CHAPTER I

Country Sources of Water Supply

The writer was recently engaged to plan and install a water-supply system for a country house which had been erected and completed without any provision whatever having been made for supplying the buildings and grounds with water. The house had all the usual appointments for comfort and ample modern conveniences, but these could be used only with water borrowed from a neighbor. In all parts of the country there are numerous farm buildings which are without a proper water-supply installation. These facts are mentioned to emphasize the importance of a good water supply for the country home, and to point out that water is unquestionably the most indispensable requirement for such structures.

Adequate Water Supply Important

But the advantages of a water supply are not limited to the dwelling house, for it is equally useful on the farm, for irrigation, and in the garden, on the golf grounds and tennis courts, in the barns and stables; it affords, besides, the best means for the much-desired fire protection. And, most important of all, an unstinted and adequate use of water promotes cleanliness and thereby furthers the cause of sanitation, in the country not less than in the city home.

The water supply for country houses has been so often discussed recently that the writer cannot hope to bring up any new points. This article should, therefore, be understood to offer simple suggestions as to how and where water can be obtained, what water is pure and fit for use, what water must be considered with suspicion, what water is dangerous to health, and how a source of supply, meeting the requirements of health, can be made available for convenient use.

Right here I wish to utter a warning against the frequent tendency of owners of country houses to play the rÔle of amateur engineers. As a rule this leads to failure and disappointment. Much money uselessly spent can be saved if owners will, from the beginning, place the matter in experienced hands, or at least seek the advice of competent engineers, and adopt their suggestions and recommendations as a guide.

Points to be Borne in Mind

Many are the points to be borne in mind in the search for water. Science teaches us that all water comes from the clouds, the atmospheric precipitation being in the form of either rain, or dew, or snow. After reaching the earth's surface, the water takes three different courses, and these are mentioned here because they serve to explain the different sources of supply and their varied character.

A part of the water runs off on the surface, forming brooks, streams, and lakes, and if it falls on roofs of houses or on prepared catchment areas, it can be collected in cisterns or tanks as rain water. Another part of the water soaks away into pervious strata of the subsoil, and constitutes underground water, which becomes available for supply either in springs or in wells. A third part is either absorbed by plants or else evaporated.

In our search for a source of supply, we should always bear in mind the essential requirements of the problem. Briefly stated, these are: the wholesomeness of the water, the adequateness and steadiness of the supply, its availability under a sufficient pressure, insuring a good flow, and the legal restrictions with which many water-supply problems are surrounded.

The first essential requirement is that of wholesomeness. The quality of a water supply is dependent upon physical properties and upon chemical and bacteriological characteristics. Water, to be suitable for drinking, must be neither too hard nor too soft; it should not contain too many suspended impurities, nor too much foreign matter in solution. Pure water is colorless and without odor. But it must be understood that the quality cannot be decided merely by the color, appearance, taste, and odor. The chemical and bacteriological examinations, if taken together, form a much safer guide, and with these analyses should go hand in hand a detailed survey of the water source and its surroundings.

Relation of Water to Health

Any pronounced taste in the water renders it suspicious; an offensive smell points to organic contamination; turbidity indicates presence of suspended impurities, which may be either mineral or organic. But even bright and sparkling waters having a very good taste are sometimes found to be highly polluted. Hence, it should be remembered that neither bright appearance nor lack of bad taste warrants the belief that water is free from dangerous contamination.

It is a well-established fact now that there is a relation between the character of the water supply and the health of a community; and what is true of cities, villages, and towns, is, of course, equally true of the individual country house.

How Water Becomes Contaminated

There are numerous ways in which water may become polluted, either at the source or during storage or finally during distribution. Rain water, falling pure from the clouds, encounters dust, soot, decaying leaves and other vegetable matters, and ordure of birds on the roofs; its quality is also affected by the roofing material, or else it is contaminated in the cisterns by leakage from drains or cesspools. Upland waters contain generally vegetable matter, while surface water from cultivated lands becomes polluted by animal manure. River water becomes befouled by the discharge into it of the sewers from settlements and towns located on its banks. Subsoil water is liable to infiltration of solid and liquid wastes emanating from the human system, from leaky drains, sewers, or cesspools, stables, or farmyards; and even deep well water may become contaminated by reason of defects in the construction of the well.

