THE PERKINS FAMILY

A short history about FOUR GENERATIONS OF ENGINEERS  the members of the Family references from 1840 a list of their Patents copies of their Civil Engineers certificates the PERKINS HPHW heating System Churches still heated by the Perkins System Perkins heating systems in South Wales Perkins heating systems in Ireland Kew Architectural Conservatory Operating & Maintenance Instructions

 

 

THE PERKINS FAMILY

FOUR GENERATIONS OF ENGINEERS

This is a short article about the Perkins family.  Four generations of the family, all engineers, inventors, patentees and authors which spanned over 170 years. Each family member was directly involved with heating and ventilating of buildings. They also all carried out pioneering research into the production of artificial cold.

Portrait of Hannah Perkins with her grandaughter Maria Louisa Bacon painted by the artist Chester Harding

Portrait of Jacob aged about 58 painted by the artist Chester Harding c.1824

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The list of his Patents is impressive in their engineering diversity. Number   4400       11th October 1819    Machinery and implements applicable  to ornamental turning and engraving. Number   4470       3rd June 1820            Construction of fixed and portable pumps Number   3732     10th December 1822    Steam engines Number   4792       17th May 1823           Heating, boiling or evaporating by the steam of fluids in pans, boilers or other vessels Number   4800        5th June 1823           Steam engines Number   4870    20th November 1823   Construction of the furnace of steam boilers Number   4952      15th May 1824           Throwing shells and other  projectiles Number   4998      9th August 1824         Propelling vessels Number   5237     11th August  1825       Construction of bedsteads,  sofas and other similar articles Number   5477     22nd March  1827       Construction of steam engines Number  5806     2nd July  1829              Machinery for propelling steam engines Number  6128     2nd July   1831             Generating steam Number  6154    27th August  1831        Generating steam; applicable to evaporating and boiling fluids for certain purposes Number  6275     9th June  1832             Blowing and exhausting air; applicable to various purposes Number  6336   20th November 1832     Preserving copper in certain cases from the oxidation caused by heat Number  6662   14th August   1834         Apparatus and means for producing ice, cooling fluids Number  7059   12th April    1836           Steam engines;  generating steam; evaporating and boiling fluids for certain purposes Number  7114    13th June  1836             Apparatus for cooking Number  7242      3rd December 1836     Steam engines; furnaces; and boilers, partly applicable to other purposes

For more information about Jacob Perkins
his ancestors and descendants visit internet website
www.bphs.net

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A ngier March Perkins  (1799 - 1881) engineer, inventor, author and patentee, was named after his uncle Angier March and the second surviving son of Jacob and Hannah Greenleaf. Born in Newburyport, Massachusetts USA on the 21st August 1799. He sailed for England and arrived in December 1821, and thereafter for some time was associated with his father in perfecting his method of engraving bank-notes, and also of using steam under very high pressure. Following the subject of high pressure steam he developed and patented a method of warming buildings by means of circulating hot water through small diameter pipes in a sealed system. The first building to be heated by this type of system was in the horticultural hot-houses at the house of John Horsley Palmer (the then governor of the Bank of England) in Fulham London in 1832. This method of heating came into extensive use and was the foundation of a large business carried out first in Harpur Street, which then moved into Francis Street and finally into Seaford Street, Grays End Road. He inherited much of his father’s talents for inventions and like his father before him he took out many patents between the years 1831 and 1864. BP 6146, 8311 and 8804 all relate to the high pressure hot water method of heating and subsequent improvements.  His patent in 1843 for the manufacture of and melting of iron by the use of superheated steam was remarkable insomuch as it evidently contained in it the ideas of the subsequent discoveries relating to the conversion of iron into steel, and the elimination of phosphorus and sulphur from the iron. His attention to detail combined with his inventive powers rendered a great service to the mechanical world. Few of his inventions were the subject of patents, but the left and right hand thread screwed joint  which was patented by him, has to be admitted to have been essential in its use for hydraulic work. As a method of joining two pipes together and forming a sealed joint capable of bearing the same pressure as the pipe itself shows it to be both simple and effective. In later years the system of circulating water in a sealed system, heated up to 2000 psi pressure was applied to the heating of baker’s ovens. This method was extensively adopted, as it possessed the advantage of being easily regulated.  It was patented in 1851 BP 13509 and was later much improved. He was elected  the 587th member as an  Associate of the Institution of Civil Engineers on the 5th May 1840. He married Julia Georgiana Brown in 1831 and they had four children, Angier Greenleaf, Loftus, an unknown daughter and Louisa Jane. In the census of 1881 he is recorded as living in Hampstead London with his son Loftus and his wife Emily, and their two children Loftus Patton jnr. and Ludlow Patton. Angier March died on the 22nd April 1881 in Hampstead London at the age of 81 and is buried in Kensal Green Cemetery London.

