On noxious vapours and town smoke, with suggestions on house warming / by Alfred E. Fletcher ; read before the Society, 25th January, 1888.

  • Fletcher, Alfred E.
Date:
22 cm
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Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: On noxious vapours and town smoke, with suggestions on house warming / by Alfred E. Fletcher ; read before the Society, 25th January, 1888. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by The University of Glasgow Library. The original may be consulted at The University of Glasgow Library.

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    without arousing complaint, and the window is no longer accused of causing a draught. Much might be said as to the moral effect of such an arrange- ment in that many of the minor discomforts of the house are removed. The effect of supplying a house freely with warmed fresh air is like that of changing the climate, it is as a change of season—a leap from January into May. Air warmed by a stove is often said to be unpleasantly dry. Yet, how has the air been dried? The heating surfaces do not absorb moisture, nor have they power to destroy it. True, the air is expanded, and therefore the warm air has less moisture per cubic foot than had the cold air. Yet, can this be an evil? The air of our climate is usually too moist, and we gladly avail ourselves of an opportunity of staying in a district where the air is dry. Why then is the alleged dryness of stove-wai'med air objected to? To this the following reply may be given. The air around us is laden with dust. This is composed of filaments of cotton, wool, hair, and other matter chiefly either of animal or vegetable origin. These small particles on coming into contact with the heating surfaces are singed or burnt, and made to give out a characteristic smell. It is this bui-nt smell which is objected to. The air, how- ever, is not burnt, but only the dust with which it was laden; nor is it dried, and if it were that would not be detected by the nose. It is not usual on a dry sunny day for us to say—How un- pleasantly dry the air smells. If, then, the over-heated or burnt dust is the cause of the offence, the evil may be avoided by removing the dust. This is done by filtering the air through a woollen cloth before it reaches the heating stove, as has been already described. It is found that air so filtered before being warmed does not assume the unpleasant smeU referred to in passing the stove. Of course all heating stoves should be so contrived as to have a large moderately heated surface, rather than one small and over hot. In the drawing now shown (Plate VI.) it will be noticed that the heat is, in the first instance, taken up by the products of combustion which are made to surround the stove itself in an annular envelope. Outside tliis is the air to be warmed which gets its heat thus at second hand, and moderated in degree. It will be noticed that the air to be warmed enters at the top of the stove, coming first in contact witli the smoke as it leaves. Descending now it passes over surfaces progressing warmer until
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