t is required to be
raised. The quantity raised varying in proportion to the height to
which it is conveyed, with a given fall; also, the distance which
the water has to be conveyed, and consequent length of pipe, has
some bearing on the quantity of water raised and discharged by the
ram; as, the longer the pipe through which the water has to be
forced by the machine, the greater the friction to be overcome, and
the more the power consumed in the operation; yet, it is common to
apply the ram for conveying the water distances of one and two
hundred rods, and up elevations of one and two hundred feet. Ten
feet fall from the spring, or brook, to the ram, is abundantly
sufficient for forcing up the water to any elevation under say one
hundred and fifty feet in height, above the level of the point where
the ram is located; and the same ten feet fall will raise the water
to a much higher point than above last named, although in a
_diminished_ quantity, in proportion as the height is increased.
When a sufficient quantity of water is raised with a given fall,
it is not advisable to increase said fall, as in so doing the force
with which the ram works is increased, and the amount of labor which
it has to perform greatly augmented, the wear and tear of the
machine proportionably increased, and the durability of the same
lessened; so that economy, in the expense of keeping the ram in
repair, would dictate that no greater fall should be applied, for
propelling the ram, than is sufficient to raise a requisite supply
of water to the place of use. To enable any person to make the
calculation, as to what fall would be sufficient to apply to the
ram, to raise a sufficient supply of water to his premises, we would
say, that in conveying it any ordinary distance, of say fifty or
sixty rods, it may be safely calculated that about one-seventh part
of the water can be raised and discharged at an elevation above the
ram five times as high as the fall which is applied to the ram, or
one-fourteenth part can be raised and discharged, say ten times as
high as the fall applied; and so in that proportion, as the fall or
rise is varied. Thus, if the ram be placed under a head or fall of
five feet, of every seven gallons drawn from the spring, one may be
raised twenty-five feet, or half a gallon fifty feet. Or with ten
feet fall applied to the machine, of every fourteen gallons dr