HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Goderich Signal-Star, 1977-02-24, Page 19ban
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esigner Heinz Pepper, left, and electrical contractor
ender were at work last week making adjustments to
ectrical generating system at the Benmiller Inn. Mr.
r explained that the system had been in operation
since last fall and, now that most of the bugs have- been
worked out, he feels the facility can turn out just a bit more
power. The two generators at present generate about one
third of the hotel complex's electrical needs. (staff photo)
9
'6
9
6
er and builder of the electrical generatin system at
enmiller Inn, Heinz Pepper, checks over the unit
panel after making minor adjustments last week.
generating unit produces about one third of the elec-
trical supply needed at the hotel complex and its power is
fed into non-critical use such as heating the swimming pool,
sauna and whirl -pool bath. (staff photo)
130 YEAR -8
THURSDAY FEBRUARY 24, 1977
SECOND SECTION
J
Provides one-third of electrical needs
Benmiller Inn generator
puts Maitland to work
When London businessman Peter Ivey
decided to make a hotel complex out of
two former mills at the village of Ben -
miller, he chose to create a country inn
• atmosphere and use as much of the
original rustic charm as possible in the
ultra modern facility.
The two buildings, one a woolen mill
and 'the other a grist mill, provided a
wide range of materials which have been
y; adapted to this end. Former pulleys and
drive wheels have become coffee tables
and chandeliers or even window frames.
The setting of the buildings itself
provided just,. the right relaxing at-
mosphere,
Skillfully adapting antique materials
to modern uses didn't end at lamps,
coffee tables and clever room dividers
• however. Both mills once operated on
waterpower and the dam, mill pond,
penstocks and sluice gates were still
there. Those installations were still used
to power the grist mill until 1972 and had
been kept in excellent repair; it wouldn't
e,such.a huge step to turn the facilities
o' generating -at least part of the elec-
'trical needs of the new hotel.
Electrician, electrics teacher and
electronic enthusiast Heinz Pepper of
Petersburg, near Waterloo, was called
in to tackle the job.
Mr, Pepper stresses at the outset that
without the existing facilities, the
establishment of selfcontained
generating unit would have been out of
the question. It would just be too costly.
"I wouldn't. guess at the total cost of
something like this," he notes. "just look
at that dam out there and consider what
it costs to buy even one yard of cement
today. On top of that therewould be the
labor."
In addition to the dam, someone
starting from scratch would have to,
ya
build and install the penstocks, gates,
building, and turbines, all which already
existed in the mill.
Mr. Pepper estimates that installation
of a 10 kilowatt turbine could cost
$10,000. At the Benmiller Inn there are
two tubines turning our the equivalent of
70 kilowats.
Ever► that amount of electricity does
not supply all the power needed to
operate the two portions of the hotel
complex. The generating facility is
located at the River Mill portion and
turns out about one third of the overall
electrical demand. The 'home-made'
power is channelled into non-essential
uses.
It heats the swimming pool, the sauna
and the whirl -pool bath. This represents
part of the heaviest load at the hotel, but
it can still be considered non-essential.
The remainder of the heavy load is for
general heating.
A third generating unit is scheduled
to be installed upstream to the present
complex at the Benmiller Inn itself.
Although the •Maitland River, which
supplies water to turn the generators, is
something less than a thundering torrent
it does provide sufficient water when
needed.
The greatest rainfall, and therefore
water flow, is in the fall and into spring,.
Mr. Pepper explains. The river can get a -
bit low during the summer months but it
is during the colder times of the year
that the generating capicity is most
needed since it is channelled into heating
work.
Although the hotel had to only pur-
chase the generators and related
equipment, Mr. Pepper still expects it to
be five years before the plant returns
sufficient economic savings to have paid
for the original investment.
Police chiefs in area approve communications
One of the other difficulties with
operating your own hydro -electric
system, Mr. Pepper_ says, is that one
must really get to know your equipment.
Because he designed and installed the
alterations necessary for the plant,
Heinz Pepper knows his plant. 'The
problem crops up when other people
have to maintain and manage it.
In response to those difficulties he is
.now in the process of preparing a hand
book on the facility. That instruction
booklet will only be„of value to the staff
at Benmiller Inns however, as it will be
unique to that power plant.
The other major difficulty, perhaps
the most important, is that the plant
must be designed, built and operated in
such a way that there is no chance it
might backfeed power into the main
transmission lines of Ontario Hydro.
Above all else this +is necessary for
reasons of safety. If a line crew is
working on a transformer and has shut
off power to the side on which they are
making repairs they are working under
the assurriptioh the poweri"sirideedoft'A
backfeed could be deadly.
The system went into service in the
fall of 1976and has been providing about
one third of the electrical needs for the
hotel ever since. That's not to say it has
been running perfectly but Mr. Pepper
feels the bugs are just about ironed out.
