Tonopah daily bonanza. [volume] (Tonopah, Nev.) 1906-1929, 1915-07-24
IMPROVEMENTS At
TOWN SUB-STAT|ON
lightning ARRESTERS.
PUT IN PLACE
NEVADA CALIFORNIA POWER
COMPANY COMPLETES HEAVY
INSTALLATION

Lightning holds very little terror
for the Nevada California Power com
pany now, for it has installed an ar
roster and up-to-date appliances and
has confidence In stopping the cur
rent from the skies.
The lightning arrester proper is
situated at the rear of the sub-station,
being % feet high When the light
ming comes in over the wires 1t goes
to a series of coils which tend to
throw II back II then is forced to
go over the arresting apparatus and
from there, through copper wires on
the frame, down into the ground
In case it succeeds in getting past
the coils, ii then encounters an auto
matte switch which cuts off it's en-
| trance. However, it might pass this
hindrance and then before ii can en-
ter the station or the transformers
another switch is thrown open and it
is checked
This is as nearly lightning proof as
possible. But there is chance of a
lightning current passing through all
| these safeguards and entering the
transformers, burning them out and
thus putting the town of Tonopah in
darkness. The only instance of this
I he ft,{r,
lions of volts hits the wires.
Sometimes a storm plays with the
wires in town and to make the station
absolutely safe, the lines that pay out
The current are equipped with small
arresters. The mining company lines
and other heavy power users have a
multiple arrester to protect the trans
formers at the station The power
or lighting the town is all carefully
controlled by special automatic reg
ulator.
If the lines of the camp should be
down in places, when there is a storm
or fire. small bolt underneath the
switch flies up shutting off the cur
ent on that circuit. II this shoulC
lappen 10 fail, the lightning would
20 into a set of wires that lead to The
witch controlling the transformers
md there be automatically checked
Two lines run into the sub-station
he aluminium, an old line running t
Nlkali and Silver Peak from the maiI
itation, and the copper, which take
n Millers and runs parallel with tn,
other at Silver Peak, branching of
md joining at Palmetto and at length
eliminating at Bishop.
The two lines can be connected a
Palmetto if there is any trouble be
tween there and Bishop. or at Silye
Peak If the line is not working up Il
hat point, and thus give Tonopah un
Interrupted service. Then again tn,
wires might be down on the Alkali o
aluminium line and all that is neces
AIRY is to switch the current to tn,
copper line and vice versa. Owing t,
l great deal Of trouble ON the oil.
wires, they have provided an auto
matte switch and air brake to cut of
he current and transfer to the othe
'eryice at the first sign of disturbance
The large transformers that wer,
installed during the Easter holidays
have a capacity of $500 kilowatt hour
laeh and the current after goin
through there enters into the interio
# the plant and is fed into differen
regulators. The set, together with
S0-foot derrick, cost $4,000. A trans
former itself weighs 16 tons. Tn,
outer coat is II tons, II tons of oil
keep 1t cool, while ton of insula
tors are fastened to the top and in
side.
The transformers which are located
on the inside are discarded and are
awaiting delivery to some new camr
or a place where really needed. The
small one that was borrowed from
Millers will be returned some time
next week.