Scoop wheel

Principally used for land drainage, early scoop wheels were wind-driven[1] but later steam-powered beam engines were used.

To maintain efficiency when the river into which the water was discharged was of variable level, or tidal, a 'rising breast' was used, a sort of inclined sluice.

Scoop wheels have been used in land drainage in Northern Germany, in the Netherlands, and in the UK, and occasionally elsewhere in the world.

The East and West Fens to the north of Boston, Lincolnshire were drained by such pumps in 1867, but although they were smaller and more economical to install, a Mr. Lunn was still arguing that scoop wheels were a better solution if the initial cost did not rule them out, they were employed in situations where the water did not need to be raised by more than 8 feet (2.4 m), and where the water levels of the input and output did not vary much.

The scoop wheel lifted 71.45 tons per minute through 9.78 feet (2.98 m), with the engine indicating that it was developing 103.33 hp (77.05 kW), while the newer installation was developing 106 hp (79 kW), and raised 75.93 tons per minute through 10.84 feet (3.30 m).