Types of toilet flushes in English usage
Bun Mui
and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
hand side to flush, modern type.
What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
flushing systems for your toilet?
TIA
Bun Mui
Perchprism
BM (pun intended this time, anyway) wrote:
>From: Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com>
>Date: 10/5/98 11:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time
>Message-id: <lR5S1.5694$V7.15...@typhoon.mbnet.mb.ca>
Dunno. I call them "the kind with the tank way up high and a pull chain" and
"the regular kind." I would ask a plumber if I needed to know the real names,
but I hope to find out here, thanks to you.
Perchprism
"Of two cigars, pick the longest and the strongest." Winston Churchill
Mike Barnes
>There are 2 types of toilet flushes one which uses a tank placed high up
>and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
>the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
>hand side to flush, modern type.
>
>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>flushing systems for your toilet?
You just got lucky! We're about to replace the ware in the downstairs
toilet, so I have a stack of brochures right here.
There are actually *three* styles commonly available at the moment.
They are called "high-level", "low-level", and "close-coupled". If you
have any more-detailed questions, I'll do my best for you.
--
-- Mike Barnes, Stockport, England.
-- If you post a response to Usenet, please *don't* send me a copy by e-mail.
MrPunkinHead
wrote:
>There are 2 types of toilet flushes one which uses a tank placed high up
>and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
>the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
>hand side to flush, modern type.
>
>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>flushing systems for your toilet?
Technically, here in Arkansas, we call them cans.
MrPunkinHead
Usenets regular guy
Bun Mui
> Re: Types of toilet flushes in English usage
>
> From: Mike Barnes <mi...@exodus.co.uk>
> Reply to: [1]news-r...@exodus.co.uk
> Date: Mon, 5 Oct 1998 19:09:05 +0100
> Organization: with an "s", please
> Newsgroups:
> [2]alt.usage.english
> Followup to: [3]newsgroup(s)
> References:
> [4]<lR5S1.5694$V7.15...@typhoon.mbnet.mb.ca>
>
>In alt.usage.english, Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> spake thuswise:
>>and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
>>the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
>>hand side to flush, modern type.
>>
>>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>>flushing systems for your toilet?
>
>toilet, so I have a stack of brochures right here.
>
>There are actually *three* styles commonly available at the moment.
>They are called "high-level", "low-level", and "close-coupled". If you
>have any more-detailed questions, I'll do my best for you.
Please define each kind, enquirying minds like mine, would like to know.
Is it just the high-level one that use a chain to flush or what?
What do low-level and close-coupled use to flush what type of handle or
chain?
Which one is the push button type on the side of the tank?
Which is the one which you use your foot to depress a pedal to flush?
TIA
Bun Mui
Bun Mui
> Re: Types of toilet flushes in English usage
>
> Reply to: [1]MrPunkinHead
> Date: Mon, 05 Oct 1998 12:28:56 GMT
> Organization: Vegie.net
> Newsgroups:
> [2]alt.usage.english
> Followup to: [3]newsgroup(s)
> References:
> [4]<lR5S1.5694$V7.15...@typhoon.mbnet.mb.ca>
>
>>and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
>>the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
>>hand side to flush, modern type.
>>
>>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>>flushing systems for your toilet?
>
>
I guess you guys don't discriminate down south, eh?
Bun Mui
pet...@ms.com
perch...@aol.com (Perchprism) wrote:
>
> BM (pun intended this time, anyway) wrote:
> >From: Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com>
> >Date: 10/5/98 11:46 AM Eastern Daylight Time
> >Message-id: <lR5S1.5694$V7.15...@typhoon.mbnet.mb.ca>
> >
> >and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
> >the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
> >hand side to flush, modern type.
> >
> >What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
> >flushing systems for your toilet?
>
> "the regular kind." I would ask a plumber if I needed to know the real names,
> but I hope to find out here, thanks to you.
>
with one of these things in Paris in the 30's.
HTH
Pjk
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Robert M. Wilson
MrPunk...@vegie.net (MrPunkinHead) wrote:
>On Mon, 05 Oct 1998 15:46:25 GMT, Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com>
>wrote:
>>
>>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>>flushing systems for your toilet?
>
I can remember when there were "cans" filled with "nightsoil".
When our "can" was replaced with a flush toilet, it was still outside and the
water, in an overhead container, was released with considerable force by
pulling the chain. Occasionally the shut-off valve would stick and the water
would overflow onto the seat.
A folk rhyme was:
"Pull the chain before you rise
And you will get a wet surprise."