The list of his Patents Number  6146    30th July 1831             Apparatus for heating air in                                                                                               buildings Number   8311   16th December 1839    Apparatus for transmitting heat by circulating water Number   8804   21st January   1841     Apparatus for heating by the circulation of hot water; construction of pipes for such and other purposes Number  9664    16th March     1843    Manufacture and melting of  iron; applicable for evaporating fluids, and heating metals Number  10778     21st July 1845          Apparatus for heating air in buildings Number  13492    5th February   1851   Railway axles and boxes Number  13509   11th February    1851  Constructing and heating ovens. Number   2755     6th December  1855  Apparatus for Generating Steam Number   2757    6th  December  1855   Warming buildings and                                                                                                              apartments  by hot water Number    954   29th April   1858           High Pressure Steam Engines Number  2124    21st September 1858   Surface Condensors Number  2017     21st August  1860     Apparatus for distilling sea &                                                                                                            other  water Number     342   9th February   1862    Warming Rooms and Buildings Number 2253   15th September 1864  Constructing ovens and applying                                                                                      wrought iron tubular apparatus for circulating hot water to heat the same

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L oftus Perkins  (1834 - 1891) engineer, author, inventor and patentee was born on the 8th  May 1834 in Great Corham Street,  Russell Square, London. At a very early age he entered his fathers manufactory and during 1853 – 1854 he practised on his own account as an engineer in New York.  Returning to England he remained with his father for 8 years until 1862 working on the steam gun and other inventions. From 1862 until 1866 he was in business on his own in Hamburg and Berlin designing and installing many systems for warming buildings in various parts of the continent. Returning to England in 1866 he entered into partnership with his father and worked on the design and construction of steam engines, boilers and especially in developing the use of high pressure steam as applied to steam engines. The partnership continued until his father’s death in 1881. He inherited much of the inventive capacity of his father and grandfather, and from 1859 onwards took out a very large number of patents. The main subjects to which he directed his activities were the use of high pressure steam as a motive power, and the production of artificial cold. A description of Loftus written by his assistant Charles J Hayward who worked with him on many of his experiments says, "He was a man with brown eyes, well proportioned in build and a great chemist and engineer. He had a large moustache and Dundreary whiskers, who always wore a double-breasted blue suit, and in the Works, a peaked cap with silk oak leaves around. In the winter he used to wear a Canadian fur cap. He came into the Works one Sunday morning dressed in white flannels with a white peaked yachting cap. He smoked 13 ounces of tobacco a week - he always carried a pouch with 4 ounces of tobacco in it. His type of tobacco was "Branksome's Light Virginia". In conjunction with his friend Dr Williamson he took out three patents in 1859 and 1860 for surface condensers, steam engines and boilers. In one of which he says “Our chief object is to employ steam of very high pressure; as for example of 500 psi. or more or less and to expand this steam several times, and then condense it so as to obtain a great amount of power from a small quantity of steam”. He devoted many years of his life to this subject. His labours in this subject are shown in two papers read before the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1861 and 1877 and published in the “Proceedings” for those years.  Among his many inventions is his patent in 1867 for water meters, and one in 1868 for wrought iron metal wheels, the spokes of which consisted of hollow bars or tubes screwed into the nave or tyre. A large number of gun carriage wheels were constructed using this principle for the Government, and though they stood the most severest of tests nothing more was heard of this invention. Another of his inventions described in 1891 in Fletcher's book "Steam Engines on Common Roads" says,   "it was a novel form of road locomotive made in 1871 by Messrs Perkins and Son, Seaford Street, Regent Square London, which was shown at work in the grounds of the International Exhibition at South Kensington in June 1873. The engine was of the compound type, the diameter of the high pressure cylinder being 1 3/4 ins. the diameter of the low pressure cylinder 3 1/2 ins, and both cylinderswere 4 1/2 stroke. The engine was worked at 450 psi. steam pressure and at the time of the exhibition it ran at a speed of 1000 rpm, and had been often at work during the period of two and half years, and was declared to be in as good condition as when new. The design of the locomotive was somewhat similar to Cugnot's made as far back as 1770 ............ The engine was mounted upon three wheels , a single broad wheel 2 feet diameter at the front acting as the driving and steering wheel , fitted with a rubber tyre , and two trailing wheels behind. The engine, boiler and all the machinery was placed on a frame encircling this single driving wheel and turned with this wheel when the steering gear was actuated. One important feature of the arrangement was that the engine always pulled in the direction in which it was steered and all the weight so placed was utilized for tractive purposes. The boiler was constructed of thick wrought iron tubes with welded ends, and the consumption of coal was only 2 lb per indicated horse power per hour. No exhaust blast was required in the chimney. The engine drew behind it a carriage on which an atmospheric surface condensor was placed, composed of a large number of small tubes into which the exhaust steam was turned. The engine was practically noiseless, and it emitted no smoke. It moved at the rate of eight miles per hour, and readily passed over rough places, was steered with facility, and quickly turned about in any direction.This road locomotive was for sometime used by the Yorkshire Engine Company, Meadow Hall Works Sheffield. In October 1871 the engine drew a wagon load of passengers weighing 33 cwt from St Albans to London 21 miles at seven miles per hour running time, there being numerous stops for vehicles to pass. The india rubber tyre on the driving wheel was run 1500 miles without any armour on, and we are informed that no wear was apparent as the engine only weighed 3 1/2 tons. A special chain armour invented by Loftus Perkins was prepared and used occasionally. This is the smallest road locomotive we have noticed of the compound type, and this high pressure and high speed miniature engine was said to develop 20 indicated horse power".    Loftus Perkins inventions have frequently been described in The Engineer.  It is perhaps appropriate  to refer to one described in the January 2nd 1880 issue of The Engineer. With a view to obtaining greater economy, the Tyne General Ferry Company in 1879 fitted one of its old boats – “The Lady Jane” – with the Perkins steam engine and renamed her the “Loftus Perkins” in honour of the designer.  The Loftus Perkins a very remarkable Tyne ferry boat was worked with compound engines on his system with boilers tested to 200 psi. His yacht Anthracite, constructed in 1880 was fitted with engines working with steam at a pressure of 500 psi. and it is probably the smallest ship of that time ever to have crossed the Atlantic  steaming the entire distance. The Perkins engine company published a number of reports upon her performance, drawn up respectively by Sir Frederick Bramwell, by a committee of officers of the U.S. Navy and by Sir Frederick Bramwell and Mr William Rich conjointly. He continued with the experiments which had occupied the attentions of his father and grandfather which was the production of artificial cold which resulted in the “Arktos”  a cold chamber suitable for preserving meat and other items of food. It was based on the separation of ammonia gas from the water in which it is dissolved, the liquefaction of the gas, and the subsequent revapourisation of the ammonia, with the reabsorption of the gas by the water. This was his last great work, and his unremitting attention to it inevitably caused a breakdown in his health. He became a Member of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers in 1861 followed by Membership of the Institution of Civil Engineers in 1881. Loftus died on 27th April 1891 at his home in 148 Abbey Road Kilburn London at the relatively young age of 57. Compared with both his father (82) and grandfather (83), maybe, just maybe, his addiction to tobacco and his heavy pipe smoking compounded by the stress of his great work load contributed to his early death. His Will was proved on the 28th May 1891 in the sum of £1829. A very modest sum when considered against the inventions, Patents and other business interests he achieved during his working lifetime. He was survived by his wife Emily and  their two sons Loftus Patton and Ludlow Patton. Both of his sons worked in their fathers business which by then had been made a limited company. It would appear that after the death of their father and a lapse of several years,  some form of discord occured between the company and the two brothers, as they both left the firm to establish their own careers.

