[Tfug] *Way* OT... :>

[Bexley Hall]

Hi,

We collect rain water (note to self:  do not plant citrus trees
when you live in the desert... REGARDLESS of how fond you may
be of the fruit!).  Currently, several polyethylene (?) 55G
barrels.

Polyethylene doesn't like most adhesives.  I.e., if you want
to "glue" a spigot onto the bottom of the tank, you need to
either *weld* it *or* use a compression seal.

Besides, why put a hole in the bottom of such a nice container
if you don't *have* to!

Since a 55G bbl of water weighs a considerable amount (I think ~400lbs
if memory serves), you can't really *carry* the barrel to where you
need/want that water.  Nor can you easily *tip* it to pour from it.

So, I usually empty them with a garden hose and siphonic action.

Of course, I am not fond of priming such a siphon "by hand"
(by mouth??).  So, usually find other tricks to get it primed
(somehow, it primed itself in last night's storm and emptied
one of the barrels before morning!).

When I was knee-high-to-a-grasshopper, I had a self-priming
siphon that, to a youngster, was absolutely *magical*!  You
just put it in a barrel of water and it started to work!

Unfortunately, I wasn't oobservant enough of its workings.  :<
All I recall was a plain tube shaped like an M -- or thereabouts.
I.e., more than an inverted U typical of a siphon.  IIRC, the
peaks of the M were not at the same height -- though that may
have just been sloppy manufacturing?

Anyway... can anyone shed some light on what this might *really*
have looked like?  (ASCII art) Ideally, I would like to make one to
take the guesswork out of the way I currently prime my siphons.

Thanks!
--don