22 October 2018

And on and on and on......


by: Bob Hallam

Once in many awhile, you think you've cracked a problem.  Fixed it. Banished the not working feature to history. Well we've thought this for a loooong time about the Gough's Orchard water feed syphon. 

Let me take you back a while. (Actually quite a long one). 
We have permission to take water from a nearby millpond to the canal whose level is far enough below the millpond to use a water syphon.  Brilliant idea, no energy applied for long periods of time, quiet and very eco-friendly. 

The installation however was far from easy, since the large (300mm diameter) pipe has to snake around buildings, rise a couple or three metres before descending to the canal. 

It sort of works, but creating and maintaining a vacuum in the pipe is proving shall we say, troublesome. 

Today, the Patricia team "Gang of Four," after measuring her timing of tilt and roll again, journeyed to the outer reaches of Thrupp. 
There, in bright sunshine, they sought shelter beneath the bridge and valiantly battled again to reduce the air leaks.  Numerous attempts have been made before in very trying circumstances, to achieve a leak free pipe.  Today was no exception. 

The pipe was dismantled, cleaned of old sealant by the witches straight from Macbeth, chanting "Hubble, bubble, toil and trouble."
As soon as this phase was completed and the spells cast, lunch was declared. A necessity to prevent the fainting of the witches and one other.
"Now back to work you coven!"  Cried the other, and back below the bridge they all went. 
Now to use the previously prepared potion.  Looking mysteriously like icing, the sticky gloopy substance was spread around the clean pipe interior:
by Mr A, masquerading as Hecate (read your Shakespeare child!!) 
Clearly today's spell hasn't worked, 'cos. when reassembled and vacuum applied we could no longer hear bubbling, but still trouble abounds, so yet more toil will need to be applied. 

"May your bilges always be dry and your anchor always hold."