2017-2018 Nevada County Gold Magazine 2017-2018_Nevada County Gold Magazine | Page 129

PIONEERS
H I S T O R Y
A Cow, A Hose, A wAterwHeel
Pelton Wheel displayed near
Miners Foundry Cultural Center.
A
N UNSCHOOLED quiet bachelor,
who was a failure at mining,
observed his neighbor using a
garden hose to drive away a stray cow
and had an “aha” moment. It was 1878,
and Lester Pelton watched as the cow was
hit full face with a stream of water and
noticed the water split, circled the cow’s
wide nostrils and emerged at the
outer edge.
He rushed to his Camptonville workshop
where he was conducting experiments with
the hope of inventing a more efficient
waterwheel. Nothing had worked, but now
he had the answer.
Pelton soldered a central partition in each
bucket on his model. The buckets were
arranged around the rim of a wheel and
activated by a jet of water played into the
cups. The water jet was split by the parti-
tion and exerted its force on the sides of
the buckets, as well as the bottoms, guar-
anteeing maximum power.
Shortly after his discovery, Pelton took
his invention to Nevada City and George
Allan owner of the Nevada (now Miners)
Foundry. Allan saw the potential. However,
the pair had to experiment two years
before reaching a point where Pelton
received patents on his wheel.
At first, sales were slow, but in 1883,
the Idaho Mine in Grass Valley held a
competition for waterwheels that had been
improved. Pelton’s was unconventional; it
was also the best and easily won. Word
spread, and representatives from large
firms came to Nevada City to see the
wheel and place orders. About 6,000
were made at the foundry and delivered
all over the world.
An interesting order came from Grass
Valley’s North Star Mine. They wanted a 30
foot wheel, but the company hesitated and
agreed to construct an 18 foot 6 inch one
instead. It was so efficient, it was soon
replaced by the requested 30 foot wheel
which was used for 30 years. It is on dis-
play in the mine’s original power house,
now a museum.
In 1887, Pelton moved his manufactur-
ing operation to San Francisco. Originally
conceived for the mining industry, the
Pelton Wheel was a major factor in the
development of hydroelectric power. It had
been invented in time to be used in early
water powered electric generation plants
and pointed the way for the huge turbines
generating hydroelectric power.
Pelton Wheel on display at North Star
Mining Museum is the largest in the world.


Learn More
NORTH STAR
MINING MUSEUM
Grass Valley
Room Devoted to the Pelton Wheel
MINERS FOUNDRY
CULTURAL CENTER
Nevada City
Pelton Wheel First Produced Here
See Pages 25 & 34
N E VA D A C O U N T Y G O L D . c o m
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