US278636A - Steam and hot-water heating apparatus - Google Patents

Description

(No Model.)

P. TUDOR. STEAM AND HOT WATER HEATING APPARATUS.

'No; 278,636. Patented May 29,1883.

N. Pnzns PholoLithographlr wmin m. o.c.

a paratus for supplying heat by indirect radia' UNITED STATES PATENT QEEKQE;

FREDERIO TUDOR, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

" STEAM AND HOT-WATER HEATING APPARAT US.

SPECIFICATION forming part of mea s Patent No. emcee, dated May 29, 1883,

Application filed October 5, 1862. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, FREDERIG TUDOR, of Boston, in the county of. Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented an Improve ment in Steam and Hot-Water Heating Apparatus; and lydo hereby declare that the following is a'full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being bad to the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification. i i My invention relates to apparatus of the kind named, whether the heat be applied by What is known as direct or indirect radiation. The drawing, however, illustrates the improvementionly as used in a, system of aption; and as the principle and action of the invention are suliicientl y shown in such an apparatus, it will'be unnecessary to elaborately show or describe its, application to a system of direct radiation.

The object of the improvement is to supply anapparatus which can be used either forheating by hot water or by steam, according to the degree withwhich the fire is urged in the furnace-that is to say, it circulates hot waterwith'a moderate heat maintained in the furnace, and steam when a more intense heat is kept up, the heating by hot water being more desirable and more easily controlled in moderate weather than s team-heating,ywhile for intensely-cold weather steam-heating is preferable. y l i The drawing represents partly a side view and partly a sectional view of an apparatus designed to effect the object set forth.

The boiler A isshown as a vertical tubular boiler; but the invention is not confined to this type of boiler, and any other approved kind of boiler may be used. y

B represents the furnace; G, the grate; D, the vertical tubes; 11] the smoke-box, and F the uptake. The water-space is shown by shade-lines between the shell A and tubes D, which latter are inserted into the crown-sheet and flue-sheet and fastened byexpandin g them in the usualmanner. i

At F is shown a water-leg which it passes around the furnace B, and into the lower part ofiwhitzh is inserted a pipe, G. The pipe G connects the water-leg F with a relief-tank, H,

i whichalso, within certain limits, performs the furnace.

of the indirect radiator K, which is inclosed in of the usual case, L, and supplied with an inlet. M, and outlet M for ingress and egress of air to be heated and circulated. A pipe, N N, also leads from the top of the water-space in the boiler A to the upper part of the radiator K. The part N of the pipe N N is in this example of my improvement placed in a vertical position, and at its top is affixed an airtra'p, 0, preferably of spherical form. This air-trap is furnished with a valve, P, held to its seat by a weighted lever, Q, after the'manner of a safety-valve, which it is in fact. when this valve is opened it will permites- .cape of the air, which, when expelled from the water by heat, rises first to the top of the boiler, and thence passes through the pipe N into the air-trap O. This valve P will therefore serve as a safety-valve,'so as to open an tomatically when the pressure to which it is set is exceeded, and thus relieve the apparatus of undue pressure, and it will atthe same time serve as an air'cock to permit theremoval of air accumulated in the trap 0 when the valve is opened by hand, as will be understood.

Now, the apparatus will acteither as allot-water heater or as a steam-h eater, according to the intensity of the heat maintained in the boiler- The drawing shows it as when performing the function of a hot-waterbheater. In this use of the apparatus only a moderate heat is maintained in thefurnace, and the press.

be sufficient to depress the Water-level in the water-space of the boiler A. The boiler therefore remains filled with water, which also fills the pipes G N N, radiator K, and rises inthe tankH to the level shown. This level of the water in the tank should be snfliciently above ICO the top of the boiler to provide a watercolnmn sufiicient to keep the water under some tension in the boiler, and thus compel it to become heated therein to a temperature corresponding to this tension, yet not allow it to generate steam sufficient to expel the water from the boiler or its connected circulatingpipes, 850., as willbe understood. Thenormal level of the water in the tank, or rather the position of the water-tank above the boiler, may hence be higher or lower, according to the tension or temperature desired to be imparted to the water-circulation, without its giving off. free steam, as will be understood, and which may be varied as circumstances require. Under these conditions, theretbre, the water will be efi'ectually heated in the boiler to or above the boiling-point, (according to the height of the tank ll,) and will thence circulate through the pipes N N into and through the radiator K, and thence back to the boiler through the pipes G and G, thus maintaining a constant circulation of hot water through the radiator K and boilerA; the boiler, when the apparatus is thus used. being a water-heater rather than strictly a boiler.

It may he noted that the water-tank H is closed at the top, and from the top a stand pipe, I, rises to any suitable height, limited by the limit of steam-pressure permissible in the apparatus, the stand-pipe being preferably Y open at the top to the atmosphere, although it may be closed, if desired. Now, the tank should be of such a size that the space between its closed top and its normal water-line, as shown, should be equal to the capacityof the pipesN N, the radiator K, and the steamspace of the boiler when used for generating steam--that is, the space from the fine-sheet of the boiler to its steaming water-line 3 y. It

will therefore be now understood thatif, while the apparatus is acting as a circulating-water healer, as previously described, and as shown in the drawing, the fire be now urged in the furnace so as to heat the. water rapidly in the,

