired by solid fuel, such as coal or coke, particularly for space heating and water heating in domestic residences.

Over the past few decades it has become more and more common for domestic residences to be heated by appliances fired by convenience fuels - i.e. electricity, gas and oil - rather than by coal.

Such became the popularity of these fuels that house designs were centred around the convenience fuel to be used, all of which fuels required buildings having similar types of shell and without the chimneys or chimney breasts considered essential for solid-fuel-fired appliances.

The recent escalating costs of gas, electricity and oil has resulted in the price of coal becoming competitive again. However the design of property during the boom years of the convenience fuels is such as to require major structural modifications -- i.e. the installation of chimneys, chimney breasts and the like -- before established solid-fuel-fired appliances can be installed. The cost of such modifications is usually such as to outweigh any subsequent savings that would be made once the coal-fired appliance was in use.

According to the present invention there is provided a solid-fuel-fired appliance comprising a floor-standing boiler assembly including an upstanding, forwardly-open body member in the lower regions of which is housed a grate for receiving therein solid fuel, and in the intermediate regions of which is supported a water container, a first passageway extending through the water container from the lower regions to the upper regions thereof to define front and rear interconnected portions to said container, an exhaust duct communicating into the upper regions of the body member to receive exhaust gases from the body member, an air inlet to the lower regions of the boiler assembly below the grate, and means within the body member for controlling the flow of gases from a fire on the grate to the exhaust duct both through the first passageway in, and in front of the water container.

It will be appreciated that such an appliance, being free-standing, can be installed in a building without the necessity for any bricking-in, thus enabling a building without a chimney or a chimney breast readily to be converted for heating by solid fuel instead of convenience fuels. The appliance can be located where desired in the building, typically against a wall, in a corner or in the middle of a room, the exhaust duct then being led as necessary to vent to atmosphere.

Preferably the body member is of generally U-shape in transverse section, the water container comprising a rear portion of generally U-shape in transverse section mounted on the outer surface of, to surround the intermediate regions of, the body member, said rear portion of the water container communicating into a front portion located within the body member to define a passageway between the inner surface of the body member and the rear surface of said front portion of the water container.

Conveniently the boiler assembly includes a cowl extending upwardly and rearwardly of the assembly from the intermediate regions of the open-front of the body member to the top of said member to define, together with the body member and the water container, a further passageway in front of the water container for the flow of gases from a fire on the grate to the exhaust duct.

The means within the body member for controlling the flow of gases from a fire on the grate to the exhaust duct preferably comprise a damper plate reacting between the body member and the front portion of the water container movable to control the flow of gases through the first passageway, and a choke plate reacting between the front portion of the water container and the cowl and movable to control the flow of gases through the further passageway.

Conveniently the damper plate and choke plate are pivotal by associated control means, which may or may not be interlinked, from positions closing the associated passageways towards positions permitting restricted or full flow through said passageways.

Preferably the air inlet to the boiler assembly is provided with a control member movable to vary the volume of air directed below the grate.

A preferred appliance includes a forwardlyopen outer casing surrounding the body member, a thermal-insulating material being packed in the volume defined between the outer casing and said body member above the level of the grate.

The volume between the outer casing and the body member below the level of the grate conveniently comprises primary and secondary air ducts fed by a common inlet in the outer casing, the primary duct feeding into the boiler assembly through apertures in the sides of the body member and the secondary duct feeding into the boiler assembly through a plurality of laterally-spaced apertures in the rear of the body member, a control member over the air inlet through the outer casing being movable to permit air flow into both the primary and secondary ducts or into the secondary duct only.

Conveniently the control member on the air inlet is linked to the control means of the damper plate and choke plate such that movement of a single operating member causes simultaneous movement of the control member, the damper plate and the choke plate.

By way of example only an embodiment of the invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: Fig. 1 is a vertical section through an appliance according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a front view, partly in vertical section, of the appliance of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a plan view from above, partly in horizontal section, of the appliance of Fig. 1; and Fig. 4 is a side view of the appliance of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings, the illustrated appliance comprises a boiler assembly indicated generally at 2 and including an upstanding body member 4 of generally U-shape in transverse section adapted to stand freely on a hearth or like supporting member. A removable grate 6 is located in the lower regions of the body member to receive thereon solid fuel. Primary air inlet ports 8 to the volume of the body member 4 below the grate 6 are formed in the sidewalls of said member, while a plurality of smaller laterally-spaced secondary air inlet ports 10 to said volume are formed in the rear wall of the body member for reasons to be detailed below.

