Campbell Water Wheel Company, Water Wheels, Dams, Hydro - Electric Plants & Water Supply Systems, J. B. Campbell Water Wheel Company.
Water Power, when properly developed, is the most faithful, the most wonderful power in the world. A water wheel will run day in and day out, year in and year out, with practically no care and attention and will furnish electric light and power, pump water and drive machinery. There are three principal kinds of Water Wheels;-the Overshoot, the Turbine, and the Impulse. Each type of Wheel has its own particular use and is suited to its own particular conditions. The proper selection of the Water Wheel is the most important part of a Water Power Plant. We have known business which have failed because the Owners did not select the right kind of Water Wheel to drive their machinery. It is not only vital that the proper type of Water Wheel be selected but also the proper size of that particular type. In these matters our Engineers are expert. We guarantee all of our installations. Believing that you will be more interested in seeing the actual results obtained on Water Power work than in a technical description of these installations, we are showing you in out Catalogue photographs of Plants which we have installed and which are in operation at the present time. Also, we are showing some illustrations of general layouts of Plants. It is not always necessary to have a Water-fall as shown on the opposite page to develop Water Power. We often utilize the rapids or the gentle slope in a stream. A beautiful Water-fall in the Northern part of New York State. New York State and all the other Eastern States abound in Water Powers. When selecting a Water Power to use commercially or a Country Estate with a Water Power on it, it is to the Owner's advantage to have an experienced Hydraulic Engineer examine the Water Power and advise him what it is worth before he buys. We shall be pleased to send an Engineer to do this for you.
We plan, manufacture, and install Water Wheels; plan and construct complete Hydro-Electric Plants, including dams, flumes, power houses, Water Wheels, and electrical equipment, also complete Water Wheel Pumping Plants and Electric Pumping Plants. Our Hydraulic Engineers are experienced and are sent out to the prospective installations to take measurements and study carefully the conditions and requirements before any plans are made or estimates given. Our Contraction Men are selected men, who have been with us for years, and who understand hydraulic work. It does not matter to us how small or how large an installation may be. We take the same pleasure and interest in installing the smallest Water Wheel Pumping Plant as we do the largest Hydro-Electric Plant.
Overshoot Water Wheels are used on ordinary streams from 6 inches to 12 feet in width, and with falls from 4 feet to 60 feet in height. All creeks, except the very largest should have Overshoot Water Wheels installed on them. An Overshoot Water Wheel derives its power from the weight of the water, which falls into the buckets on the rim of the Wheel, and exerts its power on the Wheel by leverage. Our modern Copper-bearing Iron Overshoot Water Wheels, electrically welded throughout, are the finest Overshoot Water Wheels yet built. In the past, Iron Overshoot Wheels were built by riveting pieces of metal together. Thousands of rivet holes were punched in the metal, which weakened it. Due to the strains set up in the Wheel, many rivets became loose, and the Wheel began to spurt water through the open holes in the metal. Also, often the metal cracked along the rivet line. Our Welded Water Wheels are a solid piece of metal which cannot break or leak. All the parts of our Welded Wheels are so joined together that they have the strength of a latticed girder. The buckets of our Wheels are so designed that they carry all the water almost to the extreme bottom of the Wheel before it is spilled into the tail-race. With this type of bucket, not a drop of water falls on the Wheel that does not do its work and deliver its power to the shaft, which transmits it to the generator, pump, or machinery. We also make Wooden Overshoot Water Wheels. They are beautiful and become moss covered and very attractive.
Grist Mill, built by Mr. Henry Ford, at the famous old Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Massachusetts. Wheat, corn, buckwheat and rye are ground on the two millstones, and the products are sold in Mr. Ford's Country Store nearby. At the Inn, the guests are served with bread, pastry and cakes made from the flour ground at the Mill. The Water Wheel operates throughout the winter and oftentimes the thermometer registers ten degrees below zero. We planned, furnished and installed the Water Wheel and all the machinery within the Mill.
The most common view of Mr. Henry Ford's Grist Mill, Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Massachusetts, as seen from the Old New York Boston Post Road. Overshoot Water Wheel, 18 feet in diameter and 8 feet wide, driving the Grist Mill at Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Massachusetts. The Mill is built in the true old New England style, with high stone fore bay and the race coming around the side of the hill. It is a fascinating sight to watch the Wheel turn. Thousands of visitors come to see the Mill each year. We not only planned and installed the Water Wheel, but also furnished and installed all the shafting and gearing, all the burr stones, and the flour making machinery within the Mill, and turned the Plant over to Mr. Ford complete and in operation. Photographs of the old-fashioned burr stones and other equipment within the Mill are shown on the following pages.
