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

[Jeff Breadner]

euvitudo wrote:
> Take a look at pet shops--they have nice siphons (for aquaria) where
> you fill a thick tube with water, and lift it sufficiently to initialize the
> effects of gravity.
>
> This thick tube is connected to a hose at the other end, allowing the
> water to 'escape'.
>
>
>
> On Mon, Jul 7, 2008 at 11:54 AM, Bexley Hall <bexley401 at yahoo.com> wrote:
>   
>> 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
>>     
Google's results are filled with this device, it looks to be pretty 
cheap from many retailers.
http://www.shammysolutions.com/site/1618064/product/100-26

Also, wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Siphon) implies that if 
you have a tube with one side, or maybe the whole thing, filled with 
cotton, then then the "wick effect" will pull water up above the crest 
of the hose, after which the regular siphon action will keep water 
flowing out.  The downside of this is that the water flow will never be 
as fast as that from a similarly-sized empty tube.  Might this hose from 
your childhood memories have been stuffed with cotton or some similar 
material?  Was water flow slower than expected?  Did it take some time 
for the water to start flowing on its own?  Any of these might indicate 
that the shape of the hose had little to nothing to do with it's 
siphoning action.

cheers
  JB