Dutch glory! The Ir. Wouda steam pump is at full power!

**Whitehouse** · January-04-12, 04:18 PM

Out here in the Netherlands the water levels inside the polders have risen to dangerous levels. The Ir wouda steam pump has been put into action as an auxilary pump to get water pumped away. The Wouda steam pump is the biggest currently running steam-powered pumping station in the world. I think I will go visit it in the coming days. It's quite a spectacle to see this massive pump into action!

This is the Netherlands in it's finest hour. [[Don't worry, we'll manage.)

Here's a news bulletin [[In the Frisian language!)

Some key fact from the footage:
Fifteen men keep this machine working day and night. It's capable of pumping 4500 cubic meters a minute, or roughly the complete contents of the main machine hall to put it in perspective. It was build in 1920. All labour is manual, nothing is automated. It's expected the pump will keep on running until Sunday.

The Netherlands is also the home of the largest piston driven object in the world: The Cruquius pump.
The station has lost it's function. It was used to pump the Haarlem lake dry. Once this was done, the pump was put out of action. Currently Amsterdam Schiphol Airport is in the heart of the former Haarlem lake.
The piston can however been moved up and down to show visitors how this thing actually worked. The diameter of the piston is an astonishing 144 inches or 3.7 meters!

The whole building is quite spectacular!

**Jimaz** · January-04-12, 07:44 PM

I love it. Steam engines are so—so—steampunky!

These look like they belong in the Henry Ford Museum.

We're wet too. In 2011 Metro Detroit tied its all-time record for precipitation.

Stay afloat!

**rb336** · January-04-12, 09:12 PM

I still firmly believe that global warming is a Dutch plot to take over the world

**Whitehouse** · January-05-12, 11:20 AM

Another biggie has been blown!

And that can be taken quite literal. The biggest balloon dam in the world has been pumped up only for the second time ever! I didn't even know we had it! here are some pictures.

**rb336** · January-05-12, 07:56 PM

Those are cool!!! I want one

**Whitehouse** · January-08-12, 05:17 PM

I went there today to see this for myself. The pumping station is open for visits year round but just two or three periods the machines are actually working. I wasn't the only one with the same idea... There was a waiting list to get there in the afternoon up to 3,5 hours! When I got there, about 3 PM, the line shrunk to 1 hour but it was well worth it.
You would expect a lot of noise but there isn't. Sure, there is some noise but these machines run like clockwork. Three of the four massive boilers were under steam, the fourth is a reserve boiler. I used to run with the other three but that's only if you want the machines to run at 110%. Three boilers was sufficient to mill away 6000 cubic meters a minute!

I made some clips and took some pictures. I'll upload them later.

**rb336** · January-08-12, 09:47 PM

Three boilers was sufficient to mill away 6000 cubic meters a minute!

That's what, around 1.5 million gallons/minute? nearly 2.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools?

That is an amazing engineering achievement

**canuck** · January-08-12, 10:26 PM

No doubt the dutch are a kickass powerful nation. Centuries of preventing disasters with amazing inventive measures! Thanks for the info Whitehouse.

**Whitehouse** · January-09-12, 11:34 AM

Originally Posted by rb336

That's what, around 1.5 million gallons/minute? nearly 2.5 Olympic-sized swimming pools?That is an amazing engineering achievement[/COLOR]

The three boilers are providing stream for four doube-expansion steam engines, which in turn drive two centrifugal pumps each.

A photo impression of yesterday.

The Wouda gemaal is now easing down and will cease operation on Tuesday. Ready for a new period of high inland watermarks. Coming April major restoration work will take place to the building. But everything must be kept in original state. It's a building high in the top 100 of listed buildings in The Netherlands.

In the last 24 hours the Wouda-gemaal, together with it's successor the Hoogland-gemaal and several sluices took care of pumping out 21 million cubic meters of water out of the provence.

In you money that's 5.000.000.000 gallons!!

Here's the video I made. I could have edited in some music but then you wouldn't hear this massive machine!

**rb336** · January-09-12, 05:26 PM

Far too cool. Thanks Whitehouse

**canuck** · January-09-12, 06:20 PM

Great stuff WH! You did well to do without the music, this is very impressive!

