The Somerset reporter., 1896-09-03
HYDRhUuC# ENGINES


For supplying Water to Farm buildings
or Fer Irrigation.
The great mert Of fhc hydraulic ram
is thai It's first est Is moderate, the cx-
pcnse of maintenance Il very slight. and
1t ceaso lcssly lists nature forces to lift
water for any desired purpose. The
trouble with getting water To buildings
or upon the land for irrigation Is that
III most cases the brooks, streams,
springs or ponds are lower than the
places where the water is wanted.
Many people seem to be unconscious Of
the fact that one can take advantage Of
natures laws to raise water from a
lower to "a higher level by using by
draulic ram. American Agriculturist
demonstrates in All exhaustive article
that these machines have been greatly
improved of late years and don't get out
of order, az the old fashioned ram used
to do and works ON principle that Is
simple and easily understood. The au-
thority referred to says:
The supply must be from to II feet
higher than the location of the ram and
from IL to 100 feet distant from IT. In
locating ram not only the fall and
distance must be taken into considera-
ton, but some means of draining the
waste water from the ram must be pro-
vided. If the ram must be located III a
pit TO get the desired fall, drain must
be provided, starting from the bottom
of the pit. If it is not practicable to To-
cate the ram the desired distance from
the supply, a number of coils may be
made in the pipe. In this manner a
ram may be located directly under the
supply and will work equally well. The
supply must determine the size of the
pipe to be used. Never use ram that
is too large for the supply.
The water can be discharged to an
elevation several times the fall of the
water from the reservoir to the RAM the
greatest fall causing the discharge Of
the greatest amount of water at Il given
height. Each foot of fall will lift the
full supply % feet, or a less amount OF
water to a greater height. very small
stream, if constant, is enough to fill the
tank required for most sets Of buildings.
from frost is reduced to a minimum. A
little ram costing only $50, under fall
of 8 feet only, will deliver over 4, 200
gallons per day ga hours) to height
of 125 feet. A big ram, with a sufficient
supply under the same fall, will raise TO
nearly an equal height about 8, 600 gal
Ions per hour. or enough to cover an
- l.
hours and would irrigate acres every
"a hours to that depth. The modern or
Rife ram is coming into general use for
all such purposes as we'll as for supply
ing reservoirs for villages, railroad
tanks and the like Some claim to be
able to ir@ 'ate as much as necessary to
insure against drought at "a cost of only
20 cents per acre.
When we'll below the house level is
fed by constant supply of water, IL is
possible to make natures forces pump
the well water up hill. If there is slope
enough below the well, put small pipe
into the well and carry the other end
down the slope, where it will be lower
than the level of the water in the well.
The water will then begin to run out of
this pipe, which, once filled with water,
becomes eiphon. Place hydraulic
ram at the lower end of the pipe and
the water can be raised to the top of the
hill If there is a constant stream feed
ing the well, an equivalent stream, even
if it be II mere thread of water can be
taken out i'll the siphon and the ram
be allowed to work constantly, or 1t can
be arranged to start up these water
works as occasion requires, stopping the
movement when sufficient supply has
been forced to the top of the hill.