AN IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE FILLING OF WATER CARTS WITH WATER
Year: 1870

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PROVISIONAL SPECIFICATION left by Charles Wicksteed at the Office
of the Commissioners of Patents, with his Petition, on the 16th
May 1870.
I, CHARLES WICKSTEED, junior, of Swaffham, in the County of
Norfolk, Contractor for Steam Cultivation, do hereby declare the nature
of the said Invention for "AN IMPROVED APPARATUS TO BE EMPLOYED IN THE
FILLING OF WATER CARTS WITH WATER," to be as follows:-
My Invention relates more particularly to the water carts employed
as tenders to agricultural or portable steam engines to convey water for
use in the said engines, but is also applicable in the case of water carts
otherwise employed, and more especially when the water has to be
pumped into the said carts by hand, or when the said carts are otherwise
filled by ordinary means at a comparatively slow rate. In the case of
the water carts employed for agricultural purposes the water has in most
cases to be pumped into the said carts by means of a pump worked by
hand, and the filling of the said carts has thereby been slowly effected,
so that, for example, in many cases it has been necessary to employ two
water carts instead of one only in consequence of the time required for
the filling of the said carts. Now my said Invention has for its object

page_text: to effect the filling of the said carts more rapidly, and for this purpose
I employ a movable or portable water tank capable of holding a
sufficiency of water to fill one cart or to fill two or more carts if desired.
The said tank is mounted upon legs of a sufficient length to admit of
the water cart being placed beneath the tank, and is or may
be provided
with a pump and piping or hose by means of which the said tank may be
supplied with water from the ordinary sources. When it is required to
fill a water cart the said cart is brought under the said tank and a large
valve fitted to the said tank is opened, through which valve the said cart
is very quickly filled. It will thus be seen that a supply of water
sufficient to fill a water cart may be pumped or otherwise conveyed into
the tank whilst the said cart is on its journey to and from the steam
engine or the place at which the said cart is emptied, the advantage of
this saving being very great, especially when the water has to be con-
veyed some distance. I prefer to make the aforesaid legs of the tank
removable in order that it may be readily moved from place to place.
The tank may be fitted with appliances by means of which it may be
quickly elevated, as, for example, supposing the tank to be inverted on
a truck on which it has been transported, the said tank may be fitted at
one side with legs of a sufficient length to give the desired elevation, but
on the other side the tank will be fitted with a prop or with props of a
suitable length to admit of the tank being turned over and off the truck
until the legs and the said prop or props rest on the ground. When in
this position a leg or a pair of legs is hinged to the side of the tank, the
said leg or pair of legs being fitted with a wheel or with wheels to run
on the ground and with a windlass and chain or rope so that when the
free end of the said chain or rope is attached to the foot of one or both
of the opposite or fixed legs the tank may be readily elevated by turning
the handle of the windlass, the hinged leg or legs being then secured by
means of a stay rod or otherwise. In lieu of placing the water cart
directly under the said tank the said tank may be so constructed as that
the said water cart may be filled whilst standing alongside the said tank,
the said tank being in all cases sufficiently elevated for the water to flow
therefrom directly into the said water cart.