Early Franklin Cast Iron Stoves
Until the mid 1700s, people of the early colonies were forced to heat their homes by burning wood in their fireplaces. This method was inefficient, wasteful of wood, and presented a constant danger of fire which could quickly consume a wooden colonial dwelling. Benjamin Franklin's revolutionary stove design changed the way American homes were heated. Does this Spark an idea?
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The Man Behind the Invention
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Benjamin Franklin, born in 1706 in Boston, was a man of many talents. Though he is primarily remembered as a statesman and founder of the American nation, he was also a writer, a scientist, a diplomat and an inventor. Franklin was undoubtedly well aware of the dangers of fire, since in 1736 he set up the first organized volunteer firefighting organization in America. Always looking for ways to better his fellow citizens' lives, he sought to create a safer, more efficient way to heat homes.
The Pennsylvania Stove
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In 1742 Franklin invented what he called The Pennsylvania Stove. It was first manufactured by Franklin's friend Robert Grace in 1744. Today our definition of "stove" refers to a closed firebox but the original Franklin stove was open like a fireplace. It was a revolutionary design. When people heated their homes with a fireplace set in a wall, their rooms were warm only right in front of the fire. Most of the heat went up the chimney. Franklin knew that since heat radiates from all directions, it would be most efficient to have a heating source that could be enjoyed from all sides. He exploited this knowledge when he created a free-standing cast iron furnace that could stand in the middle of a room. Since the heat was absorbed by the walls of the stove, it could continue heating a room even after the fire went out. The new stove also used less wood than a conventional fireplace.
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Improved Design
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Franklin's design did have a flaw in that it lacked a chimney, meaning it was smoky, and without a source of fresh air the fire soon went out. In the late 1780s another Philadelphia inventor named David R. Rittenhouse perfected the stove's design by creating an L-shaped air box behind the fire and a hooded enclosure over the top. This addition meant that the heated air was circulated into the room and smoke was forced up the chimney. Although Rittenhouse named the new improved version after himself, Franklin's enduring popularity won out and the heating device remains known to this day as the Franklin stove.
Prototype Discovered
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In 1987, a New York Times article reported on the discovery of what is almost certainly Franklin's stove prototype. Franklin had experimented with a number of his inventions while living at a Craven Street address in London during the almost 16 years he served as a colonial representative to the British crown. The fireplace was found full of ashes and apparently in complete working order.
Franklin's Gift
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In addition to being an inventor, Franklin was also talented in marketing. He created a pamphlet to advertise his stove, using modern sales techniques. Franklin himself described the advantage of his new invention: "If you sit near the Fire, you have not that cold Draught of uncomfortable Air nipping your Back and Heels, as when before common Fires...being scorcht before, and, as it were, froze behind."
Franklin refused to patent his stove, preferring that his invention benefit the greatest number of people. He wrote in his autobiography: "As we enjoy great advantages from the inventions of others, we should be glad of an opportunity to serve others by any invention of ours; and this we should do freely and generously."
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