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THE K U KA L rs 1£ VV-VOiTTTKi< 
193 
ELECTRICITY ON THE FARM. 
Using a Small Water Power. 
E have a stream on our place, but 
without much fall, and I am not 
sure we could get enough power for 
an electric light plant. I do not think 
a dam would give us a fall of more than 
•jy 2 or three feet. Would that be suffi¬ 
cient? What is the expense of appara¬ 
tus. etc.? MRS. c. w. s. 
Kidgewood, N. J. 
I am afraid you would find a three- 
foot fall rather expensive, granting your 
stream furnishes water enough to oper¬ 
ate a plant at this head. A 36-inch tur¬ 
bine wheel, consuming about 1,600 feet 
<>f water a minute at a tliree-foot head, 
would develop about six horsepower un¬ 
der ideal conditions. The first requisite 
of course, is sufficient water—1,600 feet 
per minute in this case. A survey of 
your stream would be necessary to de¬ 
termine whether or not this amount of 
water was available continuously. This 
can be done by means of a weir. A 
weir is merely an upright board damming 
the stream. A slot is cut in the board 
so all the water flows through the slot. 
Roughly, the number of square inches in 
this slot filled by the flowing water, gives 
the number of cubic feet per minute the 
stream is delivering. 
A 36-inch wheel would cost about $350 
new. A 42-inch wheel requiring about 
2,500 feet of water per minute, at a 
three-foot head, would cost about $500 
new and would give 10 horsepowei\ Sec¬ 
ond-hand wheels might be had at 50 per 
cent, of these figures. 
It is frequently the case that a survey 
develops more fall than can be gauged 
by the eye; water can be carried some 
distance in a race or flume, at small ex¬ 
pense, to a spot where the maximum fall 
is to be had A bigger fall permits a 
smaller wheel for the same power, and 
correspondingly less cost for wheel. For 
instance, a five-foot fall, 1,100 feet of 
water per minute, would give the same 
power, with a 24-inch wheel, (cost new 
$200), as would a three-foot fall with a 
36-inch wheel, (cost $350). 
Dynamo, second-hand, big enough for 
private plant, (from three to 10 kilo¬ 
watts—a kilowatt is 1 1-3 horsepower), 
should cost not over $50 for the small¬ 
er; and not over $125 for larger. Double 
these prices would buy new machines. 
All machines should be tested and guar¬ 
anteed before being paid for, however. 
The simplest way I know of testing a 
dynamo is to connect it with a 110-volt 
current (if it is a standard voltage ma¬ 
chine), and see if it runs up to speed as 
a motor. Dynamos and motors, generally 
speaking, are identical—that is, you can 
hitch water power to most direct current 
motors, and make them generate elec¬ 
tricity ; and you can connect electric 
wires to the average direct-current dy¬ 
namo and make it do duty as a motor. 
This test of running a dynamo as a mo¬ 
tor is not absolutely conclusive, but it 
is right 1)9 times out of 100 with direct- 
current machines. 
As to the additional cost of electric in¬ 
stallation, I believe that the whole thing, 
exclusive of water wheel, can be in¬ 
stalled to meet the needs of the average 
farmstead, for less than the price of one 
sound draught horse. Wiring itself is 
inexpensive. Wire, No. 14, rubber cov¬ 
ered, costs about a' cent a foot or less; 
and the molding in which it is concealed 
costs two cents a foot or less; 300 feet 
(double wire) ought to wire the average 
farmhouse. As to fixtures, they need not 
be expensive. I have turned several 
lamps into electric fixtures—one a hang¬ 
ing lamp over the dining-room table, and 
another a plain burner. A beautiful 
hanging lamp can be made by lining a 
fancy basket with green or red silk, and 
hanging it from the ceiling with an elec¬ 
tric lamp wire in it. There is little or 
no heat from an electric bulb, and this 
gives women a chance to do all sorts of 
fancy things with tissue paper and fancy 
silks, for fixtures, 
But first of all before one gets too en¬ 
thusiastic over the possibilities of an 
electric plant on the farm, one must make 
sure that there is water enough for a 
wheel. This can only be determined by 
a survey, and taking into account the 
fluctuations from month to month. When 
the amount of water is once determined, 
in cubic feet per minute, and the amount 
of fall, then any manufacturer of tur¬ 
bine wheels can tell you the best wheel 
for your location. 
Water Power for One Kilowatt. 
I have a farm \\ ith a small brook on 
it, and am interested in your articles 
on electricity. Can you tell me ap¬ 
proximately how much water is needed to 
operate a one-kilowatt dynamo? I think 
there is probably a steady flow eight or 
nine months in the year of 25 gallons per 
minute. s. j. c. 
New York. 
It depends on the fall. Say two horse¬ 
power would be required for full load. 
With a three-foot fall this power could 
be secured from a 21-inch wheel with a 
flow of approximately 500 cubic feet per 
minute. AYith a 10-foot fall, and a small¬ 
er wheel, 100 cubic feet of water a min¬ 
ute would give the required power. Your 
brook, giving 25 cubic feet per min¬ 
ute, is too small, except for a toy plant. 
Possibly your estimate is wrong, as it is 
very difficult to estimate the flow of a 
brook without actual measurement. If 
your conditions are right, you might im¬ 
pound water enough to keep a very small 
dynamo running during the hours when 
light was actually needed. Even a quarter 
kilowatt dynamo will light a farmstead 
very satisfactorily. 
Using a Rapid Stream. 
About 400 feet below our house we 
have a powerful creek which does 
some real work, as there are factor¬ 
ies on its bank. Where it passes our es¬ 
tate it is rushing and hardly freezes even 
in the coldest days. Though not very 
deep—three or four feet—in the Spring 
when the snow melts the ice breaks and 
it gets quite high. 1. AVhat kind of 
water wheel would you put in? 2. IIow 
would you place it so the ice would not 
break it and it would keep on working? 
3. What do you think it would cost to 
install a water wheel and dynamo? 4. 
Does a special building need to be built 
for dynamo? j. r. 
1. The modern turbine water wheel 
is the most efficient as it utilizes prac¬ 
tically 85 per cent, of the power of fall¬ 
ing water. 2. AA'ater wheel flumes should 
be supplied with water by means of a 
race diverting the water from the main 
stream, and so bulwarked, either by stone 
rip-rap or timber as to hold a freshet to 
the main channel, in time of flood. 3. A 
small plant, say of three kilowatt cap¬ 
acity, for light and small power for a 
farm, should not exceed in cost $200, not 
counting labor. This does not include 
cost of dam and race, which would vary 
with circumstances. A second-hand 
wheel and dynamo would make the cost 
less. 4. An ordinary weather-tight build¬ 
ing would house a dynamo. While mod¬ 
ern dynamos have their coils water¬ 
proofed by baking, still they require to 
be protected thoroughly from rain and 
snow and dust and litter. A dynamo 
should be so placed on a solid wood 
foundation, as to permit its being belted 
to the main shaft or countershaft sup¬ 
plying power from the water wheel. An 
endless belt should be used, and a belt 
running horizontally is better than one 
running vertically. f. I. a. 
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