The Great Laxey Wheel

 The Great Laxey Wheel is the world`s largest working waterwheel and enjoys being the only largest survivor of its kind.The wheel has a diameter of 72 ft and a circumference of 227 ft. It was used to pump 250 gallons of water a minute from the Laxey mines some 200 yards away and 1500 ft below ground. The mines employed over 600 miners at its peak producing lead, copper, silver and zinc till the mines closed in 1929. In 1965 the government bought the wheel and site. Restoration occurred and in 1989 it was put under the control of Manx National Heritage. Tourists had long come to see the wheel, even when the mines were still in use and they continue to come to this day. 

The wheel is water-powered since the Isle of Man does not have a supply of coal but does have an abundance of water. Water from the surrounding area, including the local river, is collected in a cistern which is above the level of the top of the wheel. A closed pipe connects the cistern to the top of the wheel; thus the water flows up the tower without problem. The water falls from the pipe into the buckets (formed from wooden slats on the circumference) and makes the wheel rotate in what is described as the ‘reverse’ direction. The crank has a throw of 4 feet (1.22 m) and connects to a counterweight and to a very long rod. This rod runs along the rod viaduct to the pumping shaft where the 8 feet (2.44 m) stroke is converted by T-rockers into a pumping action.