During storage, water becomes contaminated in open reservoirs by atmospheric impurities; a growth of vegetable organisms or algÆ often causes trouble, bad taste, or odor; water in open house tanks and in cisterns is also liable to pollution. During distribution, water may become changed in quality, owing to the action of the water on the material of the pipes.

From what source shall good water be obtained? This is the problem which confronts many of those who decide to build in the country.

The usual sources, in their relative order of purity, are: deep springs and land or surface springs, located either above or below the house, but not too near to settlements; deep subterranean water, made available by boring or drilling a well; upland or mountain brooks from uninhabited regions; underground water in places not populated, reached by a dug or driven well; lake water; rain water; surface water from cultivated fields; pond and river water; and finally, least desirable of all, shallow well water in villages or towns. These various sources of supply will be considered farther on.

An Ample Volume Necessary

The second essential requirement is ample quantity. The supply must be one which furnishes an ample volume at all seasons and for all purposes.

What is a reasonable daily domestic consumption? The answer to this question necessarily depends upon the character of the building and the habits and occupation of its inmates. It is a universal experience that as soon as water is introduced it is used more lavishly, but also more recklessly and regardless of waste. For personal use, from twenty to twenty-five gallons per person should prove to be ample per day: this comprises water for drinking and cooking, for washing clothes, house and kitchen utensils, personal ablutions, and bathing; but, taking into account other requirements on the farm or of country houses, we require at least sixty gallons per capita per diem. To provide water for the horses, cows, sheep, for carriage washing, for the garden, for irrigation of the lawn, for fountains, etc., and keep a suitable reserve in case of fire, the supply should be not less than 150 gallons per person per day.

A Good Pressure Required

The third essential requirement is a good water pressure. Where a suitable source of water is found, it pays to make it conveniently available, so as to avoid carrying water by hand, which is troublesome and not conducive to cleanliness. A sufficient pressure is attained by either storing water at, or lifting it to, a suitable elevation above the point of consumption. In this respect many farm and country houses are found to be but very imperfectly supplied. Often the tank is placed only slightly higher than the second story of the house. As a result, the water flows sluggishly at the bathroom faucets, and, in case of fire, no effective fire stream can be thrown. Where a reservoir is suitably located above the house, the pressure is sometimes lost by laying pipes too small in diameter to furnish an ample stream. Elevated tanks should always be placed so high as to afford a good working pressure in the entire system of pipes. Where a tower of the required height is objectionable, either on account of the cost or on account of appearance, pressure tanks may be installed which have many advantages.

In selecting a source of water supply, the following points should be borne in mind for guidance: first, the wholesomeness of the water; next, the cost required to collect, store, and distribute the water; finally, where a gravity supply is unavailable, the probable operating expenses of the water system, cost of pumping, etc.

Collection of Rain Water

The collection of rain water near extensive manufacturing establishments is not advisable, except where arrangements are provided for either filtering or distilling the water. In the country, rain water is pure and good, if the precaution is observed to allow the first wash from roofs to run to waste. The rain may be either caught on the roofs, which must always have a clean surface and clean gutters, or else on artificially prepared catchment areas. As an example, I quote: "All about the Bermuda Islands one sees great white scars on the hill slopes. These are dished spaces, where the soil has been scraped off and the coral rock exposed and glazed with hard whitewash. Some of these are a quarter acre in size. They catch and carry the rainfall to reservoirs, for the wells are few and poor, and there are no natural springs and no brooks." (Mark Twain, "Some Rambling Notes of an Idle Excursion.")