JUST AN H
>>>There are 2 types of toilet flushes one which uses a tank placed high up
>>>and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
>>>the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
>>>hand side to flush, modern type.
>>>
>>>flushing systems for your toilet?
Here in the States, the old chain toilet that you describe is usually referred
to as a "chain flush toilet." They're generally treasured here by those who
buy old Victorian houses and find that at least one bathroom still contains
that quaint old plumbing fixture.
Modern toilets (those plumbing appliances with a flushing handle in the upper
left hand corner of the water tank) are referred to here in the States simply
as "the toilet." Of course, when an American needs to "go to the toilet," he
or she says, "Where's the bathroom?" American women, on the other hand, aren't
so polite. They're apt to bark, "Who left the toilet seat up??!!"
J.
a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>flushing systems for your toilet?
>
Thunder-box and toidy, respectively.
>TIA
>
>Bun Mui
A wind they called Mariah.
Mike Barnes
>>There are actually *three* styles commonly available at the moment.
>>They are called "high-level", "low-level", and "close-coupled". If you
>>have any more-detailed questions, I'll do my best for you.
>
>
>Please define each kind, enquirying minds like mine, would like to know.
>Is it just the high-level one that use a chain to flush or what?
>
>What do low-level and close-coupled use to flush what type of handle or
>chain?
The high-level cistern is at or above the height of a standing adult's
head, and is operated by a handle on the end of a chain. The water
flows down a pipe connecting the cistern to the pan.
The low-level cistern is at the height of a standing adult's waist, and
is operated by a lever. The water flows down a pipe, like the high-
level's but shorter.
The close-coupled cistern sits directly on the back of the pan, and is
therefore lower than a low-level. It is operated by a lever, like the
low-level's.
My understanding is that the high-level and low-level types depend on
the relative height of the cistern to accelerate the water, so as to
effectively clear the bowl. The close-coupled type somehow applies
suction from behind, to compensate for the decreased water velocity.
However I am not a plumber and you shouldn't take my word for this.
>Which one is the push button type on the side of the tank?
>Which is the one which you use your foot to depress a pedal to flush?
Those types are not usually found in the UK.
Lindsay
Bun Mui wrote in message ...
>There are 2 types of toilet flushes one which uses a tank placed high up
>and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
>the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
>hand side to flush, modern type.
Flushing toilets? Good grief, Bun, you stayed in some posh places when you
were in the UK, didn't you! Here in Wet Yorkshire we have a brick outhouse
and thankful we are.
>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>flushing systems for your toilet?
>
Posh, as I said.
Linz
--
oh, not really a pedant, I wouldn't say
reply to: li...@earthling.net
You can also find linz at gofar dot demon dot co dot uk
Mark Daniels
Shouldn't it be, 'Types of toilet flush...', not 'Types of toilet flushes'?
By the way, it's amazing, though I'm sure I'm not the first to notice it, that
ANY subject can become on-topic for this newsgroup if you simply add the words
'...in English usage' on the end of any posting.
"Don't you just hate how some people always squeeze the toothpaste from the
middle of the tube in English usage?"
I have an accusation to make:
Bun Mui is in fact the psuedonym of a regular, normal poster to this group, who
uses his alter ego to sate his overwhelming desire to troll. I bet that we could
compare his absences/presence on the group to the approximate times-of-posting of
some regular participants in the group and find some remarkable correlations.
Anyone care to undertake this...?
--
Mark Daniels
Belgrade,
Yugoslavia
Amusing, yet soul-penetratingly pertinent sig under construction.
Emailed copies welcome. Spam unwelcome. Remove XX's from email address to
respond.
Skitt
Mark Daniels wrote in message <361AB09...@eunet.yu>...
>Woah! Who cancelled the original posting?
>
>Shouldn't it be, 'Types of toilet flush...', not 'Types of toilet flushes'?
>
>By the way, it's amazing, though I'm sure I'm not the first to notice it,
that
>ANY subject can become on-topic for this newsgroup if you simply add the
words
>'...in English usage' on the end of any posting.
No, no! "In English usage" is an expression reserved for the exclusive use
by the Bun.
--
Skitt http://www.geocities.com/TheTropics/5537/
Central Florida CAUTION: My opinion may vary.
Paul H. Smith
>
> There are 2 types of toilet flushes one which uses a tank placed high up
> and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
> the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
> hand side to flush, modern type.
>
> flushing systems for your toilet?
