View report page

5
In many instances it is supposed that the flue doors act as outlets for the vapours collected by
the hood, but in actual practice these doors, owing to the liability to soot falling and the interference
with the draught of the tires, are seldom open. They are usually fixed on a line with the mouth of
the hood, and, consequently, if they were left open, only a small portion of the vapours would reach
them.
The hood should be constructed of smooth white sheet metal, or a combination of noncorrosive
metal and glass. The mouth of the hood should at least be equal to the length and width
of the furnace in area, and should be so constructed that it is not more than 18 inches above the
front of the furnace top. In order to prevent draughts sweeping across, the sides of the hood
should be made to meet the furnace top. The lower or narrower the opening in front between the
hood and the furnace the more efficiently will the vapours be drawn off. The shape of the hood
should be such as to allow of a large gathering capacity, it should slope or taper towards the point
of outlet which should be at least 9 in. in diameter, and should communicate either with a flue,
lined with 9 in. glazed pipes, discharging in the usual way above the ridge line of the building or
(and this would appear to be the better method) with a flue constructed so as to convey the vapours
beneath and through the furnace fire, so that all offensive smell is effectually done away with
before the products of combustion escape into the outer air.
One of the Council's inspectors found in operation in Greenwich an experimental stove in
which the vapours were being thus conveyed by means of a duct through the furnace fire. This
method of dealing with the vapours, although carried out in a very crude fashion in this instance
(the stove, admittedly, being merely a makeshift) would appear capable of development in such a
way as to altogether minimise risk of nuisance. Should it be found practicable thus to deal with
the vapours, applying in fact the principle already for many years successfully adopted in dealing
with the far more offensive vapours evolved in various trade processes—bone boiling, fat melting,
&c.—it may be anticipated that a ready means of abating any cause of offence from fish-frying
will be at hand.
The plan of carrying out the method of destroying offensive vapours, which it is suggested might
with advantage be adopted, is illustrated by Plate I. Figure 1 (Plate I.) shows a front elevation of
a fish-frying furnace the external facing of which is constructed of glazed bricks, and also the chimney
breast at the back of the pans covered by the hood. The hood is constructed of the usual white
metal, and the sides are closed in by thick glass panels (see Figure 2) to admit light; these are
framed in white metal, and serve to connect the hood with the metal furnace top. The furnace
has two frying pans, heated by coal or coke fires at the sides. The fireplace on the left, which
is shown in Figure 2, is specially constructed with a close-fitting ash chamber door, and this
fire draws its supply of air for combustion from the atmosphere of the shop, through the front
of the hood (at A in Figure 4). The current of air passes in the direction of the arrows in Figure
4 into the duct at point B; thence passing down between the usual smoke flues as shown in
Figures 3 and 4, it enters the side of the ash chamber immediately below the fire-bars, and
passes through the fire as shown in Figure 3. The smoke from the tire enters the usual flue (see.
Figure 3), and, passing up, discharges through a ventilating chimney cowl into the outer atmosphere.
The air duct, at the bend nearest the ash chamber, is provided with a small outlet discharging intoa
drip drawer (shown in Figures 3 and 4) to collect condensed oil and steam. The height of the
furnace from the floor to the top of the metal furnace bed is 3 feet 6 inches, and the opening
between this and the hood is 18 inches.
The arrangement described above should draw the fumes and vapours from the frying pans
and also from the shop and cause them to be consumed in the fire.
D.—Draught Screens.—It is usual for the flues to be built in one of the side walls, at right
angles to the shop front, hence, in a very large number of instances, the furnace is necessarily
fixed in the shop. The window front is open in some cases, and, in others, the glass is cut out
along the ceiling line, or open fanlights are provided over the entrance door, and, at the back
there are one or more door openings leading to the rear. These openings, and their position in
relation to the furnace and hood, have an important bearing on the action of iho latter, inasmuch
as they create draughts, and carry away the vapours from the furnace into the external air. Id
may be found that, with the wind in a certain direction, the vapours are blowing out of shops on
one side of the street, whilst from the shops on the other side no vapour escapes (the vapour being
driven through the back part of these shops). Of course, a great deal depends upon the force of
the wind outside.
Where necessary, the furnace and hood should be surrounded by a screen or partition. The
screen should be built up to the ceiling and constructed of metal and glass, or of wood and glass,
and should enclose the furnace and hood for a distance of 30 inches all round. The counter in
the shop will usually form the screen line, and a small sash window or slide should be provided
in the screen for serving purposes. In order to facilitate cleaning, all woodwork on the
inside of this screen should be covered to a height of 3 feet 6 inches with hard, smooth, and
non-corrosive metal, and the floor within this area should be made of some jointless impervious and
non-combustible material.
Turning now to the second series of observations—those relating to the gutting and cleansing
of fish, and to the measures necessary for obviating risk of contamination—the cleansing or storage
of fish, under existing circumstances, is frequently carried on in dark cellar basements, in rooms