After the close of the Boer War the English sent about 7,000 Boer prisoners of war to Bermuda, where they were encamped on some of the smaller islands of the group, and the entire water supply for the encampment was obtained by building artificial catchment areas as described in the above quotation.Sometimes, instead of building underground cisterns, rain water is caught and stored in barrels above ground; if so, these should always be well covered, not only to avoid pollution, but to prevent the barrels from becoming mosquito breeders. Cisterns should always be built with care and made water-tight and impervious. The walls should be lined with cemented brickwork. In soil consisting of hard pan, cisterns in some parts of the country are built without brick walls, the walls of the excavation being simply cemented. I do not approve of such cheap construction, particularly where the cistern is located near a privy or cesspool. Pollution of cistern water is often due to the cracking of the cement lining. Overflows of cisterns should never be connected with a drain, sewer, or cesspool. Run the overflow into some surface ditch and provide the mouth with a fine wire screen, to exclude small animals. It is not recommended to build cisterns in cellars of houses.

Quality of Water Obtained from Lakes

Lakes yield, as a rule, a supply of clear, bright, and soft water. This is particularly the case with mountain lakes, because they are at a distance from sources of contamination. The character of the water depends upon whether the lake is fed by brooks, that is, by the rain falling upon the watershed, or also by springs. In one case the water is surface water exclusively; in the other, it is surface and underground water mixed. The purity also depends upon the depth of the lake and upon the character of its bottom.

Deep lakes furnish a better supply and clearer water than shallow ones. The solid matter brought into the lake by the brooks or rivers which feed it does not remain long in suspension, but soon settles at the bottom, and in this way some lakes acquire the wonderfully clear water and the beautiful bluish-green color for which they are far famed.

Strong Winds Dangerous on Lakes

Strong winds or currents at times stir up the mud from the bottom; hence, in locating the intake, the direction of the prevailing winds should be considered, if practicable. The suction pipe should always be placed in deep water, at a depth of at least fifteen to twenty feet, for here the water is purer and always cooler.

Settlements on the shores of a lake imply danger of sewage contamination, but the larger the lake, the less is the danger of a marked or serious pollution, if the houses are scattered and few.

Pools and stagnant ponds are not to be recommended as a source of supply. In artificially made lakes there is sometimes danger of vegetable pollution, and trouble with growth of algÆ. The bottom of such lakes should always be cleared from all dead vegetation.Surface water may be obtained from brooks flowing through uninhabited upland or from mountain streams. Such water is very pure and limpid, particularly where the stream in its downward course tumbles over rocks or forms waterfalls. But, even then, the watershed of the stream should be guarded to prevent subsequent contamination. Larger creeks or rivers are not desirable as a source of supply, for settlements of human habitations, hamlets, villages, and even towns are apt to be located on the banks of the river, which is quite generally used—wrong as it is—as an outlet for the liquid wastes of the community, thus becoming in time grossly polluted. Down-stream neighbors are sure to suffer from a pollution of the stream, which the law should prevent.

The Water of Springs

The water of springs is subterranean, or ground water, which for geological reasons has found a natural outlet on the surface. We distinguish two kinds of springs, namely, land or surface springs, and deep springs. The former furnish water which originally fell as rain upon a permeable stratum of sand or gravel, underlaid by an impervious one of either clay or rock. Such water soaks away underground until it meets some obstacle causing it to crop out on the surface. Such spring water is not under pressure and therefore cannot again rise. Water from deep springs is rain water fallen on the surface of a porous stratum on a high level, and which passes under an impermeable stratum, and thus, being under pressure, rises again where an opening is encountered in the impervious stratum; these latter springs are really artesian in character.

Deep-spring water is less apt to be polluted than water from surface or land springs, for it has a chance in its flow through the veins of the earth to become filtered. Land springs always require careful watching, particularly in inhabited regions, to prevent surface contamination.