boiler and to a high temperature sufficient to generate a pressure of steam exceeding the pressure of the water-column from the tank H, this steam will then. immediately accumulate in the top of the boiler and in the upper part of the heating system,an d thus commence to at once expel the water from the boiler and the'pipes N N and radiator K through the pipe G and G into the tank H. The water will thus continue to flow out of the boiler and out of the pipes and radiators, being""displaced by the steam, and the expelled water will thus continue to rise in the tank H until the water of the boiler is depressed to the water-line y y, and until the water is all expelled from the radiator K and its pipes N N from the upper part of pipe G down -to the water-line 3 by which time the water-tank will be filled to the top, and the water will thence commence to rise in the stand-pipe I. As the water begins .to rise in n the stand-pipe a sudden and greatly increased w es-e hydrostatic pressure will thus be exerted on the mass of water, which will hence cause the limit of the expelling action of the steam to be reached, so that the water will now remain supported in the tank by the pressure ofsteam, and the water-column in the stand-pipe will oscillate up and down slightly as the pressure of the steam increases or diminishes, while the steam will continue to flow from the boiler through the pipes N N into the radiator, and there condense and give off itsheat, while the condensation will trickle into the pipe G and return to the boiler, thus maintaining a nearly constant water-level in the boiler, while the water is being constantly distilled offand diffused through the pipes and radiators in the form of live steam under any desired pressure-say, preferably, five to ten poundstothe squareinchand thence returned to theboiler after condensation. The apparatus. thus forms amost efficient steam-heater when operated in this way, and which becomes self-acting and very safe and economical. If

the pressure of steam increases in the boiler and radiator, the water-column will rise correspondingly in the stand-pipe I, and thus tend to check, restrain, or limit the pressure; butif the steam-pressure at any time exceeds the pressure which'it is desired to maintain the safety-valve]? will open and relieve the apparatus of the excess, as will be readily understood. In practice, however, the boiler will be provided with adainp er-regulator, in precisely the same manner as commonly employed in heating boilers, so that the steampressure, when at its maximum, will act to distend the diaphragm of the regulator, raise a weighted lever,'and thus close the damper, while the descent of the lever when the pressure falls will act to open the damper in the usual way, thus tcndingto maintain a uniform steam-pressure in the heating system, as will be understood.

When steam heat is not desired any longer, owing to the mildness of the weather or other cause, the fire in theboiler-furnace maybe checked or allowed to decline, when the steam-pressure will immediately fall and the water will gradually subside from the tank I and return into the radiator and boiler, so as to fill the same, as before, and'thus form a hotwater-circulating apparatus, as first described, and shown in the drawing, which will provide a more gentle heat than the steam, as will be understood. The entire apparatus thus becomes self-acting, so that to operate as a water-heater it is only necessary to shut the ashpit door, and thus check the fire, while to operate as a steam-heater the ash-pit door is opened wide, thus allowing the fire to burn brightly, when the damper-regulator will now automatically control the pressure of steam generated, as will be understood.

The proper level for the normal water-line in the tank H, as shown inv the drawing, when the apparatus is acting as a water-heater, will be indicated by a'distinct mark on the gage- IIO tube J, so that the space above the water-line will'be of the correct capacity to receive all the water expelled from the boiler,'the pipes, and radiators when the action of the apparatus changes to steam-heating; This water-level can be readily found by calculation or "experiment, and when marked on the gage no further attention is necessary, except to occasionally add some water to the tank,so as to make up for any slight losses byevaporation or leakage, and thus keep its normal water-.

line constant, or nearly so.

If desired, the stand-pipe I might be dispensed with and in its place a float-valve substituted, which would act to shut the air-vent,

at the top of the tank when the water rose to the desired limit, thus preventing the further rise of the water, or confining a cushion of air above it, which would be the equivalent of the stand-pipe in offering a sudden increased resistance to the motion of the water, which would prevent any more from being expelled from the boiler, and thus compel the apparatus to then act as a steam-heater, as already described. I much prefer the stand-pipe, however, as it is very simple, inexpensive, and efficient- Hence by this means a simple and efficient heating apparatus is provided whose action can be automatically and economically .adapted or changed for either high or low heating, suited for either mild or severe weather, thereby enabling the heating effect to be readily adjusted to the changes in the weather.

A very convenient means of preventing the overheating of apartments in mild weather is thus afforded by the automatic substitution of hot water for steam, controlled solely by or steam and emitting a distributing. heat therefrom without in any wise departing from the principle and operation of my invention.

Having thus described the construction and operation of my improvement, what I consider as my invention is as follows: i i

1. A heating apparatus adapted to heat.

either by circulating water or steam, and to shift from one condition to the other, as required, consisting of a boiler, in combination with one or more radiators connected with the'top and bottom of the boiler, with a charge of liquid filling the same and forminga watercirculating system, together with an overflow tank or receptacle connected with the base of .the system, and adapted to receive the liquid from the circulating system down to the steaming water-line of the boiler when said water is expelled by generation of steam, and to resist the further expulsion of liquid, whereby the apparatus will act as a steam-heater when the fire is increased and as a water-heater when the fire is decreased, substantially as set forth.

:2. A combined water and steam heating ap paratus, consisting in the combination, with a boiler, A, of a radiator, K, placed above the steaming water-line ot the boiler, and connected with the top and bottom thereof, and

a charge of liquid filling said boiler, radiators, y

and connections, together with the closed tank -H, connected with the base of the boiler orits connections, and acting to receive the liquid expelled from'the radiator and steam'space of the boiler, and to resist the further expulsion ofyliqnid, substantially as and for the purpose herein shown and described.

3. The combination, with a boiler, A, of a radiator, K, connected with the boiler to form a water-circulating system, with the closed tank H, connected with the base of said system, and standpipe I rising from said tan-k, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. The combination, with the boiler A, radiator K, and tank H, connected substantially as set forth, of the air-trap O and valve P, substantiallyas herein shown and described.

FBEDERIO TUDOR. Witnesses:

ROBERT JACKSON, JNO. 'E. GAVIN.

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