It’s that time again and our volunteers are very busy trying to get ready for the 2013 season. Our amazing shop volunteers were able to get the Pelton Wheel up and running last year, much to the excitement of all who saw it in operation. (I think it is probably the only Pelton Wheel of its size and age still in working condition.)? However, partway through the year, the 2000 ft 100 year old hemp rope began to fray and, sadly, we had to stop running the wheel.

John Wiggin did a lot of research and together with the rest of our shop volunteers, came up with a new magic potion that will hopefully preserve the rope, keep it supple and allow us to run the Pelton Wheel for our guests.

The photo shows John Daigle, Murray Dean, John Wiggin, Larry Tuck, Curt Norman and Sever Rondestvedt applying the preservative to the moving rope on the wheel.

They were able to cover the whole rope twice and hopefully didn’t miss a spot. As the rope moves through the system, it turns over, so they were able to cover the underside of the rope as well.