IV.—WATER POWER.

Otago Witness, Issue 2579, 19 August 1903, Page 8

IV.—WATER POWER.

By CirAni.ES Cooper.

Mr Chairman and Onf'omcn. — In preparing this paper on water power and its adaptability as- a motive power m dairy factories, T fo-ol s-ornowhiit a 1 a Ices wh^re to beein or where to ptop. However, I s^all endeavour to make what I /have to say as plain as ■posi-ib'e, and what little information ifc contains may \> n taken as fairly reliab'e.

Powprs. — Arnni<r the engines we have today for the purpose of generating motive powei arp steam. p - as, and oil eneines. the active acrent being in each case obtained at more or less expense ; and the more power usrd and the longer it is used the. more ifc will cost. Kven so with horse power: tho more you"- get out of the horf-<* the- raoro ifc will cost. Now, an all-wise CVeator provided a e-ccd many thinss for the comfort; rmd IVn of mankind — amonast others two oi* three different means of motive power. Tho* mof-t important. r»prhaos. bein.tr tho most adaptable, is water. Every stream or river in the country contain*: more or le=s powoi to be horl frn- the talcing, and the water costs absolutely nothing, whether used one hour per day or 24 hours; you cannot- tako anything from it or wear it out. Amd w'">n. yon nre done with it you pase- it on, to bo picked up and used apain time after time

until it reaches the sea. If there is one ]*hing that New Zealnd is blessed with more tKan another, it is an abundance of rivers and mountain streams-, and I am satisfied Ithat there is no place on the face of the earth that contains mar© water power per square mile than Taranaki, and of which. 99 per cent, is at present Tunning to waste. And the longer the powers that be and we as factory managers fail through incapacity or ignorance to grasp and utilise this great gift, the more will be lest to the wealth and progress of the colony.

Another feature of Taraniki which makes tho streams so suitable for water power is Aheir rapid naturs. Taking a r?dins of 20 miles around Mount Egmont: tho fall of •the country and streams ranges from 6in ,to 15jn per chain. When the amount of grower required is known and the amount of water in cubic feet the slieam will supply •is ascertained, the necessary fall can easily foe ascertained. I was reading some time ago about tho rapid 1 advancsa Japan lias made in the last few. years, particularly in tho number of her machine shops sad manufacturing establishments of all kinds, and tho writer made special mention of the general use of- electricity throughout the .country. Electric lights' and electric tram 3 are everywhere ; also that electricity was in general use throughout the country for tho transmission of power. The electricity was in every case generated by water power. Ho givea one of the principal reasons for their rapid etride in this direction that tho pountry was full of rapid streams, easily turned into power, producing the electricity at a minimum of cost.

Now, if we take a trip around Mount Egmont at an altitude of, say, 1200 ft to 1500 ft above sea-level, we will have to cross upwards of 40 streams that will give from 75 to 250-horse power per mile of their length, besides dozens of smaller streams all w.orth ccneidering if a, power is required. Therefore, I think lam quite eife in predicting that when these facts are more generally known, Taranaki will be eagerly sought after by those in quest of a cheap motive power, and that, given a good hairbour, it will become in time the chief manufacturing centre of the Southern Hemisphere, and will not long be obliged to take a back seat to Japan in more modern methods.

Water power is particularly suited to dairy factories; in fact, it can be adapted to everything where a stationary power is required. One great consideration, and one which makes it especially suited to dairy factories, is that the power can be split •up into several different branches without materially increasing the cost of installation. For instance, instead of putting in one large turbine to do the whole of the work, put in two oi even three smaller ones, not necessarily all the same size, but each one of different power to do its own particular ■work. This may be done without any noticeable loss of power from the water available. When separating, churning, and driving a freezer, etc., is done under the same roof the advantages of having an independent power for the separators- will be apparent to any dairy factory manager. Whero an independent power for separators k adopted, whether water or steam, the life of the eeparators will b© materially increased, and tho wear and tear to bearings, rebalancing of balls, etc., will considerably decrease, and a more efficient separation be obtained. And if the water-race and penstock or supply pipes are of sufficient capacity to maintain the same level or pressure, tho .stoppage or starting of either wheel will not interfere with tho speed of the other.

