ertain
directions with regard to its auxiliary plant, etc., until the machine
has been finally erected on its site. Obviously, unless a machine had
become more or less standardized, a preliminary consumption test would
be necessary, but once this primary qualification respecting consumption
had been satisfactorily settled, there appears to be no reason why
exhaustive tests in other directions should not all be carried out upon
the site, where the conditions for them are so much more favorable.

When the steam consumption of a steam turbine is so much higher than the
guaranteed quantity, it usually takes little less than a reconstruction
to put things right. The minor qualifications of a machine, however,
which can be examined into and tested with greater ease, and usually at
considerably less expense, upon the site, and consequently under
specified conditions, may be advantageously left over until that site is
reached, where it is obvious that any shortcomings and general
deficiency in performance will be more quickly detected and diagnosed.

Test Loads from the Tester's View-point

Before proceeding to describe the points of actual interest in the
consumption test, a few considerations respecting test loads will be
dealt with from the tester's point of view. Here again we often find
ourselves restricted, to an extent, by the surrounding conditions. The
very first considerations, when undertaking to carry out a consumption
test, should be devoted to obtaining the steadiest possible lead
[Transcriber: load?]. It may be, and is in many cases, that
circumstances are such as to allow a steady electrical load to be
obtained at almost any time. On the other hand an electrical load of any
description is sometimes not procurable at all, without the installation
of a special plant for the purpose. In such cases a mechanical friction
load, as, for example, that obtained by the water brake, is sometimes
available, or can easily be procured. Whereas, however, this type of
load may be satisfactory for small machines, it is usually quite
impossible for use with large units, of, say, 5000 kilowatts and upward.
It is seldom, however, that turbines are made in large sizes for
directly driving anything but electrical plants, although there is every
possibility of direct mechanical driving between large steam turbines
and plants of various descriptions, shortly coming into vogue, so that
usually there exist some facilities for obtaini