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MODERN METHODS IN PUBLIC CLEANSING
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Tis,HAT the general health of the people of this country cannot be denied, and the adaptability of commercial to-day, at a higher standard than ever before
vehicles to the .essential cleansing services has been largely responsible for bringing about this improvement, which has been effected to an extent realized by few persons not connected with public-cleansing administration. Without the motor vehicle, public-cleansing efficiency, as we now understand it, would have been impracticable.
Many makers are engaged in the production of special vehicles and appliances for a variety of purposes in connection With the cleansing services, and each year marks the introduction of improved methods of dealing with the collection of refuse, street sweeping and washing, and the cleansing and purifying of drains. All towns of any sire employ specialists to direct the cleansing services, and a close study of the problems involved is an essential part of the training for these positions.
• A wide range of vehicles is available to deal with refuse collection in all its phases, the demand for a variety of types and sizes having been occasioned by big differences in local conditions. Length of haul, peculiarities in the class of refuse to be dealt with, methods of disposal of the load, topographical conditions and the types of bin in use, all have an important hearing on the choice of vehicle. Considerations of both the initial and operating costs must also be borne in mind.
Tn recent years the electrically driven vehicle has made great strides, but any operating advantage gained over the petrol-engined machine is largely governed by the cost of current in the particular locality in which it is required to operate. In the main, it may be said that the petrolengined vehicle still holds the field.
Dealing for the moment with the chassis—what are the requirements for a refuse-collecting vehicle? Most important, perhaps, is the fact that the chassis must be of robust construction, for the conditions of operation are arduous; furthermore, continual stopping and starting impose heavy stresses on the engine and transmission.
". Improvements in the design and construction of small tyres have been of the greatest value in providing a low floor height to give easy loading, and the number of machines equipped with small wheels and tyres is increasing. Efficient braking is, of course, essential, and, in view of the large amount of stopping and starting, lightness of the controls is another desirable feature.
Overall dimensions of the vehicle are of greater importance in some localities than in others, but, in every case, maximum manceuvrability should be the aim of tint designer. The methanical-horse tractor unit with a semi, trailer is finding increasing favour with municipalities, and this type of machine has certain advantages. It enables . larger-capacity .bodiesto be used, and at the same time . the multi-purpose features of this type are an added attraction where it is not possible to employ a self-contained unit on full-time work.
In some instances it has become the practice to use horses only for house-to-house collection, whilst the trailer is hauled to the disposal point by a tractor unit. In this .system one tractor of the mechanical-horse type is capable of dealing with two or more trailers. Well-known tractor units of special value for this class of work are the Rarrier
• Cob and and the Scammell mechanical horse, In the Pagefield system, a self-contained motor vehicle is adapted to carry the horse-drawn collector.
As previously mentioned, the electric vehicle is coming more into favour, and if a municipality be well placed from the point of view of cheap current and has adequate facilities for battery charging, this type has much to commend it. Its bring cleansing officials face to face with the problem of initial and replacement costs. The Karrier-Burrell system represents a good effort to obtain really dustless side loading without the necessity of using special bins.
Side-loading bodies with weighted covers have proved popular, but to-day the tendency would appear to be towards the adoption of the totally enclosed body with inside rear loading. The development of the moving floor has done much to advance the popularity of this type of body.
The tendency towards the increasing bulkiness of refuse The Compactor system embodies compression of the load by an hydraulically operated ram, which, it is claimed, increases the carrying capacity by some 50 per cent. It is used with side-loading apertures, and a special type of shutter is not essential.
A system in which the load is compressed by gravity is the Faun, and this method would appear to have distinct possibilities. The body has two compartments, the container proper being of drum shape, whilst the rear loading chamber is equipped with automatic shutters. When the smaller chamber is practically full, the body is tilted so that the refuse falls into the container. It is claimed that the resultant compression by gravity gives an increased capacity of some 35 per cent. Quick tipping is a feature of this machine, and the loads can be compressed while the vehicle is on the move.
Other methods of compressing the refuse include the use of telescopic compartments as in the Pagefield-Kleenawa,y system, and by spiral vanes or screw gear, as in the Kuka. and Krupp systems.
c30 The moving floor seems, however, to have the greatest possibilities in connection with the compressing of the refuse. The Priecipality and the Transport moving floors are prominent amongst this type, the former being of the rubber-fabric pattern and the latter being made of steel slats. The Dennis concern has also entered this field with a moving floor of its own design.
