US1438352A - Tank heater - Google Patents

Description

G. ALDERSON.

TANK HEATER.

APPLICATION FILED ocT. 2o. I92I.

I Patented Dec. 1

A.. wm

o l TLIY .A

IIIA .l

Patented Dec, l2, i922.,

TANK I-I'EATER.

Applica-tion le 'DO tober 20, .1921. Serial No. ,503,143.

To all whom t may concern.'

Be it known that Grenen LDnRsoN, a citizen o'j the United States, 7residino at La Salle, in the county ol La Salle and State ol' illinois, have invented certain new and useiul improvements in Tank gileaters, of which the 'following is a specification.

This invention relates to tank heaters adapted for use in connection with live stock Watering tanls for the purpose of 'heating the Water in cold Weather so as to prevent the same from freezing. riihe heater is adapted to be partially submerged in `the Water tank, and is adapted to burn coal,

Wood, cobs or other fuel for oenerating lthe requisite heat. In tank heaters heretofore constructed, With ivnich l am familiar, the products oi? combustion are delivered more or 'less directly from the tire box zto the outlet staclr and always at a considerable distance from the bottom of the tank, with the result that the Water in the lower portion or the tank is not heated and the etliciency ot the heaters is relatively loiv.

@ne of Athe primary purposes of my present invention is to provide a tanlr heater which will conduct the products of combustion [from `the tire box along the bottom of the heater casing in proximity to the bottom ot' the tank, so that Athis ,Water in the bottom of the .tank will be heated, and because oi"- the long path oi. travel o't the .hot products of combustion from the fire box, a high efficiency in the operation ot my improved heater will result. c

Another feature of my invention resides in the provision of a removable perforated member which may be positioned the lire bor; above the crate so as ,to shut ott a ortion ot the grate When 'coal is lto be used as fuel, thereby reducing Athe rapidity of combustion and also serving` to -eed the fue-l onto that portion of Ythe `grate Where it should be burned. vThe member `i s r e 1 nova ble, as previously stated, vso that the full capacity or the grate may be utilized When required, such for instance, as when burning cobs or other like fuel.

fr further feature of my invention resides in the provision ot a shutter plate which is so mounted that it may be removed when the heater is initially started up, thus permitting` a direct draft from the fire box to the outlet stack, and 'when the iirc has been Well started, this shutter plate may be vinter- VSt may,

posed Ebetween the tire box and the outlet stack to shut off direct communication and compel the products otconibustion lto travel in a circuitous path througha delivery flue .downwardly along one side oi the casing,

thence transversely across the casing beneath the tire box, and thence upwardly along the opposite Wall of the casing to the outlet stack. This path ogl the products of ,combustion results in thoroughly heating the bottom of the heater casing, as vvell as the vertical Walls and renders Ithe heater Vex- .,treniely etlicient.

Other objects and many of the inherent advantages oft my invention Will vbe readily vappreciated as the same becomes better .un-

derstood by reference to ythe Jiolloiving` description When considered in connection with the accompanying `,drawings z- Reierring to the drawings- F l is vertical sectional vievv through a v4 heater embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a transverse,sectional vieuT on the line 2-2 oi'Fig. l; and

3 is a plan view with the top or cover or' the heater removed to show the underlying' parts.

From an inspection of the drawings, it Will be appa/rent that my improved heater comprises essentially a casing 4, shaped subt 'all-y Aasshoivn in the drawings and concted in any suitable manner. The casing if desired, be vmade otsheet-metah ,but p reaferably it is constructed of cast iron made in vtavo parts equipped with abutting flanges 5 and f5 securely connected together by bolts 7. flhese casing sections are equipped on their inner faces with inwardly projecting ribs or studs arranged to hold the interior parts in position. its shown, llugs 8, 9 and 1l .are provided upon which the lire grates @and 1 3 rest. inwardly disposed ribs llt beneath the grate serve as supports tor the bottom portions 1 5 and 16 oi the r'lue Walls 17 Vand 18 `which are also held `in position by ings 19 and 2l. rlhe lue Wall 1S serves as one end Wall of the lire boXQQ, the other en d wall 23 being supported upon the lugs 8 and spaced from the Wall 17 so as to provide an air inlet line 2li comniunicating-` at one end with the atmosphere at the top of the heater, and at its other end beneath the grates so as to supply air through the grates to the tire box.

lt will be observed that the' air supply tlue 2d is of less width than the casing, leaving spaces 25 at each side thereof through which Comunication is established between the fire box 22 and the flue 26 at one end of the casing. rihis flue extends downwardly, then transversely, indicated at 27, along the bottom of the casing beneath the tire box, and then upwardly, as indicated at 28, along the opposite end wall where it communicates at its delivery end with an outlet staclr 29 of any desired height, and preferably equipped with a damper 3l of usual construction. lt will be apparent therefore that the products of combustion from the `fire box pass through the openings 25 thence through sections 26, 2l" and 28 to the stack 29 where they are delivered from the heater.

llfhen lnirning cobs, wood or other light vfuel it is usuall i desirable to 'utilize the full surface of the grates l?? and i3, but when burning coal, colre or the like only substantially cnc-half of the grate surface is required. l have therefore provided a member 3:2, preferably curved-shaped, supported at its lower end in suitable bearings 33 formed on the inner face of the casing, and disposed. in inclined position so as to shut oil' or cover the grate l2 and at the same time direct the coal onto the grate 13 where it is burned. ,ln facilitate the combustion of the fuel, this member 32 is equipped with air openings 34, and near its lower edge it is slotted, as indicated at so that air, in addition to that passing upwardly through the grate 13, may enter the lire box t-o support combustion.

