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One of two cast bronze bearings from the bilge pump of a Roman ship which caught fire and sank in St Peter Port harbour around AD280. Of surprisingly modern appearance, such bearings are known from Roman shipwrecks in the Mediterranean. Pitch being carried in the aft hold of the ship melted during the fire, sealing the bearings and many other objects, effectively preserving them. The ship is the largest and most intact Roman vessel surviving from Britain and is one of the oldest sea-going ships found in northern Europe. It appears to have been a merchant vessel engaged in coastal trade, with objects from as far apart as Algeria and Germany on board. It is constructed in a Gallic or Celtic manner using heavy oak timbers fastened by massive iron nails. Gallic vessels which sound remarkably similar were described by Julius Caesar almost four centuries earlier.

Work on restoring an historic water pump near the remains of a canal in Cardiff is due to start within weeks.

Historic monuments body Cadw and Cardiff Council have agreed to fund the project involving Melingriffith water pump and wheel in Whitchurch.

The 200-year-old pump stands on what is left of a tinplate works and near the Glamorgan canal, which brought iron and coal from the valleys to Cardiff docks.

The pump supplied water to the canal but has been disused for 67 years.

The £100,000 restoration project has been delayed, after bats were found roosting at the site, off Ty Mawr Road.

A bat expert will be on site to make sure the pipistrelle bats, a protected species, have all moved to their winter roosts.

Excited

The pump was first restored in the 1980s in an award-winning £300,000 project by industrial archaeologists and the Inland Waterways Association, but it needs work again.

The Friends of Melingriffith Water Pump are supporting the latest restoration, which is expected to start in February with the dismantling of the pump.

Much of the work is to take place in workshops throughout the rest of winter and spring, including refurbishment of the timber and treatment of the metalwork.

After this, the restored pump will be reassembled in the summer.

Stephanie Wilkins, chair of Friends of Melingriffith Water Pump, said they were excited about the project starting.

The group hopes to hold an event at the site.

“The structure and site is of importance to local people and those with special engineering and historical interests,” she said.

“As a group we will be working hard to make this project an ongoing success and urge people to get involved in safeguarding this unique structure for future generations.”

The Glamorgan canal once ran 25 miles from Merthyr to Cardiff’s docklands. The tinplate works is thought to have originated from the middle of the 18th Century.

Councillor Nigel Howells, executive member for sport leisure and culture, said: “This pump is not only a landmark for the area but an important symbol and reminder of this region’s industrial past.”

Heritage minister Alun Ffred Jones, who has responsibility for Cadw, said: “I am pleased that this collaboration with the City and Council of Cardiff will be giving people the opportunity to see the pump as it was and to provide information about its purpose and role in the tin plate works and the area as a whole.”

The Air-Conditioning, Heating, and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) disclosed recently the inauguration of its latest product section, Fluid Pumps.

The product section was agreed upon in unanimity by AHRI’s Board of Directors at its meeting on November 15, 2009, and will be added to AHRI’s 40 other product sections.
 
“This is an exciting opportunity to bring together manufacturers of fluid pump equipment to address issues of common interest in this growing market, and to establish a dialogue among industry leaders,” - Henry Hwong, AHRI’s Vice President of Product Section Services.
 
The new section was launched in order to meet requests from fluid pump producers for the creating of a forum where common issues can be discussed and solved. The approved range of the section covers the whole array of roto-dynamic centrifugal pumps/circulators used for fluids flow in residential and commercial buildings, mainly used in closed loop heating and cooling systems, domestic hot water recirculation, steam systems, cooling towers, geothermal and solar industries etc.

Harley Davidson oil pumps are two-sided, gear-type, positive-displacement pumps. The oil pump drive shaft is driven by the cam gear-train which passes through the case and into the back of the oil pump body. Two sets of gears are keyed to the drive shaft: a thick set and a thin set. The thin set supplies high-volume, low-pressure oil to the engine’s oil system. The thick set, or return set, draws oil that is collected by the breather valve and forces it through the oil filter and back into the oil tank.

Locate the drive key slot in the drive shaft close to where it exits the case. Insert a key into the slot and insure that it nests fully in the groove evenly without cocking. Slide the thin drive gear onto this shaft and engage the drive gear key into its slot on the gear.

Place the thin driven gear onto its mounting stud on the backside of the pump body and hold it in place. Place the new inner pump gasket onto the locating studs on the case and slide the pump body onto the drive shaft. Rotate the driven gear until the drive and driven gears nest together, allowing the pump body to slide up tightly against the case.

Insert a key into the drive shaft where it exits the front of the pump body. Slide the thick drive gear onto the shaft and engage the drive gear key onto its slot on the gear. Slide the thick driven gear onto its mounting stud and rotate the gear until it nests with the thick drive gear

Place the pump cover gasket onto the locating studs. Slide the pump cover onto the locating studs and install the cover bolts finger-tight. Tighten the cover bolts to factory spec and in the approved pattern set by the manufacturer. Install the oil return line onto the spigot on top of the pump and install a new clamp with the factory crimping tool.

