296 SOME REMARKS ON HEATING. 



The variety of boilers which ft'om time to time have been 

 submitted to the jDublic, is ahnost beyond enumeration, each of 

 course purporting to be better than its predecessors. In the 

 contriving of these a great point appears always to have been to 

 hit upon some new sliape, the more out-of-the-way the better ; 

 but as the public gets bitten, or better versed in tlie matter, so 

 these contorted kettles vanish in an equal ratio ; their construc- 

 tion being as unphilosophical as the whimsicality of tlieir form, 

 necessarily involves an important item in tlieir manufacture, 

 because the more complicated and intricate the boiler, the more 

 likely it is to get out of order ; such contrivances being by no 

 means calculated to stand the wear and tear of boilers simply 

 designed. It is astonishing, notwithstanding the opinions ad- 

 duced by persons competent to give a clear exposition of the 

 laws of physics bearing upon this subject, how much the public 

 has been charmed and cheated by novelty, and overlooking its 

 own interest, lias greedily swallowed project after project in per- 

 fect disregard of such warnings, and in opposition to the welfare 

 of plants, which, at all times where artificial heat is required, 

 are placed in danger of being much injured if not destroyed by 

 any derangement in the heating power. Instead, therefore, of 

 attending to the intricate schemes of the day, let us examine 

 that form of boiler which has stood the test of time satisfactorily, 

 and tliat mode of applying pipes to convey water round the 

 building, which experience of long standing has declared to be 

 the best. 



One of the earliest boilers iu use was of the arch form, and it 

 would have been wise liad we endeavoured to improve it — if 

 indeed it is capable of improvement. The arched boiler is at 

 once simple in shape, of efficient power, and easy application. 

 No boiler hitlierto contrived so perfectly combines these import- 

 ant points, for while it is possible to get up a boiler with more 

 heating surface, there has invariably arisen some corresponding 

 disadvantage. 



But tiiere is an important matter regarding the efficient 

 action of a boiler, independent of its shape. Badly designed 

 boilers when well set often answer beyond expectation, and even 

 to the astonishment of the contriver, whereas boilers constructed 

 upon the best principles, when improperly set, have failed. In 

 the latter case, the heat is not advantageously applied. For in- 

 structions in setting the ai'ch boiler in the most efficient manner, 

 I am indebted to its inventor,* who has given me permission to 

 publish them. 



* Charles Hood, Esq., F.K.A.S., author of " A Practical Treatise on 

 Warming Buildings by Hot Water, and an Inquiry into the Laws of Kadiant 

 and Conducted Heat." 



