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

ARRANGEMENT OF WELLS AND PIPING. I roper piping up of wells is a feature counting largely in the suc- cess of an Air Lift system, whether working one or several scattered \\ells. Ine introduction of unnecessary valves, elbows, angles and bends will cause a loss of air pressure, cut down the efficiency of the plant very largely, and should be avoided as far as possible. It is therefore well to lay out beforehand the wells and piping, placing the wells and reservoir so that pipes can be run direct, with the fewest possible bends, elbows and valves. Pipes should all be made of a size sufficient to carry air to the wells and the water away with the least practicable resistance. The tables given on pages 88 and 89 afford a means of determining the sizes of pipes necessary to transmit a given volume of free air with a pre- determined drop, or cou- ve r s e 1 y, the reduction of pressure which will occur in a given length where a certain size pipe is used. To the ac- tual lengths, as m e a s u r e d from plans, or on the ground, should be added the increase or allowance for valves, tees and elbows, as given in the table, page 89. It is for this reason that the use of long sweep elbows and tees is recommended, es- pecially for water. In many cases elbows can be avoided by making long bends of pip^s- J-i mis is clone the bends should be made smooth, regular and free from dents or kinks. In laying out and piping up an Air Lift system the horizontal distance to winch the discharge is conveyed by air should be made as short as possible. Thirty to fifty feet may be taken as the practical unit for satisfactory results. In special cases this has been consider- ably exceeded, but we do not recommend anything beyond the figures given without n full knowledge of tlie cass.