Plumbing Practice | by J. Wright Clarke
This treatise on plumbing practice contains the subject-matter of a series of papers contributed to The Engineering & Building Record, New York, in 1883-84-85-86-87. The papers are now re-arranged, and, to some extent, re-written and added to, with a view to presenting them in a more complete form. That plumbers shall command respect, and their advice be taken with implicit confidence, is most earnestly to be desired...
| Title | Plumbing Practice |
| Author | J. Wright Clarke |
| Publisher | Engineering and Building Record |
| Year | 1888 |
| Copyright | 1888, Engineering and Building Record |
| Amazon | Modern plumbing practice |
By J. Wright Clarke, To Plumber, First National Honors Medalist for Plumbers' Work, 1881, Lecturer on Technical and Instructor of Practical Plumbing at the Polytechnic, London.
Illustrated.
Preface- This Treatise on Plumbing Practice contains the subject-matter of a series of papers contributed to The Engineering & Building Record, New York, in 1883-84-85-86-87. The papers are now re-arranged, an...
- Chapter I. Metals
- It is of the utmost importance that plumbers should know something about the principal metal they use - namely, lead. The Latin name for lead is plumbum, hence we get the title of plumber - a wor...
- Metals. Continued
- The softness and plasticity of lead is such as to make it most easily worked, and applicable to various forms where it would be almost impossible to use any other metal. These properties, and the low ...
- Chapter II. Lead Pipes
- I have tried to find out who first made lead pipe without seam, and have not succeeded in getting the inventor's name, but have seen a machine for casting small pipes. The date, 1639, was cast upon it...
- Chapter III. Hand-Made Pipes
- We have already referred to drawn pipe and heavy pipes with burnt seams. There are other ways of making them, and I have specimens of strong 1 1/2-inch service pipes, as Figures 13 and 14, with wip...
- Chapter IV. Pipe Bending And Elbows
- To properly bend a piece of pipe it should be heated in the throat and kept cool at the heel or outside of the bend. All bends should be made on the bench and not in their position. A great many men t...
- Pipe Bending And Elbows. Part 2
- When 1 1/2 or 2-inch pipes are used for ventilating purposes, as a rule they are of light substance, although some people make no distinction between a waste and an air pipe, and use the same strength...
- Pipe Bending And Elbows. Part 3
- Pipes 3 inches and upwards in diameter are bent rather differently, in some respect, to those of a smaller size, and the throat, which becomes depressed in the act of bending, can be worked out again ...
- Chapter V. Pipe Bending And Elbows - Continued
- When, in spite of all the pains taken to properly make a bend on a soil pipe, it is found that the heel is thinner than the ordinary substance of the pipe, the throat can be worked or dummied out a li...
- Pipe Bending And Elbows - Continued. Part 2
- It has been stated that some hand-made traps made out of ordinary 3 1/2-inch soil pipe were exhibited by working plumbers at South Kensington. There were also others made, as in Figure 36, in all size...
- Pipe Bending And Elbows - Continued. Part 3
- Some plumbers make this joint at two heats by pouring solder on one side and wiping it, and then by turning it over and doing the other half. When the joint is wiped at one heat and no iron used, the ...
- Chapter VI. Pipe Bending And Elbows - Continued
- One of the most necessary things for a plumber to have a knowledge of is geometry. He may not have time to take up Euclid to make a thorough study of it, but that is no reason why he should not have a...
- Pipe Bending And Elbows - Continued. Continued
- After the piece of lead has been lined out as in Figure 47, measure the distance A A' on Figure 46, and mark off the same distance on A A', Figure 47, on both sides of the lead. Then measure B B, as s...
- Chapter VII. Joint Making
- A great many young plumbers, by dint of perseverance, succeed in wiping a very fair joint long before they know how to properly prepare the ends of the pipe. This arises from their being allowed to ta...
- Joint Making. Continued
- It has already been mentioned that pipes as a rule are greasy, and they should be chalked before soiling, to kill the grease. If this is not done and the soil is made too strong - that is, too much si...
- Chapter VIII. Joint Making - Continued
- Most men prefer certain ways of making a joint. One man will make all the joints that he possibly can in an upright position, another one will do almost anything so as to be able to make the joint und...
- Joint Making - Continued. Part 2
- Now, the block should always fit moderately close round the pipe so as to well support it, and the sharp arris round the hole on the wood, or stone, should be taken off, both on top and under sides; a...
- Joint Making - Continued. Part 3
- When preparing pipes for making branch-wiped joints, most plumbers have a way of their own in opening the pipe into which the other has to be joined. Say the joint is going to be made on a service pip...
- Chapter IX. Joint Making - Continued
- In London it is not at all uncommon for plumbers to be at work on the lead-work of roofs of buildings for several months at a time; so that afterwards, when they try to make a joint, they sometimes fa...