Not all Spring Water Pure

It is a popular fallacy that all spring water is absolutely pure and healthful. The above explanation will be helpful in pointing out how, in some cases, spring water may be nothing but contaminated ground water. Land springs in uncultivated and uninhabited regions, particularly in the mountains, yield a good and pure supply. But it is always advisable, when tapping a spring for water supply, to study its probable source, and carefully to inspect its immediate surroundings. The spring should be protected by constructing a small basin, or reservoir, and by building a house over this. The basin will also serve to store the night flow of the spring. Before deciding upon a supply from a spring, its yield should be ascertained by one of the well-known gauging methods. Springs are usually lowest in the months of October and November, though there is some difference in this respect between land springs and deep springs. The minimum yield of the spring determines whether it forms a supply to be relied upon at all times of the year.

If the spring is located higher than the grounds and buildings to be supplied, a simple gravity supply line may be carried from it, with pipes of good size, thus avoiding undue friction in the line, and stoppages. If lower than the house, the water from the spring must be raised by some pumping method.

All water found underground owes its origin to the rainfall. If concealed water is returned to the surface by natural processes it is called spring water, but if recovered by artificial means it is called well water.

Different Kinds of Wells

There are numerous kinds of wells, distinguished from one another by their mode of construction, by their depth from the surface, by the fact of their piercing an impervious stratum or merely tapping the first underground sheet of water, and by the height to which the water in them rises or flows. Thus we have shallow and deep wells, horizontal wells or infiltration galleries, open or dug wells, tube wells, non-flowing and flowing wells, bored, drilled, and driven wells, tile-lined and brick-lined wells, and combination dug-and-tubular wells.When it is desired to provide a water supply by means of wells some knowledge of the geology of the region, of the character of the strata and of their direction and dip, will be very useful. In the case of deep wells, it is really essential. By making inquiries as to similar well operations in the neighborhood, one may gain some useful information, and thus, to some extent, avoid guesswork. When one must drill or bore through rock for a very deep well, which necessarily is expensive, much money, often uselessly spent, may be saved by consulting the reports of the State geologist, or the publications of the United States Geological Survey, or by engaging the services of an expert hydrogeologist.

"Water Finders"

It used to be a common practice to send for so-called "water finders," who being usually shrewd observers would locate by the aid of a hazel twig the exact spot where water could be found. In searching for water one sometimes runs across these men even to-day. The superstitious faith in the power of the forked twig or branch from the hazelnut bush to indicate by its twisting or turning the presence of underground water was at one time widespread, but only the very slightest foundation of fact exists for the belief in such supernatural powers.

In Europe, attention has again, during the past years, been called to this "method" of finding water, and it has even received the indorsement of a very high German authority in hydraulic engineering, a man well up in years, with a very wide practical experience, and the author of the most up-to-date hand-book on "Water Supply," but men of science have not failed to contradict his statements.

Definition of "Ground-water Level"

Water percolating through the soil passes downward by gravity until it reaches an impervious stratum. The surface of this underground sheet of water is technically called "water table" or ground-water level. The water is not at rest, but has a slow and well-defined motion, the rate of which depends upon the porosity of the soil and also upon the inclination or gradient of the water table. A shallow well may be either excavated or driven into this subsoil sheet of water. In populous districts, in villages, towns, but also near habitations, the soil from which water is obtained must, of necessity, be impregnated with organic waste matter. If, in such a surface well, the level of the water is lowered by pumping, the zone of pollution is extended laterally in all directions. Ordinary shallow well water should always be considered "suspicious water." There are two distinct ways in which surface wells are contaminated: one is by leakage from cesspools, sewers, privies, etc.; the other, just as important and no less dangerous, by direct contamination from the surface. The latter danger is particularly great in wells which are open at the surface, and from which water is drawn in buckets or pails. A pump well is always the safer of the two. Frogs, mice, and other small animals are apt to fall into the water; dust and dirt settle into it; the wooden curb and the rotten cover also contribute to the pollution; even the draw-buckets add to it by reason of being often handled with unclean hands.

