MOTORS ON FARMS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 53, Issue 3822, 16 October 1936, Page 7

MOTORS ON FARMS

QUESTION OF COST. POWER BOARD ENGINEER’S ADVICE. The Thames Valley Electric Power Board’s policy with regard to milking motors on farms, and the advice given to farmers generally as to the most economic method of running their plants, was outlined in a comprehensive report, which was read by the engineer, Mr N. G. McLeod, at last Tuesday’s meeting. In general it is not in the farmer’s interest to change his existing motor, and he is advised to this effect, said Mr McLeod. Unfortunately, many of them are misled by the sales talk of experienced salesmen who, in many cases, have just as little knowledge of motor characteristics as the average layman. This is the kindest view to take, and I believe in general that it is correct. Instances have been submitted to me of farmers having mentioned to salesmen our advice regarding the use of existing motors. If the salesmen has been more anxious to make a sale than render true service, or if he really believed what he said, his answers have been of the following type:— 1. It stands to reason that if a 1 h.p. motor will drive the plant, it is better to buy it than go on using a 14 h.p. or 2 h.p. motor. 2. The Power Board engineers know nothing about milking plants, so how can they advise the farmer ? 3. The Power Board is not likely to injure its business by telling consumers to put in smaller motors, and there must be some ulterior motive. These arguments have appealed to many farmers, some of whom have failed to realise that the Power Board is their own co-operative concern. There can be no incentive for us to give other than the best advice to the warmer, because his financial strength is the financial strength of the Power Board. We may not know much about the actual milking of cows, but there is much in the operation of milking plants which is of a purely mechanical nature and to which engineering principles can be applied directly. The Board can take credit for much of the improvement which has been made in such plants during recent years. It is true that some of the new plants can be driven by 4 h.p. motors, even including separator and waterpump. Others may require from S h.p. to 14 h.p. motors in order that their loads may be lifted away, especially during cold weather, or in order that serious variation in the speed of the separator may be avoided with varying loads on the motor. In any case it is not advisable to pinch down the sizes of motors in these small powers. Tight belts, thick oil, tight bearings, shafts out of alignment, and several other minor things have a relatively great effect on small motors, and it is possible that one may be burnt out before the nature of the fault became apparent. W|hen larger motors are used such faults become relatively less important so far as the motor is concerned, and they indicate themselves by hoc bearings, hot oil, etc. The Board recommends that 14 h.p. motors be installed on most new plants, however, to give reasonable protection to the farmer against those possibilities, and in order also that he may make use of the motor for other purposes, such as a small saw bench, for instance, if he so wishes. Salesmen, in many instances also, have induced farmers to buy separate parts of their plants, such as vacuum pumps, separators, skim-milk pumps, and water pumps. They promise excellent mechanical results, and lhe farmer usually gets them. I find no fault with them from this point of view. But the cost of the plant installed is usually much greater, and the cost of the electricity to drive it is usually greater, than if a single motor - were installed. In many cases the recommendation of the salesman has not been in the best interests of the farmer at all. If the Board looked only to the immediate present, and forgot true service, it would not advise consumers how to obtain given results at lower cost, unless it was forced to, in order to obtain or retain a consumer It has never adopted this attitude. In summing up the position, Mr McLeod kept to three heads:— 1. It has been demonstrated that the farmer should hesitate before discarding his original milking motor and buying a smaller one. In general, the retention of his existing motor will be to his financial advantage, and give him greater flexibility in operation. 2. The use of motors large enough only to do the job is not unsound in principle, but in the case of fractional horse-power motors allowance must be made for the possibilities previously mentioned, 3. The motors mentioned under clause 2 cost the Board less to supply with power than the larger ones mentioned in clause 1, yet consumers are advised to their best advantage, and not to the Board’s immediate advantage.