permaculture

[robert waldrop <rmwj@soonernet.com>]

In pre electricity days, air pressure for pipe organs was provided by
manually pumped bellows.  One of the ways that organ students paid for
their lessons was by pumping the bellows while their teacher played for
services or was practicing.  The instrument I am responsible for was
originally built in 1865, and is all mechanical inside, except that at
some time in the 20th century the hand pump bellows were removed and an
electric fan was installed to fill the wind chest with air.

A pipe organ, despite its mighty sound, does not actually require a lot
of air.  I once questioned our organ tuner about the electrical
requirement for the fan in the organ, and he said it used less than 300
watts.

So a hand pumped bellows would be fine for music, but I'm dubious about
it having much utility beyond that.

Robert Waldrop, okc

Scott Pittman wrote:
> 
> This sounds like a perfect place for Bill Mollison's favorite appropriate
> technology the trompe,used by Catholic clergy to provide air for the pipe
> organs as well as a way to produce strange and convincing mystical sounds
> to woo prospective members, (according to Bill).  Bill also was fond of
> citing that the city of Chicago ran on compressed air not only the
> pneumatic delivery system of memos and bank transactions but the public
> transportation network.
> 
> Seems I remember someone did a search on this and found it to be true, not
> that I ever doubted Bill's stories for a second.
> 
> Scott P.
>