Jandar

Jander or Jandar (as it is called by the locals in Murree) is a Hydro-Mechanical floor mill that was commonly used in the mountain areas of the Murree Hills where water is abundant. Janders were very common during the barter economy era but now Diesel and Electric mills have replaced them due to their efficiency and their ability to run the whole year round (since they are not dependent on seasonal rains). They are more accessible than janders, which had to be located on the banks of running streams some distance away from the population. Some janders can still be seen operating in the foothills of the Murree Hills. The local tribes of the Murree Hills like the Dhanyal, Abbasi and Satti were the main users of these traditional mills.

Parts

A Jander consists of three main parts:

1. Fan (Water flowing from an elevated point moves the fan.)

2. Mill Stones (Two large wheel-like structures that can rotated on an axle and can weigh up to a ton rotated by the fans)

3. Cone. (The cone is used to put grain between the millstones for grinding.)

Function

A jander operates as follows:

Water is stored at an elevated, small, dam-like collection point. Typically, water is diverted from a large stream or mill pond to the water wheel along a channel or pipe (also known as a flume or head race). The potential energy of the water's movement drives the blades of a wheel and converts it to mechanical energy, which in turn rotates an axle that drives the jander's mill stones. Water leaving the wheel is drained through a tail race. The passage of water is controlled by gates that allow maintenance and some measure of flood control.

There are two types of janders: one with a horizontal water wheel on a vertical axle, and the other with a vertical wheel on a horizontal axle. The older of the two were the horizontal janders. The force of the water would strike a simple paddle wheel set horizontally in line with the water. This then turned a runner stone balanced on the rind atop a shaft leading directly up from the wheel. The bed stone does not turn. The problem with this type of mill was its lack of gearing; the speed of the water directly set the maximum speed of the runner stone which, in turn, set the rate of milling.