The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1906-02-04
HUGE PLANT WILL De
ONE Of The Finest.
GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY
REvoLUT1oNIzING THINGS.
Steam Power Will Be Largely Done
Away with at the East Side Power
House After Company Has Completed
It's Plans for Bringing Power from
Taylors Falls.

LltStllCttl Will pS q
term frequently used after the Mime.
apolis General Electrical company has
completed its plans for bringing power
from Taylors Falls to the city and has
made further changes in it's Minneapolis
power house at Main street and Third
avenueSE. ~ : IT. s.s
Great changes are under way at the
latter place. The equipment and ar
rangement of the. entire plant are slow
ly undergoing rejuvenating and mod
ernizing process that will bring 1T into
the class with. the best in the United
States. This change is already started
but it will take several years before it
is completed. At the present time the
electrical energy for light and power
furnished by the General Electrical COM
pany is produced in the east side plant.
Water power augmented by steam is
used in the generation of the. "juice. =
There are three waterwheels and four
big engines. Ten boilers supply steam.
With the completion of the Taylors
Falls development it, is hoped that the
steam power can be: for the greater
part Of the day done away with. a., Z
First Of It's Kind -, !
One new machine has already been
| installed and is the first Of it's kind in
the west. It is steam turbo-generaltor
of normal capacity of 2,200-horse
power or 1900 kilowats For period
of three hours this may be forced 25
per cent higher. The immense revolv
ing portion Of the machine, weighing
twenty-five tons, under a normal load
makes 900 revolutions minute. The
ten-inch shaft bearing both the turbine
drive and the generator armature has
only one heavy bearing, that at the
base, which runs in a water bearing.
A thin film Of water at a pressure of
400 pounds to the square inch holds the
end of the shaft off it's seat and makes
a cool, almost frictionTss bearing. The
upper bearings of the machine are
guides rather than heavy bearings.
So delicately adjusted is this imr
mense machine that at a recent test it
revolved four hours after the steam and
all electrical connection had been cut
off. Tho a powerful machine it occu-
pies far less space than an engine of
the ordinary type and a dynamo capa.
BILE of producing the same power. 1t
generates an alternating current at
1890 volts, which is distributed over
the lines of the outside districts; little
of the power from this machine being
used in the center Of the city.
Synchronous Motors. ss =
| The present equipment consists OF
! twenty or more generators and other
machines, all Of which are to be super
seeded by new machines known as syn
j erroneous motors: One: of these new
machines is now being installed. An
other will be installed next year ant
one the following year. One feature
of these machines is that they can b.
Operated either as motors or as dyna
mos. Pending the installation of tn
two others the one now being place.
on the main shaft can be used witt
power from Taylors Falls as a moto
to operate, the present machines. Thi
will be done only when there is a.
, extra power available from the fall
and it is necessary to. augment tn
t water power. On the completion o
, the entire battery of three the moto
feature will be dropped and the" me-
; chimes operated as generators only.
These are new type machines an
embody the most recent development
in electrical engineering. Their ca
pacity is 1,4oO horse power or 100
kilowats.
r Some additional machines, especial
h transformers, will be necessary whe
d the Taylors Falls development is con
: pleted. They will transform the powe
o as it comes into the station, lowerin
= it's voltage to the needs Of the cit
=, consumers. Power will be generate
>. at :Taylors Falls at 1900 volts, steppe
up to sc, 900 volts for transmission,
|, the special transforming station
d Northeast Minneapolis. There it wi
: be reduced to $4,000 for transmissio
e to the power house, where it will /
= again reduced. The reason for tt
Il high" ,stepup" for transmission to IL
city is the small loss in transmissic
' of current at a high voltage. 49,.