From 7add4ccaee9fd579ed3d5c747fb7fd8368dc2171 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Madison Scott-Clary Date: Sun, 3 Jul 2022 16:20:19 -0500 Subject: [PATCH] update from sparkleup --- diary/2022-07-03.html | 2 +- 1 file changed, 1 insertion(+), 1 deletion(-) diff --git a/diary/2022-07-03.html b/diary/2022-07-03.html index 9e5356f55..aa858af64 100644 --- a/diary/2022-07-03.html +++ b/diary/2022-07-03.html @@ -45,7 +45,7 @@

Difficult moment to write, translate to science of that moment

Check valves

A check valve sits at the bottom of the down-pipe in a well. It takes the form of a wider section of pipe in which sits a spring. The spring holds a disk in place at the bottom of that wider section, so that, should there be no pressure pulling the disk up, the water that sits above, that which is still in the down-pipe and thus still connected to the cistern, will not flow back down into the well. It’s the pressure of the well pump that pulls the check valve open.

-

Should your well run dry, this will, in theory, prevent your well pump from pulling air from the bottom of the well and risk burning itself out.

+

Should your well run dry, this will, in theory, keep the water you do have from dropping back into the well.

Should, however, your well pump start to burn itself out on its own, then the motor may spin and spin and spin and you’ll see nothing but air and bubbles flowing through the PEX pipe from the pump to the cistern. If you are a man of 36, fresh out of surgery, unable to to stand or sit reliably, you may lean over the pump and curse and curse and curse, and call your wife from upstairs to help you lift the new pump you purchased who knows how long ago to lift it up onto the stand of the old, to hold it in place as you cinch down that PEX, to watch as it, too, pulls nothing but air, the check valve flapping uselessly within its housing, and then the both of you will curse and curse and curse.

You’ll figure out how to contact the city, how to go get supplemental water to carry you through the droughts of summer, to give you enough water to shower, to keep the dogs’ water bowl full. You will worry about the heat and the effect it has on your healing, you will watch your wife slowly lose her mind until she has to head into IOP. You will watch her fret over the way the dog is slowing down.

And surely some emotions will play across your face, but your wife can’t read them.