>
>
> Bun Mui
Bun,
I liked you better when you were someone else.
Paul Smith
Peter Buchwald
>the relative height of the cistern to accelerate the water, so as to
>effectively clear the bowl. The close-coupled type somehow applies
>suction from behind, to compensate for the decreased water velocity.
>However I am not a plumber and you shouldn't take my word for this.
>
You may be talking about a syphonic toilet in the last sentence; these are
not generally used in this country (perhaps they are not allowed by Building
regs?). The difference between the high level cistern and the low is
largely due to aesthetic preference; there is little to technically
distinguish them. Another type, which may be found in older premises, is
the dual flush toilet, which gives a full flush if (the effluent is brown)
you push hard on the lever, and a half flush if (the effluent is yellow) and
you only apply slight pressure on the lever. AFAIK, these are not now
allowed in new buildings.
Older people may call WC cisterns "waste water preventers"; this is to
perhaps to distinguish them from the earliest types of toilet which did not
have cisterns, but perhaps had a valve which discharged all the water from
the cold water tank.
Apparently, some of the first flushing toilets were installed in Pentonville
Prison in London when it was built, these were later removed (so it was
claimed) because they permitted the prisoners to communicate with each
other. Each prisoner had a certain allowance of about two pints of water
per day (I think), which was to be used for drinking, washing and flushing
the toilet.
--
PAB
http://www.buchwald.dircon.co.uk/
Peter Moylan
> [...]. Another type, which may be found in older premises, is
>the dual flush toilet, which gives a full flush if (the effluent is brown)
>you push hard on the lever, and a half flush if (the effluent is yellow) and
>you only apply slight pressure on the lever. AFAIK, these are not now
>allowed in new buildings.
Both toilets in my house have two pushbuttons, one for a full flush
and one for a half flush. Almost all new toilet cisterns used in
Australia give you this choice. (There are, of course, plenty of
houses having only an older style of cistern.) Anyone installing
a cistern without the half-flush option would be seen as an antisocial
water-waster.
In the days before such gadgetry was available, it used to be common
practice to put a brick in the cistern, to reduce the amount of
water per flush.
The up-high cisterns with a chain seem to have gone out of fashion
here, although they were common enough in the 1950s. (That is,
they were common enough among the posh city dwellers. Where I grew
up we had to count on the weekly visit of the dunny-truck. My
mother used to keep her legs crossed all Thursday morning, for fear
of being caught in an awkward position.)
--
Peter Moylan pe...@ee.newcastle.edu.au
Henry Tickner
<mi...@exodus.co.uk> writes
>My understanding is that the high-level and low-level types depend on
>the relative height of the cistern to accelerate the water, so as to
>effectively clear the bowl.
I had a summer job as a stores assistant at a public works depot many
years ago. The pipes for high-level flush were one-and-a-quarter inches
in diameter, for low-level flush one-and-a-half. Now doubtless
metricised.
I can't feeling that if I'd managed to forget that it would have left
room for me to remember something more useful. Or interesting.
--
Henry Tickner
"Through the palpable obscure, find out his secret way."
The 'nospam' is my ISP's domain, the 'boudoir' is mine.
Henry Tickner
writes
>>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>>flushing systems for your toilet?
>>
No, no, no. A thunder-box is a portable commode, as used in the Raj;
derived from the thunder-mug, an earlier term for a chamber-pot. From
the sounds produced when using one.
--
Henry Tickner
a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
<he...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>I had a summer job as a stores assistant at a public works depot many
>years ago. The pipes for high-level flush were one-and-a-quarter inches
>in diameter, for low-level flush one-and-a-half. Now doubtless
>metricised.
>
>I can't feeling that if I'd managed to forget that it would have left
>room for me to remember something more useful. Or interesting.
>Henry Tickner
Oh, but it *was* illuminating. Conspicuous consumption against
inconvenient placement wins every time.
a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
<he...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <36199581...@news.bctel.ca>, a1a5...@bc.sympatico.ca
>writes
>>>What are the technical words in English usage to describe these 2 types of
>>>flushing systems for your toilet?
>>>
>>Thunder-box and toidy, respectively.
>
>No, no, no. A thunder-box is a portable commode, as used in the Raj;
>derived from the thunder-mug, an earlier term for a chamber-pot. From
>the sounds produced when using one.
>Henry Tickner
Took a quick look around here, couldn't find it. Am ashamed to have
used such a vulgar term: I thought it was because of the noise of the
fixed contraption's flushing action, much louder than the modern
equivalent. Bit late now, but I'll burn a joss to the ancestors.
