The diamond drill. (Crystal Falls, Iron County, Mich.) 1887-1996, 1914-11-07
POWER PLANT is
BEING REMODELED
Mr.. BOGaRD OF THE ENGINEERING
COMPANY EXPLAINED CHANGES
CLAIMS 30 PER CT. INCREASE
New Type of Wheel Being Installed
alta Cost of So, 900 is the Latest
in Water Power Engineering

Few of our readers realize the ex.
tent of the improvements that are being
made at the power plant this year.
The work is under the direction of an
engineering company from Minneapolis
and has been under way for over a
month. IL is estimated that the cost
will be IS, 600 but it is liable to be
much more than tnat before the entire
work is completed.
Mr.. Bogard, head Of the concern
having the work in charge. was in
Crystal Falls last Thursday and ex-
planned the work in detail TO a repre-
sentative Of the Diamond Drill. Mr..
Bogard is a man of mature age and
has had wide experience in water
power and electric installation all over
the country He claims to have had
some very important engineering con
tracts where the efficiency guarantee
OF even so slight as four per cent cut
a lot OF figure, generally bringing with
it bonus when attained and penalty
when failure was recorded.
Mr.. Bogard's firm has the Crystal
Falls job on "A percentage basis but
unlike the famous Falkeneau contract,
he does only the engineering The
actual work Is done by the city under
the direct supervision OF Mr.. Saunders.
The work consists Of rebuilding one
unit complete and installing the
latest type OF wheel in place of the
old type that was installed at the
time of the Falkepeau work. Mr.
| Bogard calculates that the new unis
will give 80 per cent more efficiency
The wheel itself will not give more
than per cent efficiency over the old
style. The balance comes in the new
type Of generator that IS installed with
the wheel and which couldn't be put
i'm in connection with the old wheel.
Under the old arrangement the water
turned the wheel which in turn rotat-
ed "A shaft up In the room above. From
this shaft belt turned the generator
With the new arrangement the stem of
tine wheel is hitched right to the gem
orator so that there will be no helting
at all and no loss of power
In fact the wheel hangs from the
generator which lies on its side, so t.
speak, like big nm brclla over the
opening from the wheel below. The
wheel and penstalk are hung from the
generator, a set Of ball bearings car
ryiDg the load and so we'll poised il
the wheel that Il will spin for ten
minutes alter the water is shut off.
The wheel itself sits ousiderably
higher than the old wheel. When ask
ed if there was not loss of power 10y
the raising Of the wheel Mr. Bogari
} replied in the negative and added that
Iif he was installing the wheel as an
original proposition he would raise il
several feet higher He explained the
matter by saying that modern practics
i'm water wheel construction provides
for the raising OF the wheel so as q
give plenty of tail room. The space
between the wheel and the water leve
below is vacuum so that the water
IL very quickly pulled away clear oI
the wheel. sThis gives faster type OF
wheel and the only one that can be at
tached directly to the generator as Il
done in the case OF the new wheel ri
the plant
In order to get clear tail race il
was necessary for the worknen to die
down several feet below the old leve
and continue at that depth out to the
waste pond In this opening will b'
, installed giant concrete elbow througl
which the water will pass from th,
wheel 10 the waste pond. Tn,
, vacuum chamber that we mentioned
exists between the water level (which
, is about three feet below the wheel
and the wheel itself The wheel Il
, incased in its iron tube and the escape
channel is all inclosed in the concrete
elbow which seals against the wheel
tube on the bottom.
A sked sbout the power whicn th'
, new improvement Will give the PLAN
} MIR. Bogard said that the new install
ment alone Is sufficient 20 carry th'
: peak load at present demand com
fortably. In case the peak load which
means the highest power demand an'
occurs when all Of the lights motor
, and present used electric current
Continued on Pare