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William Dean Howells - "Emile Zola"

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ESSAYS, Political, Economical and Philosophical. Volume 1.

B >> Benjamin Rumford >> ESSAYS, Political, Economical and Philosophical. Volume 1.




Nothing is so effectual to prevent Chimnies from smoking as
diminishing the opening of the Fire-place in the manner here
described, and lowering and diminishing the throat of the Chimney;
and I have always found, except in the single instance already
mentioned, that a perfect cure may be effected by THESE MEANS
ALONE, even in the most desperate cases. It is true, that when
the construction of the Chimney is very bad indeed, or its
situation very unfavourable to the ascent of the smoke, and
especially when both these disadvantages exist at the same time,
it may sometimes be necessary to diminish the opening of the
Fire-place, and particularly to lower it, and also to lower the
throat of the Chimney, more than might be wished: but still I
think this can produce no inconveniences to be compared with that
greatest of all plagues, a smoking Chimney.

The position of the throat of a Chimney being determined, the
next points to be ascertained are its size and form, and the
manner in which it ought to be connected with the Fire-place
below, and with the open canal of the Chimney above.

But as these investigations are intimately connected with those
which relate to the form proper to be given to the Fire-place
itself, we must consider them all together.

That these inquiries may be pursued with due method, and that the
conclusions drawn from them may be clear and satisfactory,
it will be necessary to consider, first, what the objects are
which ought principally to be had in view in the construction of
a Fire-place; and secondly, to see how these objects can best be
attained.

Now the design of a Chimney Fire being simply to warm a room,
it is necessary, first of all, to contrive matters so that the
room shall be actually warmed; secondly, that it be warmed with
the smallest expence of fuel possible; and, thirdly, that in
warming it, the air of the room be preserved perfectly pure,
and fit for respiration, and free from smoke and all disagreeable
smells.

In order to take measures with certainty for warming a room by
means of an open Chimney Fire, it will be necessary to consider
HOW, or in WHAT MANNER, such a Fire communicates heat to a room.
This question may perhaps, at the first view of it, appear to be
superfluous and trifling, but a more careful examination of the
matter will show it to be highly deserving of the most attentive
investigation.

To determine in what manner a room is heated by an open Chimney
Fire, it will be necessary first of all to find out, UNDER WHAT
FORM the heat generated in the combustion of the fuel exists,
and then to see how it is communicated to those bodies which are
heated by it.

In regard to the first of these subjects of inquiry, it is quite
certain that the heat which is generated in the combustion of the
fuel exists under TWO perfectly distinct and very different forms.
One part of it is COMBINED with the smoke, vapour, and heated air
which rise from the burning fuel, and goes off with them into the
upper regions of the atmosphere; while the other part, which
appears to be UNCOMBINED, or, as some ingenious philosophers have
supposed, combined only with light, is sent off from the fire in
rays in all possible directions.

With respect to the second subject of inquiry; namely, how this
heat, existing under these two different forms, is communicated
to other bodies; it is highly probable that the combined heat can
only be communicated to other bodies by ACTUAL CONTACT with the
body with which it is combined; and with regard to the rays which
are sent off by burning fuel, it is certain that THEY communicate
or generate heat only WHEN and WHERE they are stopped or
absorbed. In passing through air, which is transparent, they
certainly do not communicate any heat to it; and it seems highly
probable that they do not communicate heat to solid bodies by
which they are reflected.

In these respects they seem to bear a great resemblance to the
solar rays. But in order not to distract the attention of my
reader, or carry him too far away from the subject more
immediately under consideration, I must not enter too deeply into
these inquiries respecting the nature and properties of what has
been called RADIANT HEAT. It is certainly a most curious subject
of philosophical investigation, but more time would be required
to do it justice than we now have to spare. We must therefore
content ourselves with such a partial examination of it as will
be sufficient for our present purpose.

A question which naturally presents itself here is.
What proportion does the radiant heat bear to the combined
heat?--Though that point has not yet been determined with any
considerable degree of precision, it is, however, quite certain,
that the quantity of heat which goes off combined with the smoke,
vapour, and heated air is much more considerable, perhaps three
of four times greater at least, than that which is sent off from
the fire in rays.--And yet, small as the quantity is of this
radiant heat, it is the only part of the heat generated in the
combustion of fuel burnt in an open Fire-place which is ever
employed, or which can ever be employed, in heating a room.

