I 180 
D* RURAL N 
Farm Mechanics 
Trouble with Pump 
1 have a pump that works very hard, 
tlan you tell me what I must do to stop 
St? F. M. 
New Jersey. 
Judging from the sketch furnished it 
vould seem that the trouble with the sys¬ 
tem comes from an attempt at too great a 
ift with a pump of the type used. Un- 
ess a submerged cylinder is used or at 
east one placed comparatively near the 
water surface, water cannot be lifted to 
an indefinite distance by means of a suc- 
iion pump. Water has a considerable 
weight and where the pump cylinder is 
located above the water surface the only 
force available to lift the water to the 
cylinder is that of atmospheric pressure 
or “suction,” ae we call it. This pres¬ 
sure amounts roughly to 15 lbs. per 
square inch and is capable of lifting a 
column of water approximately 34 ft. 
In actual practice, however, this distance 
must be reduced to got anything like sat¬ 
isfactory service, because of leakage, re¬ 
sistance' to flow through pipe, and valves, 
etc. 
How to Ease Strain on Pump 
ing the pump work hard and giving a 
“rubbery” feel to the action of the pump 
when used—the handle if pulled down 
quickly tending to fly back when re¬ 
leased. If there is a cellar beneath the 
(door upon which the pump is placed, 
pumping could be made easier by install¬ 
ing a pump with a set length sufficient to 
permit the cylinder being placed near the 
cellar floor. This would lower it some 
S or 10 ft. and make it work better, as it 
would be nearer the water. If this can¬ 
not be done, a vacuum chamber made 
from a short length of large pipe can be 
coupled into the line, as indicated in the 
sketch, which will lessen shocks to the 
pump and tend to make the pump work 
easier. The use of a foot valve at the 
ower end of the pipe or a check valve 
above the water line, while not making 
.he pump work any easier, will prevent it 
from running down and lessen somewhat 
the strain on the valves of the pump 
proper. If there is trouble from freezing, 
however, some means of drainage must 
be provided, as the use of the valves 
xnentioned will cause the pipe to stand 
full of water. H - S- 
Water Power for Generating Electricity 
I am going to improve a water power 
to generate electric current for use on 
farm for light and power. I have 35-ft. 
head and sufficient water to supply an 
S-in. horizontal wheel (turbine), which 
will develop 15 h.p. at about 1,000 revo¬ 
lutions per minute. The generator will 
be mounted on the water-wheel shaft. 
What system should I use in order to 
make it' fool-proof, alternating or direct 
current? This plant will be about 3.000 
ft. from the farm buildings. The water¬ 
wheel develops 15 theoretical h. p., or 
say, 12 actual h. p. How much power 
will remain after carrying it 3,000 ft. to 
a dynamo to be used for silo-filling, 
(thrashing, etc.? w. n. A. 
Allentown, Pa. 
Because of your distance from the 
source of power it is probable that a volt¬ 
age of at least 220 volts should be carried. 
This corresponds to pressure in a water 
system, and a high voltage, like a high 
water pressure, permits the use of smaller 
carriers, wires in the case of the electric 
current, and pipes in the case of the 
water system, lessening cost of transmis¬ 
sion line. By this I do not mean to im¬ 
ply that 220 'volts is a high-pressure cur¬ 
rent. It is not. The idea was to get a 
voltage that would transmit the cur¬ 
rent without too great loss through resist¬ 
ance to flow in the wires and still keep 
within the bounds of safety. 
Most standard equipment is for alter¬ 
nating current, and it will probably per¬ 
mit you to buy with greater facility if 
alternating current is used; that is, less 
special orders will have to be sent for 
equipment, necessitating delays. With 
alternating current whatever voltage is 
used on the line may be readily stepped 
down to the standard 110 volts of ordi¬ 
nary equipment. 
The speed of your turbine may not be 
right, requiring the use of a belt drive to 
secure the proper speed for the generator. 
The current output of a generator is 
measured in kilowatts, each kilowatt be¬ 
ing equal to about one and one-third 
horsepower. It is usual to use a gener¬ 
ator of considerably less rated capacity 
than that of the power used to drive it. 