Any doubts as to the rubber-fabric floor standing up to the arduous conditions of operation have been disposed of in actual practice, and early faults in both types have long since been eliminated in the light of experience.
A recent development of the Transport concern is a largecapacity body with rear loading, and incorporating the Transport moving-floor principle, together with automatic load-packing by screw gear. This method gives a good degree of compression and both the floor and screw gear are power-driven.
Before leaving the subject of refuse-collecting vehicles, mention Should be made of a new machine incorporating the ideas of ..Mr. H. Ardern-,A.M.I.Mech.E., F.Inst.P.C., Cleanaing Director of Westminster City Council. This corn prises an electrically driven mechanical-horse tractor unit, a joint product of the Electricar and Scammell concerns, whilst the 16-cubic-yd. semi-trailer body incorporates hydraulic-compression mechanism electrically operated from the traction battery; a Transport moving floor is also incorporated. We hope to publish a full description of this interesting machine in a later issue.
The problem of dealing with large premises, such as blocks of flats and offices, has been receiving the close attention of cleansing authorities. Accompanying illustrations show a Scammell outfit designed to carry six 1kcubic-yd. portable bins to and from the disposal point. The special bins are left on the premises, and, being equipped with small rubber-tyred wheels, are, when full, cable-hauled up a detachable ramp on to the trailer.
Street Sweeping and Washing.
Marked changes in street-cleansing operations have been. brought about by the large-scale use of mechanical transport, and to-day the motor vehicle has largely. replaced horses and carts for transporting road •Sweepings to the disposal point. Hand sweeping is still employed in some cases, but specially designed orderly carts for use in conjunction with low-loading refuse-collecting vehicles have been developed. A well-known system in this connection is the Oschner, which, by the use of special bins and loading shutters, gives dustless loading.
Street sweeping and washing by mechanical means are becoming more and more essential, however, and some ingenious mechanisms are to be found in this class of appliance. Street sweepers now often incorporate lifting gear and containers, the sweepings from the revolving brush being automatically transferred into the body of the machine.
The Karrier R.S.C. model is a well-known example of the type that einploys purely .mechanical means for picking up the sweepings, whilst the Lewin, in addition to revolving brushes, incorporates a suction apparatus for drawing in the dust. Sprinkling equipment is provided, although it is claimed to be efficient without the need for damping the reads.
Where it can safely be employed, there is little doubt that washing is the most effective method of cleansing streets, and for this purpose many sweeping machines are equipped with water tanks and the necessary sprinkler equipment. Cully emptiers are also frequently adapted for this purpose. A wide range of machines, built purely for street washing, is available, and amongst these may be mentioned the Scammell articulated outfit, and the Dennis and Thornycroft machines in various capacities.
The Cleansing of Gullies.
The cleansing of gullies by mechanical means has so many outstanding advantages that there are now few authorities which do not operate modem gully and cesspitemptying machines. Whilst in many cases these machines are of the sell-contained type, the mechanical-horse outfit is now receiving increasing attention. This is especially so where the character of the district is confined and finances have to he conserved, so that it is not possible or practicable to'fin& full-time employment for a single appliance of this type.
Emptying, flushing and resealing are carried out as part of a continuous process, without the gully contents being exposed, whilst in many cases the machines may be used for street washing by inter-connecting the clean water and sludge compartments,_ the pump being designed to force air into, or extract air from, the tank.
The diminution of noise in operation is a matter that has been receiving much attention of late, and this p:oblem assumes special importance where it is desired to carry out the work of gully cleansing at night. Westminster City Council has again taken the lead in this matter, for in its area intense traffic congestion during the day necessitates most of the work of gully cleansing being carried out at night. An electrically driven machine has, therefore, been built recently with the co-operation of the Electricar, Scammell and Dennis concerns, and this comprises a battery-operated mechanicalhorse tractor unit, with a semi-trailer equipped with gullyemptying apparatus. The pimp; iS electrically driven from a separate battery and it is quite silent in operation. Results so far show that it is both efficient and economical.
Elsewhere in this issue We give a list of makers of all types of municipal appliance with brief details of their products.