Always avoid, in the country, drinking water from farmers' wells located near cesspools or privies. Such shallow wells are particularly dangerous after a long-protracted drought. It is impossible to define by measurement the distance from a cesspool or manure pit at which a well can be located with safety, for this depends entirely upon local circumstances. Contamination of shallow wells may, in exceptional cases, be avoided by a proper location of the well with reference to the existing sources of impurity. A well should always be placed above the source of pollution, using the word "above" with reference to the direction in which the ground water flows.

Precautions Regarding Wells

Other precautions to be observed with reference to surface wells are the following:

Never dig a well near places where soil contamination has taken or is taking place. Line the sides of the well with either brick, stone, or tile pipe, cemented in a water-tight manner to a depth of at least twenty feet from the surface, so that no water can enter except from the bottom, or at the sides near the bottom.

Raise the surface at the top of the well above the grade; arrange it so as to slope away on all sides from the well; cover it with a flagstone, and cement the same to prevent foreign matters from dropping into the well; make sure that no surface water can pass directly into the well; make some provision to carry away waste water and drippings from the well.

Shallow wells made by driving iron tubes with well points into the subsoil water are preferable to dug wells. Use a draw-pump in preference to draw buckets.

When a well is sunk through an impervious stratum to tap the larger supply of water in the deeper strata, we obtain a "deep well." Water so secured is usually of great purity, for the impurities have been filtered and strained out by the passage of the water through the soil. Moreover, the nature of the construction of deep wells is such that they are more efficiently protected against contamination, the sides being made impervious by an iron-pipe casing. In some rare cases, even deep wells show pollution due to careless jointing of the lining, or water follows the outside of the well casing until it reaches the deeper water sheet. Deep wells usually yield more water than shallow driven wells, and the supply increases perceptibly when the water level in the well is lowered by pumping. While surface wells draw upon the rainfall percolating in their immediate vicinity, deep wells are supplied by the rainfall from more remote districts. Deep wells are either non-flowing or flowing wells. When the hydrostatic pressure under which the water stands is sufficient to make it flow freely out on the surface or at the mouth of the well, we have a flowing, or true artesian well.

Character of Water From Deep Wells

Water from deep wells is of a cool and even temperature. It is usually very pure, but in some cases made hard by mineral salts in the water. Sulphur is also at times present, and some wells on the southern Atlantic coast yield water impregnated with sulphur gases, which, however, readily pass off, leaving the water in good condition for all uses. In many cases the water has a taste of iron. No general rule can be quoted as to the exact amount of water which any given well will yield, for this depends upon a number of factors. Increasing the diameter of very deep wells does not seem to have any marked effect in increasing the supply. Thus, a two-foot well gives only from fifteen to thirty per cent more water than a three-inch-pipe well. This rule does not seem to apply to shallow wells of large diameter, for here we find that the yield is about in proportion to the diameter of the well.

It is interesting to note the fact that wells located near the seashore, within the influence of the tide, vary in the hourly flow. According to Dr. Honda, of the University of Tokio, there is "a remarkable concordance between the daily variations in the level of the tides and the water level in wells." The water in wells one mile from the seashore was found to stand highest at high tide. The daily variation amounted to sixteen centimeters, or a little over six inches. A similar variation was observed by the writer in some flowing wells located on the north shore of Long Island. Dr. Honda found also that the water level in wells varied with the state of the barometer, the water level being lowered with a rise in the barometer.

Where a large supply is wanted a series of wells may be driven, and, as the expense involved is considerable, it is always advisable to begin by sinking a smaller test well to find out whether water may be had.

Ground water may also be recovered from water-bearing strata by arranging horizontal collecting galleries with loose-jointed sides through which the water percolates. Such infiltration galleries have been used in some instances for the supply of towns and of manufacturing establishments, but they are not common for the supply of country houses.

Laws Regulating Appropriation of Water

Persons contemplating the establishment of a system of water supply in the country should bear in mind that the taking of water for supply purposes is, in nearly all States, hemmed in by legal restrictions. The law makes a distinction between subterranean waters, surface waters flowing in a well-defined channel and within definite banks, and surface waters merely spread over the ground or accumulated in natural depressions, pools, or in swamps. There are separate and distinct laws governing each kind of water. It is advisable, where a water-supply problem presents itself, to look up these laws, or to consult a lawyer well versed in the law of water courses.

