US1597903A - Garage heater - Google Patents

Description

Aug. 31 1926.

. 1,597,903 0. J. KUENHOLD GARAGE HEATER Filed July 26, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Aug. 31 1926.

o. J. KUENHOLD GARAGE HEATER Filed July 26, 1920 P. Sheets-Shaeiii) OTTO Zl'. KUENHOLD, 0F CLEVELAND, OHIO, ASSIGNOR TO THE SCIENTIFIG HEATER COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

GARAGE HEATER.

Application filed July 26, 1920. Serial No. 399,022.

This invention relates to heaters in which liquid fuel is used.

The objects of my invention are toprovide a self-contained heater that is adapted for use in a garage, an office, or elsewhere as maybe desired, and having a high degree of safety and efficiency as well as durability and convenience in handling and operating. More particularly the invention has for its object to generally improve and simplify the heater burner and the wick thereof. Other objects of my invention will appear from the following detailed description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 is a sectional elevation of one embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical section through the burner, the combination and preheating screens being shown in dotted lines for convenience of illustration; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the burner; Fig. 5 is a detail view showing the wick structure; and Fig. 6 is a vertical section through the wick.

In a general way my device comprises a frame work supporting an upright imperforate drum surrounded by a spaced imperforate casing, with an oil supply tank attached to the outside of the casing and a burner supported within the lower portion of the drum, an oil strainer being provided between the oil supply tank and the burner. The imperforate drum member 1, which 'may be of any suit-able shape, is shown in the drawings as having a rectangular cross section with its upper and lower ends flanged inwardly, and is supported by the bottom frame 2. The imperforate member 3 spaced from and surrounding the drum is also flanged inwardly at its upper and lower ends and is likewise supported by the bottom frame which is provided with angles to receive the flanged ends of these two members. The bottom frame member is of a web formation between the casing and the drum walls and is entirely open throughout its central portion, except for cross arms 4. The upper frame member, which holds the upper ends of the drum and casing in proper spaced relation, is formed as a web between the drum and casing and is otherwise open. Tie bolts 5 secure together the upper and lower frame members and also clamp in position the upper and lower safety screens 6 and 7, respectively, which have their marginal portions formed as flanges and which are seated in the angles of the frame members, as clearly seen in Fig. 1. Screens 6 and 7 prevent the flame from passing through the ends of the heater. A removable grid 8 is sea-ted in anangle of the upper frame. The arms 4 are adapted to support the burner, while the upper grid 8 is adapted to support a receptacle for heating liquid or the like.

The tank 14 which contains the liquid fuel, as for instance, kerosene, is'supported in any suitable manner upon the side wall and near the upper end of the casing as by means of brackets 15. This supply tank is made of small horizontal cross section for the purpose of keeping the center of gravity as near as possible to the central axis of the main body of the heater. The upper end of this tank is provided with a large filling opening surrounded by an inwardly extending flange 17 upon which rests the hinged cover 18. The cover extends fully over the flange 17 when in closed position. An air space 19 is provided between the oil tank and the casing so as to prevent heating of the tank. Oil is fed from the tank through the feed pipe 20, the lower end of which comunicates with the oil strainer.

The oil strainer has a flange 21 detachably secured to a bracket 22 upon the casing and comprises a cast metal reservoir 23 having a cap and an inlet 24 communicating with the feed pipe 20 and controlled by a suitable needle valve (not shown) and an outlet 39 controlled by a valve 40 and from which the liquid drops into a cup 41. The clean oil upon leaving the strainer drips into the drip cup 41 which has communication through pipe 42 with the burner indicated in a general way at 43.

The oil burner rests upon the cross arms 4 at the bottom of the drum. The oil feed pipe 42 communicates with the bottom of the base member 44 which is formed as an annular or endless cup or reservoir. A boss 45 is formed on this member to receive the feed pipe, and, as will be seen from Figz o2, the boss 45, and the boss 45* formed on the cross arm 4 with which the oil pipe has screw threaded enagement, clamp the lower screen member with a flame tight oint. The burner member 44 is provided with cross arms 46 and a central hub 47 formed integral therewith. This hub 47 rests upon the lower screen member 7 and the cross arms 4 and the lock nuts 48 and 49 clamp the burner member to the cross arms. Close fitting apertures are provided in the cross arms of the bottom frame and also in the screen 7 at the middle points thereof to accommodate the parts just described. The lower screen member is thus clamped between the hub and the lower lock nut just referred to with a flame tight joint. A sleeve 5Q snugly fits the aperture in the cross arms 4 and extends through the hub and lock nuts. A lift rod 51 extends through this sleeve and is secured at its upper end to the upper frame structure of the burner.