Thank you.
Brian J Goggin
<he...@nospam.demon.co.uk> wrote:
>In article <dKlojEC5...@exodus.co.uk>, Mike Barnes
><mi...@exodus.co.uk> writes
>>My understanding is that the high-level and low-level types depend on
>>the relative height of the cistern to accelerate the water, so as to
>>effectively clear the bowl.
>
>I had a summer job as a stores assistant at a public works depot many
>years ago. The pipes for high-level flush were one-and-a-quarter inches
>in diameter, for low-level flush one-and-a-half. Now doubtless
>metricised.
>
>I can't feeling that if I'd managed to forget that it would have left
>room for me to remember something more useful. Or interesting.
Henry, Henry. You must not despise the gifts of the Gods or the
benefits of your experience.
Look at it this way. You have just acquired undying
international fame as the first man on AUE to point out that the
pipes for low-level and high-level cisterns are of different
diameters. Who else here knew that? Whose name will be forever
written in letters of gold in the DejaNews archives? Who else
could have contributed that gem, thereby increasing
international understanding *and* adding to The Bun's store of
knowledge?
Why, I think you should be proud. Proud, I tell you. And forever
afterwards your name will be honoured. Grandfathers, pulling
their lisping grandchildren towards them, will say "When I were
nobbut a lad, I read --- fresh from the computer --- the words
of Henry Tickner!" "What! Grandad," the toddlers will lisp:
"*the* Henry Tickner, author of Tickner's Contribution?" "The
very one," the grandfathers will claim --- with justified pride.
And grandmothers, seating the toddlers on their laps, will point
the moral: "Never despise any knowledge, my little chickadees:
you never know when some half-forgotten nugget will be needed."
When Henry Tickner had a summer job
In public works, the stripling little knew
That he would earn far more than his few bob
As international expert --- on the loo.
For as he did his work within the stores,
From shelves to counters, always in a rush,
He learned the plumbers' mysteries and lores ---
And e'en which pipe for every type of flush.
In Henry's brain his new-found knowledge burned
But in his busy life was not applied:
He never used the facts that he had learned:
His flushing talent which was death to hide.
But fortune led him then to AUE;
Now fame is his --- and right deservedly.
bjg
pressu...@my-dejanews.com
Mark Daniels <ma...@eunet.yu> wrote:
> Woah! Who cancelled the original posting?
>
> I have an accusation to make:
>
> Bun Mui is in fact the psuedonym of a regular, normal poster to this group,
who
> uses his alter ego to sate his overwhelming desire to troll. I bet that we
could
> compare his absences/presence on the group to the approximate times-of-posting
of
> some regular participants in the group and find some remarkable correlations.
> Anyone care to undertake this...?
>
> --
> Mark Daniels
>
Sorry to disappoint you Mark, but, as I have pointed out before, he is just
humdrum old Patrick Chung from Winnipeg, Canada.
--
Pressure Drop.
(Ian Johnson)
Mike Barnes
>Woah! Who cancelled the original posting?
>
>
>By the way, it's amazing, though I'm sure I'm not the first to notice it, that
>ANY subject can become on-topic for this newsgroup if you simply add the words
>'...in English usage' on the end of any posting.
That's as may be, but BM started this thread by asking "What are the
technical words in English usage to describe...". Sounds on-topic to
me.
Mike Barnes
thuswise:
>[of the UK, I assume]
>Another type, which may be found in older premises, is
>the dual flush toilet, which gives a full flush if (the effluent is brown)
>you push hard on the lever, and a half flush if (the effluent is yellow) and
>you only apply slight pressure on the lever.
Other variations on this theme are: press and release for short flush,
press and hold for long flush; and two separate levers.
>AFAIK, these are not now
>allowed in new buildings.
I heard that this is because research showed that in practice the user
often does a short flush, finds it insufficient, then does a long flush.
Overall water saving: negative.
Lindsay Endell
wrote:
>In alt.usage.english, Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> spake thuswise:
>>
>>Which one is the push button type on the side of the tank?
>>Which is the one which you use your foot to depress a pedal to flush?
>
>Those types are not usually found in the UK.
>
Yes they are! Anyone who travels via rail for any length of time and
finds themselves using the travelling toilets has probably had to wait
for the train to leave a station before standing on the pedal to flush
the loo.
Or do the rest of you have more modern trains than North West Trains
has?
