Falkirk Wheel

dylanwinter

dylanwinter

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www.keepturningleft.co.uk
went for b ike recce along the Forth and Clyde canal and had a l;ook at the Falkirk Wheel.

http://www.keepturningleft.co.uk/sailing-around-britain/firth-and-forth-canal/

it has a couple of "spurs" on it - big curvie wings

I could not see that they had any function other than to make it look nicer.... I looked on wikki and could not see an reference to them

does anyone know what they are for

D
 
I believe they're supposed to reflect the shape of a double-headed Viking battleaxe. (And yes, to make it more 'artistic' as well.)

I took a narrowboat over the Falkirk Wheel twice a few years ago -- a fascinating experience.

Mike
 
I've wondered that. Can only be for artistic reasons.

The one time we went on it two things struck me.

How much it all creaked and groaned as it went round.

And we sat for ages waiting for the gates to open, I asked the BW man what the delay was, and the answer was they were waiting for the controller to re boot. I got the impression that was not unusual.

P.S They take elf N safety a bit much. I dared to step off the boat onto the walkway to take a picture of the boat mid way through it's rotation and I was immediately order back onto my boat by the officious BW man.
 
The spurs are purely decorative. I did wonder at first if they were flotation tanks to accelerate the caissons out of the bottom pool and decelerate them on re-entry, but the thing turns either way at the whim of the operator, so it wouldn't work even if they were floats. I think myself that it would look a lot better without them.
 
The Pies! Be aware that heart burn, clogged arteries and high blood pressure are down down this particular road.
 
Purely for artistic effect... The Wheel looked like NHS Specs without them ! :)

It is not Elf and safety reasons that you have to stay on the boat while in motion!!!! Tis cos the system measures the balance by the depth of water
in the two baths. If a few folk get off a boat then the water level changes and everything can stop!!!!

The reason for delays is often caused by an imbalance of levels in the pounds. Originally the delays could be for ages but it seems procedures have been improved or tolerances widened so one no longer has to wait while the upper or lower pound level is changed to create the correct depth in the bath tubs before closing the gates. cos it thinks the balance has been lost .
 
If you watch the little tourist boat that goes up and down the canal using the wheel you'll see that whoever designed it got the prop angle completely wrong.
On a calm day the exhaust fumes in the tunnel at the top are awful, I'm surprised that he operators don't have to wear breathing apparatus.
 
Bilgediver said:
It is not Elf and safety reasons that you have to stay on the boat while in motion!!!! Tis cos the system measures the balance by the depth of water
in the two baths. If a few folk get off a boat then the water level changes and everything can stop!!!!
Click to expand...

That seems like an odd way of doing it. I thought they just filled both caissons up to the brim, at which point they must weigh the same, regardless of what is floating in them. If someone gets out while the thing is in motion the boat will bob up, the water level will go down and the weight will stay exactly the same.
 
JumbleDuck said:
That seems like an odd way of doing it. I thought they just filled both caissons up to the brim, at which point they must weigh the same, regardless of what is floating in them. If someone gets out while the thing is in motion the boat will bob up, the water level will go down and the weight will stay exactly the same.
Click to expand...

They do not fill the caissons to the brim but to specific levels which are determined by the level of the upper and lower pounds when the gates close. That is unless they changed it! The problem is the amount of water needed to change the level of the lower pound by a few millimetres!!!!! The wheel itself might be green however the pumping system can consume vast amounts! The pounds can also be balanced by letting water from the upper pound into the lower pound.
 
Bilgediver said:
They do not fill the caissons to the brim but to specific levels which are determined by the level of the upper and lower pounds when the gates close. That is unless they changed it! The problem is the amount of water needed to change the level of the lower pound by a few millimetres!!!!! The wheel itself might be green however the pumping system can consume vast amounts! The pounds can also be balanced by letting water from the upper pound into the lower pound.
Click to expand...

Ta. Someone getting out mid-cycle still won't change the weight, but I can see that it might confuse their system. Also it gives people a chance to shout at people.
 
Have they removed the loose bit of metal (rumoured to be a spanner) which clatters from one end to the other as the wheel goes round?
 
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