US225906A - Vent-bung - Google Patents

Description

O. ZWIETUSOH.

Vent-Bung.-

No. 225,906 Patented Mar. 23, 1880;

Inventor.

mamas. PHOYO-LITNOGRAPHER. WA N UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OTTO ZWIETUSGH, OF MILWAUKEE, WISOON SIN.

VENT-BUNG.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 225,906, dated March 23, 1880.

Application filed January 2, 1880.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that I, OTTO ZWIETUSGH, of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bungs, of which the following is a specification.

The object of my invention is to produce a bun g or vent for casks containing fermenting liquors which shall allow the gas that is generated within said casks to escape without exposing the liquid to the atmospheric air.

The accompanying drawing shows a vertical central section of my bung.

A is a hollow body or shell for containing water or other liquid, which is made tapering at its lower end to tit the bung-hole of a cask.

The top of the shell A is open and the bottom closed, except at its center, where it is pro vided with a hole, into which a tube, B, is inserted, thus forming the annular chamber 0. The tube B is of such length as to extend nearly, though not quite, to the upper edge of the shell A.

D D are openings in the shell A near its upper edge, for the escape of gas.

E is a cover or cap for the shell A, and it is provided at its center with a downwardly-projecting tubular extension or sleeve, F, which is of such length as to reach nearly, but not quite, to th bottom of the shell when the cap is placed in position. The inside diameter of the sleeve F is somewhat greater than the outside diameter of the tube B, so that a space may intervene between them for the passage of gas.

The sleeve F is made-tapering, and, if desired, the cover and sleeve may be cast in one piece, as also may the shell A and tube B.

The operation of the bung is as follows: The cover E is removed and the tapering end of the shell A inserted tightly into the bung-hole ofthe cash containing the liquid, and the chamber 0 filled with water up to the openings D D. In freezing temperatures diluted alcohol is taken instead of water. The cover 0 is then replaced, and this causes the sleeve F to pass over and surround the tube B, as shown, whereby a double water-column is formed. When gas has accumulated in the cask it passes up through the pipe B, then down the space and through the water-column in the sleeve F, then under the edge of said sleeve, and thence upward through the exterior water-column in the chamber 0, escaping through the openings D D.

The application of this bung to casks prevents the admission of atmospheric air to the resting or fermenting liquid, and hence prevents the liquid from becoming foul or sour. It also allows the liquid to ferment under a light pressure, or, if fermentation is over, prevents it from entering a state of refermentation, which often occurs if the liquid is closed tightly in casks too early without a relief. It also prevents changes of pressure on the fermenting liquors, such as are often caused by the variation of the barometer.

This bung is of great value to beer in restiug-casks, for it rapidly promotes the clarifying of the beer and the settling of the yeast.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, isi The shell A, made tapering at its lower end and provided with openings D near its upper edge, and also with the upwardly-projecting central tube, B, opening through the bottom of said shell and terminating a short distance below the upper edge thereof, in combination with the cap E, provided with the central downwardly-projecting sleeve, F, said sleeve having an interior diameter greater than the exterior diameter of the tube B, and being of such length as to extend, when the cap is placed in position,nearly to the bottom of the shell A, all substantially as shown and described, for the purpose set forth.

, OTTO ZWIETUSGH. Witnesses JNo. G. Hmson,

EDW. 0. ZWIETUSCH.

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