DO IT ELECTRICALLY

Dominion, Volume 20, Issue 298, 15 September 1927, Page 7

DO IT ELECTRICALLY

Electrifying Brickworks. The application of electric power is now generally recognised as one of tile most economical and reliable methods of driving brickmaking machinery, due to its flexibility of distribution and control, which results in a considerable savfng iu the cost of production (says an exchange). The power requirements of a brickworks are distributed over a wide area, and the electric motor affords an ideal method of developing economically a small amount of energy at different points of application. In thc past the power required for brickmaking and general pottery pl*nt was provided by steam engines, the exhaust steam being used for drying the products before they were taken to the kilns. As it is now the custom to employ waste heat from the kilns for the drying process, steam is not used to any great extent for this purpose. Consequently, the electric motor has become extremely popular, by virtue of its many advantages over other types of prime mover. The machinery used in brickmaking and the general pottery trades depends largely upon the nature of the raw material available and the character of the finished products, thus a great variety of electric motor applications already exist in the various branches of these industries. Amongst the machines employed in the process of brickmaking may be mentioned the “mortar” and “pug mill,” burb and knob rolls, all of which are used in connection with the disintegration and thorough mixing of the clay An electric motor is easily adapted for driving the above machinery, also presses for the manufacture of bricks, earthenware pipes, etc., such presses being usually the flywheel type. Other applications for which electric motors are particularly suitable include pumping water from the day pits, driving ventilating fans in the drying ovens, also elevating and conveying plant. As regards the question of individual V group driving of the various machines used in brick manufacture, it may be stated that a direct-coupled motor has not been generally adopted in this industry, but is gradually increasing in favour,'especially for driving centrifugal pumps and fans. A belt drive is more suitable for the actual brickmaking machinery, as some elastic medium or shock absorber is desirable to take up the unavoidable shocks, which are caused by irregularities or impurities in the raw material. When a direct-coupled motor is to be used for driving pug mills, an efficient flexible coupling should always be fitted to prevent the vibrations set up in the drums from damaging the bearings of the motor.

Artificial Light for Plants. An American firm has installed an experimental lighting system in part of its greenhouses to determine the success of stimulating plant growth bv.electric lighting at night (says an American paper). The system uses 500 watt lamps in reflectors closelw spaced over the plant beds to be treated. A time switch automatically turns the lights on at 10 p.m. and turns them off at 5 a.m. Two sets of plants are started at the same time; one under night lighting and the other without. Encouraging results have been obtained so far, and they seem to indicate that night lighting will prove profitable. Zinnias under the influence of light at night showed about one-third more growth in 16 days than those left in the dark at night. Petunias had 50 per cent, more blossoms and fuchsias had 65 per cent, more blossoms when exposed to the light during the hours of the day that are normally dark. Miscellaneous,

The historic River Jordan is being harnessed for the generation of electrical energy (states the “Electrical Times”). In the section on which operations are being carried out, there is a fall of 130 feet in eight miles, and it is anticipated that the Government will be a large purchaser of power for irrigation and electrified railway work, although ‘no immediate move towards railway electrification is expected. The New Haven Railway, U.S.A., has 41 electric locomotives which have been in service for 20 years, and have travelled an average mileage of 1,200,000 each. This is an 11,000 v. single-ph. system, has 672 miles of electrified line, and has a record for character of service “not equalled by any steam railway anywhere.

A Birmingham (England) man received a telephone message recently from a lady client asking for an electrician to be sent at once as a lamp had fallen out of one of her holders. She added that, as a temporary expedient, she had placed a cork in the lampholder, “and would this be quite safe and prevent any leakage prior to the arrival of the man?”—“Electrical Contractor.”