1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



389 



There is also practically no limit to 

 the size to which the Rife hydraulic 

 ram may be constructed. Accounts of 

 many tests with Rife hydraulic rams 

 have been published from time to time 

 in the engineering press of recent 

 years, and, in comparison with other 

 forms of pumping machinery, the ram 

 possesses marked advantages, and it 

 is entirely automatic and runs con- 

 stantly without attention or expense. 

 It is practically without wearing parts, 

 such as require lubrication or frequent 

 adjustments, and is therefore not in 

 need of the care of an attendant. The 

 operation is most reliable, and the re- 

 pairs are few, owing to the small num- 

 ber of parts which are liable to de- 

 rangement ; it need not be protected 

 from the weather and will work equal- 

 ly well out of doors and not covered, 

 and foundations are unnecessary. 



The illustrations show one of the 

 larger sizes of the modern hydraulic 

 rams as built for the United States 

 Government, and also the method of 

 installation at the Naval Coaling sta- 

 tion in Bradford, R. I. Two of these 



Fig. 2. Hydraulic Ram Connections. U. S. 

 Coaling Station, Narragansett Bay, R. I. 



machines were put in during the sum- 

 mer of 1903 for pumping water into a 

 tank which furnishes fire protection, 

 and also supplies the various buildings 

 on the grounds and the vessels which 

 tie up to the dock. Careful tests were 

 made of the plant when completed by 

 Government engineers, and the rams 

 were shown to develop an average ef- 

 ficiency of 90 per cent as per Govern- 

 ment test as follows : 



TWO GOVERNMENT TESTS ON NO. 120 

 HYDRAULIC ENGINES AT U.S. NAVAL 

 COALING STATION, NARRAGANSETT 

 BAY, NEWPORT, R. I. 



Total water used by ram. 



q Water delivered into stand pipes. 



H Power head on ram. 



h Pumping head on ram. 



Q 582 gallons per minute. 



q 232 gallons per minute. 



H 36^ feet. 



h 84 feet. 



Strokes 130. Efficiency 91.25 per 

 cent. 



O 578 gallons per minute. 



q 228 gallons per minute. 



H Z7 T A f eet. 



h 84 feet. 



Strokes 130. Efficiency 89.06 per 

 cent. 



These rams could use 750 gallons 

 per minute each. 582 was all available 

 when tests were made. 



A number of such machines have 

 been supplied by the Rife Engine 

 Company, New York city, for irriga- 

 tion purposes in the South and West, 

 and also to sugar plantations in South 

 America and the Hawaiian Islands. 



