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ELECTRIC LIGHTING

ALTERATIONS AT POWER ..:.:":... HOUSE WORKING UNDER DIFFICULTIES ''■ 'One'of the works now in hand by tho Electrical Department of the City Corporation is tho big structural alterations that are being made within the lighting power-house' to provide room for more boilers and engines. In order to secure ..such,room it has 'been necessary to pro'.v'ide a new main fluo between the fur'iiaces and the chimney stack, but before that can bo done foundations have to he laid for the new boilers and the ceutrnl wall "which is to run alongsido the new flue, a'htl which will roughly divide tho b'6il<Sr-house from the engine-room. Tho work is proving to be a pretty arduous one, owing to tho conditions under which ■the work-has to be done. For example, all the spoil from tho excavations for the new foundations has to be thrown over tho existing flue, which is 12 feet high. • Then as the roof prevents the use of piledriving gear, the foundations have to be: - put in by building coffer-dams to ;i . depth of spine 12ft. below the level of ; the ground. At this site the ground ap- ' pears to be very wet indeed. On locations 'much nearer tho harbour, contractors have found a C-inch pump all that was required-to keop the water down in tho coffer-dams, but at tho power-house, a 10-inch- pump had to bo secured to do the work, and even then it was not possible to get a dry bottom. The en-Bincer-m-chai'ge stated that they seemed to be draining the ground for a eonsjd- . -erable distance around, as the water kept 'pouring in from all sides. When -the -excavation was completed, the concrete ' was shovelled in, and blocks 4ft. Gin. square, fo riso 2ft. above tho ground, were provided at intervals. Another very tough job was. to removo the concrete .beds! of old engines in the central por- ! tion of the building. Explosives could not bo used, owing to the proximity of the spot to the chimney-stack and engines, so it had to bo flaked off with hammer and chisel-. The alteration of the line of the main flue will leave loom for two more 1000 horse-power toilers,, whilst on the other side, the scrapping 'of the old syndicate engines would, if fount\ necessary, provide upace. for sev■ieralmore big turbines on a line with .the two moder.n Parsons .turbines. The Did syndicate machinery (which includes • 'a Curtis turbine) is still in good order, •: 'and quite capable of doing duty as a stand-by plant, though naturally not so efficient as the new turbines. Theso extensive alterations, which are being car- - ried out (under tho direct'on of the ■Electrical Engineer; (Mr. George Lauch- . Lan), will mean a compact power-house, and one that will be well ordered as far as the lines of boilers and engines are concerned. Even though Wellington may within a few years bo provided with electricity from Mangahao, the city could not wait for that ito happen. last winter saw every nerve strained to give the city its light, and even then the task was too much for the plant, and economies had to be made. At tho same time hundreds of applications for electrical connections had to bo turned down, owing to the Incapacity of the plant to supply at peak- ■ load times in tho winter. That ordinarily • would never have occurred, but during the war it was impossible to get the plant, and it is only during the last year that v thore has been a chance, of remedying matters. It is hoped that before winter sots in tho lighting powerhouse will be. in a better position to supply the city's needs. Another phase of electrical expansion in Wellington is the important one of a stand-by plant. The non-technical man will sav at once—"Wellington is all Tight—it will have its present plant to xse as a stand-by." Unfortunately that cannot be, unless a certain course is adopted, and sooner or later the council will have to decide on that course. That ' is to say, that a stand-by plant for the sfl-cycle 3-phase electrical current that .will be supplied from the Mangahno hydro-electric works wtould imenn the scrapping of practically tho wholo of our present plant, and the purchase of a new one—probably running into a quarter, of a million. The alternative would "bVt'o transform tho Government 3-phase current into 1-phase current, which would nlso .bo costly, but not so much so as putting in a complete new plant.

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/DOM19200115.2.62

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 94, 15 January 1920, Page 6

Word count
Tapeke kupu
744

ELECTRIC LIGHTING Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 94, 15 January 1920, Page 6

ELECTRIC LIGHTING Dominion, Volume 13, Issue 94, 15 January 1920, Page 6

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