**Whitehouse** · December-24-12, 08:59 AM

Dug this thread up from the cellar to announce the Wouda Gemaal today fired up the kettles again! This morning the fires were started and at about 7 hours later, at 3pm, the steam was at full power.

Picture of this morning. The steam is vented through the pipes to get them at working temperature.
I'll visit this magnificent machine again, this time in daytime hours.

**Whitehouse** · December-27-12, 03:30 PM

Well, the weather wasn't working with me today but I managed to snap some fresh pictures with a better camera today. Again the line was long to see the steam water mill but it was worth it. Here are some pictures.

The last part of the line entering the visitor center.

The sea side of the mill. Note the salt water doors.

These doors kept out the salt water before this body of water was dammed off. Both sides are now fresh water and the doors have no function anymore, other than decoration.

The land side of the mill.

Changing of the oil filters.

Some of the boilers.

A spare flame jet.

Some steam venting out.

Engine number one. Lots of moving parts!

About 900 RPM.

9 metric tons of flywheel.

Tools of the trade.

Engine number two.

The Master chef office.

Engine number three.

And engine number four.

Part of the overhead crane.

Exterior of the sea side of the main building.

One of the salt water doors. Some of them are currently under restoration.

Sun was setting on another perfect day.

This concludes this series of pictures. Hope you like them.

**kcwhite** · December-28-12, 12:58 AM

Wow, this is very impressive! I love the pictures too, thank you for sharing this!

**Honky Tonk** · December-28-12, 04:20 AM

Originally Posted by Whitehouse

The three boilers are providing stream for four doube-expansion steam engines, which in turn drive two centrifugal pumps each.

A photo impression of yesterday.

The Wouda gemaal is now easing down and will cease operation on Tuesday. Ready for a new period of high inland watermarks. Coming April major restoration work will take place to the building. But everything must be kept in original state. It's a building high in the top 100 of listed buildings in The Netherlands.

In the last 24 hours the Wouda-gemaal, together with it's successor the Hoogland-gemaal and several sluices took care of pumping out 21 million cubic meters of water out of the provence.

In you money that's 5.000.000.000 gallons!!

Here's the video I made. I could have edited in some music but then you wouldn't hear this massive machine!

VERY cool post! Thanx.

**Lowell** · December-28-12, 10:14 AM

Such a little nation that makes such big things. It seems like everything the Dutch make is massive. The Dutch will be in a great place technologically with growing demand for water damming. It seems the only thing they can't do is win a World Cup final game.

Wouldn't it be an irony if they got the contract to build the dykes for New Amsterdam [New York] which, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, is undergoing serious consideration.

Nice pics thanks.

**rb336** · December-28-12, 10:18 AM

over 1,000,000 gallons per minute is stunning

**Whitehouse** · December-28-12, 03:59 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Wouldn't it be an irony if they got the contract to build the dykes for New Amsterdam [New York] which, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, is undergoing serious consideration.

Nice pics thanks.

Well, we're closer than you think we are....
Here's a picture of a Dutch engineer walking among the ruins of what was left in the wake of the Katrina hurricane that left New Olreans in tatters. Back then the Dutch were already involved in improving the situation. And yes, there are actually people working with wooden shoes on their feet. It's not just folklore, these shoes are genuinly approved as safetywear over here. You can drop an I-beam on them and they won't crack.

Translation:

Dutch aid worker J. van Wissen is walking in wooden shoes around the disater area of New Orleans. Van Wissen and his team of five Dutch colleagues of the Ministry of traffic and Waterways are pumping the Lion's share of water out of the badly hit city. The Dutch pumps are pumping out 72 million liters of water per day out. Compared to that the American pumps are toys, according to Van Wissen.

That's more than 19 million Gallons in your money.

**rb336** · December-28-12, 04:25 PM

Originally Posted by Lowell

Such a little nation that makes such big things. It seems like everything the Dutch make is massive. The Dutch will be in a great place technologically with growing demand for water damming. It seems the only thing they can't do is win a World Cup final game.

Wouldn't it be an irony if they got the contract to build the dykes for New Amsterdam [New York] which, in the wake of Superstorm Sandy, is undergoing serious consideration.

Nice pics thanks.

I've been saying for years that global warming was really a Dutch attempt at world domination!