This month’s freeze underscores why Florida needs to better balance the interests of farmers and their suburban neighbors. Farmers struggling to save their crops in the freezing conditions pumped so much water from the aquifer that dozens of sinkholes opened up in eastern Hills- borough County, drying up residential water wells, threatening homes and roads and shutting down traffic and small businesses. Agriculture plays a major role in Florida’s economy, and farmers need some latitude to deal with severe weather. But the health, order and livelihood of suburban communities also must be a concern.

The extreme weather was unusual in both its low temperatures and duration. Gov. Charlie Crist has asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to declare all of the state’s 67 counties a disaster area, which would give growers access to federal aid. His request came after a preliminary finding by state Agriculture Commissioner Charles Bronson that about 30 percent of Florida’s crop had been damaged by sustained hours of subfreezing weather over a 13-day period. The full extent of the damage should be clear in the coming week. But Bronson said no sector of the state’s agriculture industry was spared, from strawberries and citrus to corn and tropical fish.

In eastern Hillsborough, where strawberries are a $300 million annual crop, farmers pumped millions of gallons of water from the aquifer to spray on their plants; the coating of ice forms a protective layer on the fruit. The pumping caused the aquifer to drop 60 feet in Dover (a sudden drop of just 10 feet in the water level can destabilize the limestone enough to cause a sinkhole), resulting in at least 22 sinkholes in the eastern part of the county. Depressions and cracks in the highways caused a partial closing of Interstate 4 and U.S. 92 near Plant City, along with parts of 15 other roads. The county also distributed bottled water to homeowners whose wells had gone dry. Some 600 people have called regional water managers to report their wells had malfunctioned or dried up completely. The freeze clearly impacted more than farmers.

The Southwest Florida Water Management District plans to establish a work group at its Jan. 26 board meeting to study what happened and to explore how to lessen the impact on the aquifer during any similar freeze. Swiftmud should take that job seriously. The panel also should include a cross-section of those who have a stake in the outcome: the agriculture industry, water managers, environmentalists and area property owners.

Growers are already looking at alternatives to watering crops for freeze protection. Fabric crop covers and chemical foams are still in the test stages and raise practical problems of their own. There are also hundreds of old, shallow wells throughout the 110-square-mile area in eastern Hillsborough that were allowed to remain after the state imposed new well depth requirements in 2002.

Everything should be on the table. This month’s freeze may have been a freak of nature. But the state needs a plan for protecting agriculture that does not put the homes or livelihoods of suburban residents at risk.

Propeller pumps are used for low lift, high flow rate conditions. They come in two types, axial flow and mixed flow. The difference between the two is the type of impeller. The axial flow pump uses an impeller that looks like a common boat motor screw and is essentially a very low head pump. A single-stage propeller pump typically will lift water no more than 20 feet. By adding another stage, heads from 30 to 40 feet are obtainable. The mixed-flow pump uses either semi-open or closed impellers similar to turbine pumps.

In permanent installations, propeller pumps are mounted vertically as shown in Figure 9. For portable pumping platforms, they are mounted on trailers or they are mounted on pontoons for use as floating intakes. Portable propeller pumps are commonly mounted in almost horizontal positions (low angles) to allow them to pump into pipelines easily as well as to be backed into a water source. Portable propeller pumps are commonly powered by the power-take-off (PTO) on tractors. On many farms, propeller pumps are used to pump out waste storage lagoons.

Power requirements of the propeller pump increase directly with the TDH so adequate power must be provided to drive the pump at maximum lift. Propeller pumps are not suitable under conditions where it is necessary to throttle the discharge to reduce the flow rate. It is important to accurately determine the maximum TDH against which this type of pump will operate.

Propeller pumps are not suitable for suction lift. The impeller must be submerged and the pump operated at the proper submergence depth. The depth of submergence will vary according to various manufacturers recommendations, but generally, the greater the diameter of pump, the deeper the submergence. Following recommended submergence depths will ensure that the flow rate is not reduced due to vortices. Also, failure to observe required submergence depth may cause severe mechanical vibrations and rapid deterioration of the propeller blades.

The town of Bartlett is almost running on empty when it comes to its water supply.
Bartlett resident and hair stylist Phyllis Williams said without water, there’s a lot of work she couldn’t get done.
I can’t do my perms, and can’t do my colors and shampoo and sets,” Williams said.
Luckily she did have water at her salon Wednesday.
“When I got up at my home I didn’t have any water,” she said.

Mayor Arthur White suggests the problem is with the city’s main well water pump. The City of Bartlett does have a backup pump in use to retrieve water, but a boil water notice in effect as an added precaution.

