Faucets

Even the best water faucet will eventually start to leak. Repairs are usually quite simple, requiring pai ts available at the nearest hardware store. Caution must be exercised in tool selection, however, since the improper wTench will damage chrome plating, while the wrong size screwdriver will ruin the screw holding the new washer in place. 

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The other vacuum option is a simple little aspirator that attaches to ones faucet or hose. This 15 device pulls a decent vacuum however, it is not an option at all in Strike s book. Running one of these babies 10-12 hrs a day is a despicable waste of a community s water supply. 

Install water-flow restric tion devices on sink faucets and showerheads... 

Hydraulic shock Visualize what happens at home when a faucet is open. A solid shaft of water is moving through the pipes from file point where it enters the house to the faucet. This could be 100 pounds of water moving at 10 feet per second, about seven miles per hour. 

Medicine Single faucet activated carbon filter or whole-house tank-type activated absorption filter... 

While writing this book, the authors found the water faucets (round handles) in the committee meeting room rest room (in a famous San Francisco hotel) opened backward from expected—... 

Figure 6.1. Confusing water faucets violate cultural stereotyftes.

Cascading effects Check valve Clogged (of filter) Consensus standard Conservation vent Dike, berm Discharge valve Division (in electrical area classification) Downspout Expansion joint Explosion proof Faucet... 

TTflhn, m. cock, stopcock tap, faucet, spigot cock, rooster. 

EPAct also nationalized state efforts that had gotten underway to regulate water consumption of toilets, plumbing fittings, and showerheads. The faucet and showerhead standards reduce hot water use, thereby saving energy for consumers. The toilet effi-... 

The lever is such a part of everyday activity that its application usually requires no conscious thought the pop top on a soda can, a doorknob, a wrench, pliers, a fishing pole, a faucet with a handle that lifts, a wheelbarrow, fingernail clippers, and so on. The crank and winch used to pull a heavy boat out of the water up onto a trailer can be thought of as a lever in circular form. 

Near room temperature most gases become less soluble in water as the temperature is raised. The lower solubility of gases in warm water is responsible for the tiny bubbles that appear when cool water from the faucet is left to stand in a warm room. The bubbles consist of air that dissolved when the water was cooler it comes out of solution as the temperature rises. In contrast, most ionic and molecular solids are more soluble in warm water than in cold (Fig. 8.22). We make use of this characteristic in the laboratory to dissolve a substance and to grow crystals by letting a saturated solution cool slowly. However, a few solids containing ions that are extensively hydrated in water, such as lithium carbonate, are less soluble at high temperatures than at low. A small number of compounds show a mixed behavior. For example, the solubility of sodium sulfate decahydrate increases up to 32°C but then decreases as the temperature is raised further. 

Mixing faucets are very convenient, though some laboratory workers prefer separate faucets for hot and cold water. Many like the aerators commonly used in kitchens, while others prefer faucets equipped with rubber or plastic hose. 

One laboratory operator installed faucets with long handles for easy control, the type commonly seen in hospitals. These proved very popular with the staff. 

Regular washer-type faucets are hard to control for low water flow, such as required by condensers. For these purposes, needle valves are recommended. They give excellent control, and flow rate does not change as long as the pressure remains constant. The inexpensive plug-type valves are rarely adequate for laboratory water service. 

The local plumbing code may require that laboratory faucets be of the anti-siphoning tjq)e, which prevent water from being drawn back into the system in case the pressure should fail. This type is standard in home washing machines and dishwashers. 

As any home owner knows, no water faucet or valve is maintenance free. A laboratory operator should for that reason have repair parts and proper tools available at all times. 

Laboratory supply houses feature sink-mounted faucets heavily plated with inert metals for DI water. Less expensive plastic valves, available from plumbing supply houses, may be used as long as they contain no metal parts. Self-closing valves, while more expensive, will substantially reduce DI water consumption. 

The other example concerns the installation of separate faucets for hot and cold water when mixing faucets had been requested. The laboratory operator would have caught this had he checked faucet model numbers on the drawings. 

Faucets chosen by the engineering firm were equipped with antisiphoning devices. The laboratory operator had specified their locations but had failed to check whether the local code required the expensive anti-siphoning type. The bench-mounted outlets installed for use with condensers and similar devices, however, were not of the anti-siphoning type, even though in this particular laboratory, the latter would be far more likely to draw water back into the system in case of pressure failure. 

A small amount of a liquid tends to take a spherical shape For example, mercury drops are nearly spherical and water drips from a faucet in nearly spherical liquid droplets. Surface tension, which measures the resistance of a liquid to an increase in its surface area, is the physical property responsible for this behavior. 

The biggest selling point wasn t health for the children or convenience for the women, however. It was ice cubes for the men, who, after all, controlled the family purse strings. Ad after ad praised the ease of making plentiful, sanitary ice cubes, free from sewage-tainted river water and from faucet meltage, a dreaded phenomenon that wasted 10 percent of a... 

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