Siphon device

Let’s dwell on water locks, or siphons. In general, we should talk about them in relation to sinks and sinks, but, given their great importance, these devices are considered as an independent phenomenon of plumbing equipment (Fig. 1).

Fig. 1. Siphon device:
1 – siphon body; 2 – branch; 3 – square; 4 – socket with insulation; 5 – sewer pipe.

This device is a necessary component of all sinks and sinks. After all, if in their place were a one-piece drain pipe, it would be impossible to clean it in case of clogging. But the name of the locks, these devices were given because they prevent the penetration of stinking odors from the general sewage system into the apartment, “shut off”, close their access. Therefore, it is extremely important, first of all from a sanitary point of view, that the siphon-shutter is in good condition. In modern domestic plumbing, there are two main types of siphons: bottle and double-turn. The siphon of the first type is shown in Fig. 1, the second – in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2. Two-turn siphon.

The most convenient siphon is bottle-type. Its installation is provided on all plumbing fixtures, with the exception of the toilet. Here, the function of the shutter is also performed by the bend of the sewer drain at the base of the toilet. The advantage of the bottle-type siphon over the two-turn siphon is, first of all, in the ease of installation and disassembly, if it becomes necessary to clean the clogged shutter device from dirt. Perhaps the bottle siphon is the only item from the entire plumbing arsenal that even a teenager can replace or clean – it is so easy. We talked in more detail about how this is done in the section on plastic pipes. With a two-turn, it’s a little more complicated. It cannot be disassembled with a simple effort of hands, it is fastened with a metal nut. Two-turn cast-iron siphons have a revision – a bend that allows you to fix the accumulating debris in a certain place, from which it can be cleaned by unscrewing the mentioned metal nut. Of course, they are very reliable, but in terms of convenience they are much inferior to bottle ones. The latter are also much more economical. Two-turn siphons are now less and less common in city apartments, gradually becoming a legacy of the plumbing past.

The advantage of siphons made of plastic material over metal ones is in a higher coefficient of linear expansion, which makes it much easier to install the device without using any sealing materials. They are replaced by a coupling – one of the component parts of the bottle siphon. How does a siphon insulate our apartment from unwanted odors? The fact is that this is not ensured by any special filter, but by the very water that we use when opening the tap. After the water closes and completely goes into the sewer drain, a small amount of it accumulates in the body or bend of the siphon (depending on its design) and acts as an insulator against sewage fumes. This water is poured out of the siphon in the event that we have to disassemble it. As you can see, everything is simple.

Siphons, like other types of plumbing equipment, do not cease to be constantly improved and modernized by manufacturers. More and more interesting, convenient and reliable developments appear on the market. This also applies to ways of placing plumbing equipment. You may have encountered shells on your feet, for example. They look like a one-piece, as a rule, ceramic device, the lower part of which completely hides the drain curvatures from the eyes (the siphon is located inside the ceramic “leg”). Other objects, such as a shower or a tank, are also “hiding”. The latter is simply built into the wall of your toilet. They are controlled with the help of simple buttons and handles, in such a bathroom you feel like in a car, all the mechanisms of which are hidden under the hood of the car. Some models of siphons have an additional outlet that allows you to drain water from the washing machine through it. This greatly simplifies and facilitates the washing process. There are also steel bottle siphons that combine reliability with ease of construction. But in this case, the best option has not yet been found: disassembling and assembling a steel bottle siphon requires much more effort than the same, but plastic ones. This is important due to the need to periodically clean the siphon from accumulated dirt. Therefore, plastic closures are still out of competition.