The herald., 1897-03-06
A SUCCESSFUL WAVE MOTOR
The Genius Of Parvin Wright Conquers
the Ocean
Snstches the Mysterious Power of tne wave
and Makes II Serve
Mankind

| The public test of the Parvin wright
wave motor made upon the ocean beacn
yesterday, some three miles north OF
Redondo, was a most gratifying success
and promises to revoutionize the means
OF creating electric power, for lighting
| and power purposes. To all present the
test demonstrated the efficiency OF the
motor in converting the intermittent and
irregular power in the wave movement
into a constant and steady power avail
able for mechanical and commercial
purposes.
The motor is operated by the rising
and falling movement of the wave and 1t
Is intended to be anchored out ABOUT
where the best wave movement exists,
but in the test yesterday the wharf
structure to which the motor was at
tached only extended out to a point
between high and low tide and hence
only the light surf or breaker movement
could be used by the motor, yet, not
withstanding this fact. a small hoat
about ten feet by six developed over TWO
horsepower and generated clear anu
steady electric lights.
1t was evident yesterday that the mo-
tor was not developing more than one
fourth of the power II would have done
had the wharf been extended severai
hundred feet further out in the ocean.
The motor develops its power by using
the rising and falling movement of the
waves to operate pump that draws
water from a small reservoir and forces
1t into a pressure storage tank, when by
COMPRISING the air contained IN the
tank the water becomes subjected 10
heavy air pressure, which expels it from
such tank with wonderful force through
a nozzle onto the buckets of a Pelton
wheel, which it drives with high speed
and to which a dynamo. or the machin-
cry to be driven, is attached. The water
dropping from the wheel into the res
ervoir from which 1t was originally
pumped is pumped over and over again,
thus forming, as it We're, an endless
chain. The pressure tank operates not
only to give the force of water required
to drive the machinery and to store and
eQualize the power from one wave to
the next, but it's still more important
function is to afford an absolutely au-
tomato method of regulating the power
created, so that during storms or other
periods of excessive wave movement II
is impossible to accumulate more than
a given amount of power or pressure IN
the storage tank, for whenever the pres
sure in this tank equals the weight OF
the float, the float is held out of water
by such pressure, and thus it is not per-
mitted to operate until the pressure in
the tank has been somewhat relieved
through the exhaust nozzle; thus in
storm periods the float will ride lightly
upon the crest of the waves and never
be permitted to drop into the trough of
the sea to be battered to pieces by the
waves. None of the inventors of these
motors in the past have been able to
protect their floats in time of storms,
till Parvin Wright solved the problem.
The ability of the motor to lift Itself
out of the water was shown yesterday,
though there was but little wave move
ment Those who saw the motor at work
yesterday believe that it will develop
power at the coast at cost not to ex-
ceed 80 per horsepower per annum,
and the same can be conveyed by cleo
trio wire to Los Angeles at cost not
to exceed s25 per annum per horse-
power. The same power here now costs
S75 per annum.
Capital is now being enlisted to in
stall a large plant to supply Los Ange-
les with all its lighting, as well as its
power to run factories and street rail-
roads.