The whole of the combined heat escapes by the Chimney, and is
totally lost; and, indeed, no part of it could ever be brought
into a room from an open Fire-place, without bringing along with
it the smoke with which it is combined; which, of course, would
render it impossible for the room to be inhabited. There is,
however, one method by which combining heat, and even that which
arises from an open Fire-place, may be made to assist in warming
a room; and that is by making it pass through something analogous
to a German stove, placed in the Chimney above the fire.--But of
this contrivance I shall take occasion to treat more fully
hereafter; in the mean time I shall continue to investigate the
properties of open Chimney Fire-places, constructed upon the most
simple principles, such as are now in common use; and shall
endeavour to point out and explain all those improvements of
which THEY appear to me to be capable. When fuel is burnt in
Fire-places upon this simple construction, where the smoke
escapes immediately by the open canal of the Chimney, it is quite
evident that all the combined heat must of necessity be lost; and
as it is the radiant heat alone which can be employed in heating
a room, it becomes an object of much importance to determine how
the greatest quantity of it may be generated in the combustion of
the fuel, and how the greatest proportion possible of that
generated may be brought into the room.

Now the quantity of radiant heat generated in the combustion of a
given quantity of any kind of fuel depends very much upon the
management of the fire, or upon the manner in which the fuel is
consumed. When the fire burns bright, much radiant heat will be
sent off from it; but when it is SMOTHERED UP, very little will
be generated; and indeed very little combined heat, that can be
employed to any useful purpose: most of the heat produced will be
immediately EXPENDED in giving elasticity to a thick dense vapour
or smoke which will be seen rising from the fire; -- and the
combustion being very incomplete, a great part of the inflammable
matter of the fuel being merely rarefied and driven up the
Chimney without being inflamed, the fuel will be wasted to little
purpose. And hence it appears of how much importance it is,
whether it be considered with a view to economy, or to
cleanliness, comfort, and elegance, to pay due attention to the
management of a Chimney Fire.

Nothing can be more perfectly void of common sense, and wasteful
and slovenly at the same time, than the manner in which Chimney
Fires, and particularly where coals are burned, are commonly
managed by servants. They throw on a load of coals at once,
through which the flame is hours in making its way; and
frequently it is not without much trouble that the fire is
prevented from going quite out. During this time no heat is
communicated to the room; and what is still worse, the throat of
the Chimney being occupied merely by a heavy dense vapour,
not possessed of any considerable degree of heat, and consequently
not having much elasticity, the warm air of the room finds less
difficulty in forcing its way up the Chimney and escaping,
than when the fire burns bright;--and it happens not unfrequently,
especially in Chimneys and Fire-places ill constructed, that this
current of warm air from the room which presses into the Chimney,
crossing upon the current of heavy smoke which rises slowly from
the fire, obstructs it in its ascent, and beats it back into the
room; hence it is that Chimnies so often smoke when too large a
quantity of fresh coals is put upon the fire. So many coals
should never be put on the fire at once as to prevent the free
passage of the flame between them. In short, a fire should never
be smothered; and when proper attention is paid to the quantity
of coals put on, there will be very little use for the poker;
and this circumstance will contribute very much to cleanliness,
and to the preservation of furniture.

Those who have feeling enough to be made miserable by any thing
careless, slovenly, and wasteful which happens under their
eyes,--who know what comfort is, and consequence are worthy of
the enjoyments of a CLEAN HEARTH and a CHEERFUL FIRE, should
really either take the trouble themselves to manage their fires,
(which, indeed, would rather be an amusement to them than a
trouble,) or they should instruct their servants to manage them
better.

But to return to the subject more immediately under consideration.
As we have seen what is necessary to the production or generation
of radiant heat, it remains to determine how the greatest
proportion of that generated and sent off from the fire in all
directions may be made to enter the room, and assist in warming
it. How as the rays which are thrown off from burning fuel have
this property in common with light, that they generate heat only
WHEN and WHERE they are stopped or absorbed, and also in being
capable of being reflected WITHOUT GENERATING at the surfaces of
various bodies, the knowledge of these properties will enable us
to take measures, with the utmost certainty, for producing the
effect required,--that is to say, for bringing as much radiant
heat as possible into the room.

