Re: Work Session D photos are now posted

John, those are great photos of the Lava Pump House. It has been over 30 years since I visited the structure and it does not seem any worse for the wear. Wish I could say that about me!

Ted Smith expresses some uncertainty about the pump and tank elevations.
Doris Osterwald's maps indicate the pump house to be 8093 ft. with the tank located at 8506 ft. This would calculate to 413 ft. elevation difference. Additionally, the water level in the tank would need to be added to the lift.

The elevation difference matters in determining the pump capacity. With assumption that the tank required 30 ft. additional lift, The hydraulic head calculates out to about 192 lbs. This means the pump would need to produce 192 lbs. pressure before delivering the first drop of water into the tank. Additionally, the mile or so horizontal transit would create some friction loss (dynamics loss), but this calculation would be a function of both volume and pipe diameter.

Where the head weight becomes interesting is that the lower aspects of the pipe and the pump cylinders would have constant back pressure of 192 lbs, anytime the circuit was charged, unless the pipe run had check valves. Additionally, unless the pump utilized a buffer tank, the piping would have been subject to the constant cylinder pulse while the pump was operating. All this raises the question as to what plumbing problems were encountered, particularly near pipe joints or welds.

Curious mind(s) want to know, or is this simply trivia on steroids?