IN THE MILKING SHED.

Shannon News, 29 July 1924, Page 1

IN THE MILKING SHED.

COST OF EIiECTRIC POWER. REPORT BI BOARD’S ENGINEER. The costVf electric power for the farm, particularly in reference to milking' machines, was traversed in a special report presented to the Man-awatu-Oroua Power Board recently, by the chief engineer, Mr W. A, Waters, who propounded several reasons why the Board was obliged to place a horse-power charge on as well as a charge per unit used. “In the Maingatapere district,” Mr Waters said, “all the farmers used a 3 li.p. motor. We could not persuade the farmers to use 2 h.p., in fact it was impossible in many cases to get them to see that a 3 h.p. would walk away with a load, when a 5 h.p. 1 benzine engine was being used to drive 'the same load. .The result is that in that district and in several others, power supply districts in New Zealand, all milking motors are 3 h.p. If 3 h.p. motors were uped, each shed would represent a demand of nearly 3 K.V.A. Assume now that in our area we get 800 milking plants on (we ought to ilo this easily), and each one was a 3 li.p., we \jould get a demand of 800 multiplied by 3," or 2400 K.V.A demand. "Assume again that we have 800 milking sheds, (but motors are 2 h.p., we get a maximum demand of 800 multiplied by 2, or 1600 K.V.A. demand. Now we are in a position to see where this *bver-motoring hits the Power Board hard, as we buy on maximum demand in KVA

With 3 h.p. motors, 2400 K.V.A. demand will cost us: 200 K.V.A. at £lO. £2000; and 2200 K.V.A. at £B, £17,500; or £19,600..

With 2 h.p. motors, 1600' K.V.A. demand will cost us; 200 K.V.A. a't £lO, £2000; 1400 K.V.A. at £B, * £11,200 or £13,200. This makes the difference, £6,400. This wasted K.V.A. demand, which the farmer does not require,'"’wousd cost the Board £6,400 per annum. In actual practice, the cost would not be quite this sum, bu'c I estimate it would be over £SOOO. It would now be argued that the Board could insist on 2 h.p. motors on milking plants, but from experience. I will say straight out that it couldn’t be done without trouble.

“How to choke off this buying ex* cessive sized motors, has in many schemes in New Zealand and abroad become quite a serious problem, and the surest wiay to do it, is to impose an annual charge on horse-power, and charge less per unit used in consequence. We will review our tariff in this respect:— •Motors for milking plants.'—Here we have charged £5 per h.p. plus 2id per unit, because milking motors all come on together and go off together. Milking load in consequence accounts for a high demand for a short time, making it. imperative to suppress over-mOtoring, unless the Board is going to lose heavily in excessive K/V.A. demand. This over-motoring in turn on rural lines means that we would have to put more copper in lines, adding to the cost considerably to give reasonable voltage regulation. Owing to the size of prospective milking load excessive useless horsepower must be suppressed at any cost, as the milking could dominate the demand at Bunnythorpe.

“The charges on motors for industrial uses are: 31 d first 100 units per month, 3d next 100 units per month, 2d balance units per month. No

annual charge per horse-power as any person using this rate must have a motor that can drive his load (which is. subject to permission of this Board.) So that a horse-power charge would become harsh in many cases, and yet the revenue per unit is highly desirable from a diversity point of view. Over-motoring is not so difficult to suppress as buying a larger motor than required in sizes over 3 h.p. causes the initial cost to rise rapidly.”

In regard to wholesale rates, Mr Waters stated: “We register this class of consumer by a demand indicator owing to diversity, but in a milking motor there is no need to do so, as It is already known. I do not know of any Power Board in New Zealand selling power for milking motors at a straight out unit rate. The point has been suggested that we are asking farmers to put in 2 h.p. motors will do the work. Our tariff does not recognise a 11 h.p. motor. A 11 h.p. motor usually takes the sam e K.V.A. input as a 2 h.p. motor, and until the Power Boards introduce the horsepower charge I do not know of any manufacturer ever producing-a 11 h.p. motor, the standard sizes being 1,2 and 3 horse-power. No hard and fast rule dan be laid down as to how much horse-power a plant should take, as the efficiency of vacuum pumps varies within wide limits. I prefer to see the farmers use 2 h.p. motors. What wo want to discourage is the 3 h.p motors on milking plants. In conclusion, 1 might say that every Power Board has faced the same complaints as we are now facing from about three men in the district over horse-power charge. After we have the motors running and acquire sufficient data as to revenue received in this district, nothing will please me better when the time comes to suggest to the Board the re-adjustment of tariff to a .unit rate for milking motors 2 h.p. and below.” The chairman (Mr J. A. Nash) said

the Board had already decided upon the scale of charges for twelve months, and the speaker thought that the report would simply be kept aside for reference. There was some difference among farmers In regard to the various h.p. of the motors required for their plants. The engineer pointed out that there was no motor of li h.p„ and instanced a case in Hamilton in which a man had altered the name plates from 2 h.p. to 1& h.p. simply because the farmers laboured under the delusion that the so-called li h.p. was more economical than that marked 2 h.p. The engineer was complimented by che Board upon the report and the scale of charges he had submitted.