Technikatörténeti szemle 11. (1979)
TANULMÁNYOK - Wöller István: Malom- és vizikerekek szerepe és építése a malmászatban
The following types of water-wheels were known in county Veszprém: 1. Aboveshot water-wheels, these were kept in motion by letting water fall upon them from a wooden trough placed above them. 2. Middleshot- or backshot water-wheels, which were rotated by the pressure and weight of water. 3. Undershot water-mills, which were kept moving by the pressure of water. Among the above three types the aboveshot water-wheels operated by the maximum efficiency (80%). while the smallest efficiency was characteristic for the undershot wheels (about 50%). The latter was modernized in the XIXth century by letting water flow to the wheel through a trough, this way increasing the efficiency in a significant manner. The usual arrangement was such that one water-wheel was used for driving one type of tool,, such as a few grinding stones (millstones), one saw, or one crawl, etc. The water-wheel and the attached cogwheels, gerendely, kőszálvas and millstones were called to tools of the mill. The water tools were manufactured — apart from the millstone and kőszálvas — by mill carpenters or carving millers. The mill carpenters, or carving millers applied the unit „sukk” for measuring the water-wheels, cogwheels and also the vízfej (1 sukk — 12 inch = 30,3 cm). The weight of a water-wheel, the gerendely and the attached cogwheel could sometimes be as much as thirty hundredweights. For this reason not only the water tools, but the supporting structure, the stone bench, and the bridging iron (vashid) were also carved from oak framework. Both the water-wheel and the internal large cogwheel were made on an esilv mounted wheel-drag by the mill-carpenters. Upon the finishing of a water tool and following its putting to work the usual way of celebrating this event was drinking toasts. In the XXth century water-wheels have largely been displaced in conty Veszprém. Instead steel-wheels or turbines of various kinds were set up and simultaneously the milling apparatus and so technology itself has been transformed too. The millstones were displaced by roller-mills, and the sieves were modernized as well. After the Second World War, following the liberation of Hungary under the Germans, the mills were nationalized, and afterwards the strive to rationalize the mills carried the development towards larger mills of electric power. Today, as opposed to the 450 water-mills in the country, the huge task of securing the public supply is carried out by only 5 electric mills. The memory of these watermills will, however, be cherished and it should remain relic for the future generations also that they can admire these human achieves which made the life of millers satisfying and beautiful. 216
