Between the time I earned my doctoral degree at UGA and the time I started teaching there, I worked as a plumber's assistant for my good friend Chuck Carson. Chuck had just started Carson plumbing, and it was a pretty small operation. We had one pickup truck and tied copper pipe to the outside rear-view mirror, so i had to get in or out of the truck on the driver's side and scoot over.
I was a valuable time, and I think I made $50 per day, but learned a LOT about plumbing. And that is good knowledge to have.
I guess, in part because of my time as a plumber, I have paid attention to plumbing. I have taken some very interesting pictures of toilets. A very ornate one in, of all places, Afghanistan, stands out in my memory.
We had a clogged kitchen sink recently. When I went to look at it, I discovered the trap, that loop in the drain pipe that holds water to prevent sewer gases from flowing into the sink, was soft rubber. In the USA these are hard pipes. The trap is intended to trap only water, but instead it can be a trap for bigger things and often becomes clogged.
I could reach out and squeeze the trap to see if there was any debris there. I could pinch off the top of the trap and then squeeze the distal part and create pressure to blow anything out of the downstream pipe. A little later we noticed the drain was running free again.
I am guessing there must be some disadvantages to a soft trap, but so far I haven't figured any. We have noted several things over here that seem to be excellent, exportable, innovations. I would think that someone travels the world just looking for such ideas. Maybe not.
I was a valuable time, and I think I made $50 per day, but learned a LOT about plumbing. And that is good knowledge to have.
I guess, in part because of my time as a plumber, I have paid attention to plumbing. I have taken some very interesting pictures of toilets. A very ornate one in, of all places, Afghanistan, stands out in my memory.
We had a clogged kitchen sink recently. When I went to look at it, I discovered the trap, that loop in the drain pipe that holds water to prevent sewer gases from flowing into the sink, was soft rubber. In the USA these are hard pipes. The trap is intended to trap only water, but instead it can be a trap for bigger things and often becomes clogged.
I could reach out and squeeze the trap to see if there was any debris there. I could pinch off the top of the trap and then squeeze the distal part and create pressure to blow anything out of the downstream pipe. A little later we noticed the drain was running free again.
I am guessing there must be some disadvantages to a soft trap, but so far I haven't figured any. We have noted several things over here that seem to be excellent, exportable, innovations. I would think that someone travels the world just looking for such ideas. Maybe not.
No comments:
Post a Comment