If it is the intention to take water from a lake, the property owner should make sure that he owns the right to take such water, and that the deed of his property does not read "to high-water mark only." The owner of a property not abutting on a lake has no legal right to abstract some of the water from the lake by building an infiltration gallery, or a vertical well of large diameter intended for the same purpose. On the other hand, an owner may take subterranean water by driving or digging a well on his own property, and it does not matter, from the law's point of view, whether by so doing he intercepts partly or wholly the flow of water in a neighboring well. But, if it can be shown that the subterranean water flows in a well-defined channel, he is not permitted to do this. The water from a stream cannot be appropriated or diverted for supply or irrigation purposes by a single property holder without the consent of the other riparian owners, and without compensation to them.

CHAPTER II

Appliances for Distributing Water

We have so far discussed only the various sources of potable water. We must now turn our attention to the mechanical means for making it available for use, which comprise appliances for lifting, storing, conveying, distributing, and purifying the water.

The location of the source of supply with reference to the buildings and grounds decides generally the question whether a gravity supply is feasible or whether water must be pumped. The former is desirable because its operating expenses are almost nothing, but it is not always cheapest in first cost. Rather than have a very long line of conduit, it may be cheaper to pump water, particularly if wind or water power, costing nothing, can be used.

Machines for Pumping

When it becomes necessary to pump water, there are numerous machines from which to choose; only the more important ones will be considered. We may use pumps operated by manual labor, those run by animal power, pumping machinery using the power of the wind or that of falling or running water; then there are hot-air, steam, and electric pumps, besides several forms of internal-combustion engines, such as gas, gasoline, and oil engines. Each has advantages in certain locations and under certain conditions.

Of appliances utilizing the forces of Nature, perhaps the simplest efficient machine is the hydraulic ram. While other machines for lifting water are composed of two parts, namely, a motor and a pump, the ram combines both in one apparatus. It is a self-acting pump of the impulse type, in which force is suddenly applied and discontinued, these periodical applications resulting in the lifting of water. Single-acting rams pump the water which operates them; double-acting rams utilize an impure supply to lift a pure supply from a different source.

The advantages of the ram are: it works continuously, day and night, summer and winter, with but very little attendance; no lubrication is required, repairs are few, the first cost of installation is small. Frost protection, however, is essential. The disadvantages are that a ram can be used only where a large volume of water is available. The correct setting up is important, also the proper proportioning in size and length of drive and discharge pipes. The continual jarring tends to strain the pipes, joints, and valves; hence, heavy piping and fittings are necessary. A ram of the improved type raises water from twenty-five to thirty feet for every foot of fall in the drive pipe, and its efficiency is from seventy to eighty per cent.

Running water is a most convenient and cheap power, which is often utilized in water wheels and turbines. These supply power to run a pump; the water to be raised may come from any source, and the pump may be placed at some distance from the water wheel. Where sufficient fall is available—at least three feet—the overshot wheel is used. In California and some other Western States an impulse water wheel is much used, which is especially adapted to high heads.

Windmills Used for Driving Pumps

The power of the wind applied to a windmill is much used for driving pumps. It is a long step forward from the ancient and picturesque Dutch form of windmill, consisting of only four arms with cloth sails, to the modern improved forms of wheels constructed in wood and in iron, with a large number of impulse blades, and provided with devices regulating the speed, turning the wheel out of the wind during a gale, and stopping it automatically when the storage tank is filled. The useful power developed by windmills when pumping water in a moderate wind, say of sixteen miles an hour velocity, is not very high, ranging from one twenty-fifth horse-power for an eight and one-half foot wheel to one and one-half horse-power for a twenty-five foot wheel. The claims of some makers of windmills as to the power developed should be accepted with caution.