Linz
--
Oh, not really a pedant, I wouldn't say.
http://www.gofar.demon.co.uk/
Mark Baker
Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> writes:
> There are 2 types of toilet flushes one which uses a tank placed high up
> and use a chain to put it to flush the toilet, used in many old toilets in
> the U.K.. I know cuz, I had one and the other with the handle on the left
> hand side to flush, modern type.
I think you mean two styles of cistern. However, there are indeed two types
of flushes; very old ones used a different, simpler, mechanism. I think I
remember hearing them called bell flushes, but I could be making that up.
Jitze Couperus
ma...@aziraphale.demon.co.uk (Mark Baker) wrote:
OK OK! I've been waiting for somebody to chime in (sic) with the real
difference - the essence as it were - of the difference between the high up
chain operated "Niagara Type A" and the more modern system where the tank
is abaft of the crapper.
In *real* crappers - the chain is affixed to a long lever, the other end
of the lever pulls up a heavy (cast iron?) bell that is submerged in water.
A stalwart heave is required. (No namby-paby press with the pinkie.)
This bell covers a vertical pipe, the top of which is usually just above
the surface of the water, the other end leads through the bottom of the
tank down to the loo proper. By yanking on the handle on the end of the
chain, (real handles are made of porcelain) the bell is raised forcefully
- and in doing so brings with it the water level (inside the bell) to
above the top of said pipe - initiating a siphonic flow.
Modern gizmos rely on a little rubber or plastic ball/flap arangement
joined to a short lever or push-button. Ersatz and cheap and nasty and
not nearly as satisfying as a full Shanks Niagara.
There - that feels much better!
Jitze
Graeme Thomas
<b...@wordwrights.ie> writes
>When Henry Tickner had a summer job
>In public works, the stripling little knew
>That he would earn far more than his few bob
>As international expert --- on the loo.
>For as he did his work within the stores,
>From shelves to counters, always in a rush,
>He learned the plumbers' mysteries and lores ---
>And e'en which pipe for every type of flush.
>In Henry's brain his new-found knowledge burned
>But in his busy life was not applied:
>He never used the facts that he had learned:
>His flushing talent which was death to hide.
>But fortune led him then to AUE;
>Now fame is his --- and right deservedly.
Beautiful. Pure poetry, in fact.
--
Graeme Thomas
Mike Barnes
thuswise:
>On Tue, 6 Oct 1998 10:51:53 +0100, Mike Barnes <mi...@exodus.co.uk>
>wrote:
>
>>In alt.usage.english, Bun Mui <Bun...@my-dejanews.com> spake thuswise:
>>>
>>>Which one is the push button type on the side of the tank?
>>>Which is the one which you use your foot to depress a pedal to flush?
>>
>>Those types are not usually found in the UK.
>>
>Yes they are! Anyone who travels via rail for any length of time
As it happens I *have* travelled by British Rail and its successors many
times over the last few decades.
>and
>finds themselves using the travelling toilets
That as well.
>has probably had to wait
>for the train to leave a station before standing on the pedal to flush
>the loo.
No, I haven't, as far as I can remember.
In my experience (not necessarily typical, but it's all I know) the
pedal turns on the water flow to the basin. The toilet flush is the
lever on the wall[1].
Of course, there is an obvious explanation for the difference in our
experiences, but since you're not a bloke, it doesn't really apply.
[1] if one can correctly call a partition in a railway carriage "a
wall".
Henry Tickner
>, Jitze Couperus <coup...@mindspring.removethis.com> writes (among
much other interesting and well-expressed stuff) --
>This bell covers a vertical pipe, the top of which is usually just above
>the surface of the water, the other end leads through the bottom of the
>tank down to the loo proper.
ObAUE: is the expression "*the* loo", used by many including myself, to
be deplored for the same reasons as "*the* hoi polloi". Or is this a
pickiness too far?
Michael Cargal
>In article <couperus-081...@user-38ld63c.dialup.mindspring.com
>>, Jitze Couperus <coup...@mindspring.removethis.com> writes (among
>much other interesting and well-expressed stuff) --
>
>>This bell covers a vertical pipe, the top of which is usually just above
>>the surface of the water, the other end leads through the bottom of the
>>tank down to the loo proper.
>
>ObAUE: is the expression "*the* loo", used by many including myself, to
>be deplored for the same reasons as "*the* hoi polloi". Or is this a
>pickiness too far?
Some go to the loo, and some just go honk, honk.
--
Michael Cargal car...@cts.com