TYPES OF GULLY AND CESSPOOL EMPTIER.
Page 32
Page 33
If you've noticed an error in this article please click here to report it so we can fix it.
A Review of the Latest Appliances and Others which have Already Proved Their Worth in Many Municipalities.
ONE OF the most difficult of the many problems confronting municipal engineers is the efficient emptying of gullies and cesspools, for in spite of the great progress which has been made in sanitary arrangements there still exists a considerable number of cesspools in different parts of the country, and, naturally, particularly in rural districts. This typ3 of work is, however, not so difficult as is gully-emptying, for in the case of gullies a thick sludge which almost defies removal is often encountered. On the other hand, in the case of cesspool emptiers, these are often stationed at considerable distances from the actual pits, so that the detritus bas to travel through long lengths of piping.
In ths latest type of steam cesspool emptier produced by the Leyland Co., any clogging of the pipes is obviated by blowing steam through them when re
quired. This has proved most satisfactory. The same • company make a useful type of gully emptier on the standard, 3, 4 or 5-ton chassis, and suitable for dealing with either dry or wet gullies.
The tank is of special conical form, galvanized inside and out, and haying a capacity of from 600-1,000 gallons as required. It is mounted at a considerable angle to enable the contents to be readily discharged. A hinged door occupies the full diameter of the small end, and it is rendered air-tight by four hinged bolts. This arrangement of the tank provides that when the rear door is opened the water on the top of the deposit is not immediately lost, but forces out a large proportion of the al
most solid. contents .bef ore it escapes.
No manhole is required, as cleaning is performed either by injection of water or by the use of a scraper. The pump is a centrifugal type sitting on the chassis frame. It is chain-driven from a power take-off embodied in the gearbox. When in use, the weight of the hose is supported by a cantilever arm provided with a pulley block and chains.
In operation, the tank is first filled with fresh water, the dredging head lowered into the gully, and a stream of water at high pressure forced through the dredging jet, thus breaking up the sediment, and, incidentally, increasing the vacuum obtained by utilizing the engine induction, which steadily increases the vacuum in the tank, even while the machine is running from gully to gully. When a suitable vacuum is obtained the pump delivery is closed and a valve in the 4-in, bore uptake pipe is opened and the detritus sucked into the tank. The solid matter settles to the lowest part, leaving comparatively clean water at the top, this being used for sealing.
Incidentally, the type illustrated may also be employed as a watering tank wagon, a sprayer being fitted underneath the tank at the rear.
A new type of gully emptier and re sealer has been placed on the market by John Fowler and Co. (Leeds), Ltd., and is used in conjunction with their new 7-ton steam wagon. The vacuum in the tank is obtained in less than halt a minute by means of a steam injector worked from the driver's footplate. It is built to meet modern sanitary requirements, and it will clear street gullies of all sludge and reseal them with clean water without causing any objection able odour. The sludge tank is arranged to be self-emptying, thus relieving the workman employed from having to enter the tank and shovel it out, as is sometimes necessary. A feature of this wagon is that the tank body is easily iemovable, so that when not required for gully cleaning the wagon can easily be utilized for other purposes.
The rectangular tank has a capacity of 2,000 gallons. It is divided into two equal portions, the upper receiving the contents of the gullies, which are first drawn into the circular vacuum tank through an enlarged flexible pipe. The lower portion of the tank carries the water for resealing.
In the latest type of machine built by the Lacre Motor Car Co., Ltd., the open arid closed circuit systems of gully emptying are employed. The tank resernbles a partly inverted churn, and affords a good angle of discharge. The pump is of the four-piston type, and can give a pressure of over 20 lbas well as a high degree of vacuum. The pump always operates in the one direction, being controlled by a special cock. In the closed-circuit system, the tank is first filled with fresh-water, which is forced under fairly high pressure through the dredging jets, the fluid cantaming the solid particles then being transferred to the tank, where the sediment is deposited and the liquid continues to circulate into and out of the gully until it has been cleaned.
The pressure from the pump can be utilized for discharging the contents to some distance from the vehicle, either through its own nozzles or through further lengths of hose.
