130—Lancaster Fanning, Saturday, July 28,1979 American agriculture rediscovering the windmill BY JERRY WEBB University of Delaware NEWARK, Del. - American agriculture is rediscovering the windmill and for very practical reasons. The high cost of fuel is causing formers and agricultural researchers to look for less expensive sources of energy. And since the wind is free, windmills look like a sure bet to make a strong comeback on the agricultural scene. Nobody is claiming that wind power will replace diesel power in most agricultural applications. But there are a variety of jobs where present windmill technology applies, and certainly in the long run windmill research is bound to turn up more efficient and more effective wind machines. windmill development got shelved with the advent of U.S. farm (Continued from Page 129) sent Mm a check for $l2O. He’s tight,” joked Marcia. “Doesn’t spend a dime. I told him he’ll be rich when he goes home.” Dykstra said, “People around here are interested in Sha and come by to talk to him. On a visit to town to buy some jeans and things, one farmer I introduced him to had helped build the Burma Road to supply China during World War n and remem bered the 11- and 12-year-old Chinese boys who carried American construction equipment on their shoulders. He fished a $2O bill from his wallet and in sisted Sha keep it. VANGARD | Ahead in yields | s and anthracnose f Z • Fights "summer decline” caused by anthracnose 2 • Proven yield leader • Eariy maturity, fast regrowth f“ • Good bacterial wilt resistance 5 • Fine stemmed, leafy forage 1“ • Available with GroZone™ Seed 5 Coating From North American Plant Breeders 3 m H < P. L ROHRER & BRO, INC. • * z Smoketown, Pa 9 ALFALFA VARIETY • NAPB ALFALFA practical gas and electric power in the early part of the 20th century. Those wind mills you can still see tur ning on some farms haven’t changed much for more than 50 years. Until just recently nobody gave much thought to the problem. They seemed to work pretty well before the arrival of the internal combustion engine and so farmers used them to pump water and to power elec tricity-producing gener ators. But they only worked when the wind blew. And any farm boy who ever had to fill a water trough with a hand pump on a windless day knows the drawbacks of windmills. Obviously, today’s windmill resear chers are well aware of this problem and are coming to grips with all kinds of technology that will once again make the wind “Sha didn’t want to take it but I told him to donate it to International Farmers Association for Education,” DyhStrasaid. “He takes it for granted that he’s part of the family. I expect he’ll be baby-sitting for us soon. He’s much like people anywhere,” Tom Aupperlee said. “He’s willing to jump right in, too, to learn our ways. After seeing a disco dance program for teenagers on television one night, Sha said he didn’t care to learn te dance like that but if we die it, he’d give it a try. I tolc him to forget it!” Available now at: 717-299-2571 machine an important source of agricultural energy. Already farmers are refurbishing long-abandoned windmills for useful farm work and windmill manufacturers are overrun with orders. Courses of in struction are being offered in windmill care and main tenance and enrollment are high. But the windmill researchers believe these agricultural antiques won’t make a strong comeback. Instead, they will be im proved upon and a whole new generation of wind powered devices will come on the scene. All sorts of unusual designs are on the drawing boards or are ac tually being tested. One type that’s gaining attention in Canada’s Swift Current Research Station is called a vertical windmill. It has vertical blades mounted on an upright frame and utilities the lift principle that is involved with airplane flight. The researcher says this type may be more cost effective than conventional windmills. Already they’re evaluating this system in a number of power generating uses. Windmill research has been going on for about five years at Sandia Laboratories in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Researchers there are tinkering with a turbine principle linking it to elec tricity production. The> think such a turbine could produce 90-hp 4040 Everything the 4030 had—and more Ten more horses —that's the first thing to grab your attention on the 4040. But it also packs more built-m working weight on a longer wheelbase. It’s a really solid performer in the field. And the 90-hp 4040 is just as maneuverable as its smaller predecessor. Stop in for full information on the 4040 a quick-handling, peppy performer. It’s one of the NEW IRON HORSES®with more horses and more iron. NEUHAUS'ES INC. RD2, York. PA 1-83 Loganville Ext 3 ADAMSTOWN EQUIPMENT INC. 235-1306 3 Mohnton RD2, PA 19540 . imrTnrnrtrn)ft STANLEY A. KLOPP INC. (near Adamstown) SHOT2BER6ER S EQUIPMENT Bernville, PA 215-484-4391 Elm, PA 215-488-1510 717-665-2141 LANDIS BROS. INC. Lancaster, PA 717-291-1046 > H LU PIKBfILLE EQUIPMENT INC. Oyster Dale Road Oley RD2, PA 215-987-6277 DC § K 6029 large amounts of electricity when the wind blows and could be phased into a far mer’s normal electrical system replacing a lot of expensive commercial power. The U.S. Department of Agriculture is testing a multi-bladed wheel that is not unlike a bicycle wheel with blades instead of spokes. The government researchers say they’re close to developing a machine that is economically feasible. At Colorado State University they’re testing a vertical wind turbine at that institution’s dairy farm. The point of that study is to see if the turbine will generate electrical energy to heat water for the dairy’s sanitation system and to cool water for milk storage. In a year of testing the unit has produced enough electricity to reduce the dairy’s electric bill by more than 20 percent. One thing to remember when considering the cost feasibility of windmills is that in the early stages of their development initial costs are high, and yet as such machines reach the market and start to be widely used the cost per unit should come down. In the meantime the cost of con ventional energy, such as electricity, gasoline and diesel fuel appears to be going steadily upward. So what was not cost efficient two or three years ago is starting to look better, anc projecting perhaps five years ahead, looks feasible. A.B.C. GROFF INC. New Holland, PA 717-354-4191 It’s interesting io Who’s to say that new speculate over what might generations of windmills have happened to windmills coupled with new lands of had they stayed popular and electrical storage units could had research and not be producing a major development continued over portion of the farm’s the past 50 or more years, stationary power needs. WE RENT TRUCKS PICK-UP Call us when you need a truck. LANCASTER iieetasmss 720 N. PRINCE ST., LANCASTER PA PHONE: 717-393-1701 LEBANON Rentals n i/ Unlimited 940 CORNWALL RD. 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