This is to insure closer speed regulation 
and to provide for sudden overloads. .Be¬ 
cause of the fact that, your motor would 
be running under a full capacity load in 
driving a blower. I would expect consid¬ 
erable trouble from blowing of fuses due 
to the sudden excess loads thrown on the 
blower. Perhaps if care is used in feed¬ 
ing it this may be avoided, but the aver¬ 
age help is not too careful in such mat¬ 
ters. r. ir. s. 
Problem in Water Supply 
On one of our farms we are in trouble 
regarding water supply; have to draw 
water about 1.600 ft. from springs, in a 
hard place to get at. IIow could we in¬ 
crease our supply and bring it nearer to 
our buildings? Could a ram be used to 
advantage? The springs are on a bank 
about 1.600 ft. distant from buildings. 
The water is partially tiled to one point, 
where there is a supply about seven gal¬ 
lons per minute, with a fail down the 
bank of 12 or 14 ft. The buildings are 
on an elevation above outlet of springs 
about 65 ft. How near to buildings would 
a ram force water, giving a supply not 
less than 500 gallons in 24 hours? 
Geneseo, N. Y. E. .T. F. 
If the figures given in your estimate 
are correct, a good ram should furnish 
you in excess of 500 gallons of water 
daily under the conditions given. As all 
of your measurements are approximations 
only, it would be impossible to state just 
how much water could be obtained. I 
would advise writing to manufacturers 
of rams and getting their catalogues. In 
their catalogues will be found a data 
sheet to be filled out after getting the 
measurements of water flow, distance to 
which it is to be piped, height to be 
raised and fall obtainable from the source 
to the ram, etc. With this data at hand 
they can recommend a ram for use and 
give you a minimum guarantee of water 
flow. You state that the buildings are 
above outlet of spring about 65 ft., but 
your letter does not state whether this 
was the height at which the water was 
to be delivered, or whether the water was 
to be delivered to an elevated tank from 
-which the buildings were to be supplied. 
Delivery to a pressure tank also, even 
though it be below the level of the build¬ 
ings, must be taken into account. The 
data blank furnished by the manufac¬ 
turers, however, will cover these points 
and enable them to state definitely what 
they can do. b. h. s. 
Draft of Furnace 
I have just had my furnace overhauled 
again, and the furnace man declares that 
no judgment, as to its draft, can be 
formed until a hot fire is made. As soon 
as a hot fire is made the cement used to 
put the furnace together will become as 
hard as stone, and it will be more dif¬ 
ficult to take the furnace apart. A bit 
of paper, however, set on fire in the 
smoke pipe of the furnace connected with 
the chimney produces a “roaring” draft, 
while the same amount of lighted papm* 
in the furnace connected with the ch ; m- 
ney burns “dead.” You will understand 
there is a draft regulator in the smoke 
pipe, where the paper above mentioned 
can be put in. without disturbing the 
complete working condition of the fur¬ 
nace. Should not the draft of the furnace 
proper be as good as its smoke pipe? 
Lancaster, Pa. m. t. 
From what you say in regard to your 
furnace it seems probable to the writer 
that the draft will be all right. If the 
furnace is tight, so that the admission of 
air can be controlled, and there is a clean, 
tight smoke pipe' or chimney to carry the 
smoke well above the roof, there is not 
likely to be any trouble. Most of oui 
trouble comes from openings, clogged flues 
and other troubles enumerated in the dis¬ 
cussion mentioned. 
Burning the paper as you have done 
Could hardly be called a fair test. Air 
rises in the smoke pipe because it is made 
warmer, and, therefore, lighter than the 
surrounding air. The volume of air m 
the base of the smoke pipe is very much 
smaller than the air contained in rhe 
combustion chamber of rhe furnace, there¬ 
fore burning a scrap of paper in the fur¬ 
nace would not have near the warming 
effect on the air contained as would an 
equal amount of heat liberated in the 
smoke pipe. It is probable that when 
sufficient fire has been secured in the fire¬ 
box to warm the air to the same degree 
that the air in the smoke pipe was 
warmed by the burning paper that the 
EW-YO RKER 
February 5, 1921 
draft will be as brisk. Enough heat must 
be secured to thoroughly heat the furnace 
and the air contained before a good draft 
can be expected. B. H. S. 