Millstones in Mr. Henry Ford's Grist Mill, Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Massachusetts. We obtained these Stones from a quarry in the middle of the Battlefields of France. In the picture, the Miller is shown sharpening the upper Stone. It has been lifted from its position over the lower Stone by means of a wooden crane and a hand made wooden screw jack, and turned upside down in the iron bails. The Hoops and Hoppers over the two Mill Stones, which grind the grain in Mr. Henry Ford's Grist Mill, Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Massachusetts. They were found in an Old Mill in the central part of Pennsylvania, together with the wooden screw jack which hands on its crane in the background.
The Hoops were made of one board, and the wooden screw jack was cut from a piece of apple wood before the days of iron screw jacks. The bins, where the whole wheat and buckwheat flour and the water ground corn meal are stored, are shown in the right foreground. Old-fashioned Gearing in Mr. Henry Ford's Grist Mill, Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Massachusetts. The Gears are made in the old-time way, but of such fine material and with such excellent workmanship that they are very efficient. Some of the Gears have iron and some wooden teeth.
One of the most attractive features of an Old Mill is the Mill Race. The Mill Race, which leads the water to the Grist Mill of Mr. Henry Ford, Wayside Inn, South Sudbury, Massachusetts.
A 1 1/2- inch pipe of water flowing from a spring, which drives the 30 foot diameter by 1 foot wide Overshoot Water Wheel and pumps water to a 20,00 gallon reservoir on top of a hill at Andorra Nurseries, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. From the reservoir the water is distributed under high pressure to all parts of the Nursery. Later, we increased the flow of the spring so it would supply a Water Business in Philadelphia, as well as operate the Wheel and furnish the water for the Nursery. The Water Wheel has operated continuously for four years without attention, except new grease on the ball bearings every six months, and an occasional oiling and new leathers for the pump. Overshoot Water Wheel, 17 feet in diameter by 6 feet wide, driving Hydro-Electric Plant of Mr. R. S. Ward at his Willowemoc Creek Fish Hatchery, DeBruce, Sullivan County, New York. The Water Wheel furnishes all of the electric light and power for the Hatchery, which includes operating a large refrigerating plant that freezes the food for the fish. It also furnishes light and power for the Country Home of Honorable Charles B. Ward and Debruce Inn, which are nearby. Besides light and power, the Plant furnishes heat for the buildings in the winter. The Water Wheel is controlled automatically by a mechanical governor, which regulates the flow of water to the Wheel as the load changes. The Hydro-Electric Plant has operated continuously, day and night, for ten years. A modern, electrically welded, Overshoot Water Wheel in our Shop. A welded Water Wheel is a solid piece of metal. There are no seams or holes to leak and rust as in riveted Wheels. The space within a welded Wheel between the spokes runs perfectly dry. Because all of the water from the stream falls into the buckets of a welded Wheel and cannot get out but must give up its power to the Wheel, a welded Water Wheel is more efficient than a riveted Wheel. Patents have been applied for on all of our process in welding Water Wheels. Many of our our customers ask us if we are going to spoil the beauty of their streams when we develop their Water Powers. We have never yet spoiled the beauty of a stream. There are always means of utilizing Water Powers without detracting from the beauty of streams. The above photograph shows a stream where the Water Power has been developed by us, and no one would ever know any water had been taken from the stream or that a pipe line had been used to carry the water to the Water Wheel. The pipe line is under the rocks in the middle of the stream. Our Overshoot Water Wheel, 11 feet in diameter and 1 1/2 feet wide, at the John C. Campbell Folk School, Brasston, North Carolina, solved the problem of pumping spring water to a high reservoir. A shaft further utilizes that power for a saw, lathe, and sander in the Wood-Working Shop. This School has been established in the Mountains of North Carolina to teach the young people of that section to live better under their rural conditions.
Turbine Water Wheels are used where the flow of water are very large, such as rivers or very large creeks. They should never be used on small streams, because it takes too much water to run them. Where a heavy flow of water is available, they will operate efficiently. Turbine Water Wheels utilize a fall of from 4 feet to several hundred feet, but they are used principally for heads under 100 feet with large flows. Single Turbines will develop from 2 to 50,000 horse power. A Turbine Water Wheel develops power by the pressure of the water against the blades of the Turbine, which forces it around. All the working mechanism of a Turbine is under water and cannot be seen. There are both Vertical and Horizontal Turbine Water Wheels, and it depends upon the conditions prevailing at that particular power site as to which kind of Turbine should be used. The selection of the Turbine should be left to our Engineer. Vertical Turbine Installed in a wooden penstock. The water enters the Turbine through the vanes just above the floor and leaves through the circular openings at the bottom. In going through the Turbine the water presses against the blades of the Turbine and turns it around and thus gives up its power to the Turbine.
