The Pomona Plant - II

LONG DISTANCE TRANSMISSION AT 10,000 VOLTS

(The Pomona Plant.) - II.

By GEORGE HERBERT WINSLOW.

There are two transmission lines, one 13-3/4 miles long which supplies Pomona, and anther 28-3/4 miles long, which supplies San Bernardino. Each line consists of two No. 7 B. & S. gauge wires. The joints in the wire are made with McIntire connectors. To further improve the joint the ends of the wires were bent back side by side and soldered together. After the Pomona line was completed and the first ten miles of the San Bernardino line was put up, the supply of connectors ran out, and the regular telegraph joint was substituted. The conductivity was assured by soldering as before.

The wires are supported upon large double-petticoat flint-glass insulators designed for this plant. These insulators are of perfectly clear flint-glass, which gives a better surface-insulation than is attainable with any other kind of glass.

It was at first proposed to use oil insulators. The reason they were not used was because the glass companies which had undertaken to furnish them found on trial that they could not make them without considerable experimenting, which would have delayed the installation of the plant. This was no doubt fortunate, as the country through which the line passes is subjected to hot, dry winds which not only blow dust onto the insulators, but also inside them, and during the day the sun beats on the insulators until they become so hot that they nearly blister one's hands. If oil were used under these conditions it would soon evaporate and thicken, and become filled with dust. It would therefore seem undesirable to have used oil insulators in this case, or to use them in any other until an increased voltage makes them necessary, and the transmission of greater amounts of energy over the circuits justifies the additional expense necessary to keep the insulators in good condition.

The Stillwell regulator has long been recognized as a valuable adjunct to the central station operating a number of feeders of different lengths from a single dynamo. Its utility is still greater in a system of long-distance transmission in which, as was the case in this plant during its first year of operation, the transmission circuits are supplied from one dynamo, since it is not practicable to install such a system so as to operate with small line-loss and therefore means must be provided to compensate for the large differences in the pressure at the ends of the lines. The use of regulators at the power-house was impossible while but one bank of raising transformers was used for the two circuits. Even when it became possible by the use of separate banks of transformers, it was still undesirable because the attendant at the power-house would often have to work both the regulators simultaneously to properly compensate for changes in load, and his attention would be required by the regulators at exactly the time he should be free to attend to the generators and water-wheels. A regulator was therefore placed at each sub-station, as already stated. These are each of 2,000 lights capacity and have a range of 10 per cent. up, and 10 per cent. down. This variation of 10 per cent. (100 volts) is divided into 14 equal parts, so that each step corresponds to 7.1 volts. The distribution from both sub-stations is effected in the usual manner at 1,000 volts for incandescent lighting, the only point of interest being that a considerable number of Helios arc lamps are successfully used on the circuits.

While in use the transformers in the sub-stations give forth a continuous hum which depends for its tone on the number of alternations. This is an excellent indicator for the attendant, whose attention is instantly called to any change in the running conditions of the plant by the resulting change of tone. Its indications not only mark changes which are taking place and which can be detected on the voltmeter, but also give notice of coming changes before there is any other indication of them. It is thus possible to foretell a coming drop in voltage in time to use the regulator and thus keep the voltmeter needle perfectly still, though the voltmeter is a very sensitive instrument, and the regulator is often moved four or five notches. The hum often changes, however, without any corresponding movement of the voltmeter, but the sound is then somewhat different. At rare intervals the switchboard lights will suddenly change slightly in candlepower before any change is noticeable on the voltmeter.

It is noticeable that the needle will often stand for a time perfectly still on the centre, and, on a slight rise in the hum, will start gently rising, never more that three-quarters of an inch, and then as the tone gradually becomes lower, slowly fall back to the centre and stop without passing it. At other times the variation in hum is more sudden and the needle will rise and oscillate above the centre. Again, the needle will oscillate equally about the centre during a regular rise and fall of hum, its movement being apparently due to one impulse and not seeming to be modified by subsequent variations. There is no apparent change in candlepower of the lamps during the voltmeter changes noted. These notes were made while the plant was running at only 5,000 volts, but they were later confirmed when using 10,000 volts. During dry weather there is considerable intermittent oscillation of the voltmeter-needle without there being any change in load or any other apparent cause, while in wet weather, the needle remains perfectly still for many minutes at a time, often for as much as half and hour. A possible explanation of this oscillation may be found in the presence of static charges on the line, due to atmospheric electricity. That the line is often heavily charged from the air is shown by a number of observations. One afternoon a painful shock was obtained on touching the line at the canon end, drifting clouds and a strong wind being noticed in the valley. Again, while using the telephone a report was heard in it so sharp as to cause momentary deafness. Later, after a moderate wind had been blowing for some time, loud reports were noticed on the telephone at long intervals. As the wind became higher the reports came oftener and the intervals between the reports became shorter. It was evident that there was a discharge from the lines through the telephone (which was on a metallic circuit) and that it depended on the rate at which the wind blew. In order to get the strongest effect the two wires were connected in the usual way to the raising and lowering transformers, and one side of the telephone to ground, a sharp report was heard, and on maintaining the connection there was a sound as of steam escaping at a distance, with intermittent and very faint crackling. If the ground contact was made slowly there was a bright spark before the metals touched, and a loud report. If the fingers were interposed a smart shock was received. By making and breaking the ground connection rapidly, the line was prevented from accumulating a heavy charge, and no spark was visible, though a faint crack was heard. If a slight space was left between the telephone wire and the ground, a spark occurred at fairly regular intervals, and when the space was lessened the sparks became smaller and more frequent. When the wind lessened the sparks and reports became almost imperceptible, but on the wind becoming strong and blustery a large spark was again obtained. When one line wire was disconnected from the transformers at Pomona the effect obtained from grounding that wire was less owing to the reduction in capacity.

These observations, which were made on the Pomona circuit during hot, dry and cloudless weather, show conclusively that the lines were heavily charged by the action of the wind. The wind no doubt blows electrified air and dust against the wires, the later thereby accumulating a static charge with a rapidity which we have seen depended on the speed of the wind.