A simple and very satisfactory method of storing water, and at the same time making provision for pumping water, is to place in the cellar or in a special excavation outside the cellar a pressure tank similar in shape to an ordinary horizontal boiler. The water in this tank is forced up into the house through the agency of compressed air, pumped in above the water, either by hand or by machinery, and in some cases automatically regulated so that the air pressure in the tank remains constant, no matter whether the tank contains much or little water. The village supply of Babylon, Long Island, is on this principle, the tanks there being eight feet in diameter and one hundred feet long,—much larger, of course, than is needed for a single house.
Fig. 54.—Engine applied to air-tank.
The accompanying diagram and figures show the method of installing this system, which is known generally as the Kewanee system, although a number of other firms than the Kewanee Water Supply Co. are prepared to furnish the outfit necessary.
Fig. 55.—Windmill connection with tank.
How the air-tank may be used in connection with a hand force pump is shown in Fig. 53. The water is pumped from a well into the tank, usually in the cellar, whence it flows by the pressure in the tank to all parts of the house. Figure 54 shows the tank with a gas engine and a power pump substituted for the hand pump. Figure 55 shows the using of a windmill in connection with the tank and also shows the relation of the tank to the fixtures in the rest of the house.