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Valves
have ALWAYS LEAKED, siphons NEVER
leak. |
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Toilets
have overflows because inlet valves leak.
A valve that will never leak cannot be made. See
valve leakage graph |
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Valve flushing devices were outlawed
in Britain in 1861, after Thomas Crapper and others
introduced ‘The water-waste preventerr’
or common siphon as we know it, but made legal again
in 1999 under dubious circumstances. Materials may
have changed but the laws of physics have not. |
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Valve
flushing devices have undergone 150 years of development
in America and they still leak. The siphon can never
leak. |
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At
any one time in America, one in five valve
flushing toilets leak at a rate of 20,000 gallons
per year. Adding all the lesser leaking toilets
to this and text books equate this to 15 to 30
litres
per day for every person in America. (Population
250million). See pdf
file for source. |
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Valve manufacturers do not deny
the fact that their devices leak. When asked the
question, ‘but don’t these valve
flushing devices leak?’, a chief executive
of one of the largest valve manufacturers in America,
replied, ‘of course they leak, that’s
why we sell so many’. |
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How then, is the valve displacing
the siphon, everywhere? |
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First,
because the siphon has been largely maintenance
free and totally leak free, people have wrongly
assumed that any other device in the cistern will
offer the same ‘fit and forget’ benefits.
Such is the faith in the siphon that ‘boxed
in’ cisterns have been a feature of bathroom
design for some time now. |
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Second,
because people believe that whatever device is in
the cistern, ‘it will be alright’; people
choose a toilet entirely on its cosmetic appearance.
Hence toilets with ‘simple push button control’
or even ‘no touch’ sensor control are
‘all the rage’; people can’t get
enough of the ‘latest technology’, a
salesman’s dream. People don’t even
bother to ask what is inside the cistern. |
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Third,
once a valve toilet has been purchased, a siphon
cannot later be fitted. The outlet diameter is different
and there is no hole in the cistern to accommodate
a flush handle. This is not an accident of design.
The hapless purchaser finds himself locked in to
buying ‘repair kits’ (as intended by
the valve manufacturers) or worse still; just putting
up with a toilet, which constantly leaks water and
money down the drain. |
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So,
a combination of slick marketing by powerful
companies and the blissful ignorance of consumers,
has led to the displacement of the siphon by the
valve, worldwide. Even British siphon manufacturers
now make valve-flushing devices; such is the strength
of misguided consumer demand. |
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For an independent detailed analysis
download the pdf
file ‘WCs; best practice since the Water
Fittings Regulations 1999’, from elemental
solutions, which was written before the interflush
was conceived and before interruptible flushing
was legalised. See also, ‘Water-efficient
WCs and retrofits’ pdf
file. |
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