US1404995A - Vapor heating system - Google Patents

Description

T, G. IVOUAT.

VAPOR HEATING SYSTEM. APPLlc'ATloN FILED SEPT. 2a, 1918.

. ,404,995. n Patented Jan. 3l, 1922* UNITED STA-'E' THOMAS G.

MOUAT. or, BnArnNaH-IJ, onto.

PATENT- j varon HEATING SYSTEM; f

specification of Letters Patent.

` Patented aan.' 31,l 1922.

imputation mea september 28; 1918. Aserial Nof 256,03.' f 1 'i T0 all whom z'zbmay. concern:

ijonly f1 `jinvention my beembodied.

Fig. 2 an' Be it known that I, THOMAS G. lVoUA'r, Va citizen of the United Statesg---residing' at Bratenahl, in the county of Cuyahoga and State o f Ohio,`have invented a certain new and useful- Improvement in Vapor Heating Systems, of which the Vfollowing isa full, clear, and exact description', reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates. to steam heating .systems'andl has special reference tosystenis of .the low-pressure or -'so-called vapor type, andthe objects. of the invention are the provision o'lf means for discharging automatically the air contained in the radiators orl other parts of the system, while sareguarding' against the escape of water from the system, either in the shape of vapor `or liquid,jso as both to dispense with the necessity 4or frequently'iilling the boilerand to .avoid the danger of injuryto things`surrounding.

' In the drawings accompanying' and formingapartV of this application, I lhave illus- ,trated Vmy improved air-escape fitting, both VVby itself and in conjunction with a complete vaporlheating, system gf although it will/be understood that the particular constructions and designs which are hereillustrated'are 'grewl of a large number wherein my 'In these drawings Fig. Jl illustrates a complete. heating embodying my improvement;V .2

`1`-epresents a vertical sectional view through my improved airescape ittin'g; Fig. Sis a right handelevation of the: tting 'shown in d Figsfl and 5 illustrate mocliied constructions andarrangements De'scribingY the p'artsfby reference char- Aio' acters,"`1 represents" the boiler Y'which may be of anyfsuitab'le'type, Q represent's the steammain, and 3 represents the return main. 'I` he steam-main@ leadsY from ay riser, dome,

. header, .or i other.l steam-space f` represented at Ladera as to vreenter 4,'as`, iscustomary in devicesk of thischarand thereturn main 3f is depressedl so 'the' boiler at some l'point 5 vive-lli' below the water line. The radiating devices,`h ere represented byL they radiators 6,-6, a=re connected `in parallel between the mains 2.fand'3. These may extend to-any "weber within! the Capacity .0f the boiler, and' will 'seldom be so e'vv'fas two, although I have -chosen this number forillustra'tion 51 balie-unen@ the vSam@ issueeht f .Of Pur of any'suitable ordesired type,iand my invention is largely independent Yof the mode of connecting these radiators to the mains,

although vit is decidedly 'preferable to con'- vposes of disclosure. 'These radiators may be A- nectf the steam-m`ain 2V to theupper part of the radiators as shown at 7 1?, and to' provide each radiator 'at that` point withl -anad- Vjustable valvef; The return pipes 9:.lea'd from the lower part of the radiators tothe returnmain '3l f I i i' y 'I' Itis very desirable' that the boiler be vprovlded with a delicate pressure-'control ap'- paratusof the type adapted to maintainl at all timesa smallpositivwe pressure. I prefer that type which is illustrated and described' in my prior patent'issued .October 9,1909, No.937,686, which operates by the expulsion o water Afrom a closed,ffi'X'ed-level receptacle l0 into a movablereeeptacle '11,y but anylsuitl able type of regulator canffbe 'employed withinfthewscope of my' invention* or the boilencan betended manually. I- have shown-*the `water 4 level in theboiler atv 12; owing lto Vthe''condensing effect Vof the radiators the-pressure in the return main 3' will ordinarily be less than that inside the boiler and the'water line in thelegl` `will' be slightly' above that in thel boiler as shown at lil.' It will'be understood thatthehori- Zontal connectionlbet'ween the leglS and ythe boiler can be either short or long.

In orderl to permit theescape'or'l ainro'm theapparatus,` I attach tosomef part of the system beyond thel radiating means a` devicev consisting.` essentially of one' or more upright tubes connected attheirlOvverend lby arestricted passage to the return* mair`1,'andV open at their upperV ends'by: a correspondingly Y;

restricted-passage to the atmosphere. One'ofv these can', desiredfbe'connected to or near each radiator, but in the preerr'edembo'diment of my' invention a single ,de .vi'ce is used for the 'whole system, being'cnnected to sonde/part of the return maind The only requirement .is thatfit beflocatefdV `above vthe vvwater level 11i andbe' outside of thedirect heat influence oftheboiler. In' the embodiment 'here' illustrated', the `air escape device consists of tubes 20"-20-*20 having their-A lower ends connected to( a header or manifold Q1', vvhichis connectedbymeans 'of a nipple 22t0'somej'portionof thereturn main 3; 4The' lower fend .offfeachtube'is Closed by plug asthma thichisdfilled aisee-11H0 hole 24 preferably about -gl inch in diameter, or slightly smaller'. The upper end of each tube is suitably closed as by a cap 25 and is also formed with a small escape opening 26 of about the same size as the hole 24.

