[Greenbuilding] Fixture Folly

[RT]

------- Forwarded message -------
From: "J M Alden" <speireag at gmail.com>

> Here's are my design goals and limitations:
>  o  It must be operable by soapy, arthritic hands.  So:  levers, and not
>     standard, stiff ball-valve levers

>  o  It must get the water deeper than an inch or two in less than ten  
> minutes or so.


> o  The user must be able to cause the water to enter the tub where it is
>    convenient for that user at that time, and then not have to hold it  
> there,
>    as you can with a pot-filler.[snip]

Spgrblfxz;

As you may be aware, the equation for "Work" = Force x distance

That is to say, the effort to operate a standard "stiff" ballcock valve  
could be reduced by simply increasing the length of the lever.

It wouldn't take much skill/effort/expense to make a suitable length lever  
out of a piece of brass bar stock or to modify a salvaged piece of brass  
(or stainless or gold or dinosaur bone) to replace the short,  
plain-jane/jake stock lever that comes with the ballcock valve.

Three water lines, three ballcocks/custom levers -- total cost under $50.

The outlets from the 3 ballcocks (1/2 " ?) could be plumbed to a larger  
3/4" pipe leading to the tub filler so that delivery volume would not be  
throttled down.

Assuming that you're after something like a tub filler spout as opposed to  
a handheld shower affair, perhaps you plumb the 3/4" pipe to a diverter  
that would feed tub fillers at the various locations you desire (ie front,  
middle and rear ?) and perhaps use brass channel stock to make spill-ways  
into the tub from the 3/4" line.

Or if you are after a hand-held shower affair, perhaps you go to a  
restaurant/institutional kitchen supply (used or new, your choice) and get  
one of those overhead-hung, lever-operated sprayers (about a 4" diameter  
sprayer rose) that is used to pressure-wash stuff on the conveyor or sink  
before it gets fed into the dishwasher.


-- 
=== * ===
Rob Tom
Kanata, Ontario, Canada

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