An Improved Method of and Appliances for Raising Water from Mines or the like by Means of Compressed Air.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 16th July, 1895-Accepted, 24th Aug., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
An Improved Method of and Appliances for Raising Water from
Mines or the like by Means of Compressed Air.
I, GEORGE LANSELL, of The Fortuna Crushing Works Bendigo in the Colony
of Victoria, Quartz Miner, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
This invention has been devised for the purpose of raising water from mines or
elsewhere without having to use the expensive and cumbrous pumping appliances
hitherto necessary.
According to my said invention the water to be raised is conducted through a
pipe or tube from the dam, tank, reservoir, or other receptacle containing it into a
pipe or tube leading down a certain distance proportionally to the height to which
it is required to be raised in order to provide a sufficient body of water for the
compressed air to act upon as hereinafter described. In practice I find when it is
required to raise the water two hundred and fifty feet it is necessary to lead such
water down one leg of an inverted syphon for about one hundred feet so that it will
rise to a corresponding height in the other leg, and thus provide a column of water
a hundred feet high above the point of entrance of the compressed air. This supply
of compressed air (which may be drawn from the ordinary compressed air supply
pipe, commonly used in mining plants) is led into the bottom of the syphon below
the point of entrance of the water. A check, back-pressure or retention valve is
inserted in both the water and air supply pipes to prevent either the water or the
air being forced back either into the air main or into the water reservoir.
With this arrangement I have found in practice that it is practicable to raise
water to a height of over 400 ft. in one lift.
.1
Where, however, the total height to which the water is to be raised exceeds that,
height, it may be necessary to use two or more lifts, one being used to raise the
water as far as practicable and to deliver it into a tank, tub or other receptacle,
and another for raising it from said receptacle to a further height of about 400ft.,
and so on as often as required.
Referring to the accompanying drawings-
Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the application of my invention to
the raising of water from a mine, whilst
Figure 2 is a similar view illustrating a series of lifts such as would be used in a
deep mine.
The same letters of reference indicate the same or corresponding parts in both
the figures.
Referring first to Figure 1, A represents a tank or other receptacle containing
water which is to be raised to the surface, whilst B represents one leg of an inverted
syphon, which is in communication with said tank, and extends down for a certain
distance (say 100 feet), where it enters an enlarged part C of the main water
delivery pipe D, whose lower part, corresponding with the pipe B, forms the
second leg of said inverted syphon, whilst its upper part extends upwards for over
400 feet if required. The lower end of this enlarged part C of said water delivery
pipe is connected by the branch pipe E with a compressed air supply pipe F

page_text: such, for instance, as that used for supplying compressed air to the rock drills, &c.,
in a mine.
The pipe B leading from the tank A, dam, or other place whence the water is
to be pumped, is provided with a check, retention, or back-pressure valve G, to
prevent either the water or the compressed air from passing back into such tank or
other receptacle, whilst the branch pipe E is also fitted with a check, retention, or
back-pressure valve H, to prevent any compressed air or water being forced back
into the air supply pipe. It is also fitted with a stop-cock I to enable the supply
of air to be regulated according to requirements.
The arrangement illustrated in Figure 2 is one that has been found to answer
very well for raising water from a level of 1385 feet below the surface, and is given
by way of example, it being moreover understood that the drawing is merely a
diagrammatic one and not drawn to scale.
The water is in a dam A at the 1385 feet level, and is carried down a pipe B
to the 1560 feet level, where it passes into the lower end of the delivery pipe D
extending up to the 960 feet level and discharging into a tank or other receptacle A¹,
compressed air being led through the pipe E into the lower end of said delivery
pipe D below the point of entrance of the pipe B as described, with reference to
Figure 1.
The water in the tank A¹ at the 960 feet level is carried down to the 1100 feet
level, enters the lower end of a second delivery pipe D¹ up which it is raised by
gravity to the 960 feet level, and by compressed air entering through the supply
pipe E to the 560 feet level, where it is discharged into a tank or other
receptacle A².
In the same way the water is led from thence down to the 700 feet level, and
afterwards raised to the 250 feet level, and finally, after being carried down to the
350 feet level, it is raised to the surface. It will thus be seen that by a succession
of four lifts I am enabled to raise water 1385 feet, the air pressure used being
such as is required for driving rock drills, &c., viz., about sixty pounds to the inch.
I am aware that contrivances worked either with compressed air or steam, on the
principle of an injector, have been used for raising water short distances, but for
such work as pumping water out of deep mines these contrivances are useless,
because they can only raise the water a comparatively short distance.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is:'
First. The herein described method of raising water from mines or elsewhere
by means of compressed air, consisting in first leading such water down a certain
distance proportionately to the height to which it has to be raised and conducting
it into a delivery pipe above the point of entrance of a supply of compressed air,
substantially as and for the purposes herein described and explained and as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Second. The herein described appliances for raising water from mines or else-
where by means of compressed air, consisting of the various parts combined,
constructed and arranged substantially as and for the purposes specified and as
illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Third. Appliances for raising water from mines and elsewhere by means of
compressed air, in which the supply of compressed air is led into a delivery pipe
below the point of entrance of the water, substantially as and for the purpose
specified and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Fourth.. In appliances for raising water from mines or elsewhere by means of
compressed air a delivery pipe (such as D) connected near its lower end with the
dam, tank, or other receptacle (containing the water to be raised) through the
medium of a pipe, fitted with a check, retention or back-pressure valve (such as G),
in combination with a compressed air supply pipe leading into said delivery pipe

page_text: below the point of entrance of the water, said compressed air supply pipe being
also fitted with a check, retention or back-pressure valve, substantially as and for
the purpose specified and as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.
Dated this Sixth day of June 1895.
GEORGE LANSELL.
Haseltine, Lake & Co.,
45 Southampton Buildings, London, W.C., Agents for the Applicant.