The number of these tubes will be greater or smaller depending upon thesize of the system. I preferably employ one tube for approximately each three hundred square feet of radiator surface, but do not desire to restrict myselfy thereto. The tubes 2O may vary widely in dimensions, but should be of such a nature as to conduct and radiate heat readily. Common iron pipes are found to be perfectly satisfactory. They must be 0f suflicient size so as t0 be non-capillary and their length must begreater than the height of a columnof water equal to the maximum pressure which exists in the return main 8 under any conditions, which in turn is a function of the pressure forwhich the pressure-regulator is set. I ordinarly employ tubes of an Y interior diameter of from to inch and a length of from 2O to 30 inches; but any one of these dimensions can be halved or doubled without changing the operation, provided only that the height of the tube be always greater than that of the waterpcolumn corresponding to the maximum pressure.

The size of the bores 24 must be suliiciently small to prevent the occurrenceof ya downward flow of liquid simultaneously withan upward flow of gas or vapor; I have expressed this requirement by the term capillary The operation of the device is as follows: Vapor being admitted into any radiator, the same because of its low pressure enters the same in aV gentle manner and mixes very little with the air already therein. The water vapor being lighter than the air, (both because of its higher temperature and its well known specific` gravity at equal temperatures), occupies the top of the radiator and eXpels the air before it into the main 3 whence it travels towards the boiler being impelled both by gravity and by the general drift of the heating fluid. Arriving .at 4the header 2l it escapes through the bores 24 and aperatures 26, the cold walls of the vtubes 20e-20 serving to condense any moisture dissolved in or entrained by the escaping air. This may even continue until the lowervparts of the tubes 20v become filled with condensation as shown, through which the escapingy air bubbles freely until the head of the liquid therein becomes equal `to' the boiler pressure, whereupon escape l ceases temporarily. y

Howevermlnor variations inl the boiler lpress'ure Yare always occuring, and at the .next decrease 1nv such pressure, some or all y .l vvof the condensed liquid will gravitate into the' header 21"/and so be 'i returned tothe boiler. I have shown the nipplel^22 as eccentrically `inserted in the header lso as to permit the same to be self clearing.

In case the return main 3 becomesI filled Y through the bores 24, thus preventing the formation of any vacuumY in the` mains which would tend to modify thev operation of the boiler. The Adevice can be located anywhere in the entire system whence'it is desired to remove the air, provided only that it be not so close to the boiler, smoke flue, or to some radiator' as to prevent the condensation action here described; and several devices can be employed at different points in a single system, although the particular arrangement herein shownis the preferable one. y

The header can in'some cases be dispensed with, the tubes being located directly upon the return main as shown in Figs. y4`and V5.

Andthe tubes need not be vertical butmay Y be inclined as shown in Fig. 5,y provided only that they possess suiiicient rise to afford the requisite head bf liquid to balance the lworking pressure. Also my invention is not restricted to the* use of a pressure regulating device of the type shown herein but any suitable expedient can be employed, while many other modifications will occur to those skilled in the art and are to be esteemed as `covered in and by the claims hereto annexed.

Having thus describedV my invention, what I claim is i l. An air escapedevice forgheatingsystems employing the vapor of waterand having steam and return mains, comprising an elongated tube of conducting material supported with one end higher than the other, the lower end of said tube communicating with said return main, said tube being located therein above the Water vlevel therein such communication being effected by means of a capillary passage and the other. end communicating with the outer air by means of a restricted passage, the difference in level between said passages being not less than the height of a column of watervequivalentto the maximum pressure in the system adjacent thereto.v Y l f 2. The combination with a he'ating 'sysA tem employing the vapor of water' and hav? ing steamand return mains, of an elongated tube of conducting material supported in a ygenerally upright position outside of the *direct influence of said system, the upper end of said. tube being in communication with the' atmosphere and the lower end communicating with the return main oi the system above the water level therein by means of a capillary bore, the difference in level between the ends of said tube being at least as great as the height of a column of water equivalent to the maximum pressure in the system adjacent thereto, said tube being located entirely above the Water level. and Iadapted to discharge water by gravity into said return main.

3. lAn air escape device for yheating systems employing the vapor' of water and having steam` and return mains, comprising a tube of heat-conducting material having at one end a capillary bore and at the other end a restricted outlet, the body of said tube being suiciently larger than said bore sopas to be non-capillary, and means for attaching saidvtube to the system in substantially upright position with said capillary bore at its lower end and above the water level in the system, the length of said tube being not less than the height of aV column of water equivalent to the maximum pressure in said system at the point to which said device is attached.

4. An air esc'ape'device forheating systems employing the vapor of water, comprising a condensing chamber located wholly above the water level and having itslower part communicating with the interior of said system by a capillary bore and having its upper part communicating with the atmosphere at a point at least as high above said bore as the height of a column of waterA equivalent to the maximum pressure in theV system at the point to which said device is attached.

5; An air escape device for heating sys tems comprising a header, means for attaching4 said header to a return main and a plu.- p

rality of uprightY metal pipes carried by said header, each pipe communicating with said header by a capillary bore.

6. Infa device of thecharacter described, they combination with a return pipe of a f steam heating system, of an upright metal y :tube connected at its lower end toy saidA re-l turn pipe above the water level of the vsystem and communicating therewith by way of a narrow bore, the diameter of said bore Y.

being materially less thanthat of said tube and also less than the length of the bore,

saidI tube being located entirely above the Water level' of the system and adapted to discharge its water of condensation therein by gravity- 1 Q ,4

7 An air escape fitting for steam heating systems comprising, lin combination, a chambered part adapted to communicate freely with the interior of the system, and .one or more upright tubes carried by said part and communicating with the atmosphere at their upper ends, thelength yof a tube being not less than the height of a column of water equivalent tothe maximum pressure in thev system, and each tube communicating with the chamber by means of a. narrow boreV whose diameter is'less than its length and also less than the diameter of the tube into which it opens.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afx myr A signature. n l c Y THOMAS Gr. 'MOUA'I

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