A Vacuum Street Sweeper

The Butler sweeper, made by the Butler Manufacturing Co., 1810-1816 East 24th Street, Cleveland, Ohio, utilizes a revolving broom and the suction from a powerful fan to remove dust and debris from streets. A standard automotive motor of approved design furnishes the power to propel the vehicle along the street. The power is taken off the drive shaft by means of a clutch to drive the fan, broom and conveyor.

The broom is of special sectional design, so arranged that any one or all of the sections can be adjusted or replaced in a very few minutes' time. The sectional feature also insures low replacement cost as it is often practical to use four new sections and four old ones. The broom material is imported hard fiber.

The broom loosens the debris and picks up the heavier materials, delivering it to an inclined belt conveyor which carries it upward and forward, dumping it into the dust compartment. The fine dust is sucked up by the suction from the fan and sifts through 240 vacuum cleaner bags carried in the top of the body structure. This dust finally drops from the hopper into the dust compartment and is removed with the heavier material. The machine is equipped throughout with ball or roller bearings. Its operation is entirely dustless and without water.

The driver is located in front where his view is unobstructed and he controls the sweeping mechanism with a single lever. The dust pan can be raised when not operating, the broom case "floats" to provide for uneven surfaces of pavements and is supported in the rear with two rubber tired casters. Only one broom is used, no gutter broom being required. The construction is rugged, the control is simple and the operation quiet.

The Butler Manufacturing Co. announces that one of these machines has been ordered for use in the Holland Vehicular Tunnel under the Hudson River between New York and New Jersey. Ten machines are ordered for the Department of

Street Cleaning, New York, which already has used three Butler sweepers for three years. In addition, installations are also in operation in Detroit, Cleveland, St. Louis, Chicago, Houston and Dayton.

New Pacific Coast Manager

The McIntosh & Seymour Corp., Auburn, N. Y., has recently announced the appointment of Frederick M. Fisk as Manager of its Pacific Coast office at 815 Sheldon Building, San Francisco, Calif. Mr. Fisk is well known in the Pacific Coast territory through former connection with various important engineering enterprises and has had extensive diesel-engine experience in the McIntosh & Seymour plant at Auburn, N. Y., and outside.

Rubber Tracks for Tractors

Rubber tracks for Caterpillar tractors have now passed the experimental stage and are being sold by the Caterpillar Tractor Co., Peoria, Ill., and San Leandro, Calif., for use in industrial plants and where finished road surfaces demand extremely light treading power. The rubber track as it is used on the 2-ton and Thirty models of Caterpillar tractors consists of a series of separate rubber pads approximately 11⁄2 inches thick bolted to the track assembly.

The track has been tested for three years under most severe conditions, and its life seems surprising until one considers the great length and width of the rubber surface which at all times is in contact with the ground. The rubber tread on a Caterpillar 2-ton tractor presents a ground contact of approximately 748 square inches, which contrasts with the very small surface of an automobile or motor truck tire that is in contact with the ground. With this great road surface in constant contact, there is very little slippage and consequently the wear is slow. The tracks cushion the road-shock and thereby lengthen the life of the entire mechanism.

Riddell Buys Three Companies

The W. A. Riddell Co., Bucyrus, Ohio, has announced the purchase of the Hadfield-Penfield Steel Co., the American Clay Machinery Co., and the Era Steel Co. It is stated that the business of these companies will be continued and developed and an endeavor made to improve the products as well as the service.

Main-Line Meters for Water-Works

In order to obtain complete information regarding the efficiency of a water-works pumpingstation, it is necessary to have a master meter. The Sparling main-line meter, made by R. W. Sparling, 945-951 North Main Street, Los Angeles, Calif., is a velocity type meter built specially for this service. The vanes inserted within the pipe average the stream flow, are simple to install, stand up under hard usage, and are easily accessible for repairs, but inaccessible for tampering.

When a Sparling meter is to be installed in any steel or cast iron main, a hole is cut in the top of the pipe and the meter saddle bolted on. It may be mounted on either suction or pressure pipes, horizontally, vertically, or slanting, and with the head upright or sideways. The manufacturer claims that the Sparling meter costs about onethird as much as other standard metering devices, it requires no expensive servicing or upkeep, and it brings to light any losses or leakages in the water system. It is so built that it involves practically no loss of head through the meter. Sixinch meters and larger show a net loss of head caused by the drop pipe and propeller fan approximately equal to the friction loss through 25 feet of pipe of the same size. The impairment of crosssectional pipe area in meters over the 6-inch size is but 3 to 6 per cent, and that only for a few inches of length. Alemite force-feed lubrication reaches all the inside moving parts of this meter. The shaft, gears and ball bearings are hardened stainless steel, good for years of wear, but easily and cheaply replaceable when necessary.

The Sparling metrograph recording attachment for the Sparling meter carries the work of the meter a step farther and preserves automatically a detailed record of the quantities flowing through the pipe at all times, showing sudden demands, irregular flows, normal demands between different hours, and other facts recorded indelibly.

Change in Firm Name

Announcement has been made of the change of name of the firm of F. G. Gordon & Bulot, successors to Maury & Gordon, Consulting Engineers. Address, Monadnock Bldg., Chicago, Ill.

Texas Co. Moves Philadelphia Office

The Asphalt Sales Department of the Texas Company, 17 Battery Place, New York, has announced the removal of its Philadelphia office to 608 Franklin Trust Building. W. J. King is Asphalt Sales representative in Philadelphia.

Meter Manufacturer Establishes
Laboratory

Believing that a research department would be valuable to the water-works industry as well as to its own interests, the Pittsburgh Equitable Meter Co., Pittsburgh, Pa., has installed a complete research laboratory to bring every aid of modern science into the design and manufacture of water meters. According to the Pittsburgh Equitable Meter Co., to design a type of meter which will be satisfactory in the great majority of installations, is entirely possible, but to design one type of domestic meter which will be satisfactory under all conditions, is not possible. As an illustration of the advantages of research along these lines, this company has resorted to electroplating in certain parts for three distinct purposes; to prevent corrosion, to provide a harder wearing surface which will have a longer life, and to decrease friction losses. Investigations which the company has recently conducted along these lines, indicate that very little effort has been put forth to get beneath the surface and that great improvements can be made in reducing losses from corrosion, wear and friction.

The laboratories are in charge of L. M. Van Der Pyl, who has had a specialized education and training which makes him particularly fitted for this line of work. He has had a wide industrial experience and has carried on research work at Harvard University with particular relation to corrosion and the analysis of water. He has also been employed by the Bureau of Standards in an investigation of water-meters.

The services of the research department are available to any one in the water-works industry, and the department will gladly answer any questions regarding corrosion, water analysis or electrolysis, and assist customers in developing improved processes or eliminating sources of trouble. The laboratories of the Pittsburgh Equitable Meter Co. are open to all waterworks executives at all times and a cordial invitation is extended to any one interested in this field to visit them.