h a l f b a k e r yThe leaning tower of Piezo
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In my work I spend a lot of time plunging out clogs in toilets. Sometimes, the clog is more than even the plunger can dislodge, and it's time to break out the closet auger. At times like these, it's easy to see that the bends of the toilet are pretty tight. So tight that sometimes, the auger binds
up and can even double back on itself, sending the business end back up into the bowl.
The current standard of design is to have the bowl's outlet on the centerline of the toilet, and pointed -generally- straight back toward the wall. A few have the outlet aimed toward the front, but the end result is the same, the bends are all on the centerline of the fixture. The reason for this is simple: toilets (the bowl part) are made in two halves, left and right, which permits the construction of the serpentine trapway. Unfortunately, ergonomics dictates that the toilet be only so high, and the typical bathroom can handle a toilet being only so long - usually not much more than 30" long by 15" high. There's not much space to coil that trapway. Radii are pretty tight. Large waste pieces tend to hang up in the turns.
Consider instead running the trapway in a coil on the back of the bowl. It still functions like a regular toilet, but the outlet in the bowl, instead of being at its old 12:00 position, now exits at around 1:30 (10:30 south of the equator). This allows the outlet a straighter shot into the trapway.
Laying out the toilet in this fashion will require that it be constructed in three pieces: back half of trap, front half of trap and back of bowl, and front of bowl. The rest of the construction process would go the same as for a regular toilet.
The trapway would be a bit longer, and therefore be of a greater volume. It would require a very fast shot of water during the flush cycle to guarantee a solid column of water in the trapway's down leg, which is what finishes clearing the bowl. For this reason, this trap layout would probably not work on any toilet that wasn't a pressure assist or meter-flush design.
Oh ye of little learning
http://en.wikipedia...iki/Coriolis_effect
it doesn't spin the other way because it is south of the equator. [ato_de, Sep 29 2006]
[link]
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Any chance of an illustration? |
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more clog images inevitably follow -
Have we met before? I recognise your
clogs. |
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//meter-flush design// longest one I
ever managed was about nine inches |
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Oh, great. Another idea to serve as bait for bad puns and potty humour. I'd like to MFD it, but I won't. I'll just press the lever for "flush". |
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Unfortunately, the volume of the trapway has a strong correlation with the volume of water required for a flush. Some older toilet designs were indeed less prone to clog, but since the government has decreed that residential toilets may only use 1.6 gallons/flush, it was necessary to minimize trap volume. |
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I'm thinking of boning this just because of your misinformed crack about the coriolis affect. |
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No one will have a misinformed crack after using this toilet. |
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Jeez, the coriolis bit was a JOKE! I can't even remember the first time I read that "fact." On a surface as small as the toilet, coriolis is infinitesimal. |
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It's funny, I was just discussing this stuff with my nephew last night. He got it on the first try. |
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// On a surface as small as the toilet, coriolis is
infinitesimal.// |
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There are probably only three places in the world (the HB
being one of them) where you would encounter someone
who spends a lot of time unblocking loos and also
understands the Coriolis force. |
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[MB] I'm intrigued, what are the other two? |
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Toilets are so damn finky. I wish I had one machined
from a solid block of stainless steel with flange-
bolted 1/4" walled stainless steel pipe going to the
septic system. Then I could clear clogs with
compressed air and small explosives. |
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//[MB] I'm intrigued, what are the other two?// |
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The other two are the HB as well. |
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