Water Lifted By Compressed Air
For Municipal, Manufacturing, Irrigation or Other Water Supply

Wa-ter Is Cooled. In breweries, ice factories and for condensing purposes it is, of course, important that the water pumped be as cold as possible, and many have adopted the Air Lift because they find that water pumped in this way is from 2 to 3 degrees colder than in the well, and from 10 to 40 degrees colder than surface water. This is due to the ex- pansion of air, which abstracts the heat from the water, with which it is in close contact. Water Is Purified. A feature of the Air Lift, entirely outside all considerations of comparative cost, is that its use improves or purifies the water pumped. Prof. Drown, of Lehigh University, says: “The success of filtration is largely dependent upon aeration.” With naturally fil- tered rock or sand water, entirely shut off from surface pollution and pumped by the Air Lift, idea] conditions are reached. There is a most complete aeration or mixture under pressure, and as the water flows upward mixed with the air it separates and throws off most of the sulphur gas, precipitates much of the iron, retards or prevents the growth of vegetable matter, germs or organisms, and results in clear and palatable water. Air Lift water remains clear and sparkling after long exposure. Well water which had been condemned by Boards of Health lias been approved and praised highly by the same Board later when pumped from the same wells with air. There are some wells unfit for manufacturing use because so strongly impregnated with sulphur, iron and acids. With the Air Lift these wells become available, and the air as it leaves the dis- charging water has a pronounced odor, but the aerated water analyzes 90 per cent, less impurities. There are some elements on which the air has no influence, but the general effect is to improve. As an instance, to show the value of aeration, we may cite the case of the Asbury Park, N. J., Water Works. This water is very strongly impregnated with iron, and when pumped by a steam piston pump was practically unfit for domestic use. By the use of the Air Lift, however, 2,500,000 gallons as clear and wholesome as spring water are daily delivered into the standpipe. Compressors May Be Any Reasonable Distance from the Well. As compressed air can be conducted for miles with little loss, the compressor may be placed in the engine room directly under the care of the present engineer and the air conveyed in uncovered pipes to the wells, which may be any reasonable distance away. i8