Water Supply and Drainage 



239 



A small and inexpensive storage tank may be constructed by the elevation 

 of several Tarragona wine casks on an enclosed platform. These should be 

 connected, near their bottoms, by short lengths of pipe. 



As a precaution in case of fire all storage tanks should be kept full. Their out- 

 let should be slightly raised above the bottom in order that the pipes may not 

 become clogged with possible settlings. Ample ventilation should be afforded 

 them, and they should be protected against the invasion of dirt, insects, birds 

 and small animals. They should be cleansed frequently; this is not the least of 

 important considerations. All storage tanks should have a visible register, which 

 shall show plainly at all times the amount of water they contain. 



To give some idea as to the cost of modern tanks and windmills, the fol- 

 lowing will suggest roughly: An outfit consisting of a 1 2-foot windmill, a 5,000- 

 gallon tank, piping and tank frost-proofed, windmill slightly above tank, and the 

 whole enclosed with simple wocden house, might cost $500. The 3,ooo-gallon, 

 plain, frost-proofed tank, elevated to a height of 30 feet, would cost, with wooden 

 tower, about $350. 



A comparatively new system of water storage and pressure is that in which 

 compressed air is used to effect the distribution of the supply. A circular tank 

 is placed, generally horizontally, under the ground or vertically in the cellar. This 

 naturally comes between the source of the supply and the distributing branches. 

 The tank, if placed under the ground, is practically level, and of course placed 

 below frost. In this position it sup- 

 plies water for both summer and winter 

 at about the same temperature as that 

 of the supply. The piping connections 

 are made at the bottom of the tank near 

 its ends; one line leads to the house and 

 the other to the pump at the source of 

 supply. When the tank is located in the 

 cellar it is stood on end as a usual thing, 

 and the inlet and outlet are entered near 

 the bottom. 



The pump is a special contrivance 

 which can be used for deep and shallow 

 wells, bored or driven wells, and can be 

 used to draw water from a spring or lake. 

 It can be operated by hand or by a wind- 

 mill or any pumping engine. It is so 

 arranged that water and air are both 

 forced through the supply main into the 

 tank and are prevented from returning 

 by means of a check valve in the pipe. 



As the water rises in the tank the air is compressed until the former occupies 

 about three-quarters of the total capacity. The compressed air supplies the force 

 necessary for the distribution of water through the house, and water gauges 

 determine the amount of pressure existing. 



Door to tank house shown on opposite page 