- Joint Making - Continued. Continued
- Plumbers, as a rule, scorn to make joints any other way than by wiping them, but there are scores of quacks who go about usurping the title of plumber, who make theirs with a copper-bit, and could not...
- Chapter X. Pipe Fixing
- There are several ways for fixing lead pipes. For services, the common way is to drive into the wall a series of iron wall-hooks. If the pipe is horizontal and fixed on the face of the wall, and not r...
- Pipe Fixing. Continued
- Almost all kinds of lead pipes can be fixed by face-tacks, such as cold-water waste pipes, main and ordinary service, and warning pipes. Some architects who find time to give a little thought to the p...
- Chapter XI. Rain-Water Pipes
- A great many architects are in favour of lead rain-water pipes, as when well fixed they last so much longer and do not split in the same manner by the effect of frost as iron ones. Iron ones also have...
- Chapter XII. Lining Sinks And Cisterns
- Ordinary-sized cisterns are generally lined with six-pound lead sides and seven-pound bottoms, but for best work and large cisterns, seven and eight-pound is very often used. Small-sized cisterns are ...
- Lining Sinks And Cisterns. Part 2
- It is always best not to touch or grease the angles of a cistern until after it is lined, as there are always dust and bits of rubbish about that stick to it, and when it is touched, some , should...
- Lining Sinks And Cisterns. Part 3
- To line a cistern in this manner, cut out the lead, leaving corner pieces on the top as before described, and 1 inch extra in length for each angle, and also enough for laying on the bottom and turnin...
- Chapter XIII. Lining Sinks
- Sinks of all kinds are made in such quantities and of such a variety of materials, that one would think the plumber would never be called upon to make one. Some of these sinks are made of galvanized w...
- Chapter XIV. Sewerage And Sewers
- Public sewers very rarely have any provision for ventilation excepting those in the streets, commonly called lamp-holes, and the gulley-gratings by the sides of the streets. In some districts may b...
- Sewerage And Sewers. Continued
- Dr. Lyon Playfair made the remark in the House of Commons on the 4th of March, that in one generation the span of human life had increased by two years. This was on the question of improved dwelling...
- Chapter XV. House Drains
- In towns house drains made of brick are now becoming things of the past, but in some parts of the country, builders stick to them and believe in no other description. Bad as this description of drain ...
- House Drains. Continued
- This drain was about 7 feet deep. On looking at the fracture it was seen that the pipes were ordinary vitrified stoneware of very fair quality. We all know the strength of an arch, and the resistance ...
- Chapter XVI. Drains And Traps - Continued
- When it is necessary to have one drain branched into another it is important to have a Y junction pipe, as in Figures 136 and 137, instead of using a square or right-angled one, as in Figure 138. The ...
- Drains And Traps - Continued. Part 2
- Where expense is no objection, it is a good plan to use white glazed bricks for the face-bricks of manholes, as they always look clean and are impervious to moisture, and if they should become dirty, ...
- Drains And Traps - Continued. Part 3
- Some manufacturers have made traps with the inlet-side a few inches higher than the outlet, the bottom of the outlet end representing the water-line. This is an advantage, as the incoming water falls ...
- Chapter XVII. Iron Drains
- Any reader who has noticed my remarks on stoneware-pipe drains will most likely be inclined to think (or he may probably have found out for himself) that although they may be very much better than the...
- Iron Drains. Continued
- There is a little tact required in yarning a joint. Some men will use the yarn just as it is made, no matter whether the socket fits tight or loose; others will take off a strand for a tight joint, or...
- Chapter XVIII. Iron Drains - Continued
- If drains are properly and carefully laid with an inspection-chamber or manhole at each end, it is not difficult to plug up the lowest end and fill the whole length with water, and so test its freedom...
- Iron Drains - Continued. Continued
- It is always best to make provision for removing obstructions in iron drains when they are first laid, so as to avoid the necessity of disturbing them afterward. If they are laid in perfectly straight...
- Chapter XIX. Iron Drains - Continued
- Most of the soil pipes in first-class London houses are of lead. It is important that these lead pipes should be securely made good to the drains. This is sometimes done as shown in Figure 186, and it...
- Chapter XX. Drain-Ventilation
- The question of drain-ventilation does not appear to be so clearly understood, nor the thought given to it that its importance demands. It is only the bond fide sanitary engineer or sanitary plumber w...
- Drain-Ventilation. Continued
- Another principle for inducing an air-current through drains has been practised in a few cases. Figure 196 is a fractional section illustrating this. The air-inlet has a perforated pipe inside, and wa...
- Chapter XXI. Drain-Ventilation - Continued
- There is such a variety of houses, and they are so arranged, that the drains nearly always have to be treated differently in the way they are ventilated. The greatest trouble arises when an old house ...