"Just how valuable this system is, in
economic terms, to the Inn is greatly
dependent on the amount of'down time,”
the designer explains.
Last week Mr. Pepper and electrical
contractor Don Bender were making
some further alterations to the plant.
"We think we can get just a little bit
more out of it now," Heinz Pepper ex-
plained. "We're trying to run it at
maximum efficiency.
Bell Canada working bugs out of radio -telephone system
eam of Bell -Canada
ians spent two days at
oderich Police
ment earlier this week
ver the force's radio-
ne communications
in an effort to work
bugs which may be
g communication
sfor the police.
concentrated effort is
ult of a report filed by
Goderich • Police
tion with the local
Commission recently
ng that the co m
tion system is "totally
ate".
at submission the
officers complained of
d effective range, the
peed at which the
Must be operated and
ilure when mobile
alkie units are inside
!dings.
Association also says
erating the in -car units
wo•handed . job. This,
Y, makes it difficult
officer to summon
Ice when he is trying
I a disturbance and
ous when he tries to
Other officers while
9 a suspect in another
Vehicle. They cite one
at where, the cord
e tangled in the car
9 wheel and caused the
causer, to go in the
Police Association also
the system ,does not.
cnaugh linear that iia
atIC cut''tiff (set for
li►ut C '
switches in at only 10 or 20
seconds and that the system
lacks privacy for calls from
citizens reporting an incident
to the police. -They say that
when the cruiser roof lights
are activated they cause
interference making it im-
possible to use the radio.
The report also observes
that repair service from Bell
Canada is not what it could
be.
Police Chief Pat King on
the other hand feels the
system is ideal for a com-
munity like Goderich and
says any problems which
have been experienced are of
a a "purely technical"
nature. He remains confident
that_ the problems can be
resolved by the Bell Canada
service personnel.
Chief King also points out
that to revert to a dispatcher
system, as the Police
Association ,suggests'"ln the
report, would cost the Town
of Goderich another $11,000
per year.
With the radio telephone
system now i.n service,
anyone calling the Police
Department during the day is
answered by a secretary, but
during non -business hours the
call switches automatically
out -through the radio unit to a
telephone -like piece of
mequipment in each police
cruiser or to mobile units
carried�by. officeraxwalking
the beat ,
GODERICH NOT ALONE
Goderich is not the , only
'Community to have equipped
its Police Department with a
radio -telephone com-
munications system.. The
same, or similar systems, are
now in' use in Essex, Kin-
cardine, Hanover, Durham
and Meaford.
Police Chiefs in all those
departments say ° they are
basically pleased with the
new units and none report any
great dissatisfaction from
their officers either. Several
noted that it • took the men
sometime to get used to the
new units, 'while others
referred to minor technical
problems which had to be
adjusted by Bell technicians,
but all consider the system
the best one going for the
price.
Essex' Police Chief
Primeau explains that their
unit was only installed on
October 7 of last year. "Some
of the men expressed
disconcern over it until they
fully understood its
operation, but once they
learned there were no
problems."
Chief Primeau says part of
this may have simply been
laziness. "It takes a little
more work," he notes.
Kincardine Police . Chief
Bili Sweedland highly praises
the radio -telephone com-
munications unit. '
"We've had it here for six
years," he told the Signal -
Star last week," and it's
fantastic, We've had.no'real
"*"problems."
Chief •Sweedland describes
the system as "superior's for
a community the size of
Kincardine. "Our com-
munication budget now,
including long distance phone
calls, is only $4500. That
wouldn't even pay a
dispatcher's salary let alone
pay for equipment."
"The system has no
problems or weak points
which aren't apparent in any,,
other system," Chief
Sweedla.zd insists.
Kincardine operates with a
police department consisting
of seven officers, a sergeant
and the police chief. So far,
the Chief reports, there have
been few complaints about
communications from -his
officers.. "We do have a
problem with one of the
portable units, it doesn't
seem to connect and
disconnect properly, but
we're getting that repaired."
The • Kincardine Police
Chief feels that in many ways
the radio -telephone system is
actually better than a
dispatch system. "It's faster
than •a dispatcher because it
goes straight to : the: car and
the mobile on the beat."
In fact the Kincardine
police are happy enough with
the unit that they are ex-
panding the system in the
near future,.'
The Police Department at
Elliott Lake uses, the system
to cover an area'of 335 square
miles. The Police Chief there
says his' departrrtent.has no
complaints at all and regards
it as "an excellent system".
The radio telephone unit*
have been in service at Elliott
Lake now for 10 years.
EFFICIENT, ECONOMIC
-Chief Wayne Tremble of the
Hanover police department
said he felt he "couldn't
complain" about the ef-
ficiency of his department's
Bell communication system
which was installed in Sep-
tember of 1976. He said the
Hanover system in his
opinion was not the ultimate
in police communications but
it is both efficient and
economic.
"The ultimate is a 24 hour
dispatch service but
(continued on page 18A)
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