The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1893-07-21
EATEN BY ELECTRICITY
Danger to Water. Gas and
Sewer Pipes from
TrolleYs.
MANAGERS OF RoAls WORRIED
The Jersey City and Bergen COM
pany Will Guard Against
the Evil.

currents OF great volume are being used.
The problem is the action which the
heavy ground or return current has upon
water, gas and sewer pipes.
A current of great volume and aominai
pressure OF 800 volts is sent out over the
main supply wires from the power house
TO feed The trolley wires along the line.
This tremendous cnrfent passes down
the trolley arms Of the car. operates the
motors on the trucks and then goes out
through the wheels TO the tracks, which
are supposed TO conduct 1t back TO the
source. The tracks are never insulated
from the ground, which Is a fairly good
conductor OF electricity. The joiuts of
the rails are electrically coaneeled, and
between the tracks in some roads there Is
a good copper conductor connected at
intervals with the rails and running back
to the dynamos in the power house.
1t was expected that the provisions
would confine the current to the straight
path home, but it did not do so In any
instance.
1t is a popularity of electricity that If it
finds w conductors of different resist
auce il will divide between both in a pro-
portion in inverse ratio to the resistance
or the conductors. Thus the current
after reaching the ground finds that there
is q water main or o gas pipe paraileIing
the tracks. The pipes are fairly good
conductors and the current divides be-
tween them and the path provided by the
company. Through the pipes the current
ramihes in every direction as 1t proceeds
upon It's homeward way. and IL sets up an
action due to differences of potential and
resistance which corrodes away the metal
lie matter JUST as n silver anode ia eaten
away IN q plating solution. The pipes
gradually become thinner aud thinner
and are finally honeycombed by the DOW
arTul aOanE an nt1tafiH ar Nynrk II hnoa
not require much time to destroy q lead,
iron or copper pipe placed in moist
ground. Its destruction is not q question
of years, but of weeks.
FIRST APPEARED TN BOSTON.
The trouble was first encountered in
Buston, where 1t has Graatiyi perpleXed
the managers OF the West End Railway
system aud driven item almost to des-
pair. Their many scientidc experiments
nave been tried to Determine the cause
and extent Of the trouble. ana to provide
means of lesssning it il possible. Many
u'onths ago the Weston Electrical IN
g ruulent Company of this city was
called upon to furnish the Investigators
in the interest OF the gas companies with
measuring instruments of especial deli
cacy. and the use of them was explained
to Prof. Weston with considerable re-
l~uctance.
Since then shs technical journals have
ktrCu tOASiuCIhblC dbkSQt3Qu W Tue MHb =
Isr, ana Illustrations haTe been published
of corroded pipes aud lead covered teie-
phone cables destroyed by electrolytic
action. There has beau serious trouble
with the whterS r.Tes in Los Angeles,
CAL. 10 Iudla4apolisi Cincinnati and
other cities and with buried telephone
cables IL Chicago. In the latter place
extensive Investigations have been made
and reported upon. In Boston expert
ments were made In areas aud cellars of
buildings, and copper wire connecting a
gas pipe with a water pipe entering a
building was melted In an instant after
the contact was made. Another man is
said to have run a sewing machine motor
with current AIKEN from the pipes enter .
ing his building.
FIRST THOUGHT IT VAS THE SOIL.
The following Is an ABSTRACT of 4 paper
read by Mr., G. II. Morse, inspector of
wires, Cambridge, Mass, On "Elsctrolyis
of Water piDes":
When the Cambridge Railroad Conn.,
pany put In their power plant they ran
large numbers of feeders, as we call
them, A. D wire between the rails.
and attached the two rails to this return
wire, SO that the current would go to the
car through the motor wheels. TO the
rails, and get along rs best it could to the
station. This became very seon an vn-
certain path. as It was found that
eiectrolytie action took place upon
this wire and it disappeared In places.
Thsy thought at first that It was
due 10 something in the soil. but it was
very soon traced TO the same enemy
which you have to contend with, that is,
electrolytic action. / remember the
practical experience we had with these
dead rails, as we call them. When this
wire was eaten off and a car came on to
that section, if by chance you placed one
foot upon the rail and another ppon the
~ ~ - nd nAar a. oh NIB n.,lI L.
That happened simply in this way: -The
current must go back to the station, and
it would take to the rail, which was not
well grounded. would 90 mp one leg of
man who stood on The rail and down tbs
other to the earth. especially il the aart b
was a little moist.
E RON ALIKE EATEN.
mi. Neyons and ] went 10 the diff
ferent places where we had traced these
difficulties, and found that lead pipe3 g.
disappeared In q short space or tims.
some even In six or eighth weeks. Iron
pipes had beer tried Wftc the same re-
suit, also ~aalyanizsd iron: bras pipe had
been put in and deterioration was
noticed at oncs. Rustiass iron was
tried. and it did rust decidedly. Well, it
was 10 the work of any mysterious
agent, but was the result of what almost
al OF you have seen in school expert
men Is; that is. the decomposition of
" aoSfs luz SaAESut ltlk S1o
West End power house az East Cam
bridge. il Aowsd through tho ground,
and, of course, divided according TO lhe
resistance, III took TO whatever co1dpc-
tor cams Ia its way. 1t took to thu rails,
the water pipes and Esa pipes. Now we
get no action except nc whss wo call the
positive pole. That is where the curfsnt
Is flowing out Of the pipes; whers 1t takes
to the pipe there Ia DO actien. The cur
rent flowed along on the pipes. and Id
ibis particular cass 1t got down into
BridR street, which Is near Ch&riss
River, and flowed along our supply pipes
Oh the whsr7es, and here it had to get
across he river TO propel the cars in Bos-
ton. Where 1t left thpss pipes action
took placs."
Prof. Weston was asked YESTERDAY how
the difficulty could be- uiet, and ne ssid:-
In one way only, ii a single trolley line
continues to De used with the earth IL
circuit and that is by Insulating che rsoss
In some moisture proof material. With
a double trolley road, that is with two
wires above the car aud two trolisys,
there would be mona OF this trouble. The
managers OF the electric roads in ia
city are kesHly aware OF the rayages Of
electrolytic action, bnt IS yet have had
no complaints either from the Water
Board or gas companies"
The evil has not yet been discovered In
Jersey City and the officials of the jersey
City and Bergen Railroad Company AIRS
taxing ste ps 10 guard against its effects.
--4---
DAKF0RTH AVENUE TENNIS CLUB.
- ka. Z5.l