DESCRIPTION OF A NEW BOILER, 



CONSTRUCTED 



WITH A VIEW TO THE SAVING OF FUEL. 



IT is well known that much is gained in the saving of 

 fuel, when an extensive surface is given to that part 

 of the boiler against which the flame strikes; but this ad- 

 vantage is often counterbalanced by great inconveniences. 

 For a boiler of the form usually employed, having the 

 bottom very much extended in proportion to its ca- 

 pacity, must necessarily present a great surface to the at- 

 mosphere, and the loss of heat, occasioned by the cold 

 air coming in contact with this surface, may be more 

 than sufficient to compensate the advantage derived from 

 the extended surface of the bottom. And where the 

 boiler is employed for producing steam, as it is indis- 

 pensably necessary that it should be of a thickness suf- 

 ficient to resist the expansive force of the steam, it is 

 evident that, if the diameter be augmented (with a view 

 to increase the surface of the bottom), a considerable ex- 

 pense is incurred on account of the additional strength 

 that must be given to the sides. 



Having been engaged in the year 1796 in a set of ex- 

 periments in which I employed the steam of boiling 

 water as a vehicle of heat, I had a boiler made for this 

 purpose, on a new construction, which answered well, 

 and even beyond my expectations ; and as this boiler 

 might be used with advantage in many cases, even where 



