Fig. 217. A motor vacuum cleaner
[Fig. 217], which is reproduced from The Scientific American, exhibits an ingenious form of vacuum cleaner. It has recently been patented, and consists of a suction-fan operated by a water-motor that may be attached to the ordinary kitchen faucet. A tube is connected with the chamber of the suction-fan, and this terminates in a suitable nozzle, or foot plate, which may be moved over a carpet or rug to draw out the dust and dirt. One of the advantages of this system is that dirt drawn up by the suction fan can be carried away with the water down the kitchen drain.
Fig. 218. Home-made power-driven vacuum cleaner
A good power-driven cleaner may be made at home, says Popular Mechanics, by following these directions: First take a good pine board, 1 inch thick, 1 foot wide, and 3 feet long, and nail to each end a 1-foot length of 2-inch by 2-inch pine, as shown at A, [Fig. 218]. Next a 3⁄4-inch board, 1 foot wide and about 1 foot, 3 inches long, should be fastened near the centre, and at right angles to the first board, as shown at B. Procure a tin pan measuring about 10 inches in diameter and 3 inches deep. This pan shown at C, must be fitted with two valves, which are the most important and difficult part of the work. Cut, from a smooth piece of pine, 1 inch thick, two discs, 5 inches in diameter, with a 3-inch hole in the centre of each. Obtain a sheet of packing rubber, 1⁄8 of an inch thick, and cut from it two discs, each 5 inches in diameter, and two 31⁄2 inches in diameter. One of the discs of wood should be fastened to the back of the pan at the top, as shown at D, [Fig. 219], with one of the 5-inch diameter rubber discs placed between the tin and the wood, and both secured to the tin by a row of small bolts around the outside edge of the wood. A hole, 3 inches in diameter, can now be cut through the tin and rubber, using the hole in the wood as a guide. Two discs with a diameter of 31⁄4 inches should be cut from cigar box wood and fastened centrally on the 31⁄2-inch rubber disc. One of the latter pieces should be fastened by its top edge to the top edge of the 5-inch disc of wood, as shown in E. This forms a flap valve, and great care should be taken to see that the rubber disc covers the opening all the way around when the valve is closed, so that it will be air-tight. A spring will be necessary to quicken the action of this valve. This is best made by fastening a narrow strip of wood across the valve opening on the inside of the pan, as shown at F, and attaching a rubber band to the centre of the valve and to this stick. This completes the outlet or exhaust valve. Another valve must now be made in the same manner, and fastened to the bottom of the pan on the inside, as shown. This is the inlet valve, and works in the opposite direction to the outlet valve just described.