Straker-Squire, Ltd., have long been specialists in machines of this type. They employ a circular tank of 850-gallons capacity, mounted on the standard 55 h.p. 5-ton A-type chassis. The emptying of gullies is effected through a suction tube supported by a light jib provided with a hand winch, and a quick-acting shut-off valve is fitted at the point where the suction pipe enters the vacuum tank. The vacuum is obtained by a pump driven, from the motor ; this can be thrown in and out of gear as required. An automatic valve Prevents water being drawn over the cylinders of this pump.
For the rapid discharge of solid and liquid matter, a large door with a quickopening swing catch is provided at the rear of the tank. The discharge is facilitated by sloping the whole tank, and mechanical stirrers are not required.
John I. Thornycroft and Co., Ltd., have supplied a large number of municipal motor vehicles, amongst them being chassis fitted with 750-gallon tanks equipped for gully or cesspool empty ing. Some of these vehicles are provided with interchangeable tanks and tipping bodies, and use can be ni.ade of the tipping gear for facilitating the discharge of the detritus by lifting, the for.ward end of the tanks.
This company have also sold a number of special multi-purpose municipal vehicles provided with rotary brushes situated approximately midway between the front and rear wheels and driven from the hub of the near-side road wheel. The brushes on these vehicles, when not required for sweeping, are lifted clear of the ground, and by releasing a clutch in the drive, all the parts remain stationary, and the brush does not interfere in any way with the other functions of the vehicle. • Sprinkler heads are also provided for road watering, for which jaurpose the pump can be changed Over from vacuum to pressure.
A number of cesspit emptiers have been supplied by Commercial Cars, Ltd. Clayton Wagons, Ltd., have constructed a number of steam-gully-cleansing vehicles with vacuum tanks inclined at an angle of 12 degrees. Separate tanks can be fitted for resealing.
One of our illustrations shows an 800gallon cesspool emptier of Halley make, as supplied to the Birmingham Corporation Salvage Department. The tank and other fittings in this ease were supplied by the Eagle Engineering Co., Ltd., and have given every satisfaction.
The Lafily (England), Co., Ltd., market a number of extremely useful ma
chines which come into the category mith which we are dealing. These comprise a light type cesspool emptier with
• a capacity of 400 gallons, a gully-emptying machine of 1,000 gallons, and a larger appliance of this type holding 1,550 gallons. We, ourselves, have seen the smaller gully emptier at work, this being done rapidly and efficiently. One of these machines working for a wellknown corporationhas established almost a record for this class of work, collecting an average of 5 tons per load, making four journeys per night and discharging into barges a total of 100 tons
in 35 working hours. ..>••
A cylindrical tank is employed. This has two compartments separated by a watertight-partition, and a three-way tap under the tank allows the conneeting of either compartment,or the two together, to a system of pipes, either for filling or emptying the water from the tank. A large two-cylinder pump 15 situated at the left of the driver's seat ; this provides for the necessary degree of vacuum and the pressure required for discharging the material.
In emptying a gully, water under pressure from the lower compartment can be flooded into it to loosen the solid matter, and during the emptying process any liquid sucked up from the gully is siphoned off and led into the lower tank for resealing, etc. When not required for gully emptying, the appliance can he used for street watering, for which
purpose two cylindrical valve boxes are provided at the sides of the chassis, the spraying distance being regulated by shutters.
The capacity of the Yorkshire gully emptier is 1,800 gallons. it is a rectangular steel tank divided longitudinally into two compartments of equal size. A circular vacuum chamber, capable of holding the contents of six gullies, is mounted on the top portion of the tauk, and to this is attached a 4i-in. flexible suction hose. Clean water is carried for the purpose of sealing.
A neat type of small cesspool emptier is that recently supplied on a 1-ton Morris chassis to the Borough of Stratford-on-Avon. The tank and other equipment were supplied by Tuke and Bell, Ltd. A machine of this kind is eminently irritable where the work entailed is not considerable.
One useful Dennis machine is a convertible gully emptier and three-way tipping wagon. The tank is specially dosigned for the work, and has sufficient fall to ensure complete emptying. The air pump employed is of the rotary type, and can be used either as a 'compressor or as an exhauster. The emptying door is oval in shape, of large size, and is opened by a cam-operated gear. -Twelve to 18 gulliea can be emptied per hour, including resealing. Water is delivered into the gully under pressure, stirring up the sediment and rendering it free for collection.