The chief advantage is that, like a ram, the windmill may work night and day, with but slight attention to lubrication, so long as the wind blows. But there are also drawbacks; it requires very large storage tanks to provide for periods of calm; the wheel must be placed sufficiently exposed to receive the full wind force, either on a tower or on a high hill, and usually this is not the best place to find water. Besides, a windmill tower, at least the modern one, is not an ornamental feature in the landscape. It is expensive when built sufficiently strong to withstand severe winter gales. During the hot months of the year, when the farmer, the gardener, and the coachman require most water, the wind is apt to fail entirely for days in succession.

The Use of Engines

If water is not available, and wind is considered too unreliable, pumping must be accomplished by using an engine which, no matter of what form or type, derives its energy from the combustion of fuel, be the same coal, wood, charcoal, petroleum or kerosene, gas, gasoline, or naphtha. The use of such pumping engines implies a constant expense for fuel, operation, maintenance, and repairs. In some modern forms of engines this expense is small, notably so in the oil engine, and also in the gasoline engine; hence these types have become favorites.

Advantages of Pumping Engines

An advantage common to all pumping engines is that they can be run at any time, not like the windmill, which does not operate in a light breeze, nor like the ram, which fails when the brook runs low. Domestic pumping engines are built as simple as possible, so that the gardener, a farm hand, or the domestic help may run them. Skill is not required to operate them, and they are constructed so as to be safe, provided ordinary intelligence is applied.

In using a fuel engine it is desirable, because of the attendance required, to take a machine of such capacity and size that the water supply required for two or three days may be pumped to the storage tank in a few hours.

Expansive Force of Heated Air Utilized

A favorite and extensively used type of domestic pump is the hot-air engine, in which the expansive force of heated air is used to do useful work. Among the types are simple and safe machines which do not easily get out of order. They are started by hand by giving the fly wheel one or more revolutions. If properly taken care of they are durable and do not require expensive repairs.

Gas and Gasoline Engines

In gas engines power is derived from the explosion of a mixture of gas and air. Where a gas supply is available, such engines are very convenient, for, once started, they will run for hours without attention. They are economical in the consumption of gas, and give trouble only where the quality of gas varies.

Owing to the unavailability of gas on the farm and in country houses, two other forms of pumping engines have been devised which are becoming exceedingly popular. One is the gasoline, the other is the oil engine. Both resemble the gas engine, but differ from it in using a liquid fuel which is volatilized by a sprayer. Gasoline engines are now brought to a high state of perfection.

Kerosene or Crude Oil as Fuel

In recent years, internal-combustion engines which use heavy kerosene or crude oil as fuel have been introduced. These have two palpable advantages: first, they are safer than gasoline engines; second, they cost less to run, for crude oil and even refined kerosene are much cheaper than gasoline. Oil engines resemble the gas and gasoline engines, but they have larger cylinders, because the mean effective pressure evolved from the explosion is much less than that of the gasoline engines.Oil engines for pumping water are particularly suitable in regions where coal and wood cannot be obtained except at exorbitant cost. Usually, the engine is so built as to be adapted for other farm work. It shares this advantage with the gasoline engine. Oil engines are simple, reliable, almost automatic, compact, and reasonable in first cost and in cost of repairs. There are many forms of such engines in the market. To be successful from a commercial point of view, an oil engine should be so designed and built that any unskilled attendant can run, adjust, and clean it. The cost of operating them, at eight cents per gallon for kerosene, is only one cent per hour per horse-power; or one-half of this when ordinary crude oil is used. The only attention required when running is periodical lubrication and occasional replenishing of the oil reservoir. The noise of the exhaust, common to all engines using an explosive force, can be largely done away with by using a muffler or a silencer. The smell of oil from the exhaust likewise forms an objection, but can be overcome by the use of an exhaust washer.