Another advantage of water power is that your power is always up, ready to start at a moment's notice. It can be arranged to be started from any part of tho building, ■will not stick on rho centre, but will start right away, even with a good load cci it, and when once started at any speed with any particular load will run for any reasonable time with very little attention. Thisas most appreciated where a freezer has to bo kept going fiiom two to six hours after the ither work is finished. Another consideration is that you have an abundance of water for washing-up purposes, for use in case of fire, also a leady means of flushing out drains and washing away filth, or auy accumulation about the factory.

Cost of installation.— Tho excessive first cost as> compared with steam has been advanced as a reas^a why water power has not been more readily adopted. This would no doubt be the ease in some instances; in others it is not so, and in all cases .if tho amount of power obtained and the life of the two plants be considered, the difference as not so apparent as it appears at first sight. There is hardly any limit to the amount of money that can be spent on a- water power, and tho more that is spent up to a reasonable amount, and if the work hae been carxied out by a practical man (not necessarily a civil engine-eir), the longer it will last.

The life of a «team plant may be taken at from 15 to 20 years, and 'I will suppose for tho sake of illustration tho power of that plant to be 20-horse power. In nine oases out of 10, particularly if the factory site has been chosen for the purpose, a water power >f 20- horse power, and intended to last only 20 years, will not cost any morejto infctal. I know of water-power plants in Taranaki where tho first cost has probably doubled that of steam for the tame amount of power derived, but as I said before, that whereas the life of a steam or oil engine plaint would not exceed 20 years, more than likely a good deal lees, their water power is there for a century. I know of others again that "have not cost any more than the same power in steam to imstal — the life of which with lc=9 cost for maintenance will be twice that of a steam or oil plant.

I have heard it said (and by rather clever men i<n their own lino, tco) that where you require so much hoi water, also steam for .heating purposes, theie is no great advantage in water power. Such ideas are absurd, to say the least of them, for no matter how "much steam, you require for heating purposes, it is an enormous advantage to have the water as a motive power. The simple reason is this : If you require one or two thousand gallons of hot ■water per day or its equivalent in steam, a certain amount of fuel will be required to produce it, and it will not be ncce~sary to ■burn any more; but if you require 10 or 20-borse power on top of that, and, which as usually the case, this has to bo produced Iby the same means, you must of necessity (burn the requisite additional amount 'of fuel to produce it. It is impossible to (produce the smallest fraction of power by any means knowm (other than by wind or water) except at the expense of something ©l&e, or the requisite amount of fuel, and at will take more fuel to produce 20-horse a>ower than it will to produce one. In the matter of economy it is recognised the B r orld over that water nower is the most

economical power in existence, for when the plant is once installed the cost will be the same whether you u«e one or 50-horse power. In installing a plant the firat thing to be considered 1 is the amount of power required and the amount in cubic feet per minute of water available; then by » simple mathematical calculation or by a reference to some rule on the subject the amount of fall required will be found. The greatest errors are frequently made in estimating the amount of power required. Some look at it in this way: "I have a 12-horse power boiler and an 8-horse power engine; so if I get in a 15-power water power I will have any amount," forgetting that possibly their engine has been giving them 15-hors& power all the time. Of course, the term "nominal hoTse power" is only used to denote the size of the engine without any reference to the power it might develop. However, these details are for the practical man, and the more experience that man has had in erecting water powers and working them after they are erected the better. Right here I may say that all unsatisfactory water powe.s and the large amount of money that some of them have cost are directly due to the want of , that practical knowledge which is absolutely necessary if an efficient power is to be obtained. In fact, it requires a. great deal mere practical knowledge in mechanics to properly fix and adapt an up-to-date water power to the work it is required to- do than any other motive power. In preparing this paper, which is perhaps not a very brilliant effort, I have endeavoured to cover as much ground as possible in a general way, avoiding details, which after all belong to the practical engineer. Before concluding- 1 would impress upon all concerned in the us© of power, that wherever a water power is obtainable to lose no' time in availing themselves of it, for I think in a very short time it will be demonstrated that where dairy factories are provided with an efficient water poweT they will have, in. the reduced cost of manufacture, a decided advantage over their neighbours that are mot co fortunately situated.