It will be observed from F ig. 1 that the upper portion of the flue section 2S is normally separated from the fire box by a shutter plate 36 supported in inclined position with its lower edge 37 resting in supporting brac ets 38 formed on the wall 18. Near its vupper end the plate is equipped with trunnions 39 which are seated in bearings 1li formed in the top of the casing. rlhe upper projecting portion l2 of the shutter plate forms a handle by which the plate may be manipulated. When it is desired to establish direct comunioation between the iire box and the outlet stack 29, the plate may be lifted to disengage it from the brackets 38 permitting it to hang suspended from the fire box, but since in this position it is sub- ,iected to excessive heat, I prefer to remove the plate entirely from the casing when not positioned as shown in lEig. l, and with this end in view the bearing members 4l are separated by a slot t8 extending` transversely between the bearings and of sucient width to permit the withdrawal and insertion of the plate 36 therethrough. The casing is closed at its upper end by a cover plate dit, and when the shutter plate is to be removed or replaced this cover is lifted off. rllhe shutter plate is then lifted to free the trunnions from their bearings whereupon it is turned thru an -angle of 90 in alinement with the slot i3 so that it can be slid to the left viewing Fig. l, sufficiently to free it from the bearings and permit it to be lifted out through the opening above the .tire box. l? or the purpose of regulating the supply of air to the lire box, the cover plate dt is equipped with slidable shutter 45 adapted to wholly or partially close the Lipper end of the air inlet flue 24.-. T his shutter may be adjusted to any desired position in the slideways 4G formed on the upper face ofthe cover efr.

ln the operation of my improved heater, the tire box is charged with fuel, the member being removed or left in, depending upon the character of the fuel employed. the fuel is initially i gnited, the shutter plate 36 is preferably removed. for a limited period, permitting direct draft from the lire box to the stack 29 until the fuel is well ignited whereupon the shutter plate 36 is replaced in the position shown in Fig. l, thereby shutting off the direct communication between the lire box and the stach.

The products of combustion are now compelled to travel through the openings 25 into the line 2G, downwardly in this .flue to the bottom of the casing, then along the `bottom through the flue 27 and then upwardly through the flue 2S to the stack. This circuitous path of the products of combustion causes the end walls and also the bottom wall of the casing to be thoroughly heated, thus heating the surrounding water in the lower portion of the tank and removing a maximum quantity of heat units from t-he products of combustion before they are delivered from the stack with the result that the heater possesses a high degree of eiiiciency. When ash removal is required, one

of the grates, or both, if the fire is not burning, may be lifted out, whereupon the ashes may be removed with a suitable implement through the top, the cover 4 1 having been irst taken od.

lt is believed that my invention, its construction, mode of operation, and many of its advantages will be understood from the foregoing without further description, and whilel have shown and described a preferred embodiment, obviously the details of construction may be varied within considerable limits without departure from the essence of the invention as defined in the following claims.

ll claim:

l. A tanlr heater, comprising a casing, a lire box therein, a grate forming the bottom of said fire box, an air inlet flue for supplying air beneath said grate, and a delivery flue communicating with one side of said lire box above the grate, and extending downwardly around said air inlet flue and along one wall of said casing, thenhorizontally across the bottom thereof beneath they fire box, and thence upwardly along the opposite side of the casing.

2. A tank heater, comprising a casing, a iire box arranged therein, a grate forming the bottom of said fire box, a removable perforated inclined member adapted to be disposed over a portion of said grate, and means for conducting the products of combustion transversely across said casing beneath said grate.

3. A tank heater, comprising a casing, a fire box arranged therein, a grate formed in the bottom of said fire box, a curved perforated member disposed in inclined position in said tire box over a portion of said grate7 means for supplying air beneath said grate, a delivery stack located adjacent one side of said casing, a flue communicating with one side of said tire box and extending downwardly, thence laterally across the casing beneath the grate, and thence upwardly into communication with said stack, and a shutter plate interposed between said stack and said fire box and normally forming one side of a portion of said flue, said plate being movable so as to establish direct communication between said fire box and said stack.

et. ln a tank heater, the combination of a casing provided at the top adjacent one side with an air intake flue and adjacent the opposite side with a delivery stack, a fire box arranged within said casing, a flue extending from said fire box to said stack, a shutter plate extending the full width of the fire box and forming a portion of one of the walls of said flue, said plate having a narrow upper end,

bearings for removably supporting said and means including slotted shutter plate so that the same may be removed from the casing permitting the products of combustion from said fire ybox to directlyl enter said stack without passing through said Hue.

5. ln a tank heater, the combination of a casing, a fire box arranged therein, an outlet stack, a shutter plateI comprising a wide lower portion and a narrow upper portion,

means for supporting said shutter plate with y the wide portion in position betweensaid fire box and said stack, said means being` slotted to permit removal of said plate from the casing upon lifting said plate and turning the same through a partial rotation.

6. ln a tank heater, the combination of a casing, comprising complemental halves bolted together, a fire box arranged within said casing, a down iiue at one side of the fire box, a cross flue beneath the lire box, an up flue at the opposite side of the fire box, and an air inlet Hue extending downwardly through said down flue for supplying air to said lire box.l

7. ina tank heater, the combination of a casing, a fire box arranged therein7 a grate forming the bottom of said nre: box, means for dividing the fire box so as to permit the feeding of fuelto a portion only of said grate, an air supply flue extending from the top of said casing to a point beneath said grate, and means for delivering the products of combustion from said tirebox, com- V,

GEORGE ALDERS ON.

Images