This must be done, first, by causing as many as possible of the
rays, as they are sent off from the fire in straight lines,
to come DIRECTLY into the room; which can only be effected by
bringing the fire as far forward as possible, and leaving the
opening of the Fire-place as wide and as high as can be done
without inconveniences; and secondly, by making the sides and
back of the Fire-place of such form, and constructing them of
such materials, as to cause the direct rays from the fire,
which strike against them, to be sent into the room BY REFLECTION
in the greatest abundance.

Now it will be found, upon examination, that the best form for
the vertical sides of a Fire-place, or the COVINGS, (as they are
called,) is that of an upright plane, making an angle with the
plane of the back of the Fire-place, of about 135 degrees.--
According to the present construction of Chimnies this angle is
90 degrees, or forms a right angle; but as in this case the two
sides or covings of the Fire-place (AC, BD, Fig. 1.) are
parallel to each other, it is evident that they are very ill
contrived for throwing into the room by reflection the rays from
the fire which fall on them.

To have a clear and perfect idea of the alterations I propose in
the forms of Fire-places, the reader need only observe, that,
whereas the backs of Fire-places, as they are now commonly
constructed, are as wide as the opening of the Fire-place in
front, and the sides of it are of course perpendicular to it, and
parallel to each other,--in the Fire-places I recommend, the back
(i k, Fig. 3) is only about one-third of the width of the opening
of the Fire-place in front (a,b), and consequently that the two
sides of covings of the Fire-place (a i and b k), instead of
being perpendicular to the back, are inclined to it at an angle
of about 135 degrees; and in consequence of this position,
instead of being parallel to each other, each of them presents an
oblique front towards the opening of the Chimney, by means of
which the rays which they reflect are thrown into the room.
A bare inspection of the annexed drawings (Fig. 1. and Fig. 3.)
will render this matter perfectly clear and intelligible.

In regard to the materials which it will be most advantageous to
employ in the construction of Fire-places, so much light has,
I flatter myself, already been thrown on the subject we are
investigating, and the principles adopted have been established
on such clear and obvious facts, that no great difficulty will
attend the determination of that point.--As the object in view is
to bring radiant heat into the room, it is clear that that
material is best for the construction of a Fire-place which
reflects the most, or which ABSORBS THE LEAST of it; for that
heat which is ABSORBED cannot be REFLECTED--Now as bodies which
absorb radiant heat are necessarily heated in consequence of that
absorption, to discover which of the various materials that can
be employed for constructing Fire-places are best adapted for
that purpose, we have only to find out by an experiment, very
easy to be made, what bodies acquire LEAST HEAT when exposed to
the direct rays of a clear fire;--for those which are least
heated, evidently absorb the least, and consequently reflect the
most radiant heat. And hence it appears that iron, and, in
general, metals of all kinds, which are well known to GROW VERY
HOT when exposed to the rays projected by burning fuel, are to be
reckoned among the VERY WORST materials that it is possible to
employ in the construction of Fire-places.

The best materials I have hitherto been able to discover are
fire-stone, and common bricks and mortar. Both these materials
are, fortunately, very cheap; and as to their comparative merits,
I hardly know to which of them the preference ought to be given.

When bricks are used they should be covered with a thin coating
of plaster, which, when it is become perfectly dry, should be
white-washed. The fire-stone should likewise be white washed,
when that is used; and every part of the Fire-place, which is not
exposed to being soiled and made black by the smoke, should be
kept as white and clean as possible. As WHITE reflects more
heat, as well as more light than any other colour, it ought
always to be preferred for the inside of a Chimney Fire-place,
and BLACK, which reflects neither light nor heat should be most
avoided.

I am well aware how much the opinion I have have ventured to
give, respecting the unfitness of iron and other metals to be
employed in the construction of open Fire-places, differs from
the opinion generally received upon that subject;--and I even
know that the very reason which, according to my ideas of the
matter, renders them totally unfit for the purpose, is commonly
assigned for making use of them, namely, that they soon grow very
hot. But I would beg leave to ask what advantage is derived from
heating them?