As will beseen from Fig. "2, the upper end of the burner comprises a cast frame member 52 provided with an annular opening 53 and a central hub '54 in which is secured by means of set screw 55 the lift-rod 51. Annular flanges 56 and 57 carry the inner cylindrical combustion screens 58 and 59 which are coarsely perforated and also the cylindrical air pre-heating screens 60 and 61 which are provided with fine perforations, approximately 400 per square 7 inch. The screens 58 and 59 form a combustion zone. The pre-heating screens are spaced about one-eighth of an inch from the inner combustion screens. The lower ends of the combustion and pre-heati'ng screens are secured together in any suitable manner and are offset so as to rest upon the burner base member, thereby forming flame tight joints. placed by new ones whenever necessary by simply removing the lift rod and in this way remove the burner top. Inner and outer guard cylinders 62 and 63 are suspended from downwardly extended flanges 6e and 65 on the top casting member. These guard cylinders are imperforate and serve to direct the currents of air up through the burner as well as to confine the zone of combustion and to hold in the heat. A'flame spreader 66, which consists of a metal plate and which can have any suitable form, rests upon the upper frame member of the burner by fitting down over the hub portion thereof.

An annular wick 67 comprises two or more layers of woven fibrous material of suitable nature, as for instance, asbestos, secured in contact relation by means of an annular U-shaped wire mesh member 68. The wire mesh is spaced from the lower edge of the asbestos so as to allow free and proper feeding of the oil around the reservoir and up through the strands of the wick when in position in the burner base member. The open mesh permits vaporization of oil at the sides of the wick. The layers of asbestos are so cut that their strands will extend at an angle of substantially 45 degrees to the The screens can be re vertical, as in Fig. 5, for the purpose of preventing ravelling of the strands and also to increase the efficiency of the feeding of the oil up through the wick. As is well known the upper portion of a wick becomes clogged with tarry matter after a time,

which hinders the capillary attraction; but

by using a wick of a plurality of layers, the

contacting faces remain free of such .de-

posit. Furthermore, the joint or joints between the layers aid capillary action.

Having fully described the details of my invention, a rsum will now be given of the manner of operation and the particular advantages flowing therefrom.

By placing the oil tank on the upper part of the casing wall as high as possible above the oil reservoir in the burner, suflicient and after having set the valve for a certain rate of oil feed can depend upon constant and uniform feed, since the strainer prevents the clogging of the needle drip valve. The oil is also fed to the burner with absolute safety since a maximum oil level is established in the burner reservoir by the relative arrangement of the drip cup with respect thereto. The top of the drip cup is somewhat below the top of the oil reservoir in the burner, which makes it impossible for oil to overflow in the burner. This arrangement prevents the lower screen member from being clogged 'or of overflowing oil. catching fire and causing objectionable smoke and soot. Furthermore, with this arrangement I avoid the difiiculty of starting the burner incident to an oversupply of oil in the wick; which condition is decidedly noticeable in a cold room. By limiting the degree of saturation of the wick I avoid the undue flaming and smoking of the'burner upon starting the same.

By using a wick of woven asbestos fabric cut in the manner above described, every strand will conduct oil from the bottom of the reservoir in the burner base to the upper portion of the wick; and I have furthermore accomplished a more even distribution of the oil through the wick, since the oil at any given point at the top thereof is drawn from widely separated points in the lower portion of the oil reservoir. As will be seen from Fig. 2, the upper end of the wick is ap proximately on the level with the lowest apertures in the combustion screens, wh ch arrangement prevents the accumulation of tarry sediment at the upper ends of the strands of the wick. Upon turing oif the oil the last fire burns at the top of the wick and any such sediment is entirely consumed ill due to the sufiicient supply of air at the upper portion of the wick.

By using the asbestos wick as here shown I obviate the necessity of continually trimming the same as with ordinary wicks. Instead of raising and lowering the wick for lighting and extinguishing the burner, as in certain types of heaters, I simply oper ate the needle valve which controls the flow of oil from the strainer through the feed pipe to the burner base. It is to be understood that the wick might be omitted in my device in case gasoline or similar oil is used for starting the burner. The wick here disclosed is more in the nature of a vaporizer, as will be understood. from the above description.

In order to start the burner the oil at the needle valves is turned on, the lift rod is pushed upwardly, thereby raising the combustion and pre-heating screens, and a lighted match is applied to the upper end of the wick. The frame of the burner is then lowered to the position shown in Fig. 2. The oil flows to the upper end of the wick by capillary attraction, at first burning at the top thereof and the heat developed causes vaporization of the liquid fuel car ried by the wick. This vapor rises in the space between the combustion screens and is mixed with air passing inwardly through the pre-heating and combustion screens and burns with a blue flame. At this time the white flame at the edge of the wick discontinues and a blue flame rises higher in the burner accordingly as more vapor is formed by the further radiation of heat within the burner. From experience it has been fotmd that the combustion and pre-heating screens become very highly heated and even red hot at times and the flame rises out through the upper end of the burner. The outer guard cylinder, however,'because of its galvanized inner surface, deflects the heat inwardly and upwardly and thus prevents undue radiation of heat outside of the burner. The inner guard cylinder tends to direct the upward currents of air against the flame spreader so that they will impinge and-become mixed with the flame at the top of the burner, which action transfliirms a white tipped and possibly smoky flame into a blue one without smoke.