Steam and Electric Pumps

The well-known forms of steam-pumping engines need not be considered in detail, because high-pressure steam is not often available in country houses. Where electric current is brought to the building, or generated for lighting purposes, water may be pumped by an electric pump. Electric motors are easy and convenient to run, very clean, but so far not very economical. Electric pumps may be arranged so as to start and stop entirely automatically. Water may be pumped, where electricity forms the power, either by triplex plunger pumps or by rotary, screw, or centrifugal pumps.

Pumps Worked by Hand

Space forbids giving a description of the many simpler devices used for lifting water. In small farmhouses lift and force pumps worked by hand are now introduced, and the old-fashioned, moss-covered draw-bucket, which is neither convenient nor sanitary, is becoming a relic of past times.

Reservoirs and Storage Tanks

The water pumped is stored either in small masonry or earth reservoirs, or else in storage tanks of either wood, iron, or steel, placed on a wood or steel tower. Wooden tanks are cheap but unsightly, require frequent renewal of the paint, and give trouble by leaking, freezing, and corrosion of hoops. In recent years elevated tanks are supplanted by pressure tanks. Several such systems, differing but little from one another, are becoming quite well known. In these water is stored under suitable pressure in air-tight tanks, filled partly with water and partly with air.

A Simple Pressure System

One system consists of a circular, wrought-steel, closed tank, made air- and water-tight, a force pump for pumping water into the tank, and pipe connections. The tank is placed either horizontally or vertically in the basement or cellar, or else placed outdoors in the ground at a depth below freezing. Water is pumped into the bottom of the tank, whereby its air acquires sufficient pressure to force water to the upper floors.

This simple system has some marked advantages over the outside or the attic tank. In these, water gets warm in summer and freezes in winter. Vermin and dust get into the tank, and the water stagnates. In the pressure tank, water is kept aËrated, cool, and clean.

Another pressure tank has an automatic valve, controlled by a float and connected with suction of pump. It prevents the tank from becoming water-logged by maintaining the correct amount of air inside.

An Ideal System for a Country House

Still another system using pressure tanks is more complete than either of the others, comprising engine, pump, air compressor, a water tank, and also an air tank. It is best described by a recent example constructed from plans and under the direction of the writer. The buildings supplied with water comprise the mansion, the stable, the cottage, and a dairy, and[Pg 48]
[Pg 49] the pumping station is placed near the shore of the lake from which the supply is taken. See Figs. 1 and 2.

The pump house is about 20 feet by 27 feet, and contains a water-storage tank 6 feet in diameter and 131/2 feet long, of a capacity of 3,000 gallons; an air tank of same dimensions as the water tank, holding air under 150 pounds pressure; a 10 horse-power gasoline engine, direct-connected, by means of friction clutch, with an air compressor and also with a triplex pump of 75 gallons capacity per minute.

The water in the tank is kept under 75 pounds pressure, and at the hydrant near the house, located about 100 feet above the pumping station, there is an available pressure of 33 pounds. The last drop of water flows from the water tank under the full pressure of 75 pounds at the pumping station. The suction pipe into the lake is 4 inches and is provided with well strainers to prevent clogging.

The cost of pumping water by this system is quite reasonable. The gasoline engine requires per horse-power per hour about 11/4 gallons of gasoline, and at sixteen cents per gallon this makes the cost for 1,000 gallons pumped about five cents. To this expense should, however, be added the cost of lubricating oil, repairs, amount for depreciation, and the small cost for labor in running the engine.

Water pipes forming a distribution system should always be chosen generous in diameter, in order to avoid undue loss of pressure by friction. Where fire hydrants are provided, the size of the water main should not be below four inches. All branches should be controlled by shut-offs, for which the full-way gate valves are used in preference to globe valves. Pipe-line material is usually galvanized, screw-jointed wrought iron for sizes up to four inches.

In conclusion, a word about water purification. Where the quality of the water supply is not above suspicion it may be improved by filtration. A filter should never be installed without the advice of a qualified expert, for there are numerous worthless devices and few really efficient ones. Where a filter is not available, the water used for drinking should be boiled or sterilized if there is the slightest doubt as to its wholesomeness.