The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-07-16
A BIG WATER MAIN.
Chief Kellogg's Plan to Protect
Business District.
WHY HOSE WOULD BE FAILURE,
The Chief Proposes an Alternative to
tho Board Of Public Works Plan
to Use the Fireboat.

The action OF the board of public works in re
Questing Gardner Kellogg, chief of the fire de.
paitment, to make q requisition on the city
council for $50 feet of new 3la-ipch hose
ior the trebeat Snoqualmie has given rise to
some adverse criticism. If the requisition i,
made and granted the hreboar will have 1.5OC
feet of hose
1t is argued that this amount of hose, which
wiii cost between 81. 600 and 1850, Will be prac.
ucaiiy useless for the purposes intended, for
When 1t Is all laid there will be SO much friction
tna,, when the water reaches the nozzle, nearly
al It's force will be lost, and though the pres
sure at the frcboat will be great enough TO burst
the hose at the pipe, there will not be enough at
the nozzle to throw the stream over a one-story
building
In commenting on the request OF the board OF
pubic works Chief Kellogg said last evening:
mink that ii the council Is disposed to bet
Ter facilitate the use OF the freboat it would do
more more good 10 run hiteen-ineh water main
along front and Second streets, with several
other mains branching off the docks. The
nreooat could then pump water through all the
business districts, and, inasmuch as there could
De no loss fror@Brlction. 1t would be good as
nreDoat on every corner. The first cost of lay
ing these water mains would of course be
greater than the first cos. OF the $50 feet of new
nose, but there Is no second cost and the benefit
10 the city IN the way OF protection would be
Infinitely greater than it l. at present.
Not long since in New York city test was
l,2oO feet, or about three blocks. The pressure
al the boat was almost great enough to burst the
nose, but at the nozzle 50 much OF the fore had
been lost by friction that it was with difficulty
tnat the stream was thrown into the second
story o. hiding In CIeve and, O., they have
q hreboat, but they never lead long lines from
1t. Every place In which it is possible they
have put in pipes from which they run lines. !.
Taking leo as q basis, the friction in 81 finch
nose is Is per cent greater than in pa
inch, or the ordinary size OF line. Then, you
see, the larger the hose the greater 10 the fric-
ton. With 125 pounds of steam at the engine
on a one and one-eighth-iuch nozzle, throwing
water through 100 rect Of hose, the loss by fric-
ton Is not great, and 29S gallons OF water min.
ute is discharged horizontally and 1SS feet vert.
caly. With the conditions similar, but with
1000 feet of hose. only l64 gallons OF water can
be discharged, throwing a stream eighty mine
feet horizontally aud fiiy-nine feet vertically
With two and one-half-inch hose such as we
use here, ii can be seen the loss by friction is
great deal more, for the larger the hose the
greater is the percentage OF loss. The average
loss by friction is twelve or fourteen pounds for
every 100 feet laid from a two and one half-inch
hose.
If fire should occur on Second or Third
street, the fire boat would be of practically lit
tie use. At the Schwabacher fire the GOAT forced
the water block and a half and did very good
work, but, If the fire had been block further
away, the boat would not have done much
good.
water main could be run down Second
street from Jackson street to Marion, and an
other parallel along Third. Then, beginning at
Jackson street, branch could be run down
to the water, and an additional branch every
protection against fire for the business district
OF the city that would be infinitely greater than
the protection that would be afforded by the
purchase of $50 Feet OF new hose.