WOODEN PENSTOCK WEB PAGE

Ruptured wooden penstock during the peak of a freshet. Note the river WSE is at the spring line of the penstock.

Broken bands and blown out wood stave.

This is how we patched the opening. We squared off the ends with a wood auger and a sawzall. We cut and fitted a new piece of Douglas Fir. We sledge hammered the piece into the opening. We fabricated an inner and outer steel plate and match drilled the edges of the two plates. We through bolted the plates using tap bolts (the bolts are threaded to the heads with no shoulders). We added new steel bands. This is an external view.

 This is an internal view of the patch.

Rupture of a 10 foot diameter wooden penstock at Crabtree, Quebec. This penstock is in excellent shape and could be repaired for less then $1000.00. The owners decided to decommission the site. The bands sat in corrosive water. They finally snapped and the staves seperated.

There are four major manufacturers of wood stave pipe. In addition, there are a number of manufacturers of wooden grain silos. The wood stave manufacturers are:

I)  Tubus A/S Trerorfabrik

    Gralumv 125 1712

    Gralum, Norway

    Telephone Number: 4769140251

    Fax number: 4769145998

II) Boxholm Aktiebolag

    S-590 10

    Boxholm, Sweden

III)Canbar Inc.

    Box 280

    One Canbar Street

Waterloo, Ontario

    Canada, N2J 4A7

    Telephone number: 519-886-2880

    www.canbar.com

 IV) International Tank and Pipe Company

P.O. Box 590

    Clackamas, Oregon 97015

    503-288-0011

    Fax 503-493-0372

        info@internationaltankandpipe.com

    www.internationaltankandpipe.com

    Attention: Mr. Michael Bye

Mr. Bye is a licensed Professional, Civil and Structural Engineer, having more than 30 years experience in the wood tank and pipe industry. International Tank and Pipe Co.'s tanks have been sold in all 50 states, Japan, Germany, Canada, South America, Indonesia, Greenland, Tahiti, Australia and numerous other countries.

Jobs include a 20 foot pipe line 200 feet long; a 10 foot diameter flume; 5 miles of an 11' x 15' flume; 5,000 feet of a 13.5 foot diameter pipe, ten miles (completed in 1985) of a large rectangular flume and wood tanks up to 150 feet in diameter.

 In addition, there is a company in Philadelphia that used to make penstocks and still makes wooden storage silos. They can supply new staves and hoops.

 V) Hall-Woolford Tank Company

    5500 N. Water Street

    P.O. Box 2755

    Philadelphia, PA 19120
    Ph: 215.329.9022

    Fax: 215.329.1177

    email: jackhillman@woodtank.com

    www.woodtank.com.asp

 I ) TUBUS

II) BOXHOLM

III) CANBAR

III) Hall-Woolford Tank Company