24 BULLETIN 1067, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 
TEST OF PUMPING PLANT IN SUBDISTRICT NO. I, GUEYDAN DRAINAGE DISTRICT, 
FLORENCE, LA. 
DESCRIPTION OF PLANT. 
This pumping plant is a good example of a high-grade steam plant 
with simple Corliss noncondensing engines and two 54-inch Worth- 
ington double-suction pumps. The pumps are direct connected to 
two 16 by 36 inch slow-speed Corliss engines, the pump shaft being 
solid with the engine shaft, thus doing away with flanged couplings. 
Part of the exhaust is utilized in a 400-horsepower open feed-water 
heater which raises the temperature of the feed water to 210° F. 
The steam-generating equipment consists of two 72-inch by 18-foot 
return tubular boilers rated at 150 horsepower each and designed for a 
125-pound working pressure. Oil is fed to the burners, of which 
there is one under each boiler, by a pumping outfit which heats and 
delivers it to the burners at a uniform pressure. The suction and 
discharge pipes are tapering and well designed. 
Each pumping unit has a capacity of 65,000 gallons per minute 
against a 5-foot difference in level between suction and discharge 
canals. Each unit has a 40 per cent overload capacity when pumping 
against a 3-foot head and if necessary is capable of pumping against 
a 10-foot head with a reduced discharge. 
METHOD OF CONDUCTING TEST. 
Unit No. 2 of the plant was tested to find the actual operating 
efficiency. The simultaneous tests which were run on the pumping 
unit and boiler lasted six hours. The quantity of discharge from the 
pump was obtained with a Pitot tube. The total head and the 
actual head on the pump were obtained in the usual way. 
During the test it was impossible to utilize the heater, as there was 
no way of delivering hot water to the weighing barrel. The tank 
pump was therefore piped to take water from the canal and deliver 
it into two barrels placed above a third barrel from which the feed 
pump took suction. The amount of oil used during the test was 
recorded by an oil meter installed in the oil line to the burners. 
After breaking the vacuum and draining the pump the mechanical 
efficiency of the engine was obtained by taking cards from the engine 
when running at the speed maintained during the test. 
During the test the static head was less than 5 feet and the dis- 
charge considerably more than 65,000 gallons per minute. These con- 
ditions were not those for which the plant was built and undoubtedly 
resulted in a pump efficiency that is less than it would be under proper 
conditions. The results of the boiler test are given below and those 
of the test on the pumping plant in Tables 16 and 17. 
