The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-05-18

| double the boiler capacity. The smoke
| stack is of brick, seventy-tive feet high,
with fiue thirty-siX inches in diameter.
| 1t is in the pump house that the surprise
and interest is in store for the visitor.
The reserve force there is equal to that
! found in the boiler room and the variety
of pumps found ready for service at any
moment lend interest to the average citi-
/ zen. There are a half dozen separate and
distinct pumps. The monster which
| supplies the city day and night and with
very little demonstration about it is known
as the Gaskill horizontal compound con-
densing high duty pumping engine. One
may not fully understand why so much
| type should be used in describing it in the
absence OF a visit to the station. a
| glance at the engine, however
would cause any one to con-
! clud in a moment that the name
is a very small thing when compared with
the engine itself and in fact wonder how
the law Of economy in words had forced
| such a short name. 1t occupies a space
20X30 feet and is twelve feet high. It rests
on a foundation that is about as solid as
can be made Of native or foreign stone
| This preparation was made with the hope
that the engine would never be lost 1t
has modest capacity of 100000 gallons
per day, or almost double the demand for
all purposes from the city. The full ca
pacity calls for piston speed of one hun
dred and twenty feet per minute
or two feet per second. This is not
much of foot racing speed
! but it results in moving a large amount of
water quite rapidly. This is considered
pes. ectIy safe and reliable speed and calls
for the five millions gallons daily.
The steam cylinders are four in number,
two of high pressure, sixteen inches in
diameter, and two of low pressure, thirty
two inches The length ofstroke is twenty
eight inches. The plunger is nineteen
inches in diameter, while the fly wheel
weighs eight tons, is of iron and is nine
feet across. 1t is quite large enough 10
have considerable influence in regulating
the speed and pressure and in its line by
the engineer Is said to be a fattering
success and likely with reasonable
behavior to hold its job. In the regulation
department is also the automatic hydro
static pressure regulator which performs
the duties required at keeping the pressure
at given point. The pump is surmounted
by beautiful guage board showing steam
and water pressure, vacuum and conden-
serS and revolution counter. 1t tells the
complete story Of the work of the engine.
The pump is connected with a twenty inch
suction line and sixteen inch discharge.
In addition to the one mammoth pump
the plant is supplied with two sets of
Walker condensing pumps with
capacity of three million gallons;
two Smith Vail & Co. pumps
with an aggregate capacity of three mil
lion gallons; one duplex Dean steam pump
with one million capacity, and all are
connected with the common suction line
and discharge pipe. and one or all can be
put in the service at any moment. This
gives total capacity of twelve million
gallons daily, or about four times the act
ual demand at present.
In the water supply it is confidently as
serted that there is not plant TO be found
anywhere that gets supply so cheap, and
not city that uses better water In thec0n-
stractiOn OF any plant there are peculiar
conditions that exist which must be recog-
nized and fully utilized To secure the best
results. In the construction of the new
station the management came very near