- Drain-Ventilation - Continued. Continued
- Figure 208 is a basement plan showing the drains of a house. Being a corner house, there is only a very small yard at the rear of the building. All the water-closets and other upstairs sanitary fittin...
- Chapter XXII. Drain-Traps For Surface-Water And Waste Pipes
- To write a history of traps is quite beyond the author's purpose, but the subject is so important that it cannot be passed over in silence. To describe all that are in the market would only weary the ...
- Drain-Traps For Surface-Water And Waste Pipes. Part 2
- There are three or four patent traps in the London market, made nearly similar to the last one, but have the advantage that they are made in one piece of vitrified stoneware, or highly-glazed pottery ...
- Drain-Traps For Surface-Water And Waste Pipes. Part 3
- The modern way of arranging the scullery-sink is to fix it near an outer wall, with a trap beneath the sink, and the waste pipe continued to the grease-tank fixed outside in an area or yard. This is s...
- Chapter XXIII. Traps And Waste Pipes
- In nearly ali town houses the servants' offices are in what is called the basement or lower story. This is situated below the level of the street - in some cases only 3 or 4 feet, and in others as muc...
- Traps And Waste Pipes. Continued
- Some sanitary engineers are not content with having the drains trapped off from the public sewer - a thorough air-flush through the drains and an interceptor-trap fixed to receive the waste pipes - bu...
- Chapter XXIV. Slop-Sinks
- Slops from nurseries, and also invalids, should never be thrown into the ordinary sink. It is a daily occurrence to see the housemaid empty a pail of slops down a sink, and then immediately draw water...
- Slop-Sinks. Continued
- In a newly-built hospital everything was done that could possibly be required for the use of the doctors and nurses, and comfort of the patients. On each floor are baths and other conveniences. All ho...
- Chapter XXV. Baths
- It is not often that a plumber has to make a bath. In some old country mansions a wooden tub or casing lined with sheet-lead is found, and generally as shown at Figure 239, the bottom and sides being ...
- Chapter XXVI. Baths - Continued
- Figure 248 represents in section a waste-valve patented by a leading firm of sanitary engineers. With this valve and a 2-inch waste pipe an ordinary-sized bath can be emptied in two and one-half to th...
- Baths - Continued. Part 2
- Another case came under the writer's notice where dirty water was drawn out of a bath at the tap over a sink on the floor below. In this case the cold-water cistern was small and had an intermittent s...
- Baths - Continued. Part 3
- Figure 258 is another kind of shower-bath, which can be suspended from the ceiling. This can be supplied with a small service pipe, with a ball-valve and ball to keep it full, ready for use. A, A, is ...
- Baths - Continued. Part 4
- In first-class houses a bidet-pan is sometimes fitted up in the dressing-room. These can be fitted up as a miniature bath, and have hot, cold, and waste pipes laid on to them. As a rule, the waste p...
- Chapter XXVII. Wash-Hand Basins
- Wash-hand basins are a great convenience in a home, but they, as a rule, have less thought bestowed on their arrangement than any other sanitary fitting. Very few basins are made as they should be. Fi...
- Chapter XXVIII. Wash-Hand Basins. Part 2
- Referring again to plug-wastes, Figure 285 represents, in section, the ordinary style of making them, and at H is shown how the water-way may be contracted by allowing the lining of the union to enter...
- Wash-Hand Basins. Part 3
- When waste-valves are used for emptying the contents of a wash-hand basin, a grated connection should be made to fit the bottom, and should be fixed flush on the inside of the bowl. The grating should...
- Chapter XXIX. Wash-Hand Basins. Part 4
- Besides the traps that have been described there are several others very similar in their action, and there are also what are known as mechanical traps. Some -of these have a flap-valve fixed inside o...
- Wash-Hand Basins. Part 5
- Tip-up basins are sometimes fixed in ranges, and have a large trough placed beneath so as to receive the contents of the basins. This is far from being a good plan, as the dirty water is splashed ov...
- Chapter XXX. Urinals
- The subject of urinals is one of the utmost importance, and I may premise any further statements by saying that I have never seen one that might be said to be entirely satisfactory, and we have yet to...
- Urinals. Part 2
- Figure 316 is a plan of a public place. Although the smells are offensive, they are not nearly so bad as some of the others described. In this case the slate divisions are placed at an acute angle to ...
- Urinals. Part 3
- All the basins described have straight-down waste pipes. Some others are also made with back outlet waste-arms to connect to the waste pipe behind the back marble or slate slab, instead of as Figure 3...
- Chapter XXXI. Urinals - Continued
- In some hotels and clubs urinals are fitted up similar to Figure 322, but, instead of the iron gratings on the floor, perforations are made in the slate foot-stone, and an earthenware receiver, with f...
- Chapter XXXII. Soil Pipes
- At a very old historical building in London a retiring-place was found to be made at the top of a two-storied building, and a shaft built in the walls for the purpose of conveying excreta to an openin...
