Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1884-01-25
sTEvEss AND HOLLY AHEAD.
The Water Works system of Sacramento
Subjected to Severe Test, and Found
Not Wanting.

MOI waning.
Some time since the citizens organization
appointed comm ttee, consisting of Thomas
B. Hall, G. w. Carey and r. Wittenbrock,
to confer with the Fire Commissioners and
Board of City Trustees and secure, if posi-
bic, further protection against fire il the east
ern portion of the city. They did SC. and in
this way the matter was brought before the
public, and the fact established that the
larger part of the residence property of the
city was so distant from the present location
of the engines that the latter could not be of
much service, the building generally burning
down before the engine could arrive. This
led correspondent Of the RECORD UNION,
who shielded his identity under the common
nom de plume of "a Citizen, to boldly as
ssrt that the water works system furnished
! all the pressure necessary, and that hose carts
should be established throughout the north
ern and eastern portions CT the city. He
claimed that hose attached to tre.p,ug
| would be adequate in the event OF ire,
would be much cheaper thsn engines and
could be brought into service several minutes
! before stream could be obtained through an
/ engine.
The Citizens Committee, acting on the
]
Trustees and Fire Commissioners to appoint
a day when public test could be made. At
| q Joint meeting Of the Commissioners snd
! Trustees Tuesday afternoon the matter was
| discussed pro and cor, and q resolution
adopted that the test be made. In order to
make fair test the matter was turned over
to the Citizens Committee, with full power
! to act ard name the date when and places
where the tests should be made. In con-
! forInity with said resolution yesterday morn.
! ing the committee published list CT the fire
plugs that hose would be attached to and
named the hour P. NJ. The first was at
| Fifth and l street, where there IS sn 1S.inch
main. a gauge was attached t. the plug and
registered 325 pounds pressure. The alarm
was sounded, and in just
| ONE IND oNE.HALF MINUTES
! The pressure Increased to 80 pounds. Two .
I line of hose were attached. Fine streams
were thrown through an inch and an inch aud
an eighth nozzle the distance of hundred
/ feet or more. This being one of the largest
| mains Of the system, the test was far from |
! being satisfactory; however the volume of
water and pressure were sufficient to put out
/ any ordinary conisgration. 4 nozzle that |
had been borrowed from the railroad shops in
/ the morning and which it was said would |
stand a pressure of $50 pounds, was by some !
mysterious mesns broken. The next test was
made from the fire plug which taps a six-inch |
main on Ninth street, between n and 0, |
Here two streams were thrown to a distance |
OF 40 feet, and were evidently sufficient to |
protect all the buildings in that vicinity or |
| In other words, the streams were strong |
enough to overtop the loftiest buildings in !
the neighborhood. The next place tested was
on Fifteenth stree, between NJ and n, |
opposite the new Exposition Building |
The fire plug at that point is attached |
= oh L..
plug indicated a pressure varying from
sixty to sixty-two and half pounds. A hose
was attached to the plug, and at the same
time another was attached to the plug oppo-
site the State Printing Office, between NJ and
y streets, on the same main. Good streams
were obtained from both lines through one
and an eighth inch nozzes, but not with
the force obtained on Ninth street. With
three-fourths inch nozzle water was thrown |
upon the roof of the building
TO A HIGHT OF SEVENTY FEET.
Only block away from the Exposition
building is large main, from which q branch .
will be taken to the new Pavilion. The next /
place tested was on Twentieth street. be-
tween n and o. from q six-inch main. The
gauge showed a pressure of sixty to sixty-five
pounds. Two lines of hose were attached. Im-
mediately after the water was turned into
the first hose the latter was choked in
the nCzzle. The water was shut oil,
the nozzle detached, aud after con-
siderable work a woman's bootheel, about
the size OF those usually worn by the young
ladies Of Golo, was taken therefrom. How
it came to be in the hose was a mystery
Some insisted on seuding for the Coroner and
opening up an investigation, while others in
sisted that 1t had been placsd there by some
one who was opposed to fair test The
water from both liRes Of h0se was thrown a
distance Of from $50 10 100 feet The result
was most satisfactory indeed, and those who
had been predicting that the rest up to this
time was failure, came over and had to own
up that it was al that could BE- expected or
even desired. To further test the matter, a
third line OF hose was attached to a plug il
the alley, and another to plug on the same
street, between o aud 7.
ALL -FOUR STREAMS WE'RE STRONG
Aad went 70 the distance they are usually .
thrown from the engines. 1t was notice
able fact, which was generally commented 1
upon, that the addition of the third and |
fourth streams did not to any perceivable /
extent diminish the force or volume of the
first tive. Thomas {. ChUrchman, of this
city, who has invented q nozzle, was allowed /
to test his with those used by the department,
and the hundreds who witnessed the exhibit
ton testified to its superiority. From the
Churchman nozzle the stream hangs to-.
gethe- for much longer distance, and the
force and effectiveness of the stream is greatly
increased. II throws a solid stream without
2 single spray for distance CT seventy-fye
feet. Tia next place tested was on Tween
tieth street, between X and L, opposite the
stables of the street.railwsy company from
fouci cch main. Here, also. the gauge
showed pressure Ct sixty pounds. This
exhibition, like the last, was highly
satisfactory. a stream OF water was thrown |
entirely over the large barns, which are
twenty feet in hight AMI eighty feet IN length
At this point gauge had been attached in
the forenoon to the fire plug and when the
whistle blew st the waterWorks il marked 50
pounds. Ia just
ONE MINUTE AND THIRTY SECONDS
1t registered 90 pounds The test was re-
peated on Tenth street. between Z and Ct,
with an equally satisfactory result, two large
streams neiUP thrown distance Of $50 feet
This test finished the advertis d programme.
The clmnlittee, however being dissatisfied
with the first test at Fifth and I from the
Is inch mAio, directed the ho-e carts 20 90 TO
SIKH street, between I and !, where the
same main was tested. Here the gauge |
marked pressure Of 90 pounds Two lines
Of hose were attached, and streams through
ons-sL -eighth-iGch Lozzles, the reguls.
ton size, were thrown from the alley 10 j
street aCd 10 a hight estimated TO be q hum
bred feet. This was the most Satisfactory Of
all previous tssts, and citizsns generally, who
were assembled by hundreds to witness the
exhibition, manifested great surprise and ev.
idens satisfaction,
The committee, in order to secure fair
test, had selected Alexander Nelson, Of the
Union Foundry, 20 remain in The water
works building, and during the time Of the
test he had charge Of the works, the engineers
10 charge obeying strictly all his orders He
says at , P NJ. tie machinery was making q
revolutions per minute steam pressure, 10
pounds water pressure, 50 pounds. The
water IN the boilers was medium.
IN ONE AND ONE HALF MINUTES.
After the signal was sounded the7 had 60
pounds OF water pressure. The highest pres
sure at any one time was 60 pounds. He en-
deavored to have it kept as nearly as possible
t. GO pounds, and has record OF the pres
sure, which he took every ten minutes The
highest steam pressure was - degrees; the
av erage. 20. The vacuum in the Holly aver.
aged 24l inches the vacuum in the Stevens
averaged 273 inches. The average water
pressure when the Stevens pump was run
hing was CPS pounds, with 72l steam pressure,
MIR -, .r.-a-.a revnlu+iOn ct - The A1lly