He was a prolific inventor and made 30 Patent applications between the years 1859 and 1879

The List of his Patents               Number  1940  25th August 1859      Mills               Number 2208 29th September 1859   Steam Boilers                  Number  2686  28th November  1859  Machinery for Propelling                                                                                                                Vessels                  Number  2285  20th September  1860 Surface Condensors                  Number 2392  3rd October  1860        Steam engines                  Number  636  7th March  1865        Apparatus for heating and cooling                                                                             atmospheric air other aeriform                                                                                 bodies and for heating ovens                                                                                     and for heating buildings                  Number  3050 29th October 1866   Improvements for actuating the                                                                                valves of water meters and                                                                              other meters, and of engines for                                                                                obtaining motive power                  Number 1379  27th April  1868      Manufacture of wrought metal                                                                                                            wheels                  Number  1381 27th April  1868        Tubular Steam boilers                  Number  2436  8th September 1870  Locking gear of the fore                                                                                             carriage of Wheeled vehicles                  Number 1508  24th May  1870      Connections for fire engine hoses                                                                                      and other pipes                  Number 1379 23rd May 1871          Wheels for traction engines                  Number  1822 12th July  1871         Steam Engines                  Number  2818  21st October 1871   Locomotive  and traction engines                  Number  2819 21st October  1871   Marine and stationary engines                  Number  3845  18th December 1872  Locomotive engines                  Number 2616  3rd September 1872  Packing rings for pistons                                 Number  224  20th January 1874  Steam-engines etc.                  Number  507  6th February 1877  Steam-engines and valves                  Number  2301 8th June 1878     Propellors for ships                  Number 5243  23rd December  1879 Wearing surfaces of steam                                                                                                               and other engines

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L oftus Patton Perkins (1868 - 1940) the eldest son of Loftus was born in Kilburn London in 1868 and in his younger years followed the engineering path of his father working in his business. In the 1901 census Loftus then aged 33 years is recorded living with his wife Henrietta in Willesden London, and giving his occupation as Mechanical Engineer. By the time of the 1911 census their only child had died and he still gave his occupation as Mechanical Engineer. Loftus soon showed that he possessed another talent. In 1883 he prepared an advertisement extoling his ability as an artist who would undertake commissions for clients. Watercolour paintings have recently come to light which span the years 1907 to 1933. He became an accomplished artist as the watercolours shown below beautifully illustrate. The watercolours titled Thames Barges painted in 1926 and London Bridge painted in 1933, opens up a new line of research for the Group to determine how well he was known as an artist in that time period, and to establish also just how many other paintings by him still exist. Also to determine whether he no longer traded as a Mechanical Engineer. A selection of 9 postcards painted by Loftus between 1907 and 1934 has been acquired by the Group which shows his continuing dedication to watercolours.  The theme for all these postcard paintings are maritime settings, which must have been his greatest interest. Four of these paintings are shown below. Loftus Patton died in 1940 in London, aged 72 years. Copy of the watercolour painting kindly provided by James Buttram. Copy of the watercolour painting kindly provided by Mike Alderson. Research continues by the Heritage Group to discover more historical facts about his life, employment, career and family.

