A NOVEL INVENTION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 10418, 22 July 1895, Page 4

A NOVEL INVENTION.

'■'. Ona.'of the furnaces"at Messrs A. and T. Burt's foundry has been fitted with,a patent coal economises and smoke consumer, the invention of Mr Davidson, engineer, which works well and effectively, and will no doubt, as its merits become known, be largely used. The pith of the invention consists, in Mr Davidson having devised a method of supplying a furnace with just as much oxygen of air" and hydrogen of sierra V unite /with the volatile hydro-, cartons and other. products of combustionarising trom bituminous and other coals as is necessary to form a mixture of carburetted hydrogen, which forms a gas and readily ignites at a temperature of about 800deg. and bur'nswith a bright, clear flame, creating perfect combustion. In order;to produce the desired effect, Mr Davidson* takes dry steam from the boiler and conducts it through a small pipe'down snd across the furnace front arid over the fire doors. This branches ofiT'into two'small steam jets which are'placed afc each furnace door. These jrtj serve to draw the air upwards through pip-Mi of larger dimensions open at the lower ends into an air chamber in a metal globe at the top of each Of the large pipes or cylinders, a,ud a vacuum being created, the commingled air and steam is forced through other pipes into the furnace-and over the.surface ot fche fuel on a . lice converging towards the centre of the furnace. Mr Davidson very reasonably says he does Uot claim to be the first to introduce steam into a furnace to aid combustion, but he dots claim to have discovered the correct combinations of-i-lt fche gaseous aud aeriform substances used, to use less than any who have preceded him, and to obtain by his new and peculiar method of applying the same, more perfect combustion and batter results than have ever been obtained before. Although only a short time has el _,psed since Mr Davidson's invention was affixed to Messrs Burt's boiler, we understand Ja . substantial saving of the co3fc of fuel has resulted; while the smoke-burning capabilities- of the invention will, be appa--rent to any person visiting Messrs Burt's foundry in Cumberland street,' as, on the coal. . saver and; ' smoke - consumer being started, the snioke is positively killed—or, in other words, isconverted into gas and consumed before going into the boiler flues. .Another gre-t:adyautf*ge attending the adoption of this apparatus is that, instead of burning expensive coal, the commonest dross will give "good results. For gold 'dredges, where coal is found to bs a most expensive item, the use of this invention will show in the use of brown coal a saving of 10 to 12 pe* cent., and wibhbituminous coal from 20 to 25 per cent.