A water container or boiler is shown generally at 12 supported in the intermediate regions of the body member 4, said boiler comprising a rear portion or jacket 1 4 of generally U-shape in transverse section mounted on the rear surface of, to surround, the body member, and a front portion 1 6 located within the body member 4 such that a first passageway 1 8 is formed between the rear wall of the portion 1 6 and the front surface of the rear wall of the body member. The two portions 14, 1 6 of the boiler are interconnected, the boiler being provided with an inlet 20 and an outlet 22 for supply and return of water to be heated.

A protective cowl 24 secured to the body member 4 extends upwardly and rearwardly of the upper regions of the body member 4 to define, together with the front of the portion 1 6 of the boiler, a further passageway 26 within the boiler assembly.

A damper plate 28 reacts between the rear wall of the body member 4 and the rear regions of the top of the portion 1 6 of the water container 12 to close the passageway 1 8 through said container.

The damper plate 28 is pivotal about its lower edge from the closed position shown in Fig. 1 towards an open position permitting flow through the passageway 1 8 on rotation of an operating lever 30 as will be described n more detail below.

A choke plate 32 reacts between the front regions of the top of the portion 1 6 of the water container 12 and the inside surface of the cowl 24 to close the passageway 26 and is pivotal about its lower edge from the closed position shown in Fig. 1 towards an open position permitting flow through the passageway 26 on rotation of an operating lever 34 again as will be described in more detail below.

An outer casing 36, the intermediate and lower regions of which are forwardly open, surrounds the boiler assembly 2, the volume defined between the casing and the outer confines of the boiler assembly above the grate and between the cowl 24 and the casing 36 being packed with a thermally-insulating material 38 such as sand.

An air inlet is formed in the lower regions of the casing 36, conveniently in a sidewall of said casing, to communicate into the volume between the casing 36 and the body member 4 below the level of the grate 6. Said volume is divided into superimposed primary and secondary ducts 38, 40 respectively, the duct 38 communicating into the volume of the boiler assembly 2 beldw the grate through the opposed inlet ports 8 and the duct 40 communicating into said volume below the grate 6 through the aligned inlet ports 10. The air inlet in the casing 36 communicates into both the ducts 38, 40.

Located over the inlet through the casing 36 are an inner fixed plate (not shown) provided with a series of spaced slots therethrough and an outer movable plate 42 provided with a further series of spaced parallel slots 44 therethrough. The plate 42 is movable horizontally from a first position in which the inlet through the casing is closed, to a first displaced position permitting air flow through the slots 44 in the plate 42 into both the primary and secondary ducts 38, 40, to a second displaced position permitting air flow through slots 44 into the secondary duct only.

Conveniently movement of the plate 42, the damper plate 28 and the choke plate 32 is achieved in a single operation by virtue of the linkage shown in Fig. 4. In this Figure, levers 46, 48 are rigid extensions of the levers 30, 34 respectively within the boiler assembly, said levers 46, 48 being interconnected by means of links 50, 52 with the opposed ends of an arm portion 54 of a T-shaped member 56 mounted on the side of the casing 36 to be pivotal about an axis 58.

A rigid horizontal link 60 interconnects the plate 42 with a leg portion 62 of the member 56, to which leg portion is also attached an operating handle 64.

The arrangement is such that, on downward movement of the handle 64, the member 56 is pivoted in an anticlockwise direction as seen in Fig. 4, whereby the plate 44 is moved to the right to permit air flow into both the primary and secondary ducts 38, 40, while the damper plate is closed and the choke plate is open.

In this condition, the combustion air below the grate results in burning of a fire on the grate and the creation of heat for space heating of the room containing the appliance. There is very little heating of the water in the container 12 as the passageway 1 8 is closed.

On upward movement of the handle 64 to pivot the member 56 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 4, the plate 42 is moved to the left to permit airflow only into the secondary duct, the damper plate 28 is open and the choke plate 32 is closed.