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L udlow Patton Perkins (1873 - 1928) the second and youngest son of Loftus was born in Kilburn London in 1873 and followed the engineering path of his father working in his business, which by the time of the death of his father had become a limited company. In the 1901 census Ludlow then aged 28 years is recorded as living at 21 Herbert Street, Moss Side, Manchester, giving his occupation as Mechanical Engineer. Coincidentally, residing at the same address is George F Buck. who was probably related to the William Edward Buck with whom Ludlow made the Patent application. He moved to Lancaster in the year 1902 having previously lived in Manchester where he was for a number of years associated with Hy Wallmark and Co Ltd and also with Joseph Adamson and Son, of Hyde in Cheshire, with whom he was interested in the high pressure stopped-end tube boiler. His speciality was steam at very high pressures and on this subject he was very authoritative. He was a director of the Lune Valley Engineering Company Ltd of Lancaster and later practised as a Consulting Engineer, devoting his time and energies to the development of refrigerating apparatus. In conjunction with William Edward Buck, Engineers of Carisbrooke,  Battershall, Worcestershire they applied for and were granted British Patent No. 22272 dated 1892 titled  "Improvements  in devices for the diffusion of transference of heat”  This Patent gave improvements to the basic Perkins tube which had previously been the subject of earlier patents taken out by his grandfather Angier M Perkins and great-grandfather Jacob Perkins dealing with hermetic single phase and two phase heating tubes. In 1907 he married and from the 1911 census can be found still living in Lancaster giving his occupation as Civil Engineer. They had no children. He died on 18th October 1928 at Lansdowne House, Regent Street, Lancaster at the early age of 56 years.

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The Perkins HPHW Heating System

This new development in the heating of buildings quickly found favour with businesses and the aristocracy. During the 1830’s many of these systems, which had then become known as “The Perkins System”, had been installed in buildings throughout the country. The Lists of Contracts ranged from Public Buildings, Private Mansions, Churches, and Manufactories to Hothouses, Greenhouses and Conservatories, in towns and cities as far apart as the Isle of Wight to Edinburgh and Ireland.       

The system is simple in its design and is formed as an endless loop of pipe, part of which is coiled around inside a brickwork furnace. The pipework is hydraulic quality tubing with  the system closed and sealed. Sealing the system allowed it to operate at working pressures of up to 300 pounds per square inch and temperatures as high as 300°F.

Isometric layout of  2- circuit pipework distribution system

The system used gravity as the means of circulating the hot water around the pipework. The length of each circuit was therefore limited by the small diameter pipe size and needed to be kept to a maximum of 500 feet. Up to 15 per cent of this circuit was coiled inside the brickwork furnace.  Should this length of pipework not be sufficient for the heating of the building then the endless loop was made longer in multiples of 500 feet with each circuit length returning to the brickwork furnace.

Each sealed circuit needed to be fitted with an expansion tube which had to be fitted at the top (the highest point) of the system. These closed expansion vessels allowed the heated water to expand into the vessel from the bottom and compress the air inside the vessel, thus exerting an artificial pressure on the water. Most systems were initially filled from the bottom of the pipework circuit until the top-up fill point was reached. 

The tubing used is of small size approx. 1" outside diameter with the lengths of tubing joined together with right and left hand threaded pipe sockets. The sockets were of unusual design in that no jointing material was needed. The sockets used a metal to metal joint with one end of the threaded tube being chamfered. This was then pulled tight up to the flat faced end of the other length of tube.

In 1839 A M Perkins wrote to various people, companies etc who had had the Perkins system installed during the 1830's inviting a testimonial.  Many people responded and these two are a sample of their replies. Letter from Mr T Bevington of King William Street London. 6th August 1839. "The warm water apparatus you put up for me in January 1835 which warms my countryhouse and seven warehouses has completed the object to my entire satisfaction, being both economical in fuel and cleanly in the use" Letter from Messrs Smee & Son Wholesale Cabinet Makers & Upholsterers. 23rd September 1839 "The Patent hot water apparatus for warming our workshops and ware rooms and for heating our feather store, have been quite successful during the period we have used it, namely five years. We think it more than probable had we the same business to do again, that we should still adopt the same method; and we shall with pleasure show anyone the apparatus if it will be of service to you. Our apparatus is a quarter of a mile on extent"

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THE TIMES NEWSPAPER ARTICLE

The Perkins high pressure high temperature (HPHW) hot water heating system did however have some problems early in its life. These are quite forcibly described in a letter written to the editor of THE TIMES newspaper which appeared on Saturday 20^th November 1841.  The letterwriter supplies a list of buildings which details a number of them that had experienced fires supposedly caused by direct contact with the very high surface temperatures of the pipes.

