234 



Popular Science Monthly 



Power from a Floating Water 

 Power Plant 



FARMERS who have small streams 

 running through their places are 

 showing much interest in the portable 

 and self-contained power plant which 

 has been designed and patented by A. G. 

 Watkins of Philadelphia. The appara- 

 tus can be used wherever water moves at 

 the rate of two miles an hour, which is 

 less than that of the average stream. The 

 plant consists of two triangular floats 

 fastened together by iron rods to form 



The float on one side houses a motor 

 with a series of gear-wheels which mul- 

 tiply the power to such a degree that a 

 one-half horse power dynamo is effec- 

 tively driven. The other side of the float 

 contains a pump, and thus water or pow- 

 er may be secured as desired. The float 

 is anchored to a tree or any other con- 

 venient object. \\'here more power is 

 wanted several of these devices can be 

 tied up one behind the other. 



The plant shown is the first which has 

 been demonstrated by the inventor. It 

 is shown on the surface of Carrol Creek 



Two triangular floats support the water wheel, which derives power from any stream flowing 

 at a rate even as low as two miles an hour 



a channel of decreasing width. A water 

 wheel is mounted in the narrow part. 

 Between the floats and beneath the water 

 there is an adjustable platform, set at a 

 slight angle, so that, together with the 

 floats, a wide-mouthed opening is form- 

 ed, decreasing in its dimensions in three 

 directions toward the wheel. This has 

 the effect of increasing the volume of 

 water passing through the narrow open- 

 ing and acting on the blades of the wheel. 



at Frederick, Md. A line was run to 

 the bridge appearing in the distance, 

 where twenty incandescent lamps of six- 

 teen candlepower each were operated. 



One of these plants will soon be in 

 operation at St. Petersburg, Fla. It is 

 said that the operation of the power plant 

 in cold weather is not interfered with by 

 ice for the reason that the motion of the 

 water in the passage between the two 

 floats prevents freezing. 