- Chapter XXXIII. Soil Pipes. Part 2
- Enough has been written to show the danger of fixing light iron soil pipes, with the rain-water leaders connected to them, on the outside of the house, but there remains to be told the evils of fixing...
- Soil Pipes. Part 3
- At a country house taken by a lady and family for the summer months, the servants sat by their bedroom window the whole of the first and only night they were there, and could not stay in bed because o...
- Chapter XXXIV. Soil Pipes. Part 4
- Plumbers' work done about twenty years ago, and which recently has had to be taken out, has very often been found to be of good materials and workmanship, but badly arranged. In first-class work it wa...
- Soil Pipes. Part 5
- Referring again to Figure 371, it will be noticed that the short pipes branched into the horizontal soil pipe have the connections made in such a way as to reduce to a minimum the liability of the dis...
- Chapter XXXV. Soil Pipes And Traps
- The commonest kind of trap used a few years ago, and which has been illustrated, written, and spoken about in such a way one would think that the last had gone into the melting-pot never to return, ex...
- Soil Pipes And Traps. Part 2
- The subject of traps cannot be dismissed without a few remarks on trap fixing. It is admitted by all advanced sanitary engineers that traps are necessary under water-closets and other fittings that re...
- Soil Pipes And Traps. Part 3
- Marks should be made on the long length of pipe at O, O, and then the hole for the branch pipe opened between those marks. The branch pipe can be cut the exact length, and with the end at the proper a...
- Chapter XXXVI. Water-Closets
- It would be a waste of time to give a history of water-closets, and no real advantage would be gained by filling pages with descriptions of those kinds which are now obsolete and, it may be said, forg...
- Water-Closets. Continued
- There are great numbers of makers of valve water-closets who each have their own ideas as to what constitutes a good apparatus; but there are also several makers, who, in their endeavour to undersell ...
- Chapter XXXVII. Water-Closets - Continued
- Some years ago an eminent master plumber designed and patented a plunger closet, as shown by Figure 402. The basin and trap were made in one piece of white earthenware, and water was retained in th...
- Water-Closets - Continued. Continued
- There are several makers of closets of the kind shown by Figure 408, and for a good, plain, and cheap basin, they are very serviceable when well flushed, and have flushing-rims. Although they are all ...
- Chapter XXXVIII. Hot-Water Boilers Or Water-Backs
- It is only in large hotels and public institutions in England that a special provision is made for heating the water which is so necessary for the various purposes required, such as for supplying bath...
- Chapter XXXIX. Circulation Boilers
- A great many blunders are committed by people who fix hot-water boilers. There are so many intricacies that no one, unless he has had a very varied experience, can always be oertain that his job is go...
- Chapter XL. Hot-Water Fittings
- After the boiler is properly fixed the next thing is to consider the circulation pipes. Figure 432 is a sketch diagram showing how they are fixed in some of the London jerry-built houses. The pipes ar...
- Chapter XLI. Cylinders And Hot-Water Circulation
- Hot-water cylinders should always be enclosed so as to avoid unnecessary waste of heat by radiation. They may be fixed in an enclosed recess, or covered with a non-conducting material such as fossil ...
- Cylinders And Hot-Water Circulation. Part 2
- Figure 440 is a section of a joint made as described. The pipe ends were passed through gun-metal linings and tafted or flanged over. These linings had hexagonal ends at R, R, and spanners were used f...
- Cylinders And Hot-Water Circulation. Part 3
- In some instances a hot closet has been fixed in a kitchen, for warming plates and dishes, and connected with the boiler circulation pipes. For want of the proper knowledge some of these have been fou...
- Cylinders And Hot-Water Circulation. Part 4
- Figure 450 is, I think, an American invention, and appears to be a simple and easily-applied expansion-socket, but not having used them the writer does not know how long they will last without breakin...
- Cylinders And Hot-Water Circulation. Part 5
- Figure 456 was a rather strange experience of erratic circulation. A boiler was fixed for heating water to supply sinks in which bottles were washed at a wholesale wine merchant's. Two radiators were ...
- The Engineering and Building Record And The Sanitary Engineer
- Established 1877. Conducted by Henry C. Meyer. DEVOTED TO ENGINEERING & ARCHITECTURE. OF SPECIAL INTEREST TO Engineers, Architects, Builders, Contractors, Mechanics, and Municipal Officers. T...
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- Its Importance and the Evils Due to Its Neglect. With an Account of the Methods Adopted in Various Cities in Great Britain and the United States. By HENRY C. MEYER, Editor of The Engineering and...
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- (June 4, 1887 - November 26, 1887.) Aside from the weekly record of events of special interest to Engineers, Municipal Officers, Mechanics, and Contractors, the following of the numerous special ar...
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