Wilson.Casey and Phillips,   Spitalfields      - Warehouse set on fire by pipes becoming red hot

Sir Hussey Vivian. Glynn House                                           -ditto-

Mr Barbour Manchester                                                          -ditto-

Craft and Steel,  Manchester       Manufactory destroyed by fire in consequence of bursting of the apparatus and the fire being scattered; the damage estimated at £20,000

Museum of Natural History  Manchester.       Set on fire in several places by the pipes becoming overheated.

Birch chapel Manchester             matting and cushions burnt by pipes becoming too hot

Unitarian Chapel  Manchester                                -ditto-

Williams, Deacon & Co           pipes set fire to joist of building; speedily extinguished without damage.

Lothbury Church                       Expansion pipe burst and scolded the charity children.

Lady Cockerill   Seinscote             apparatus burst twice during the night and caused great alarm     and some damage.

Sir T Cullum    Bury                     apparatus burst twice and destroyed much glass in the house.

Mr Ingliss  Dulwich                        burst in furnace with damage.

Camberell Workhouse                      burst with much damage.

Timothy Smith & Co  Birmingham                            -ditto-

Horticultural Gardens Chiswick                     -ditto-

Mr Hemming  Dulwich                                                -ditto-

Sir J Lubbock        Mitcham Grove                             -ditto-

Guardian Fire Office                                                      -ditto-

Mr Debouverie    Englefield                                          -ditto-

Lord Beresford   Bedgebury                                           -ditto-

Inner Temple Hall                                                             -ditto

Duke of Wellington   Strathfieldsays                                -ditto-

Marlborough House                                                           -ditto-

Why these systems went out of fashion most likely is to have been the increasing popularity of low pressure hot water heating systems which had greater flexibility to suit the more complex buildings of the 20th century. The discovery of the reason for the likely cause of its fall from grace still remains a matter of interest to the author.  Another possible reason could be, that insurance companies were increasing their premiums for insuring this type of system due to the incidence of fires caused, or maybe they were even refusing to provide cover.

It states in the letter to The Times  “It is a subject which alike concerns the fire insurance companies as well as individuals; and it is a well known fact, that since the commencement of the present year, in consequence of the fires which occurred in Manchester, as already stated, many insurance companies both in London and in the country have refused to insure at any premium whatever buildings heated by some of the plans which have been here described”

Looking at the list of buildings damaged, one of the buildings mentioned was the Guardian Fire Office, and this could not have been good news for the Perkins company.  However, these problems must have been overcome as Perkins’s systems were still being installed into the 1890’s and beyond.

However, Angier March Perkins responds to the letter writer's allegations giving a robust defence of his invention of the High Pressure heating system.

To read the letters and responding replies visit webpage  The Times Newspaper

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Mr Perkins has employed his mode of heating in the Bank Of England, in his own manufactory in Fleet street, in some other houses and manufactories in London, in the Elephant House at the Zoological Gardens in the Regents Park, a range of Hothouses at Mr Palmers, Parsons Green Fulham.
We have seen the apparatus at work both in the Zoological Gardens and at Mr Palmer’s and we are so highly satisfied with the plan that we shall have our hothouses and Greenhouses heated by it before this magazine sees the light.
It was our intention to employ Witty’s Smoke Consuming Furnace to heat water which we intended to circulate by the syphon mode; but Perkins method will not cost above a third of the expense which this would have led us into and what is an object in all small green-houses it occupies very little room.
Perkins fireplace is also calculated to consume the greater part of the smoke; not perhaps so completely as Witty’s but still much more so than by any other mode, hitherto brought into notice which can be applied upon a small scale. To Gentlemen residing in the country, Perkins mode of heating presents an additional advantage in point of economy; and this is, that the pipes being small and consequently light (in comparison with the cast-iron pipes 4 ins or 6 ins diameter usually employed), can be sent to any distance by coach; while the mode of joining them being entirely mechanical, they may be put together by any person who can use a screw-wrench.

