170 



THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



Main Pumps. 



Standing prominently in the foreground is one of the 

 two pumps used to do this work. Briefly, it is a 48-inch 

 discharge "Morris Machine Works" double-suction cen- 

 trifugal pump, arranged for direct connection to an en- 

 gine. The two suction pipes extend horizontally through 

 the wall into the suction bay, then downward within a 

 protective cribbing, as shown by Fig. 2. 



The water drawn in through both pipes, passes the el- 

 bows and is received on both sides of the pump impeller 

 or piston, balancing it against any thrust. The discharge 

 is from the lower portion of the pump sh'ell in the oppo- 

 site direction from the suction, underground. This ar- 

 rangement puts it out of the way in the power house. 

 Pump Shell. 



The pump shell or volute is split both horizontally 

 and vertically. The horizontal division extends, as will 

 be seen, through the suction elbows and elbow bearings. 

 This manner of dividing the pump shell has been used 

 many years on the large Morris pumps and has recently 

 come into considerable favor also for smaller ones on ac- 

 count of marked advantages. 



A ribbed divided disc is attached to each side of the 

 pump shell. Bolted to these discs are suction elbows, car- 

 rying ample shaft bearings. Beyond this is an outboard 

 shaft bearing. This provides a large amount of bearing 

 surface, which means long life to any pump, and has been 

 one of the valuable qualities of this make since its first 

 appearance some 45 years ago. 



The regular shape of the pump volute, increasing all 

 the way round to the discharge, is clearly brought out by 

 the photograph. This indicates a well-shaped interior 

 water passage, which together with the design of the 

 impeller or piston, and the careful interior finish, are ex- 

 tremely important points in the general afficiency of the 

 pump. 



Fig. 2. Oil Barge Unloading. Suction Pipes for One of the Pumps 

 and Protective Cribbing. View of Stream Supplying Water for 

 the Pumps. 



Priming. 



Priming pipes are attached at the top of the pump 

 shell and were so arranged when the photographs were 

 taken that one steam ejector, conveniently located, served 

 both pumps. 



Suction and Discharge Piping. 



The suction and discharge piping was laid out espe- 

 cially to avoid water friction always a sort of hydraulic 

 "bugaboo" The pump opening for the discharge is 48- 

 inch, but the piping leading from it is increased to 60-inch. 

 By this means the pipe friction is reduced to one-third or 

 one-half what it would be for 48-inch pipe, making it a 

 strong point in plant economy. The termination of the 

 discharge piping is an oblong discharge nozzle, made very 

 wide horizontally, but very shallow vertically. The effect 

 of this is to spread the discharge into a fan-shaped stream, 

 which leaves the opening at decreased velocity, and which 

 under certain conditions slightly reduces the actual work- 

 ing head on the pump. It also utilizes to better advan- 

 tage the momentum of the outward moving water body. 



Sharp turns have been entirely eliminated. Where 

 necessary to change direction of the water, the piping has 

 been made on easy sweeping curves. On the discharge 

 these were formed to a 15-foot radius; on the suction to 

 a 10-foot radius. Fig. 2 shows the part of the turn in the 

 suction pipe which is above water. At the bottom end 

 the openings are flared to produce easy entry conditions. 



Fuel. 



In Fig. 2 is also noted the solution of the fuel prob- 

 lem as a barge of crude oil is being unloaded by steam. 

 Condensers and Circulating Pump. 



Two 14-inch Baragwanath siphon condensers are used 

 for creating the vacuum for the main steam engines. 

 Water for these condensers is furnished by a "smaller 

 member" of the Morris centrifugal pump "family," con- 

 sisting of an 8-inch discharge centrifugal pump, direct- 

 connected to an 8x5 Morris high-speed enclosed self-oil- 

 ing engine. This outfit is adapted to high speeds and 

 will work against higher heads than the ordinary open- 

 type, long-stroke vertical engine will stand. It is shown 

 in operation (Fig. 3). The condensers to which it delivers 

 may be seen in Fig. 1 surrounded by framework in the 

 background. 



Engines. 



The main driving engines deserve a word. 



The conditions under which most irrigation and drain- 

 age pumping plants are operated make it a problem as to 

 what style of engine to use. As they usually run but 

 part of the time three or four months of the year the 

 engine must not be overexpensive; nor require many re- 

 pairs; and upkeep must be low. On the other hand, to 

 use the less costly, simple engine makes the fuel bill fre- 

 quently prohibitive, because they require too much steam. 

 Therefore some measure of steam economy must be at- 

 tained, and to do this the engine must be compounded. 

 It must not be too delicate. It must not be too compli- 

 cated. It must do well under the care of unexpert at- 

 tendance. Between these extremes it is often hard to de- 

 cide. The engine chosen for this plant, the Erie City 

 tandem compound four-valve engine, possesses a well- 

 balanced average of these qualities. The usual construc- 

 tion of the steam end, the vital part, is with a balanced 

 slide valve for the steam inlet, and rotating valves op- 

 erated by a separate valve rod through suitable rockers 

 and links for the exhaust. The design has been worked 

 out so as to have small clearance and to allow the exhaust 

 a direct and free passage. 



The governor shown in the illustration does not con- 

 trol the speed of the engines, but acts simply as a safety 

 stop. The work being practically, constant for each run, 

 there is very little call to change speeds. Sufficient ad- 

 justment may 1 usually be had at the throttle. These en- 

 gines have adjustable eccentrics by which the cut-off may 

 be changed to suit variations in load which may arise from 

 changes in water -level or other requirements. The fly- 

 wheels, pump pistons and body of water in the pump 

 itself all act to produce an even rotation of the com- 

 bined unit. 



Summary. 



The following presents a brief outline of the prin- 

 cipal apparatus used in this plant: 