The pre-heating screens possess several distinct advantages. It is to be understood that currents of air pass upwardly through the lower screen of the heater and findtheir way through the pre-heating and combustion screens. The pre-heating'screens insure the heating of the outside air as it passes therethrough, thereby attaming perfect combustion by increasing the flame temperature and heating the incoming air to a point above the ignition temperature. This means the elimination of the odor of vapor and this in turn means economy, since it is not necessary to provide a vent pipe or chimney to carry off such objectionable vapors. Furthermore, this arrangement prevents the loss of the heat which would be carried oif through a chimney. These screens assist also in starting the blue flame by pie-heating the air drawn through the combustion screens. The pie-heating screens furthermore serve as a means of safety in preventing back firing; that is, it is impossible for the flame to pass through the pro-heating screens to any vapors which might be on the outside thereof. In this way I avoid the smoke and clogging of the apertures which would be caused by back-firing. Any cold currents of air can not affect the combustion in my burner because of the pro-heating screens which tend to-warm the air as it passes therethrough and which tench also to break the force of any such air currents. Because of the higher degree of vaporization which is made possible by using the pro-heating screens, I am able to use a higher structure of burner, or, in other words, a larger volume of vapor, which means a greater oil consumption and hence a higher degree of heat with a given diameter of burner. Since the pre-heating screens produce more eflicient combustion it is possible to operate my heater with a lower flame than is true of those heretofore us'ed.-

Thus there is realized a wider range of oil feed and a higher degree of oil consumption with a given diameter of burner, which means an increased efliciency in heat genera tion.

It will be understood also that air in ex- 'cess of that required for proper combustion ature of the air which passes out through the v top of the heater, so that it will not exceed a proper degree. Furthermore the current of air which passes up through the heater will tend to dissipate any combustible vapors within the region of theheater.

Thus it will be seen that my heater, as above described, is one which can be readily constructed, is strong and durable, can be easily crated for shipping, is readily accessible for inspection, cleaning and renewal of the parts, requires minimum attention and at the same time operates with a minimum degree of safety and high degree of efliciency. Furthermore my heater can be successfully operated with kerosene or other fuel oils without-danger of explosion and without the production of objectionable soot or odor. Other advantages will readily suggest themselves to those who are familiar with the art to which my invention relates.

It is to be understood that I do not limit myself to a construction embodying the specific details as above described but that modifications can be made 'Within the spirit of invention as above disclosed and as covered by the following claims.

What I claim is 1. In a heater, a liquid fuel burner, comprising an annular fuel reservoir, coarsely perforated spaced shells extending above said reservoir and forming a. combustion space, finely perforated shells spaced from said first named shells and forming inner and outer air pro-heating spaces, andmeans for supplying fuel to said reservoir.

2. In a heater, a liquid fuel burner, comprising an annular fuel reservoir, coarsely perforated spaced shells extending above said reservoir and forming a combustion space, finely perforated shells spaced from said first named shells and forming inner and outer air pre-heating spaces, means for supplying fuel to said reservoir, and guard means for restricting the flow of air to the pre-heating shells.

3. In a heater, a liquid fuel burner, comprising an annular fuel reservoir, coarsely perforated spaced shells extending above said reservoir and forming a combustion space, finely perforated shells spaced from said first named shells and forming inner and outer air pre-heating spaces, means for supplying fuel to said-reservoir, and imperforate shells one located within and the other surrounding said finely perforated shells and adapted to restrict the flow of air thereto.

i. In a heater, a liquid fuel burner, comprising an annular fuel reservoir, coarsely perforated spaced shells extending above said reservoir and forming a combustion and outer air pre-heating spaces, means for supplying fuel to said reservoir, and a flame deflector at the top of the burner.

5. In a heater, a liquid fuel burner, comprising an annular fuel reservoir, coarsely perforated spaced shells extending above said reservoir and forming a combustion space, finely perforated shells spaced from said first named shells and forming inner and outer air pre-heating spaces, means for supplying fuel to said reservoir, and a flame deflector at the top of the burner, said deflector lying over an air channel through said inner imperforate shell for causing the air flowing through said channel .to impinge against the flame at the top of the burner and direct the same outwardly.

6. In a heater, a liquid fuel burner, comprising a fuel reservoir, coarsely perforated spaced walls extending above said reservoir and between them forming a combustion space, finely perforated walls spaced from said first named Walls and formin air pre-heating spaces one on each side 0 said combustion space, and means for supplying fuel to said reservoir.

7. In a heater, a liquid fuel burner, com-\ prising a fuel reservoir, coarsely perforated spaced walls extending above said reservoir and between them forming a combustion space, finely perforated walls spaced from said first named walls and forming air preheating spaces one on each side of said combustion space, means for. supplying fuel to said reservoir, and guard means for restricting the flow of air to the pre-heating walls.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

. OTTO J. KUENHOLD.

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