KEW ARCHITECTURAL CONSERVATORY

The Heritage Group have been very fortunate to be given an old Perkins system maintenance instructions information card which was originally displayed in the furnace room of a building. These instructions have been prepared by the firm Alger's of Newport who were responsible for the installation and refurbishment of many Perkins HPHW heating systems.  The transcription of the maintenance instructions is as follows.

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR  THE  MANAGEMENT  OF  R. ALGER  &  SONS’

IMPROVED HOT WATER HEATING APPARATUS

BEFORE LIGHTING THE FIRE DAILY.
          1,     Thoroughly clean out the fire box and flues of furnace and the ash pit.
 
        NOTE. – It is impossible to obtain the heat with a dirty fire-box; a dirty ash pit may cause the fire bare and plates to burn out in a few hours.

        2.   Fill apparatus thus:-  remove cap from air pipe on expansion tube first, then cap from filling tube  ( NB – Caps must not be changed); add water as required, replace cap on filling pipe then on air pipe. It will suffice if this is done weekly : Note - the apparatus must be thoroughly cold when this is done.  If there is more than one expansion, all caps all caps must be taken off before filling in water and the water must always be allowed to settle.

          3.    If apparatus is fitted with tank and valve, valve must always be covered with water. A line is painted on tank below which level the water must not fall when apparatus is cold. It would be well for attendants to examine valve every 2 or 3 weeks to make quite sure that both top and bottom valves are working freely and to lubricate valves with Vaseline. Note - the apparatus must be cold when this is done.

TO MAINTAIN TEMPERATURE 
           1.    Add fuel as required

           2.    Keep the bars free from clinker.  Keep the ash-pit thoroughly clean.

         3.    Keep  a window, door or ventilator leading to the furnace room always open, so that the air can freely get to the fire.

GENERAL INSTRUCTIONS  
           1.    Never touch the caps on air pipe and filling pipe while the apparatus is at work.
          2.   If the fire is to be maintained during the night, nearly close the damper and the ash pit door and charge the furnace with small broken coke.
        3.    If there is a tendency to down draught when lighting the fire, warm the flue by burning paper or shavings close to the nearest cleaning door.
         4.    During FROSTY weather the fire must be kept in DAY and NIGHT.  If FROST  has occurred since the fire was last lighted it must not be lit again until you have made quite sure that neither the boiler nor pipes are frozen otherwise it might cause an explosion.
         5.    A knocking noise in the pipes while heating or cooling indicates the presence of air, and the necessity of the apparatus being re-charged, in such case apply at once to the manufacturers. Noise in the pipes is sometimes caused by having a very small bright fire in furnace and then filling up with new fuel. To stop this only add a little new fuel at a time until it burns brightly, afterwards fill up. It is also caused by having a very fierce draught when the fire is burning strongly. To prevent this reduce draught by partly closing damper and ash pit door. Any defect in the furnace should be repaired immediately.
           6.    Any leak must be immediately stopped.
          7.   In the event of any repairs or alterations being required, no one unaccustomed to this form of apparatus should be called and if tampered with by inexperienced  men damage can be easily done, and useless expense thereby incurred.
         8.   These systems should receive attention and circulations re-charged hydraulically every two or three seasons.

Apply direct to the Manufacturers

R  ALGER & SONS,  LTD
160  Dock Street   NEWPORT

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A second Operating & Maintenance Instruction Leaflet was given to the Heritage Group which interestingly covers what Perkins called their Medium Pressure Heating System. This uses a cold water storage cistern as the fill and expansion device. Two expansion relief valves are fitted within the cistern.

DIRECTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT
OF
PERKIN’S PATENT HOT-WATER HEATING APPARATUS  ERECTED BY

CHARLES RITCHIE, CE.  16 Young Street Edinburgh
and Aldine Works Fountainbridge

SOLE AGENT IN SCOTLAND

 

SUPPLY OF WATER

1.    It is most important to attend to the supply of water, as the working of the apparatus depends on it. The expansion cistern (A) should be kept two-thirds full of clean soft water; the water when heated, will rise or expand one or two inches, and will fall to the first level when it cools.  The cistern should be occasionally examined by the person in charge of it (say once a fortnight), to see if the water is alright and that the valves are in proper working order.  The weight on valve (B) in the cistern and the under valve (C) must not be touched when the fire is on.  They should be kept clean, so as to rest on their seats, and touched occasionally to prevent them getting gagged. This must only be done when the fire is not lighted.

2.    Should the water rise high, or overflow in the cistern (A), it shows that the furnace is over-heated, or the valves out of order – when it should be immediately cooled, and the cistern examined.

3.    The cistern and water should be kept clean, the dirty water being drawn off by the cock at the bottom, two or three times a year.

HOW TO REGULATE THE FURNACE

4.    In lighting the fire at first, the furnace should not be loaded with fuel before the circulation of the water has commenced, which is known when the flow pipe (F) feels hot to the hand.

5.    When the fire is well lighted, fuel should be gradually put into the furnace, taking care never to fill it up so as to choke the openings in front of the coils;  and by feeding it as required, a regular heat will be maintained.  To ensure a good draught the furnace bars must be kept clear.  The draught must be carefully regulated by  damper (D) and the ash-pit door (P), to prevent overheating of the pipes. Should the draught become bad, it shows that the furnace flues, or the vent, are obstructed by soot, which should be removed.

6.    The flow pipes (F), when rubbed with a file, should always continue a white colour when in working order – if they get yellow or blue, it indicates overheating, or want of water, and the fire must be immediately drawn off.  The flow-pipes (F) are those which come out of from the upper part of the furnace.

7.    The full effect of the apparatus is not attained until the return-pipes ( R ) are hot;  but they should never be so hot that they cannot be held in the hand.  They must always be kept hot during the continuance of heating.  The return-pipes ( R ) are those which enter the lower part of the furnace.

8.    The clinkers ashes and soot should be removed by the doors (H) and (P) before the fire is lighted; the bars are easily cleared of clinkers while the furnace is hot; the soot should be removed from the outside of the coils by the cleaning-doors (G).

9.    The cleaning doors (G) must always be kept shut while the fire is on; also the door (H), which is only for clearing the furnace-bars.

CARE DURING FROST

10.  Care must be taken that the pipes or cistern do not freeze in frosty weather – to prevent which a slow fire must be kept on all night during the continuance of the frost. Filling the furnace with fuel, but with only sufficient draught to ensure combustion. This may be done, especially on Sundays in warehouses, and in churches during the week.

11.    The best fuel is gas-cinders or coke, but any fuel will do, not being bituminous or liable to clog the furnace bars.

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To keep the apparatus in good working order, it should be pumped out every season.

In heating Churches, the fire must not be allowed to go out from the time it is first lighted till no longer required. Before service the temperature of the church should be raised to about 50°F; the fire may then be lowered but not neglected during service.

P.S.   No one but the individual appointed should be allowed to interfere with the furnace at any time.

ELEVATION OF FURNACE

The above apparatus consists of an endless tube of wrought iron, filled with water and closed in all parts, hung exposed on the skirting of the rooms to be heated, or behind gratings, or placed in cells, enclosed in ornamental cast-iron covers. A portion of the pipe is formed into a coil and placed in a furnace of wrought iron or brickwork.

The pipes being of small diameter a very small quantity of water is required to fill the apparatus.

An expansion cistern is placed above the highest level of the circulating pipes, and is kept partially filled with water.  The object of this cistern is to allow for the expansion of the water as it becomes heated, and being self-acting, to supply the pipes as they cool.

Jacob            Angier            Loftus            Loftus Patton           Ludlow Patton