0 2 under H20 THE FLEUSS APPARATUS A short history of the re-breather By Peter Jackson With the current new wave of in­ by Fleuss and saw great potential in terest in the re-breather, this seems an his invention. He wrote a number of appropriate time to look back at the papers on the subject and, in May history of its development since 1879, 1880, gave a lecture to the Royal when the principles were put into prac­ Society, at which Fleuss was present tice by Henry Fleuss. to demonstrate the apparatus in a Fleuss was born in England in chamber filled with poisonous gas. 1851 and planned to make a career in The apparatus consisted of a engineering but, at the age of sixteen, standard diving dress with helmet, ran away to sea and joined the mer­ weights and lead soled boots. The chant marine, eventually becoming an copper helmet was made with a officer with the P&O Company. In double wall, the space between form­ 1875, he watched diving operations ing a reservoir with a volume of being carried out in a harbor in Ceylon about 1/4 cu. ft. This was charged and became interested in the possibil­ with oxygen to a pressure of 16 at­ ity of making the diver independent of mospheres by means of a hand pump, his surface supply. A few weeks later, and could thus hold about 4 cu. ft. of he was searching in a Calcutta book gas. A screw valve located at one side shop for information which would help of the front window, allowed the him, and bought some books on physi­ diver to admit oxygen into the hel­ ology and chemistry, which he stud­ Henry Fleuss met and also facilitated charging the ied in his spare time. reservoir with oxygen. A screw plug From his studies Fleuss learned that in respiration, in the crown allowed the reservoir to be purged of air. The oxygen is consumed and carbon dioxide is produced. He double walled helmet was complicated in its construction reasoned that if the diver could carry and must have been very difficult with him a supply of oxygen and al­ to manufacture. kali, which would absorb the carbon The jacket, as Fleuss called it, dioxide, the diver could dispense with was also a complicated assembly. the supply of air from the surface. It was comprised of an ordinary Fleuss left the P&O Company in breastplate to which were affixed 1878 and set about putting his ideas two metal chambers. One at the into practice. He proved to be very front and one at the back. These resourceful, making much of the were joined around the sides by two equipment himself, including his own metal plates, one of which could be means of producing and compressing removed to allow the diver to get oxygen. He was also young (27), en­ into it. Each chamber was fitted in­ ergetic and confident, and he tested his ternally with a vertical division and apparatus on his own, underwater. In a perforated false bottom, and also 1879, he tried out his new apparatus had a removable lid with two short in the diving tank at the London Poly­ pipes attached. The chambers were technic, where he was observed by the filled with small pieces of rubber eminent physiologist Benjamin Ward sponge soaked in a very strong so­ Richardson. Richardson took a keen lution of caustic soda. interest in the invention and, with The diver wore a leather mask Fleuss’ co-operation, conducted a which covered the nose and mouth. number of tests to establish its effec­ It also had inlet valves in the sides tiveness, both underwater and in poi­ and a flexible hose at the front sonous atmospheres. First Diving Dress which led to one of the pipes on the Richardson was clearly impressed lid of the front chamber. He inhaled 26 HISTORICAL DIVER Vol. 10 Issue 2 Spring 2002, No. 31 from the helmet and ex­ haled into the front cham ­ ber, where his breath passed down one side of the division, through the false bottom, and up the other side. A flexible tube, leading over the shoulder, connected the outlet of the front chamber to the inlet of the back chamber so the exhaled air passed through this. It finally re­ turned to the helmet via a non-return valve. The diver’s dress itself was flexible and acted as the counterlung. There were clearly deficiencies in Fleuss’ ap­ paratus, notably the lack First rescue apparatus of any control over the partial pressure of oxygen in the system. It was intended the wearer much greater freedom of movement. The new that the oxygen valve should be adjusted to give the cor­ apparatus was demonstrated to several mining and engi­ rect flow and would then require little attention so there neering institutions, where it attracted a great deal of in­ was, at least, a continuous supply. terest and support. At the recommendation of experienced Soon after testing his diving suit at the Polytechnic, mining men, Fleuss added a heavy copper cowling to pro­ Fleuss developed an apparatus for use in fires and mine tect the valves and hose connections at the top of the al­ rescue operations. It was of a much simpler and more prac­ kali chamber. tical design than his diving dress and was carried on the An opportunity to prove the worth of the new rescue back like a knapsack. It consisted of a tinplate box, 12 apparatus came in June 1881, at the Seaham colliery, where inches square and 4 inches deep, which housed the alkali an explosion in September of the previous year had killed chamber. This was made from vulcanite with a perforated 164 men and caused so much damage that the pit had re­ false bottom and three vertical divisions. A vulcanite lid, mained closed ever since. Using Fleuss’ apparatus, inves­ sealed with a rubber gasket, was clamped in place by metal tigators were able to re-enter the mine and his equipment rods which passed through holes in the outer box. The lid played a major part in its eventual reopening. In April 1882, had connections for the breathing tubes and for the breath­ the apparatus was used in the rescue of 10 men trapped ing bag which, in the first model, was mounted on the after an explosion at Killingworth. back of the metal box. Fleuss was also still promoting his self-contained div­ Two formed tubes led over the shoulders to a junction ing dress and was forced to make a second model when piece containing non-return valves, from which two short the original was lost in an accident in June 1880. The new corrugated hoses led up to a full face mask. Attached to model used his successful knapsack arrangement, adapted the bottom of the box, at waist level, was a copper cylin­ for use with a standard diving dress, and was altogether der, 12 inches long and 6-1/2 inches in diameter, contain­ much simpler than the double helmet and metal jacket of ing 4 cu. ft. of oxygen at a pressure of 16 atmospheres. A the original. The alkali chamber was housed in a metal valve at one end of the cylinder allowed for control of the case with a heavy lid secured with screws and wing nuts. oxygen and was connected, via a copper pipe, to the inha­ Two copper pipes with brass unions attached the case to lation tube. connections on the breastplate. The copper cylinder, with Fleuss soon modified the apparatus and moved the its screw valve, was fixed to the bottom of the case and breathing bag from its exposed and vulnerable position had loops attached, through which passed a leather belt. on the back, putting it on the wearer’s chest. The non­ The diver wore a leather mask as before, with the exhala­ return valves were placed at the connections to the lid of tion tube connected to a short pipe extending into the hel­ the alkali chamber and he fitted two corrugated hoses over met from one of the corselet (breastplate) connections. the shoulders and into the sides of the facemask, giving The helmet was of a standard pattern but had no air hose HISTORICAL DIVER Vol. 10 Issue 2 SDrina 2002. No. 31 27 connection and, as far as is ing the door, closing a sluice known, no exhaust valve. and uprooting one of the This was the apparatus used tram rails passing over the in the famous Severn Tun­ sill of the door. He was gone nel incident. for an hour and a half. On a During the construction second excursion, he suc­ of a railway tunnel under the ceeded in closing the door river Severn, a spring was and the tunnel was eventu­ struck and the tunnel began ally pumped out and con­ to flood. The escaping work­ struction resumed. men failed to close a water­ In spite of the publicity tight door and the tunnel that Fleuss gained from this eventually filled up with wa­ incident, little more progress ter to a depth of about 40 feet. was made with his diving The open watertight door was dress, perhaps because much 1020 feet along the tunnel of his time was taken up with and attempts to reach it by a diver in standard dress had the rescue apparatus, which was attracting so much inter­ failed due to the impossibility of dragging the necessary est. This, however, also failed to become a commercial length of air hose behind him.