Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1907-03-29
Do NOT WASTE WIND.
Just Cork 1t Up and Heat and
Light Your House With 1t.
FUEL AT NOTHING PER YEAR
Omaha Man Proposes to Harness the
Boreal Blasts and the Southern
Zephyrs by Windmill Process and Use
the Captured Air TO Generate Power.


BoreaI Blasts and the Southern
Zephyrs by Windmill Process and Use
the Captured Air to Generate Power.
Fuel literally as free as air-heat on
winter nights to cost absolutely moth
ing. Is it a dream?
How to harness the north wind and
make 1t heat houses for people instead
Of freezing them to death is a problem
solved to his satisfaction by DR.. NJ. j.
Gahan, formerly of Grand Island and
now making his headquarters in Oma-
ha, says the Omaha World Herald.
Several factors enter into his plan
for lighting, heating and cooking with
out cost. He proposes that there shall
he no expense save the original cost OF
installing the plant. Power to do these
things, whether it be for a residence
or for whole city, is generated by
means of windmill or Il system of
windmills.
"For twenty years" said Or. Gahan
in a recent interview, Il have been
studying various eXpedientS for solv-
ing the fuel problem. At the time Of
the Pennsylvania coal strike | expert
mented with chemicals in the treat
ment of coal dust so that il might he
converted into anthracite coal. The
problem was not difficult of solution,
and ut the present time there are
number of factories in America and i'll
Europe where my method is employed
in the making OF hard coal by Il chem
ical process"
dissatisfied with the cost of manu-
featuring fuel at $3.50 ton, DR.. Ga
han was convinced that he could fur
nish heat and light 1t no cost at all.
He therefore began his experiments To
see if he could not furnish fuel at
nothing per year.
Speaking of the valuable fertilization
going to waste from the sewers Of
Paris, Victor Hugo said. Five hun
dred millions of francs are annually
thrown into the Seine
IF that assertion is true" said DIR.
Gahau, in the sense that Victor Hugo
meant it, how much greater is our loss
III Nebraska when we consider the
power going to waste in the winds an
nually blowing over our prairies: Why
not save some of that power: Why
not have windmills pump air into com
pressers and thereby bottle up sutti-
cient power to operate motors and dy-
namoS?
when this idea first came to me it
seemed so simple that | was loath to
set much store by ii. Then | learned
of Wittkeil. u town in Holland, where
the power for lighting the municipal
ity is generated from a great wind
mill That plant has been in operation
for some years and has proved emf
nently satisfactory.
But says the Skeptic. what if
there Is no wind?' Now, that contin.
gency must of course be provided for
but will come to it later The point
first to be considered is that rarely in
Nebraska is there Il day when there is
not enough wind to turn Il windmill.
refer you tO4he records of the weather
bureau. The average wind velocity fol
Nebraska during the past thirty-SiS
years is 106 miles an hour.
LET us suppose, however, that there
are several days in each month wher
windmill cannot work. On the day
that it does work it can fill up the
emergency tanks, and enough com
pressed air will be stored to last
through the lull. The air motor will bt
kept at work and will drive the dyna
mo which does the heating and tn,
lighting.
II may here add that in the Unior
Pacific shops at Grand Island there i
an air tank which operates forty han,
motors. The air. however. is compress
ed by means of Il small engine inSteao
OF a windmill, as l propose to emplo.
in the storage of compressed air.
Under tests made by DIR. Gahan h
believes that an individual plant whicl
would afford heat and light for n tel
room house can be installed for Sl.2Ot
He says that once it is installed it viii
cost nothing, the only expense beini
the general wear and tear to the ma
chinery and lubricating oil.
"These plants he says, "can be in
stalled in any place where there is
prevailing hourly wind of ten miles 81
hour Briefly described, the system
this:
"You first have to have a windmill
size adapted to the demand. Then cor
meet your windmill with an air con
presser and your air compressor wit
an air receiver, or storage tank. Th
cir receiver will then connect with a
air motor, turbine in form. This al
motor will be connected with dynam
by gear or friction drive. depending o
size of dynamo and local conditions
NoiseIess Street Car Wheel.