

1854.] 



OX A NEW SMOKE-CONSUJIIXG AND FUEL-SAVING FIEE PLACE. 



25 



TORONTO, SEPTEMBER, 1854. 



On a New Smoke-Consuming and Fuel-Saving' Fire-Place, 



With Accessaries Ensurlmj the Health/id Warmiiiff and 

 Ventilation of Houses. 



BY NEIL ARNOTT, JM.D., F.R.S. 



(^Continued from page 6.) 

 DEFECTS. OP HEATING AND VENTILATING. 



Tlie tliird and last of the great evil.'? of the present open fires 

 is, that there are great irregularities and deficiencies in their 

 heating and ventilating actions, which bear so powerfully on the 

 public health. The hood and its damper, as influencing these, 

 may appear perhaps of more importance than as saving the 

 fuel. 



The hood and its damper, by allowing .so small a quantity of 

 air to pass through in comparison with what rises in an open 

 ordinary chimney, lessens in the same degree the cold draught 

 of air towards the fii'e from doors and windows, and which are 

 common causes to theinmatesof winter inflammation and other 

 diseases; and for the same reason, the heat, once radiated from 

 the fire towards the walls of the room, not being again quickly 

 absorbed and carried away by such currents of cold air as are 

 referred to, remains in the room, and soon renders the tem- 

 perature of the whole more equable and safe. 



Still more completely to prevent cold draughts approaching 

 from behind persons sitting around the fire, the fresh air for 

 the room is conveniently admitted, chiefly by a channel which 

 leads directly from the external air under the floor to the heai'th, 

 and there allows the air to spread from under the fender. The 

 fender, exposed to the fire near it, becomes hot; the cold, 

 fresh air then rising under it, takes from it the excess of its 

 heat, and so becomes itself tempered before it spreads in the 

 room. The two evils of exce.ss of heat and excess of cold meet 

 to neutralise each other, and to produce a good result. 



The impOitancc of general ventilation, again, is strikingly 

 exhibited by such occurrences as the following, which was 

 related at the meeting of scientific friends at which I first des- 

 cribed the new five-place, by Jlr. Robert Chambers, of Edin- 

 burgh, as having ha]ipcned not long ago in Gla.sgow. A large 

 old building, which had been formerly a cotton-mill, was fitted 

 up a.s a barrack or dwelling-house for persons of the working 

 classes, and had nearly 500 inmates. Like all foul and crowded 

 luiman dwelling, fevers and kindred diseases soon became pre- 

 valent there. After a time, a medical man wlio was interested 

 obtained permission from the proprietors of the neighbouring 

 chemical works, in which there was a loftj' and very powerful 

 chimney, for the ventilation of the lodging-house. lie then 

 connected with this a main tube from'the lodging-house, which 

 had branches running along all the passages or gidlerics, and 

 from the ceiling of ever^' separate room a small tube communi- 

 cated with these branches. Soon after, to the surprise as well 

 as to the deliiilit of all concerned, .severe diseases entirely dis- 

 appeared from the house and never returned. 



Now, the chimney of the new fire-place, although not very 

 tall, has a ventilating power scarcely inferior to that of the 

 Vol. III., No. 2, September, 1854. 



Glasgow chemical works. The arrangement of the hood and its 

 valve, as above described, by allowing only unmixed and very 

 hot smoke to enter the ehimnej', instead of, as in common 

 chimneys, smoke diluted with man}- times its volume of colder 

 air, increases the draught just as it does the heat of the chiinnej-, 

 and through an opening then made into the chimney from near 

 the top of a room, all the hot, foul air in the room, consisting, 

 perhaps, of the breath of inmates, smell of meals, burnt air from 

 candles, lamps, &c., and which else accumulates and stagnates 

 at first near the top of the room, is immediately forced into the 

 chimney and away. This is strikingly proved by placing near 

 the ventilating opening a light body, as feathers or shreds 

 of paper suspended to a thread, and seeing with what force it 

 is drawn into the opening. In the diagram the opening is 

 represented at the letter v, having the common balanced 

 chimney-valve in it, which, by the wire descending to a screw 

 within reach of the hand, can be left open to any desired 

 degree. 



That valve I recommended many yeare ago, and its use has 

 become pretty general over the country; but, in many cases, 

 what I described as an essential concomitant — -the contraction 

 of the chimney-throat and the space over the fii'e — has been 

 omitted. 



This is what I had to say on the correction of the third of 

 the great evils of the common fire, and I hope it has been shown 

 to be possible to construct an open fire-place, scarcely diftering 

 in appearance from an ordinary English fire-place, with its 

 pleasing associations, but which shall be smokeless, .saving much 

 fuel, and ensuring the healthful warmth and ventilation of our 

 houses. 



There are yet subordinate advantages of the new arrangement 

 of fire-place, among which the following may be noted : — 



1. Chimney-sweeping can scarce be wanted where there is no 

 soot. 



2. Chimney-flues without soot cannot catch fire ; and if fire 

 were in any waj' there introduced, b}' shutting the hood valve 

 it would be certainly extinguished. Thus a large proportion of 

 the conflagrations of buildings may be avoided. 



.3. The huge evil (almost universal) of smoky chimneys can- 

 not occur with this grate. 



4. The occasional sudden rush of .;iir towards a hot wide 

 cliimnc}-, when the door is opened, and which carries readily 

 the light muslin dress of a lady towards the grate and inflames 

 it, cannot happen with this grate. 



5. The danger cf spnrks from exploded pieces of coal thrown 

 on the carpet does noi exist here, for all the coal is first hoatcJ 

 and coked while deep in the coal-box, and covered over. Thus 

 a fire-guard is not wanted on this accoxmt. 



G. The strong draught of a voracious fire in one room, or in 

 the kitchen of a house, cannot disturb and overcome the action 

 of other chinnieys in the house, which is now very common. 



7. The strong draught of any well-constructed fire-place may, 

 by a connecting tube be made to ventilate any distant rooms, 

 staircases, cellars, closets, &c. 



8. The strong and copious draught caused by momentarily 

 opening the hood-valve or damper will prevent the difTusiun of 

 dust when the fire is stirred or disturbed. 



0. The chimney-valve by its powerful ventilating effect, 

 obviates all objections to the use of ga.s-light.s in houses, thus 

 leavin" the beauty, cltanlino.«s, cheapness, and many conve- 

 niences of gas unmarrid. Kx]ilo.sion from accidental escape 