The letters are given on the drawing so that we may refer to them when giving the dimensions necessary for an installation. From the jaw coupling at the top of the Turbine, a shaft is carried upwards and the power is taken off the vertical shaft, either with gears or a pulley. Often the generator itself is attached to the vertical shaft. The smaller coupling at the left of the center of the Turbine is for attaching the gate rod, which extends upwards and generally has a hand wheel on top. By means of the hand wheel the gates of the Turbine are opened and closed. Horizontal Turbine, which will drive a generator, pump or other machinery from the Turbine shaft. Often the generator is connected directly to the shaft itself. The water enters the Turbine through the opening at the center of the picture and leaves the Turbine through the openings pointing downward between the I-beams. A pipe brings the water to the Turbine and another takes it away. The latter is generally short and is called a "draft tube." The pipes are not shown in the illustration. A Vertical Turbine installed in a concrete penstock. At the top of the vertical shaft a pair of bevel gears transmit the power to a horizontal shaft, from which it is transmitted to a generator, pump or line shaft by a pulley and belt. An automatic governor is shown to open and close the Turbine gates. A Turbine Water Wheel with generator connected directly to its vertical shaft. Installation is complete with generator, exciter, oil pressure governor and switchboard. Turbine Water Wheel installed in steel case with generator and exciter resting on top of the case. An oil pressure governor operates the Turbine gates. The water comes to the Turbine through a steel pipe that is not shown in the illustration, and leaves the Turbine through the short draft tube and concrete flume at the bottom.
Impulse Water Wheels are used where the Water falls are very high from 100 to several thousand feet in height. They utilize flows of water from a stream 4 inches wide to 8 or 10 feet wide. Where the streams are wider, two or more Impulse Wheels are used. An Impulse Wheel will develop from a fraction of the horse power to several thousand horse power. Impulse Wheels are generally used in mountainous countries. They are simple in construction and small in size compared with the power that they produce, and can easily be carried over the mountains to the location where they are to be installed. In an Impulse Wheel, the water comes out of a nozzle, like a fire nozzle, and strikes small cups on the rim of the wheel, and the force of the water striking these buckets turns the Wheel. The principle on which the Impulse Wheel operates it shown in the illustration below.
Impulse Water Wheel mounted on wooden frame. Only the iron parts shown need to be shipped to an installation. The timer frame can be constructed on the ground, in accordance with the blueprint plans which we furnish. Sometimes concrete or masonry foundations are substituted for the wooden frame. Impulse Water Wheel mounted in a cast iron and driving generator by means of a belt. The Water Wheel is 24 inches in diameter. The case is in two parts and the upper part can be removed, which gives easy access to the Wheel and the nozzle. General view of installation of an Impulse Water Wheel. The long pipe line carries the water from the top of the hill to the Wheel in the house in the valley below. It looks like an incline railroad up a mountainside. After the water strikes the buckets and gives up its power to the Wheel, it flows quietly away.
The photograph on the opposite page shows the weir method of measuring the flow of a stream. This is the method to use wherever possible.
A notch is cut in a board of ample size to carry the full flow of the stream and the board is placed across the stream so that all of the water has a free fall through the notch. The bottom of the notch is made exactly level. Six to eight feet up stream from the board a stake is driven into the water until the top of the stake is on a level with the bottom of the notch. The depth of the water is then measured on this stake and with this measurement and the width of the notch our Engineers can calculate the flow of the stream. In the photograph a man is shown measuring down the top of the stake, which is under the water. The stake shown in the photograph is not the one to which he is measuring, but only a guard stake. It is necessary to cut off all the flow of water underneath the weir and this is often very difficult to do, especially where the flow of water in the stream is large. Our Hydraulic Engineers are experts in measuring the flow of streams.
First of all, send to us for a Hydraulic Engineer. Here is where you make the first great saving. Our charges for an expert Engineer are very reasonable. A Water Power Development requires a specialist, an Engineer who understands hydraulics, Water Wheels, pipe lines, and the construction of dams and power houses. The advice of our experienced Engineer keep you form making costly mistakes in this highly specialized work. Our Engineer will take accurate measurements of the fall and flow of your Stream and will advise you definitely how much power can be developed. Also, he will lay out your Plant for you, show you where the dam and power house should be places, advise you whether it is better to lead the water to the Water Wheel through an open race or a pipe line, and go over with you many other important points regarding your installation. From the data which he gathers, we will submit to you a full written report, covering in detail the amount of power which you can develop, the proper size and kind of Water Wheel to install, and the cost of dam, power house, electrical equipment and transmission line. If you decide to go ahead with your installation and purchase the equipment from us, we make no charge for the services of our Engineer, and the amount paid to us is returned to you or credited to your account. Our Engineers are available for consultation on other Hydraulic problems besides the installation of Water Wheels.