Overloaded Engine 
I have a 2-h.p. gas_oline engine with a 
5-in. pulley making 450 r.p.m.; also have 
a cordwood saw with same size pulley. It 
does not seem that I am getting best re¬ 
sults from this “hitch.” What would you 
advise, a smaller pulley on saw, or a 
larger one on engine? Perhaps a larger 
pulley on engine and also a smaller one 
on saw will give better results. F. K. E. 
Little Hocking, Ohio. 
It is probable that you have diagnosed 
your trouble correctly; the saw runs too 
slowly. The Disston people recommend 
a speed of 10.000 feet per minute at the 
rim as the best cutting speed for their 
saws. This would mean thq.t a 24-in 
saw would have to make about 1.630 rev¬ 
olutions per minute to secure this rim 
speed. Disregarding belt slippage and en¬ 
gine lag, your saw as now arranged can 
make but 450 r.p.m., less than one-thii’d 
of the recommended speed. Pole saws 
are usually thick, however, and can run 
somewhat slower than the speed given and 
still do good work. 
A 2-h.p. engine is too light a power 
with which to saw wood, and it is doubt¬ 
ful if it will stand up to the work under 
the increased load of driving the saw 
faster. If, however, the engine - is not 
overloaded at present, you might try put¬ 
ting a larger pulley on the engine, say, a 
10-in., and at the same time adjust the 
engine governor to operate the engine 
at about 500 r.p.m., provided it will run 
smoothly at this speed. This will give 
the saw a speed of about 1.000 r.p.m., 
which will be much better, provided the 
engine has sufficient power to carry it at 
this speed. Do not put a smaller pulley 
on the saw. A 5-in. pulley is as small as 
should be used for the purpose. 
As stated above, the 2-h.p. engiue is 
to# small to operate a pole saw success¬ 
fully, and the change to the larger pulley 
is advised only on condition that the en¬ 
gine is not fully loaded at present. 
R. H. S. 
Easy milking and a full yield are 
possible only when the teats are 
soft and smooth, and the tissues healthy. 
The use of Bag Balm guarantees this 
healthy condition day in and day out. 
Any scratch. Cut, Soreness or inflamma¬ 
tion heals quickly under the penetrating 
and soothing effect of this great oint. 
ment. Caked Bag, a serious form of 
udder trouble when not properly treated, 
responds promptly to Bag Balm. A val¬ 
uable remedy in treating Bunche# and 
Cow Pox- 
65c for the liberal Bag Balm package, is 
a small investment for health insurance. 
Sold by feed dealer*, general stores and 
druggists. 
DAIRY ASSOCIATION CO., LynJonville, Vt. 
Pr. W. H. Jordan Honored 
The Board of Control of the Geneva 
Experiment Station recently passed the 
following resolution. It will be endorsed 
by New York farmers : 
Whereas, Dr. Whitman II. Jordan, 
who has served for 25 years as Director of 
the Geneva Experiment Station, has sub¬ 
mitted his resignation to this Board and 
feels that he cannot, in justice to himself, 
continue to perform the duties of the di¬ 
rectorship ; and 
Whereas, His great service to agri¬ 
culture and his great service in develop¬ 
ing and broadening the scope of the work 
of the Geneva Experiment Station, and 
the highly important results obtained by 
him in the advancement of agriculture, 
not only in New York, but in other States, 
are appreciated, not only by this Board, 
but by the agricultural leadership of the 
whole country; therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the Board of Control of * 
the Geneva Experiment Station deeply re- j 
grets the unalterable decision of Dr, Jor¬ 
dan to retire, and desires to express its 
appreciation of his labors in behalf of ag¬ 
ricultural development* and the feeling 
that agriculture is suffering a great loss 
in his retirement; be it it further 
Resolved, That a copy of thesr resolu¬ 
tions be forwarded to Dr. Jordan and the 
agricultural papers. 
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