Description:

Model (scale 1:8) of Babcock and Wilcox Water Tube Boiler, with Chain-grate Stoker and Super heater plus brick setting with chimney, c.1903. In 1856 Stephen Wilcox patented a water tube steam boiler that offered greatly improved water circulation, heat exchange and fuel efficiency. He later established a partnership with George Babcock to manufacture and market these boilers. The boiler consists of a large number of water tubes, around which the hot gases from the fire were passed, within a brick combustion chamber. Steam from the heated water collected in a drum at the top of the boiler from where it passed through the superheater. This is a network of small pipes at the rear of the boiler, through which the steam is passed. This raises the steam's temperature without increasing its pressure, reducing fuel consumption and condensation.