I have shown the disadvantage of it, namely, that the quantity of
radiant heat thrown into the room is diminished;--and it is easy
to show that almost the whole of that absorbed by the metal is
ultimately carried up the Chimney by the air, which, coming into
contact with this hot metal, is heated and rarefied by it,
and forcing its way upwards, goes off with the smoke; and as no
current of air ever sets from any part of the opening of a
Fire-place into the room, it is impossible to conceive how the
heat existing in the metal composing any part of the apparatus of
the Fire-place, and situated within its cavity, can come, or be
brought into the room.

This difficulty may be in part removed, by supposing, what
indeed seems to be true in a certain degree, that the heated
metal sends off rays, the heat it acquires from the fire, even
when it is not heated red hot; but still, as it never can be
admitted that the heat, absorbed by the metal and afterwards
thrown off by it in rays, is INCREASED by this operation, nothing
can be gained by it; and as much must necessary be lost in
consequence of the great quantity of heat communicated by the hot
metal to the air in contact with it, which, as has already been
shown, always makes its way up the Chimney, and flies off into
the atmosphere, the loss of heat attending the use of it is too
evident to require being farther insisted on.

There is, however, in Chimney Fire-places destined for burning
coals, one essential part, the grate, which cannot well be made
of any thing else but iron; but there is no necessity whatever
for that immense quantity of iron which surrounds grates as they
are now commonly constructed and fitted up, and which not only
renders them very expensive, but injures very essentially the
Fire-place. If it should be necessary to diminish the opening of
a large Chimney in order to prevent its smoking, it is much more
simple, economical, and better in all respects, to do this with
marble, fire-stone, or even with bricks and mortar, than to make
use of iron, which, as has already been shown, is the very worst
material that can possibly be employed for that purpose; and as
to registers, they not only are quite unnecessary, where the
throat of a Chimney is properly constructed, and of proper
dimensions, but in that case would do much harm. If they act at
all, it must be by opposing their flat surfaces to the current of
rising smoke in a manner which cannot fail to embarrass and
impede its motion. But we have shown that the passage of the
smoke through the throat of a Chimney ought to be facilitated as
much as possible, in order that it may be enabled to pass by a
small aperture.

Register-stoves have often been found to be of use, but it is
because the great fault of all Fire-places constructed upon the
common principles being the enormous dimensions of the throat of
the Chimney, this fault has been in some measure corrected by
them; but I will venture to affirm, that there never was a
Fire-place so corrected that would not have been much more
improved, and with infinitely less expence, by the alterations
here recommended, and which will be more particularly explained
in the next Chapter.


CHAPTER. II.

Practical directions designed for the use of workmen, showing
how they are to proceed in making the alterations necessary to
improve chimney fire-places, and effectually to cure smoking
chimnies.

All Chimney Fire-places, without exception, whether they are
designed for burning wood or coals, and even those which do not
smoke, as well as those which do, may be greatly improved by
making the alterations in them here recommended; for it is by no
means MERELY to prevent Chimnies from smoking that these
improvements are recommended, but it is also to make them better
in all other respects as Fire-places; and when the alterations
proposed are properly executed, which may be very easily be done
with the assistance of the following plain and simple
directions, the Chimnies will never fail to answer, I will
venture to say, even beyond expectation. The room will be heated
much more equally and more pleasantly with LESS THAN HALF THE
FUEL used before, the fire will be more cheerful and more
agreeable; and the general appearance of the Fire-place more neat
and elegant, and the Chimney WILL NEVER SMOKE.

The advantages which are derived from mechanical inventions and
contrivances are, I know, frequently accompanied by disadvantages
which it is not always possible to avoid; but in the case in
question, I can say with truth, that I know of no disadvantage
whatever that attends the Fire-places constructed upon the
principles here recommended. --But to proceed in giving
directions for the construction of these Fire-places.

That what I have to offer on this subject may be the more easily
understood, it will be proper to begin by explaining the precise
meaning of all those technical words and expressions which I may
find it necessary or convenient to use.

