Regular readers know I have gone without indoor running water for the past couple of months. A week or two ago I repaired the broken valve at the base of the tank on the top of the ridge, but the identical valve in the yard is identically broken and so I have water at the yard spigot but can’t have water in the cabin until I dig up a whole bunch of plumbing. I could do that, but there are also additional improvements I want to make in plumbing insulation at the same time and I’m not doing it in February. So, having no family members to bug me about the inconvenience I’ve just been hauling water for washing and toilet flushing.
I spent all the early morning before the Monday water run and then again all afternoon working on this editing job for Ian’s book (want to know something about the 1886 Lebel?) and knocked off a couple of hours ago for a few minutes before things cooled off outdoors to fill the toilet’s tank and then refill my water bottle at the yard spigot. But to my surprise, the tank was full. It shouldn’t have been: I flushed it this morning but didn’t refill it. So I experimentally flushed again and waited to see if it refilled. It didn’t – or maybe, as I watched, just maybe the level was slooowly creeping up? Interesting. I left the top off the tank to remind me to check it later and went back to work.
Just now I checked it again – and the water level had risen about an inch. That yard valve is broken – but it’s not stuck entirely closed. Turns out it’s leaking ever so slightly. It’s not enough to get so much as a drip at the kitchen sink, but enough to fill the toilet tank over the course of several hours. So I’ve been hauling water to refill it for nothing, and didn’t know it.
It’s the little things. 😀
Congratulations on small successes! Even though this does reduce your exercise somewhat, and therefor increases your health risks. Now as long as you don’t have to use the toilet TOO frequently, you may be In Like Flint!
The enemy of good enough is perfection. Why not just cut out the lower stuck valve and temporarily insert a ball valve using some rubber hose sections, a pair of dual barbs and hose clamps? You can always dig up and do the major re-insulation job when things warm up.
Speaking of “additional improvements” to your system…
I think someone pointed out earlier when you were having well/tank issues that you might be able to determine your tank level by measuring your inline water pressure. It might be worth putting a gauge somewhere down towards the termination of your line. Probably best indoors – for convenience of checking and servicing.
I’m definitely not the one to tell you how to do the math right off the top of my head – but I could figure it out if I had to. There should be enough weight difference between a full tank and an almost empty one to register on a gauge.
Every 33 feet of water equals one atmosphere or 14 PSI. If the tank water level is 12 feet tall full and drops to 1 ft full, the drop is 1/3 atmosphere or roughly 4 PSI. This means you would need a very sensitive gauge, probably not more than 0 to 15 PSI on the scale. The drop of say 30 feet from where the tank is to his house through a 1 inch pipe is negligible as the large tank is the main generator of pressure. At least this is what my 50 year old memory of basic physics and scuba diving says.
I will scrounge around and see if there are any gauges in the bin of this range. Maybe 0 to 30 is more common. Another solution would be a small tap tube off the water line feeding into a glass tube with sealed end. Water pressure would compress the air in the glass tube and visible water level would show. Mark that with a sharpie when tank is known full and then keep an eye on it dropping
I already have a big gauge that should be able to see that pressure drop. Should have been installed last year but wasn’t because my plumber is lazy, but it’s part of the Spring upgrade.
Had to go and look. The bayonet downstairs is from an 1866 Chassepot.
+1 for the toilet auto fill, and the future pressure gauge install!
There are be reasons this is my favorite blog.
🙂