Scoop wheel
Encyclopedia
A scoop wheel may be a pump
or an excavator
.
, but works in the opposite manner: a waterwheel is water-powered and used to drive machinery, a scoop wheel is engine-driven and is used to lift water from one level to another. Principally used for land drainage, early scoop wheels were wind-driven but later steam-powered beam engine
s were used. It can be regarded as a form of pump
.
A scoop wheel produces a lot of spray. They were frequently encased in a brick building. To maintain efficiency when the river into which the water was discharged was of variable level, or tidal, a 'rising breast' was used, a sort of inclined sluice. The basic construction is, of necessity, similar to an undershot water wheel.
The individual blades were frequently called ladles.
Scoop wheels have been used in land drainage in Northern Germany, in the Netherlands, and in the UK, and occasionally elsewhere in the world. They began to be replaced in the mid 19th century by centrifugal pump
s. The East and West Fens to the north of Boston, Lincolnshire
were drained by such pumps in 1867, but although they were smaller and more economical to install, a Mr. Lunn was still arguing that scoop wheels were a better solution if the initial cost did not rule them out, they were employed in situations where the water did not need to be raised by more than 8 feet (2.4 m), and where the water levels of the input and output did not vary much.
An interesting comparison between the two types of pumps is available, because a 60 hp vertical spindle centrifugal pump was installed at Prickwillow
on the River Lark
in Cambridgeshire
, alongside an existing 60 hp scoop wheel. A series of tests were carried out in 1880, to check their efficiency. The scoop wheel lifted 71.45 tons per minute through 9.78 feet (3 m), with the engine indicating that it was developing 103.33 hp, while the newer installation was developing 106 hp, and raised 75.93 tons per minute through 10.84 feet (3.3 m). Efficiency was calculated as 46 per cent for the scoop wheel and 52.79 per cent for the centrifugal pump. The most significant difference was the coal consumption, which was reduced from 11.64 pounds (5.3 kg) per hour to 6.66 pounds (3 kg) per hour for the newer system.
or dredger used for extracting sand and gravel fitted with a scoop wheel. This has curved buckets on the outside of a driven wheel, which is raised and lowered into the material being extracted. It is a variant of the bucket-chain excavator.
Pump
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
or an excavator
Excavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...
.
Scoop wheel pump
A Scoop wheel or Scoopwheel pump is similar in construction to a water wheelWater wheel
A water wheel is a machine for converting the energy of free-flowing or falling water into useful forms of power. A water wheel consists of a large wooden or metal wheel, with a number of blades or buckets arranged on the outside rim forming the driving surface...
, but works in the opposite manner: a waterwheel is water-powered and used to drive machinery, a scoop wheel is engine-driven and is used to lift water from one level to another. Principally used for land drainage, early scoop wheels were wind-driven but later steam-powered beam engine
Beam engine
A beam engine is a type of steam engine where a pivoted overhead beam is used to apply the force from a vertical piston to a vertical connecting rod. This configuration, with the engine directly driving a pump, was first used by Thomas Newcomen around 1705 to remove water from mines in Cornwall...
s were used. It can be regarded as a form of pump
Pump
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
.
A scoop wheel produces a lot of spray. They were frequently encased in a brick building. To maintain efficiency when the river into which the water was discharged was of variable level, or tidal, a 'rising breast' was used, a sort of inclined sluice. The basic construction is, of necessity, similar to an undershot water wheel.
The individual blades were frequently called ladles.
Scoop wheels have been used in land drainage in Northern Germany, in the Netherlands, and in the UK, and occasionally elsewhere in the world. They began to be replaced in the mid 19th century by centrifugal pump
Centrifugal pump
A centrifugal pump is a rotodynamic pump that uses a rotating impeller to create flow by the addition of energy to a fluid. Centrifugal pumps are commonly used to move liquids through piping...
s. The East and West Fens to the north of Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston, Lincolnshire
Boston is a town and small port in Lincolnshire, on the east coast of England. It is the largest town of the wider Borough of Boston local government district and had a total population of 55,750 at the 2001 census...
were drained by such pumps in 1867, but although they were smaller and more economical to install, a Mr. Lunn was still arguing that scoop wheels were a better solution if the initial cost did not rule them out, they were employed in situations where the water did not need to be raised by more than 8 feet (2.4 m), and where the water levels of the input and output did not vary much.
An interesting comparison between the two types of pumps is available, because a 60 hp vertical spindle centrifugal pump was installed at Prickwillow
Prickwillow
Originally a small hamlet on the banks of the River Great Ouse, but now on the banks of the River Lark since re-organisation of the river system, the village of Prickwillow has an estimated mid-2005 population of 440...
on the River Lark
River Lark
The River Lark is a river in England, which crosses the border between Suffolk and Cambridgeshire. It is a tributary of the River Great Ouse, and was extended when that river was re-routed as part of drainage improvements. It is thought to have been used for navigation since Roman times, and...
in Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
, alongside an existing 60 hp scoop wheel. A series of tests were carried out in 1880, to check their efficiency. The scoop wheel lifted 71.45 tons per minute through 9.78 feet (3 m), with the engine indicating that it was developing 103.33 hp, while the newer installation was developing 106 hp, and raised 75.93 tons per minute through 10.84 feet (3.3 m). Efficiency was calculated as 46 per cent for the scoop wheel and 52.79 per cent for the centrifugal pump. The most significant difference was the coal consumption, which was reduced from 11.64 pounds (5.3 kg) per hour to 6.66 pounds (3 kg) per hour for the newer system.
Excavator
There is also a class of excavatorExcavator
Excavators are heavy construction equipment consisting of a boom, stick, bucket and cab on a rotating platform . The house sits atop an undercarriage with tracks or wheels. A cable-operated excavator uses winches and steel ropes to accomplish the movements. They are a natural progression from the...
or dredger used for extracting sand and gravel fitted with a scoop wheel. This has curved buckets on the outside of a driven wheel, which is raised and lowered into the material being extracted. It is a variant of the bucket-chain excavator.
Pumping stations employing a scoop wheel
- Dogdyke EngineDogdyke EngineThe Dogdyke Engine is a drainage engine near Tattershall, Lincolnshire, in England. of land around Tattershall was authorised for drainage in 1796, and came under the control of the Witham Third District commissioners in 1844...
, Lincolnshire - Pinchbeck EnginePinchbeck EngineThe Pinchbeck Engine is a drainage engine, a rotative beam engine built in 1833 to drain Pinchbeck Marsh, to the north of Spalding, Lincolnshire, in England...
, Lincolnshire - Pode HolePode HolePode Hole is a small village to the west of Spalding at the confluence of several drainage channels. Two pumping stations discharge water into Vernatt's Drain from land in Deeping Fen to the South and West. Water from Pinchbeck South Fen to the North is also lifted into Vernatt's Drain...
, Lincolnshire (scoop wheel no longer present) - Stretham Old EngineStretham old engineStretham Old Engine is a steam-powered engine just south of Stretham in Cambridgeshire, England, that was used to pump water from flood-affected areas of The Fens back into the River Great Ouse. It is one of only three surviving drainage engines in East Anglia.During the seventeenth century, large...
, Cambridgeshire - Westonzoyland Pumping Station MuseumWestonzoyland Pumping Station MuseumThe Westonzoyland Pumping Station Museum is a small Industrial Heritage museum dedicated to steam powered machinery in Westonzoyland, Somerset, England....
, Somerset (scoop wheel no longer present)