Water and WindEarly Rangeland Partners

By

Karl Wood, Director

Water Resources Research Institute

Windmills: used in many parts of worldfor centuries, especially Europe

Don Quixote 17th Century

First mill in United States?

Jamestown, Virginia1621

Hundreds of slow moving and cumbersome mills throughout the English,

French, Danish, Swedish, German, Portuguese, and Spanish settlements

These European derivativeswere not suitable for the western U.S.

“The great want of Texas is sufficient water…. There is a million dollars lying waiting for the first man who will bring us… a windmill, strong, durable and controllable.”

Scientific American 1860:

The grasslands of the arid and semi-arid West were grazable!

Grazing by domestic livestock and wildlifewas limited to areas near perennial streams

due to a lack of drinking water.

A windmill was needed that would:

1. Automatically turn to face the wind

2. Govern it own speed to prevent its destruction

5. Be transportable to rural areas

3. Require low maintenance

This won’t do!

4. Be portable compared to traditional windmills

Daniel Halladay, a mechanic, in Ellington, Connecticut

invented a machine that became known as

“the Halladay Standard”

Patented 1854

Blades could be turned parallel with the vane so that the wheel ceased turning.

Demand for this type of mill was not great in New

England

Makers moved to near Chicago in Batavia, Illinois

in 1856

Railroads became important buyers as

they expanded across the West.

Manufacturing floor in Batavia Plant

Reverend Leonard H. Wheeler, a missionary among the Ojibway Indians in Wisconsin made major modifications in 1866

1. A solid pattern that did not foldin any direction

2. Speed controlled by changingangle to wind

3. Became one of most commonmills until early 20th Century

Catered mostly to railroads

4. Sizes varied from 8.5 to 30 ftin diameter

Many farmers and rancher chose to build their own mills

Although cheap (<$5), most weremade on affluent farms and ranches

Most made by the farmor ranches’ resident blacksmiths with

spare time and a scrap pile

Both steel and wooden mills manufactured from 1870 to 1940

Steel mills were more durable and self-oiling

Wooden mills were easier to repair

with nails, wire, & rawhide

Windmill Designs

Many different designs, especially the blades

Each manufacturer claimed theirs to be the best!

Windmill DesignsA Scientific Approach

Thomas O. Perry (Engineer) conducted studies from 1882-83for the U.S. Wind Engine and Pump Company

Tested more than 50 designs in over 5,000 experiments

Developed a completely new wind wheel!

- 87% more efficient than the wooden mills of the day

Windmill DesignsA Scientific Approach

1. Concave sheet steel blades set on a specific angle to the wind2. Blades fastened to steel rimes and arms which presented the least

possible wind resistance 3. Retained sufficient strength

His company rejected the new design because of retooling requirements!

In 1888 he joined LaVerne Noyes to organize a company called

Aermotor

Further Improvements

1. A gear box allowing 3 revolutions per stroke of the pump

2. Gearing allowed rotationwith winds of 4 mph

3. Gearing gave the pump a long, easy stroke instead of short, quick,

jerky strokes of other mills

4. 1890 - Galvanizing with zinc alloy became standard

5. 1915 – Included a housing needing oil only once a year

Sales

1888 48 mills

1889 2,288

1890 6,268

1891 20,049

1892 60,000

Manufacturers

1888 77 companies

(Aermotor produced 50%)

1919 31 companies

1950 Aermotor claimed to have manufactured over 800,000

1970 Aermotor moved to South America

1973 2 companies

Well Drilling

Approaches:

1. Hand-dug pits

2. Hand boring with an augers - 25-30 ft

3. Sledge hammers to pound a pipe

4. Percussion type or cable-tool rigs

Maintenance and Repair

Originally done by the owners

After several hundred thousand sold in West, windmillers

provided service

Windmillers:

1. Lubricated the mills2. Repaired pumping cylinders3. Repaired wind-damaged wheels and ironwork4. Replaced bearings 5. Fished out and repaired broken sucker rods

Uses of Windmills

RailroadsHomes

Livestock

Recreation

Lighthouses on the Plains

Irrigation

Drain Swamps

Drain Mines

A windmill and

watertowercombo

Claimed by the 132 ft high one on the XIT ranch at Littlefield, Texas (where its height was necessary due to being built within a canyon). It blew down in 1926, and the current "replica" in the town is a mere 114ft tall.

The Tallest AmericanWindmill?

The magnificent and rare twin-wheel.

Built in Hutchison, Kansas, it has two 12' wheels on a single tower.

A Fine Specimen

From

New Mexico

The most photographed windmill

in southern New Mexico

Without this windmill, there would be no livestockor wildlife on this part of the Gray Ranch, New Mexico

Pumping water for residents of the Very Large Array near Magdalena, New Mexico

Today• Electric pumps common – not perfect solution - storm damage

to transmission lines

- low voltages

- high utility rates

• Gasoline engines – problems with frequent fueling and fuel costs

• Windmills, parts, accessories, and repair are available on internet

• Costs ~ $3,000 for a 6 ft diameter mill on a 21 ft tower to $15,000

for a 16 ft diameter mill on a 47 ft tower

• Farmers, ranchers, and back-to-nature types still experiment with scrap metal and wood

Today

• Aermotor San Angelo, Texas

• Dempster Industries, Inc. Beatrice, Nebraska

• Muller Industries, Inc. Yankton, South Dakota

• KMP Pump Company Earth, Texas

• The American West Windmill Company in Amarillo, Texas imports from Argentina

• Second Wind Windmill Service in Ft. Worth, Texas imports from Mexico

• O’Brock Windmill Distributors in North Benton , Ohio imports from South Africa

Final Remarks

Scribbled on the outhouse wall of a one-room school in Cherry County,

Nebraska:

We like it in the sandhills,We like it very good,For the wind it pumps our water,And the cows they chop our wood

That’s

all,

folks!