GULLY-EMPTYING AND STREET-WASHING BY STEAM POWER.
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A New Multi-purpose Appliance of Interest to the Cleansing Superintendent.
rpHE importance of providing suitable mechanical 1 equipment for the cleansing of street surfaces and the emptying of gullies is no fully recognized by all municipal authorities, and one of the latest and most improved types of machine for carrying out these functions,is the Fowler patent steam gully emptier fitted with street-washing and sprinkling apparatus.
At the invitation of the manufacturers, John Fowler and Co. (Leeds), Ltd., Leeds, we visited, the works on Tuesday last to witness a demonstrationof this machine, given. before a large gathering of representatiVes interested in this class of machinery..
Before describing the actual demonstration it will be of interest to ' give a few .particulars of . the vehicle. In the first place, all the apparatus is mounted upon the standard Fowler 6-7-ton chassis, a special feature of which is the patented worm drive to the rear axle, giving a large surface contact, with smooth action between the teeth of the worm and Wenn wheel. This provides a perfectly silent drive, a point which is appreciated by all connected with street cleansing, and especially by the residents, for these operations are _chiefly carried out bet we en midnight and early morning.
The boiler is entirely stayless; the combination of spherical tuheplates and curved fire-tubes allows free expansion of the boiler without imposing any load on the tubes. It has ample steaming capacity under the heaviest working conditions, and steam is quickly raised from cold.
The engine is of the V-compound type, well balanced and taking full advantage of the expansion of the steam, thus cutting down fuel and water consumption to the minimum: Built integrally with -the engine casing is a three-speed gearbox, the gears all being operated by a single lever. The transmission is carried on baIl And roller bearings throughout, and all the moving parts are totally enclosed. This renders the hibrication of the parts a very simple matter ; in fact, it can practically be said to be automatic, with the exception a the few grease nipples on the various Outline of
parts of the chassis, which can be quickly charged with a grease-gun.
• Owing to its exceptionally short wheelbase, 9 ft. 6 ins., and easy steering gear, it can be quickly turned and manceuvred in restricted spaces, a valuable • advantage for this type of machine, which is often called upon to work in very awkward situations. Coming to the cleansing apparatus itself, a very interesting feature is the patented arrangement of the tanks. The main tank has a central portion for the sludge, and the cleanwater tank extends along each side and under the front end of the sludge tank, as is shown in the accompanying diagram. An independent chamber separated from the water tank is situated on the near side; into this chamber liquid from the sludge tank can overflow through a perforated partition. This patented arrangement Increases the amount of sludge or solid matter which can be accommodated before it is necessary to journey to the place of discharge.
WATER
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A working vacuum can be raised in the Independent vacuum tank in about O seconds, and after emptying one gully it can be brought up to the required degree while travelling to the next. The contents of the vacuum tank are transferred to the main sludge tank by the opening of an airtight dooi operated by a lever from the driver's cab. The gully refuse is discharged through a large door at the rear, and the operator stands quite clear while opening the door.
For street washing and sprinkling, water is supplied by an independent steam pump, conveniently situated between the main tank and the driver's cab. From the pump, water is delivered through a threeway valve, either to the washing nozzles, which are carried on a horizontal pipe placed at an angle of 45 degrees across the chassis in front of the rear axle, or to the sprinkler heads situated on each side of thecab just below the footplate'. For washing there are four nozzles, any of which can he adjusted independently. and the angle of the jets in relation to the road can he varied. An additional nozzle is fitted on the near-side end of the washing pipe for gutter. washing and channel damping. When sprinkling, the width of the spray and the amount of water discharged can be "controlled by means of levers placed conveniently Within reach of the driver.
Coming now to the actual demonstration, the venue chosen was Dewsbury Road, Leeds; this road carries some of the heaviest traffic in and out of the town, and, although the weather was fine and dry, the surface was in suitable condition for showing the capabilities of the machine, as the dirt was set hard on the thoroughfare.
The first operation to be carried out was street washing and, with the four nozzles delivering water, all the dirt for a width of 8 ft. was thoroughly washed into the gutter and the surface was left perfectly clean. This operation was carried out while the machine was travelling at about 4 mites per hour. (If the road surface be wet, the machine would, of course, operate at a higher rate of speed.) The four washing nozzles were then shut off and the side nozzle opened, when the gutter was nicely sprayed for a width of about 20 ins, up to the edge of the kerb: The pressure of water required for this operation depends upon whether the gutter is to be merely damped or the dirt thoroughly flushed into the gullies.
Dining both of these operations the machine wasentirely under the control of the driver alone, the pump being regulated by a valve conveniently within the driver's reach.
The next operation to be carried out was emptying gullies, and the change-over was made simply by closing the suction cock on the water tank and then unshipping the gully pipe, a matter of a few moments only. .A. line of gullies was then emptied and, when timing the machine, it was found that eight gullies were actually emptied In six minutes. These gullies were of the medium size, but, from actual certified tests carried out by the makers for several municipal authorities, the average time per gully works out at about 1i minutes. With gullies of the type emptied at this demonstration it is possible to empty up to 250 per day. In fact, at one test carried out this year 257 gullies were emptied in one day ; the machine on that occasion started from the depot at 8 a.m. and returned at 5 p.m. On this particular test the -cost per gully emptied worked out at 3.66 pence.
With the patented arrangement of waste-water tank previously described it is possible to empty 100 to 150 gullies before going to the tip, a great saving of time and labour. The contents of the sludge tank when full will contain approximately 5 per cent. of liquid, whereas the actual contents of the gully will ;}"..;/ClUifi tl4PTIER, contain anything up to 30 or 40 per cent, of liquid, and when no provision is made for draining this off the vehicle has to proceed more often to the tip.
The final operation of • street-sprinkling was then demonstrated and this was carried out in a very effective manner. The width of road at this point was approximately 50 ft. and was well covered by the spray. The convenience of the controls was amply demonstrated at this point, as other vehicles were constantly passing while the test was in progress and the operator controlled the spray So easily that none was splashed. For the operation the second man takes charge of the sprinkler controls.;
To complete the utilit.4:44;' the machine, a small washing nozzle is fixed at the end of a flexible pipe, and with this many cleansing operations can be done, in addition to cleaning out the sludge tank of the vehicle itself.