Explanatory Note about Distilling Apparatus

anonymous, 1866 - 1870

Handgeschreven uitleg op papier behorend bij distilleerapparaat of condensor voor het verkrijgen van zoet water uit zout water.

  • Artwork typemanual
  • Object numberNG-MC-1108-2
  • Dimensionslength 33 cm x width 20.5 cm
  • Physical characteristicspaper

Identification

  • Title(s)

    Explanatory Note about Distilling Apparatus

  • Object type

  • Object number

    NG-MC-1108-2

  • Description

    Handgeschreven uitleg op papier behorend bij distilleerapparaat of condensor voor het verkrijgen van zoet water uit zout water.

Creation

  • Creation

    • writer (clerical worker): anonymous, Netherlands
    • after design by James Bouvery Grant, United Kingdom (possibly)

  • Dating

    1866 - 1870

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Material and technique

  • Physical description

    paper

  • Dimensions

    length 33 cm x width 20.5 cm

Explanatory note

  • De condensor van Grant werd vanwege zijn eenvoud en effectiviteit zeer gewaardeerd. In Engeland kreeg hij in 1866 een octrooi voor zijn uitvinding. De Nederlandse Marine experimenteerde met deze condensors en bracht kleine verbeteringen aan: het voornaamste probleem was het waterdicht houden van de naden, wat met soldeer niet lukte; men ging daarom over tot het gebruik van bouten en moeren voor de afsluitingen.

This work is about

  • Subject

  • Period

    1866 - 1870

Acquisition and rights

  • Copyright

    Public domain

  • Provenance

    ...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Documentation

  • British Patent 1866-02-01, nr. 319.

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Persistent URL

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anonymous

Netherlands, ? United Kingdom, 1866 - 1870

Provenance

...; transferred from the Ministerie van Marine (Department of the Navy), The Hague, to the museum, 1883

Object number: NG-MC-1108-2

Entry

Distilling apparatus for distilling fresh water from salt water (NG-MC-1108-1), with an explanatory note (NG-MC-1108-2).

The system has two separate waterflows: cold salt water from outside the hull enters the outer, cylindrical container from below and once heated, leaves the container through a pipe in the side above and is led out of the ship again. Steam is admitted to the apparatus through the top and distributed over a number of parallel pipes, where it is cooled by the water in the outer container and condenses into fresh water, which is tapped from below. Two extra cocks are attached to the outer container, leading to one pipe. The tops of the outer container and the distilling pipes are bolted.

James Bouvery Grant’s condensor or distilling apparatus was much appreciated for its simplicity and effectiveness. He obtained a patent for his invention in the United Kingdom in 1866. The Dutch Navy experimented with these condensers and gradually improved them: the most important problem was the need for completely watertight seams, which could not be achieved with solder and led to the use of bolts and nuts.

Citation

(accessed 26 February 2026 23:24:08).