‘The  RURAL  NEW-YORKER 
687 
Farm  Mechanics 
Conducted  by  Robert  H.  Smith,  of  the  Canton  Agricultural  School 
Canton,  New  York 
Plan  for  Water  Supply 
What  kind  of  a  pump  is  needed  to 
elevate  water  to  reservoir,  as  shown  in 
diagram,  size  of  pipe,  and  the  best  place 
to  put  pump?  Also  height  above  house 
necessary  for  reservoir  to  furnish  water 
by  gravity  to  ground  floor  of  house.  I 
have  gasoline  engine  with  plenty  of  power 
for  pump.  I  would  also  like  specification 
the  number  of  gallons  required  by  7.5 
will  give  the  approximate  number  of  cubic 
feet  necessary  for  storage  in  the  tank. 
Increasing  Speed  of  Saw 
I  have  an  engine,  1*4  li.p..  with  4-in. 
pulley,  making  450  r.p.m.  I  wish  to 
hitch  to  a  line  shaft  and  run  my  ripsaw 
1.000  r.p.m.  What  size  pulleys  should  I 
on  how  to  construct  concrete  reservoir.  I 
expect  to  construct  a  rather  small  one — 
say  about  1,500  or  2,000  barrels,  against 
side  hill,  and  have  it  covered  to  keep  out 
dirt  and  leaves.  c.  o.  L. 
Craryville,  N.  Y. 
If  the  lift  and  horizontal  distances  are 
as  shown  in  your  sketch,  a  pump  can  be 
installed  at  the  house  which  will  raise  the 
water  from  the  spring  and  deliver  it  at 
the  storage  tank.  However,  the  vertical 
distance  shown  (20  ft.)  is  approaching 
the  maximum  practical  suction  distance, 
and  coupled  with  the  friction  of  the 
horizontal  pipe  makes  it  necessary  to 
measure  the  distance  carefully  and  de¬ 
termine  that  it  is  within  the  suction  range 
(20  to  25  ft.)  before  plans  are  made  to 
use  a  pump  at  the  house.  If  the  distance 
proves  to  be  much  greater  than  this  the 
pump  would  have  to  be  placed  at  the 
spring,  or  at  least  far  enough  down  the 
slope  to  come  within  suction  distance  of 
the  water. 
A  compact  double-acting  power  pump 
will  give  the  best  results,  as  due  to  the  dou¬ 
ble-acting  operation  the  flow  of  water  is 
made  steady  in  the  suction  pipe,  and  the 
actual  velocity  is  thus  made  lower,  les¬ 
sening  the  friction  due  to  flow.  However 
any  good  force  pump  fitted  with  an  under¬ 
ground  connection  to  the  storage  tank 
and  a  windmill  head  for  the  attachment 
of  a  pumping  jack  and  power  can  be 
used.  If  a  pump  of  this  type  is  used  a 
vacuum  chamber  made  from  a  short 
length  of  large  pipe,  coupled  to  the  suc¬ 
tion  line  at  the  upper  end,  will  make  the 
pump  work  better.  A  foot  valve  placed 
at  the  lower  end  of  the  line  will  also  be 
a  help  in  the  operation  of  the  pump.  If 
the  suction  line  is  not  laid  below  the 
danger  of  freezing  this  valve  will  have 
to  be  opened  in  the  Winter  to  permit  the 
line  to  drain  after  pumping. 
Use  pipe  of  the  size  for  which  the 
pump  is  fitted,  the  3x5-in.  pump  using 
1^4-in.  pipe  and  supplying  12  gallons  per 
minute  when  operated  at  a  crankshaft 
speed  of  41  r.p.m  The  size  of  pump  to 
use  would  of  course  depend  upon  the 
quantity  of  water  furnished  by  the  spring, 
as  it  would  be  useless  to  install  a  pump 
that  would  pump  water  faster  than  it 
could  be  supplied  by  the  spring.  If  the 
spring  has  a  good  flow,  a  ram  could  be 
used,  which  would  attend  to  the  water 
supply  automatically. 
Y'ou  do  not  say  for  what  purpose  the 
water  is  to  be  used,  but  intimate  that  it 
is  for  household  use  only.  If  this  is  so,  it 
would  seem  that  a  2.000-barrel  reservoir 
is  much  larger  than  you  need.  A  reser¬ 
voir  holding  2,000  barrels  of  water  of 
31  %  gallons  each  would  have  to  be 
nearly  30x30x10  ft.  deep  and  would  cost 
very  much  to  construct.  A  faucet  dis¬ 
charging  at  the  rate  of  three  gallons  per 
minute,  an  average  rate  of  discharge, 
would  have  to  run  constantly  day  and 
night  for  over  two  weeks  to  empty  this 
tank. 
