WATER TEMPERATURES.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 7 August 1933, Page 8

WATER TEMPERATURES.

RANGE OF OVER TWENTY DEGREES IN A YEAR. WHY HEATING DEVICES ARE SLOWER IN WINTER. Though registrations of air and ground temperatures are fairly common subjects of note and periodical comparison, few people know how water temperatures range throughout the year. At the most, they have the genoral idea of a considerable difference existing between the effects of summer and winter conditions on water at ground level or confined a few feet above or below it; they are well aware of the influence of sunshine on a bathing pool, and are equally cognizant of the fact that a kettle takes a long time to come to the boil in mid-win-ter. But when they have homes that are equipped with electrical waterheaters, they do not always remember these considerations, because electricity has been to them such a good servant that they expect it to perform its miracles up to time under all manner of circumstances. The handicap imposed by winter conditions is deducible from the record of water-temperature observations that have been taken for some years 2 )as t at the Horowhenua Power Board's depot in Levin. From the graphs which have been kept, and vchieh were shown and explained to a Chronicle representative by the Engineer (Mr J. A. Smith), it can be seen that margins of 20 degrees and upwards exist between the maximum and minimum temperatures over yearly periods. If, then, the hot-water cylinders were so fitted as to heat up rapidly in winter, the result in summer would be to make them repeatedly boil over.

The tests of the Borough water supply have been taJven at a uniform hour weekly at the depjot, and to make bhis operation exact the tap has been allowed to run for some time so that the temperature recorded would be equivalent to that of the water in the main. The highest and lowest of these registrations in this and the three preceding years, and the months in which they' occurred, were as follow: MAXIMUM. Year. Month. Deg. Fahr. 1930 December 61 1931 January 61 1932 February 65 1933 January 69} MINIMUM. 1930 July 41 1931 August 43 1932 July and! August 42 1933 June 45 The extreme range in this year, therefore, was 24$ deg. The rise from winter to summer is illustrated by the following details from last year:—On August 29th the reading was 48; then it ro*e (with one setback) to September 26th, when it reached 51; on October 24th it was 56, on November 2&th 59, and on December 26th 65. High temperatures ruled in the first three months of the present year. "I'he peak of 69£ whs on January 16th; a week later the reading was 67; on February 27th it was 64, and on March 20th 65. With the passing of the equinox came the ' New Zealand autumn, merging swiftly into winter. From April 10th to 24th the warmth of the water fell by seven degrees, from 61 to 54, and from then on to May 22nd it dropped by an equal amount, bringing it to 17 degrees. Only for three months of the year is the Borough water real[v cold, and the user of heating devices impatient. Last month the minimum was a degree and a-half above what it was in June, and it should continue to rise each month until well on in the summer. Before winter comes again the lesson of 1 the temperature chart should have been Well learned. Woods' Great Peppermint Cure First aid for Coughs, Colds, Influeaza.*