I like the "listening" ideation offered, I *have* used the
temperature/tactility mode of holding my hand on a P-Trap to "feel" how
the water flows... vibrations convolved with "coolth"... usually
filling the sink partway and holding the p-trap in my hand while I pull
the plug and "feeling" for warm/cool spots and vibrations implying flow
patterns.
Very hard to calibrate, very intuitional and maybe just a ritual to go
through while I wait for my intuition (or the lye-based
organic-gunk-dissolver to do it's work if/when I use such a thing) to
catch up with the things I can imagine measuring overtly... I have not
put in nearly the requisite canonical 10,000 hours unclogging drains but
I'm much better at intuiting what they need after 60 years of practice
than I was say 5 or 10 years into a lifetime of recalcitrant drains.
Toilets are nothing more in some ways than a p-trap themselves and they
generally do exhibit vorticity when they flush (well). When fighting a
recalcitrant toilet, one of the first hints I have that the plug hasn't
fully abated is that no vortex forms, even if the water level does
subside (slowly)... I believe (but have not verified) that the
water-flow *into* the bowl is designed to promote vorticity while the
bulk of the work is the *suction) caused by an abrupt overflow of the
column of water leaving the back of the toilet's built-in P-trap?
On 11/28/23 7:01 AM, glen wrote:
My intuition was "of course there's turbulence in the trap" ...
I was going to suggest you unhook the washer, have a friend pour water
from a large bucket into the drain while you hold your ear, tightly,
to the side of the u-trap ... or maybe clamp your teeth on it so you
can hear vibration that way ... or use a hose clamp to mount a rod and
clamp your teeth onto that rod ...
Or, you could use a piezo sensor:
https://www.circuits-diy.com/piezoelectric-vibration-sensor-module/
I'm not sure what turbulence in the trap might sound like. But you
won't know until you take the data.
You could also get one of those fancy snakes with a camera on the tip
... way more fun than taking apart the pipe.
On 11/27/23 09:22, cody dooderson wrote:
I have no idea. You might be able to buy a clear plasti replacement
for the u-trap. Then you could add some food coloring to the wash and
record a video of what happens.
_ Cody Smith _
c...@simtable.com <mailto:c...@simtable.com>
On Mon, Nov 27, 2023 at 7:42 AM Prof David West <profw...@fastmail.fm
<mailto:profw...@fastmail.fm>> wrote:
When the washer drains, water flows for a bit, then you hear the
pipe filling up and water comes out the top. Pause the flow, water
drains quickly, start and pipe fills again. Cycle till rate of flow
subsides.
Question: can turbulence occur at the u-trap and cause a
temporary blockage? If yes, does the turbulence occur because of
the distance from entry to the u-trap?
Will ask plumber — but prior discussions of turbulence on the
list made me think it might pose an interesting problem..
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