Lester Pelton , est né à Vermillon, Ohio en 1829. Son
père était fermier. Dès l'age de raison, il part en
train en Californie où il arrive à Sacramento pour s'essayer
au métier de pêcheur. Lester est un garçon calme qui
aime la lecture et l'étude, le métier de pêcheur ne
lui convient pas . Il repart vers Camptonville dans le Nevada, il avait
entendu dire qu'on trouvait de l'or dans le Yuba River.
En 1860 il constate que les machines à vapeur utilisées
dans les mines ruinent les forêts et qu'il devient de plus en plus
difficile de trouver du bois à proximité, il commence ces
travaux pour utiliser la force hydraulique et en 1878 expérimente
plusieurs types de roues. et il invente la roue à augets .
La plus grande roue Pelton se trouve au North Star Museum de Grass Valley (USA)
Pelton Wheel Invented
Lester Allan Pelton invented the Pelton Water
Wheel, which revolutionized the mining
industry and helped to launch one of the greatest
advances in the history of
mankind--the hydro-electric power industry.
He came to California from Ohio , at age
20, in 1850. In 1864 he became a millright
at Camptonville, Yuba County. Thirteen years
later in 1877/78, he started experimenting
with waterwheels. This led to his discovery of
the "splitter" concept which allowed nearly
all of the energy to be gotten out of the
water and prevented the water from fighting
itself.
The first wheel that Pelton put to practical
use was to power the sewing machine of his
landlady, Mrs. W. G. Groves in Camptonville.
This prototype wheel is on display at a
Lodge in Camptonville.
He then took his patterns to the Allan Machine
Shop and Foundry in Nevada City (now
known as the Miners Foundry). Wheels of various
types and sizes were made and
tested. He received his first patent in 1880.
Within 15 years, his wheels were in use in
mines all over the world!
The Pelton Wheel Company was so successful
that it moved to larger facilities in San
Francisco, in 1887. Pelton sold his interest
to A. P. Brayton, Sr., of Rankin, Brayton and
Company. Pelton stayed on as a consulting
engineer and later retired in Oakland.
First Electricity
The first electric power generated in Nevada
County was by a small water-driven
plant at the Charomat Mine in 1887. This 100
volt equipment was subsequently moved
to the Idaho-Maryland Mine, where higher water
pressure was available. In April
1894, the owner, John Glasson, moved to a
new location on Deer Creek, 4 1/2 miles
west of Grass Valley. The plant was enlarged
by installing a 2000 volt, 133 cycle single
phase generator. Water was taken out of Deer
Creek about 3/4 mile above the power
house and conveyed through the Excelsior Ditch
to power two-4 foot Pelton Wheels.
Glasson sold this plant to the new Nevada
County Electric Power Co. in 1896. The plant
was shutdown in 1899.