PREFACE
This book is designed primarily to give the farmer a practical working knowledge of electricity for use as light, heat, and power on the farm. The electric generator, the dynamo, is explained in detail; and there are chapters on electric transmission and house-wiring, by which the farm mechanic is enabled to install his own plant without the aid and expense of an expert.
With modern appliances, within the means of the average farmer, the generation of electricity, with its unique conveniences, becomes automatic, provided some dependable source of power is to be had—such as a water wheel, gasoline (or other form of internal combustion) engine, or the ordinary windmill. The water wheel is the ideal prime mover for the dynamo in isolated plants. Since water-power is running to waste on tens of thousands of our farms throughout the country, several chapters are devoted to this phase of the subject: these include descriptions and working diagrams of weirs and other simple devices for measuring the flow of streams; there are tables and formulas by which any one, with a knowledge of simple arithmetic, may determine the power to be had from falling water under given conditions; and in addition, there are diagrams showing in general the method of construction of dams, bulkheads, races, flumes, etc., from materials usually to be found on a farm. The tiny unconsidered brook that waters the farm pasture frequently possesses power enough to supply the farmstead with clean, cool, safe light in place of the dangerous, inconvenient oil lamp; a small stream capable of developing from twenty-five to fifty horsepower will supply a farmer (at practically no expense beyond the original cost of installation) not only with light, but with power for even the heavier farm operations, as threshing; and in addition will do the washing, ironing, and cooking, and at the same time keep the house warm in the coldest weather. Less than one horsepower of energy will light the farmstead; less than five horsepower of energy will provide light and small power, and take the drudgery out of the kitchen.
For those not fortunate enough to possess water-power which can be developed, there are chapters on the use of the farm gasoline engine and windmill, in connection with the modern storage battery, as sources of electric current.
It is desired to make acknowledgment for illustrations and assistance in gathering material for the book, to the editors of The Country Gentleman, Philadelphia, Pa.; The Crocker-Wheeler Company, Ampere, N. J.; The General Electric Company, Schenectady, N. Y.; the Weston Electrical Instrument Company, of Newark, N. J.; The Chase Turbine Manufacturing Company, Orange, Mass.; the C. P. Bradway Machine Works, West Stafford, Conn.; The Pelton Water Wheel Company, San Francisco and New York; the Ward Leonard Manufacturing Company, Bronxville, N. Y.; The Fairbanks, Morse Company, Chicago; and the Fitz Water Wheel Company, Hanover, Pa.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
| INTRODUCTION | [xvii] |
| PART I | |
| WATER-POWER | |
| CHAPTER I | |
| A WORKING PLANT | |
| The "agriculturist"—An old chair factory—A neighbor'shome-coming—The idle wheel in commission again—Light,heat and power for nothing—Advantagesof electricity | [3] |
| CHAPTER II | |
| A LITTLE PROSPECTING | |
| Small amount of water required for an electric plant—Exploring,on a dull day—A rough and ready weir—Whata little water will do—The water wheeland the dynamo—Electricity consumed the instantit is produced—The price of the average smallplant, not counting labor | [22] |
| CHAPTER III | |
| HOW TO MEASURE WATER-POWER | |
| What is a horsepower?—How the Carthaginians manufacturedhorsepower—All that goes up must comedown—How the sun lifts water up for us to use—Waterthe ideal power for generating electricity—Theweir—Table for estimating flow of streamswith a weir—Another method of measuring—Figuringwater horsepower—The size of the wheel—Whathead is required—Quantity of water necessary | [32] |
| CHAPTER IV | |
| THE WATER WHEEL AND HOW TO INSTALL IT | |
| Different types of water wheels—The impulse and thereaction wheels—The impulse wheel adapted tohigh heads and small amount of water—Pipe lines—Tableof resistance in pipes—Advantages and disadvantagesof the impulse wheel—Other formsof impulse wheels—The reaction turbine, suited tolow heads and large quantity of water—Its advantagesand limitations—Developing a water-powerproject: the dam; the race; the flume; the penstock;and the tailrace—Water rights for the farmer | [56] |
| PART II | |
| ELECTRICITY | |
| CHAPTER V | |
| THE DYNAMO; WHAT IT DOES, AND HOW | |
| Electricity compared to the heat and light of the Sun—Thesimple dynamo—The amount of electric energya dynamo will generate—The modern dynamo—Measuringpower in terms of electricity—The volt—Theampere—The ohm—The watt and the kilowatt—Ohm'sLaw of the electric circuit, and someexamples of its application—Direct current, andalternating current—Three types of direct-currentdynamos: series, shunt, and compound | [89] |
| CHAPTER VI | |
| WHAT SIZE PLANT TO INSTALL | |
| The farmer's wife his partner—Little and big plants—Limitingfactors—Fluctuations in water supply—Theaverage plant—The actual plant—Amountof current required for various operations—Standardvoltage—A specimen allowance for electric light—Heatingand cooking by electricity—Electric power:the electric motor | [121] |
| CHAPTER VII | |
| TRANSMISSION LINES | |
| Copper wire—Setting of poles—Loss of power in transmission—Ohm'sLaw and examples of how it isused in figuring size of wire—Copper-wire tables—Examplesof transmission lines—When to use highvoltages—Over-compounding a dynamo to overcometransmission loss | [153] |
| CHAPTER VIII | |
| WIRING THE HOUSE | |
| The insurance code—Different kinds of wiring described—Woodenmoulding cheap and effective—The distributingpanel—Branch circuits—Protecting thecircuits—The use of porcelain tubes and other insulatingdevices—Putting up chandeliers and wall-brackets—"Multiple"connections—How to connecta wall switch—Special wiring required for heat andpower circuits—Knob and cleat wiring, its advantagesand disadvantages | [172] |
| CHAPTER IX | |
| THE ELECTRIC PLANT AT WORK | |
| Direct-connected generating sets—Belt drive—Theswitchboard—Governors and voltage regulators—Methodsof achieving constant pressure at all loads:Over-compounding the dynamo; A system of resistances(a home-made electric radiator); Regulatingvoltage by means of the rheostat—Automaticdevices—Putting the plant in operation | [192] |
| PART III | |
| GASOLINE ENGINES, WINDMILLS, ETC. THE STORAGE BATTERIES | |
| CHAPTER X | |
| GASOLINE ENGINE PLANTS | |
| The standard voltage set—Two-cycle and four-cyclegasoline engines—Horsepower, and fuel consumption—Efficiencyof small engines and generators—Costof operating a one-kilowatt plant | [217] |
| CHAPTER XI | |
| THE STORAGE BATTERY | |
| What a storage battery does—The lead battery and theEdison battery—Economy of tungsten lamps forstorage batteries—The low-voltage battery forelectric light—How to figure the capacity of a battery—Tableof light requirements for a farm house—Watt-hoursand lamp-hours—The cost of storagebattery current—How to charge a storage battery—Careof storage batteries | [229] |
| CHAPTER XII | |
| BATTERY CHARGING DEVICES | |
| The automatic plant most desirable—How an automobilelighting and starting system works—How the sameresults can be achieved in house lighting, by meansof automatic devices—Plants without automaticregulation—Care necessary—The use of heating deviceson storage battery current—Portable batteries—Anelectricity "route"—Automobile power forlighting a few lamps | [250] |