A  family  of  six  will  require  around  five 
barrels  of  water  daily  for  all  purposes 
and  as  an  engine  is  to  be  used  for  pump¬ 
ing  a  reserve  supply  sufficient  for  one  day 
is  all  that  is  required,  making  a  10-barrel 
tank  large  enough  for  household  use.  A 
rectangular  tank  made  4x4x4  ft.  deep  will 
hold  about  15  barrels,  which  is  amply 
large.  A  tank  of  this  size  can  be  made 
from  a  Ix21/4x4  mixture  of  clean  well- 
graded  sand,  screened  gravel  and  cement, 
well  mixed  and  carefully  placed.  The 
possibility  of  shrinkage  or  settlement 
cracks  is  lessened  by  the  use  of  wire  or 
iron  rod  reinforcement  in  the  sides  and 
bottom.  The  top  can  be  covered  with  a 
l’einforced  concrete  slab  provided  with  a 
man-hole,  and  the  tank  buried  to  keep  the 
water  cool  in  Summer  and  above  the 
freezing  point  in  Winter. 
Where  the  distance  separating  the 
storage  tank  from  the  house  is  small,  as 
it  appears  to  be  in  this  case,  an  elevation 
of  iO  ft.  above  the  highest  faucet  will 
give  a  satisfactory  flow  of  water  for 
household  use.  If  it  is  desired  to  supply 
water  for  stock  from  the  same  reservoir, 
provision  can  be  made  for  from  10  to  IS 
gallons  daily  per  cow.  approximately  12 
gallons  each  on  an  average,  and  the  size 
of  the  tank  made  accordingly.  Dividing 
use?  Can  I  increase  the  speed  without 
a  larger  pulley  on  engine?  If  I  use  a 
larger  pulley  on  engine,  how  can  I  figure 
the  speed  ?  H.  H.  o. 
Marcellus.  N.  Y. 
From  the  size  of  your  engine.  (IV2  h.p.) 
it  is  probable  that  the  saw  you  intend  driv¬ 
ing  is  a  small  one,  and  if  so,  1,000  r.p.m. 
is  rather  too  slow  for  it.  The  standard 
speed  for  a  circular  ripsaw  is  about  10,000 
ft.  rim  speed  per  minute ;  that  is,  if  the 
saw  were  to  roll  freelv  on  the  floor  at  the 
rate  at  which  it  is  revolving  it  would 
travel  10.000  ft.,  or  nearly  two  miles,  in 
a  minute.  To  attain  this  speed  a  12-in. 
saw  will  have  to  make  3,200  r.p  m.,  a  10- 
in.  saw.  3,020.  and  an  8-in.  saw.  4,000 
While  the  above  is  the  standard  speed 
saws  will  work  satisfactorily  if  run  some¬ 
what  slower. 
Assuming  that  you  are  using  a  12-in. 
saw  and  that  it  carries  a  3-in.  pulley  on 
the  mandrel,  you  can  secure  a  speed  of 
3,000  r.p.m.  for  the  saw  by  using  a  10-in. 
pulley  on  the  engine,  running  at  450 
r.p.m.,  and  belting  this  to  a  6-in.  pulley 
on  the  jack  shaft.  This  will  drive  the 
jack  shaft  at  750  r.p.m.,  as  when  two 
pulleys  are  connected  by  a  belt  the  speed 
of  the  driver  times  its  diameter  will  equal 
the  speed  of  the  driven  times  its  diameter. 
Belting  from  a  12-in.  pulley  of  the  jack 
shaft  to  a  3-in.  pulley  on  the  saw  mandrel 
will  drive  the  saw  at  the  required  speed 
of  3.000  r.p.m. 
With  a  small  power  like  this  it  is  bet¬ 
ter  to  belt  direct  where  possible,  as  each 
shaft  turned  uses  power  that  might  bet¬ 
ter  be  applied  at  the  saw.  If  the  mandrel 
has  an  end  pulley  or  if  the  position  of 
the  saw  is  such  that  the  belt  can  run  to 
the  center  pulley  of  the  mandrel  without 
interfering  with  the  table,  it  may  be  pos¬ 
sible  to  belt  direct  from  the  balance  wheel 
of  the  engine  to  the  mandrel  of  the  saw. 