In this condition, combustion air is drawn into the fire from the room housing the appliance to burn the fire and heat the room, while the secondary air entering the back of the lower regions of the body member 4 enhances the combustion of exhaust gases flowing from the fire through the passageway 18, said exhaust gases heating the water in the container 12.

The construction of the water container 12 is conveniently such that of the order of 60% of the surface of said container bounds the passageway 1 8 whereby substantial heating of the water results with the damper plate 28 open.

A twin-wall exhaust duct or chimney 66 extends from the upper regions of the body member 4 as shown to vent exhaust gases to atmosphere through a terminal member 68. Said duct 66 may include a telescopic portion 70, while the space between the exhaust gas-carrying central liner and outer casing of the duct is vented at the top and bottom to allow a free upward flow of cooling air through said space.

Thus there is provided a free standing solid fuel heating appliance which requires no brickwork for installation and does not form part of the structure of the building in which it is located. Such a unit may replace existing systems using convenience fuels without structural modifications to the building. The controls for the damper plate, choke plate and air inlet may be manually or automatically actuated and may be operated collectively as illustrated or separately.

It will be appreciated, for example, that the rotary movement of the levers 30, 34 to effect pivoting of the damper plate 28 and choke plate 32 may be replaced by a linear movement of said levers, while the upward and downward movement of the handle 64 may be replaced by a pull-push arrangement. Other modifications from the described arrangement will be apparent to those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A solid-fuel-fired appliance comprising a floor-standing boiler assembly including an upstanding, forwardly-open body member in the lower regions of which is housed a grate for receiving therein solid fuel, and in the intermediate regions of which is supported a water container, a first passageway extending through the water container from the lower regions to the upper regions thereof to define front and rear interconnected portions to said container, an exhaust duct communicating into the upper regions of the body member to receive exhaust gases from the body member, an air inlet to the lower regions of the boiler assembly below the grate, and means within the body member for controlling the flow of gases from a fire on the grate to the exhaust duct both through the first passageway in, and in front of the water container.

2. An appliance as claimed in claim 1 in which the body member is of generally U-shape in transverse section, the water container comprising a rear portion of generally U-shape in transverse section mounted on the outer surface of, to surround the intermediate regions of, the body member, said rear portion of the water container communicating into a front portion located within the body member to define a passageway between the inner surface of the body member and the rear surface of said front portion of the water container.

3. An appliance as claimed in claim 2 in which the boiler assembly includes a cowl extending upwardly and rearwardly of the assembly from the intermediate regions of the open-front of the body member to the top of said member to define, together with the body member and the water container, a further passageway in front of the water container for the flow of gases from a fire on the grate to the exhaust duct.

4. An appliance as claimed in claim 3 in which the means within the body member for controlling the flow of gases from a fire on the grate to the exhaust duct comprise a damper plate reacting between the body member and the front portion of the water container movable to control the flow of gases through the first passageway, and a choke plate reacting between the front portion of the water container and the cowl and movable to control the flow of gases through the further passageway.

5. An appliance as claimed in claim 4 in which the damper plate and choke plate are pivotal by associated control means from positions closing the associated passageways towards positions permitting restricted or full flow through said passageways.

6. An appliance as claimed in claim 5 in which the control means for the damper plate and choke plate are interlinked.

7. An appliance as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 6 in which the air inlet to the boiler assembly is provided with a control member movable to vary the volume of air directed below the grate.

8. An appliance as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 7 and including a forwardly-open outer casing surrounding the body member, a thermalinsulating material being packed in the volume defined between the outer casing and said body member above the level of the grate.

9. An appliance as claimed in claim 8 in which the volume between the outer casing and the body member below the level of the grate comprises primary and secondary air ducts fed by a common inlet in the outer casing, the primary duct feeding into the boiler assembly through apertures in the sides of the body member and the secondary duct feeding into the boiler assembly through a plurality of laterally-spaced apertures in the rear of the body member, a control member over the air inlet through the outer casing being movable to permit air flow into both the primary and secondary ducts or into the secondary duct only.

10. An appliance as claimed in claim 9 together with claim 6 in which the control member on the air inlet is linked to the control means of the damper plate and choke plate such that movement of a single operating member causes simultaneous movement of the control member.

the damper plate and the choke plate.

11. A solid-fuel-fired appliance substantially as described with reference to and as illustrated by the accompanying drawings.