By the THROAT of a Chimney, I mean the lower extremity of its
canal, where it unites with the upper part of its open Fire-place.
--This throat is commonly found about a foot above the level of
the lower part of the mantle, and it is sometimes contracted to a
smaller size than the rest of the canal of the Chimney,
and sometimes not.

Fig. 5. shows the section of a Chimney on the common
construction, in which d e is the throat.

Fig. 6. shows the section of the same Chimney altered and
improved, in which d i is the reduced throat.

The BREAST of a Chimney, is that part of it which is immediately
behind the mantle.--It is the wall which forms the entrance from
below into the throat of the Chimney in front, or towards the
room.--It is opposite to the upper extremity of the back of the
open Fire-place, and parallel to it; in short it may said to be
the back part of the mantle itself.--In the figures 5 and 6,
it is marked by the letter d. The WIDTH of the throat of Chimney
(d e fig. 5, and d i fig. 6,) is taken from the breast of the
Chimney to the back, and its LENGTH is taken at right angles to
its width, or in a line parallel to the mantle (a fig. 5. and 6.).

Before I proceed to give particular directions respecting the
exact forms and dimensions of the different parts of a Fire-place,
it may be useful to make such general an practical observations
upon the subject as can be clearly understood without the
assistance of drawings; for the more complete the knowledge of
any subject is which can be acquired without drawings, the more
easy will it be to understand the drawings when it becomes
necessary to have recourse to them.

The bringing forward of the Fire into the room, or rather
bringing it nearer to the front of the opening of the
Fire-place;--and the diminishing of the throat of the Chimney,
being two objects principally had in view in the alterations in
Fire-places here recommended, it is evident that both these may
be attained merely by bringing forward the back of the Chimney.
--The only question therefore is, how far it should be brought
forward?--The answer is short, and easy to be understood;--bring
it forward as far as possible, without diminishing too much the
passage which must be left for the smoke. Now as this passage,
which, in its narrowest part, I have called the THROAT OF THE
CHIMNEY, ought, for reasons which are fully explained in the
foregoing Chapter, to be immediately, or perpendicularly over the
Fire, it is evident that the back of the Chimney must always be
built perfectly upright.--To determine therefore the place for
the new back, or how far precisely it ought to be brought
forward, nothing more is necessary than to ascertain how wide
the throat of the Chimney ought to be left, or what space must be
left, between the top of the breast of the Chimney, where the
upright canal of the Chimney begins, and the new back of the
Fire-place carried up perpendicularly to that height.

In the course of my numerous experiments upon Chimnies, I have
taken much pains to determine the width proper to be given to
this passage, and I have found, that, when the back of the
Fire-place is of a proper width, the best width for the throat of
a Chimney, when the Chimney and the Fire-place are at the usual
form and size, is FOUR INCHES.--Three inches might sometimes
answer, especially where the Fire-place is very small, and the
Chimney good, and well situated: but as it is always of much
importance to prevent those accidental puffs of smoke which are
sometimes thrown into rooms by the carelessness of servants in
putting on suddenly too many coals at once upon the fire, and as
I found these accidents sometimes happened when the throats of
Chimneys were made very narrow, I found that, upon the whole, all
circumstances being well considered, and advantages and
disadvantages compared and balanced, FOUR INCHES is the best
width that can be given to the throat of a chimney; and this,
whether the Fire-place be destined to burn wood, coals, turf,
or any other fuel commonly used for heating rooms by an open fire.

In Fire-places destined for heating very large halls, and where
very great fires are kept up, the throat of the Chimney may,
if it should be thought necessary, be made four inches and an half,
or five inches wide;--but I have frequently made Fire-places for
halls which have answered perfectly well where the throats of
the Chimnies have not been wider than four inches.

It may perhaps appear extraordinary, upon the first view of the
matter, that Fire-places of such different sizes should all
require the throat of the Chimney to be of the same width; but
when it is considered that the CAPACITY of the throat of a
Chimney does not depend on its width alone, but on its width and
LENGTH taken together; and that in large Fire-places, the width
of the back, and consequently the length of the throat of the
Chimney, is greater than in those which are smaller, this
difficulty vanishes.

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