If  the  engine  carries  a  20-in.  balance 
wheel,  the  same  speed  would  be  obtained 
at  the  saw  as  with  the  jack  shaft  and 
pulleys  described. 
Manufacturing  Cement  Blocks 
#  Another  man  and  myself  are  talking  of 
going  into  the  cement  block  business  to¬ 
gether.  He  has  a  good  sand  and  gravel 
bank  of  very  nice  quality.  Tlio  propo¬ 
sition  is  that  he  will  furnish  sand  and 
gravel,  building,  machinery  and  all  neces¬ 
sary  tools,  and  deliver  the  blocks.  I  am 
to  furnish  cement  and  do  the  work.  We 
are  to  divide  the  profits  equally.  Cement 
costs  about  80c  a  sack.  How  much  ce¬ 
ment  will  it  take  for  one  block?  What 
proportion  of  cement,  sand  and  gravel 
would  be  the  best  mixture  for  same?  1 
would  like  all  the  details  on  cement  blocks 
and  cement  block  machinery.  C.  L. 
Wyoming  Co.,  N.  Y. 
Blocks  of  this  kind  are  made  in  s<> 
many  different  sizes  and  shapes  and  with 
such  \videly  varying  openings  that  it  is 
impossible  to  state  definitely  the  quantity 
of  cement  required  per  block.  Aside  from 
the  above  factors,  blocks  are  mado  from 
many  different  mixtures  for  different  pur¬ 
poses,  some  rich  in  cement  and  some 
made  from  leaner  mixtures.  Sometimes 
they  are  faced  ;  that  is,  a  rioher  material 
used  for  the  outside  of  the  block  than  is 
used  in  the  remainder.  All  of  these  things 
makes  the  quantity  of  cement  required 
per  block  quite  variable.  However,  a 
common  size  is  8x8x16  in.  long.  With 
this  size,  assuming  that  one-third  of  the 
volume  of  the  block  is  taken  up  by  the 
spaces  left  by  the  core,  that  a  %j-in.  face 
made  from  a  mortar  mixed  in  the  propor 
tion  of  one  part  cement  to  two  parts  sand 
is  used,  and  that  the  balance  of  the  block 
is  made  from  a  mixture  made  up  of  one 
part  cement,  three  parts  sand  and  four 
parts  fine  gravel,  you  may  expect  to  get 
from  10  to  12  blocks  per  sack  of  cement. 
The  cost  of  the  cement  is  by  no  means 
the  whole  cost  of  the  block,  however.  A 
satisfactory  block  must  be  well  made  of 
good  material  and  properly  cured.  Then, 
too.  a  local  demand  for  the  product  is 
essential  for  success,  because  of  the  cost 
of  transportation  due  to  weight.  Usually 
the  cement  block  business  is  conducted 
by  someone  who  has  had  experience  in 
the  handling  of  cement,  so  that  he  has 
rather  a  good  idea  of  what  he  is  getting 
into  when  starting  the  work.  Would  sug¬ 
gest  that  you  visit  a  plant  making  blocks 
and  cement  products  and  study  the  situa¬ 
tion  at  first  hand. 
Nash  Leads  the  World  in  Motor  Car  Value 
Six  Touring  Model 
Five  Passengers 
$1240 
f.o.b.  Factory 
Five  Disc  Wheels  and  Nash  Self- 
Mounting  Carrier ,  $25  additional 
This  Nash  Six  Touring  model  for  five  people  was 
designed  to  serve  farmers.  It’s  a  wonderful  performer, 
with  generous  passenger  capacity,  built  stoutly  and 
solidly  down  to  the  last  detail.  Two  stalwart  cross¬ 
members  of  tubular  type  reinforce  the  rigidity  of 
the  frame.  And  Nash  engineers  have  carried  the 
motor  and  carburetor  refinement  to  a  point  where 
the  car  comes  close  to  the  gasoline  mileage  of  a 
four-cylinder  model. 
FOURS  and  SIXES 
Prices  range  from  $915  to  $2190,  f.  o.  b.  factory 
- ■  -■  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  .  _ ...  _ — ^ —— ^rnrnmjmm M 
The  N  ash  Motors  Company,  Kenosha,  Wisconsin 
(1423) 