“It’s not pumping full force, as what is required for it to do. We’re not getting the amount of water to the surface that we really need,” White said.
Water levels in water storage tanks decreased quickly, leading to restrictions on non-essential water usage for Bartlett residents.
“Try to hold back on, you know, washing dishes, to conserve the water showers, bathing,” White said.
White said the water shortage affects about 800 families.
“There are also about 1,000 to 1,100 inmates down the far end of town we serve with water also,” White said, referring to the Bartlett State Jail.
The jail has taken to conserving water by limiting inmate showers and serving food that don’t require water.

With most of the things guides aiming for a “Do-It-Yourself” style, a lot of people prefer building things themselves, which can be used whenever required. One such example is the water wheel pump. Water wheel pumps can be used for several purposes such as grinding grain, saw wood and most importantly, pumping water.

Nowadays, it is possible to build one’s own water wheel pump with the help of some common materials such as:

* Corrugated sheet
* Flat pins
* Wooden skewer
* Scissors/box cutters
* Ruler, compass and string
* Small-sized bucket

After all of these materials have been procured, one can start with the process of building their own water wheel pump. This water wheel pump can also act as a pond filter and aerator, if desired. A water wheel pump makes use of the current of a river by pumping the water to greater heights than the height of the pump itself. The only requirement for the water wheel pump to function is to have a steady surface flow of water. However, they can do without any steep descents and waterfalls. Enough number of precautions must be taken while installing the water pump so that it can adjust its functioning to the changing current of the river.

To make the paddles of the water wheel pump, one can use the corrugated sheet, which is generally cut into 1.5-inch segments. With the help of a protractor, one can easily make two circles on the cardboard. By marking the center of the circle, one can get the position of the axle that will connect the two half-circles of the water wheel. The two halves of the water wheel can be used to make paddles of the wheel. These paddles need to be equidistant from each other at an approximate interval of 40 degrees apart. Enough precautions should be taken so that the paddle of the wheel should lie centrally on the wheel.

By making use of pins or any other gluing substance, these paddles can be attached to the water wheel pump. To test the efficiency of this water wheel pump, one can place the water wheel pump in the kitchen sink. As soon as water runs from the tap onto the wheel, it will make the wheel of the
pump spin. This is a simple step, which can help to determine whether the water wheel pump is working efficiently or not. After testing the efficiency of the water wheel pump, it can be put to use by attaching it to a small bucket with the axle.

Punching holes into an egg carton from the top, so that the string can be encircled through it, can function as a handle for the water wheel pump. The larger piece of the string can be attached to the axle, which will help us to determine the actual strength of the bucket, which can be used to
lift water using the water wheel pump. So, go ahead and experience the pleasure of using a water wheel pump that you’ve made yourself!

Are you aware that even your foot can be helpful in providing power to water pumps? The concept of “Human Pump” designed by an innovative designer named Gunwook Nam uses kinetic energy created by human foot traffic to power the system ofwater pumps . Different pumps are interlaced into an architectural construction which is used for main walking routes by people. When people walk, the structure would store the energy and further uses this energy to pump water to the surface. This concept promotes building with sustainable and reusable materials. Let’s see how far this design can be used in reality.

Wastage of water is a curse in rural India. Much of the scarcity has

been because of wrong usage, although drought and unseasonal rainfalls too have a major impact.
Now, technology may be coming to tackle this manmade crisis. Micro Technologies (India), an IT-based security solutions developer based in Navi Mumbai, has come up with a solution that claims to help farmers reduce water wastage significantly.

The company has launched a device Micro Jai-Kisan that will help farmers remotely manage the motor pumps by using a phone. Developed on the basis of GSM technology, the farmer can turn the pump on or off and also know the status of the pump by a phone call from a GSM, STD phone, or even by sending an SMS, says P Sekhar, chairman and managing director of Micro Technologies.

Farmers usually have to make multiple trips to their farms to check if there is adequate electricity to turn on the pump to water their crops. According to estimates, about 87 per cent of utilisable water is used for agriculture in India compared to the world average of 69 per cent. The flood or flow irrigation method in the country results in more than 50 per cent of water wastage. Moreover, an estimated 213 billion cubic metre out of 690 billion cubic metre of surface water is wasted each month in India.

Water leakage, pilferage and wastage amounts to half of the total flow. Industry estimates value of water and wastewater market in India at Rs 4,700 crore. Nearly 20 per cent of the farmers are dependent on electric pumps for irrigation.

Around 25 per cent of total Gram Panchayats of any state of India have pump-based drinking or irrigation water supply facilities. This device will help them in reducing water leakage, pilferage and wastage, Sekhar explains.

The manufacturers have used a very simple technology to develop the system. “When we started developing the solution, we kept in mind that the end user is a farmer who might be illiterate. So if we are developing a solution for him, it should be simple and easy to use,” says chief information officer of the company, Nisha Menon.

The company has developed two models — one functions on the basis of SMS and the other on the basis of both SMS and phone call. At present, the products are undergoing pilot tests in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Bihar.