Paddle Wheel Windmills Powered Water Pumps
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Paddle wheel windmills once held their own on the prairie, according to T. Lindsay Baker. The editor of the Windmillers' Gazette (www.windmillersgazette.com) has chronicled their work pumping water in windy, dry land areas. One pump featured in a recent article pumped water to livestock for more than 40 years.
Baker credits the late professor Erwin Hinckley Barbour of the University of Nebraska for much of what is known about the homemade wind machines. Barbour and his students travelled the Great Plains states in the last years of the 1800's, taking photos and interviewing farmers who built them.
Baker quotes Barbour's description of a common paddle wheel as "āa stationary mill, consisting of four or more paddles fastened to a horizontal axis set squarely across the direction of the prevailing wind with the lower half boxed in."
Traditional windmills are designed to efficiently gather power from the wind throughout their rotation and to always rotate into the wind. Paddle wheel windmills were by their nature much less efficient. Only the paddles in the top half of the rotation were exposed to the wind, or they would have stalled out.
The windmills varied in size according to need and available materials. Barbour described a "baby jumbo" with paddles 2 1/2 ft. by 3 ft. that could pump 10 gpm from a 60-ft. deep well in a 16 mph wind. By contrast, a "jumbo" windmill outside Lincoln, Neb. had four, 4 by 9-ft. blades covered in used burlap coffee bags.
Inefficiency was counterbalanced by low cost and simplicity. Paddle wheel windmills could be built by anyone, anywhere, for a few dollars in used boards and parts.
Baker describes Barbour's efforts as "āsearching for interesting ways that ingenious people solved ordinary problems using materials readily at hand."
Contact: FARM SHOW Followup, Windmillers' Gazette, P.O. Box 507, Rio Vista, Texas 76093 (www.windmillersgazette.com)
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Paddle Wheel Windmills Powered Water Pumps AG WORLD Ag World Paddle wheel windmills once held their own on the prairie according to T Lindsay Baker The editor of the Windmillers Gazette www windmillersgazette com has chronicled their work pumping water in windy dry land areas One pump featured in a recent article pumped water to livestock for more than 40 years Baker credits the late professor Erwin Hinckley Barbour of the University of Nebraska for much of what is known about the homemade wind machines Barbour and his students travelled the Great Plains states in the last years of the 1800 s taking photos and interviewing farmers who built them Baker quotes Barbour s description of a common paddle wheel as āa stationary mill consisting of four or more paddles fastened to a horizontal axis set squarely across the direction of the prevailing wind with the lower half boxed in Traditional windmills are designed to efficiently gather power from the wind throughout their rotation and to always rotate into the wind Paddle wheel windmills were by their nature much less efficient Only the paddles in the top half of the rotation were exposed to the wind or they would have stalled out The windmills varied in size according to need and available materials Barbour described a baby jumbo with paddles 2 1/2 ft by 3 ft that could pump 10 gpm from a 60-ft deep well in a 16 mph wind By contrast a jumbo windmill outside Lincoln Neb had four 4 by 9-ft blades covered in used burlap coffee bags Inefficiency was counterbalanced by low cost and simplicity Paddle wheel windmills could be built by anyone anywhere for a few dollars in used boards and parts Baker describes Barbour s efforts as āsearching for interesting ways that ingenious people solved ordinary problems using materials readily at hand Contact: FARM SHOW Followup Windmillers Gazette P O Box 507 Rio Vista Texas 76093 www windmillersgazette com
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