Question for my British Friends

[Olaf]

OK, finally got my satellite set up and am now receiving BBC America. Haven't seen it for six months! Watching Ground Force and I have a question. I've always wondered what those huge round wooden (at least it looks like wood) rollercoaster like things are behind people's houses. You see them everywhere and they're eye sores. They look a little like water towers.

Speaking of water towers. Why is the water pressure over there so bad. It's just like WDW. You have to jump around in the shower to get wet.



Ohhh, after rereading this, I'm afraid this doesn't sound like I meant it to. Sorry, I wasn't trying to be offensive (although I'm rather good at that). I love England, low water pressure and all.

 

[Peebee]

Hi Steph,

I'm not certain, but I think you may be talking about gasholders or gasometers as they were known - basically large structures that stored natural gas until it was needed by the local population. We used to have one nearby where I grew up, and I remember being amazed at the scale of the structure.

I managed to find a picture of one on the net - is this what you saw ? http://www.gasmuseum.co.uk/gasholders.htm

Not sure about the water pressure question, but I remember a statistic from a few years ago that around 30% of the water in the pipeline system is lost through leaks, which sounds a huge amount. Perhaps that could account for low pressure in some areas ?

Paul

 

[Olaf]

Yep, that's it. Thanks Paul. I don't know where we store our gas. I think it's underground. Do those things ever blow up?

 

[Peebee]

I don't remember one exploding recently, but i'm sure that happened a lot in the past.

Incidentally, one of the most famous gasometers can be found at the Oval cricket ground -

- quite an impressive sight.

Paul

 

[KayleeUK]

None of those aroung here Steph

Kaylee

 

[Loftus]

Whereas in the states the water pressure in your domestic pipes is that which comes from the mains, over here - apart from the cold water kitchen tap, in most houses the domestic system is fed from a tank in the loft (attic), so the pressure in the system, and hence in the shower, is governed by the difference in height between the showerhead and the tank (power showers accepted).
I think I read that it was Wellington's idea that all houses should have a store of water in case of invasion by Napoleon!

 

[Olaf]

Thanks for that explanation Loftus. Maybe that's Disney's problem as well. The water pressure at VWL is nonexistent.

 

[Terry&Janet]

This reminds me of a conversation I had with a young friend of mine a few years ago.

We passed a couple of these at the side of the M6 near Birmingham and told him what these were and how they go up during the winter months (i.e. high demand for gas hence a higher stock is needed) and go down to a lower level in the summer when less stock is needed.

Being a person who is known for wind-ups, Paul didnt believe me at all and it took him a few weeks for him to come round !

Terry

 

[SidB]

Part of the problem with water pressure relates to the condition of the pipes themselves, which in some cases are over 100 years old, ie higher pressure = more damage.

As to the old gas "towers", they're being ripped down, so what's changed with gas supply ?

 

[Peebee]

I think there is much less need for them as the gas pipelines are more efficient these days, and towns don't need the gas held nearby.

The gas companies now use quite sophisticated compressors to keep the gas in the pipe at a regulated pressure, and this ensures that when you turn on your cooker / gas fire / etc the gas flows evenly.

(Can you tell yet that I used to work for an energy company ? )

Paul

 

[SidB]

If the gas companies can practically eliminate leaks in their pipes why can't the water companies ?

 

[Peebee]

I'm sure they could, although escaping gas is obviously much more dangerous than water, and gas leaks need to be repaired immediately. Water leaks - where pipes meet for example - just impair the system, they don't stop it working altogether.

Paul

 

[Goofyish]

Talking of leaks

We had an incident in Leicester recently where a mains water pipe burst. The water pipe was run in the same underground trench as the gas main, and the very high water pressure caused the gas pipe to fail. As the water was at a much greater pressure than the gas, the gas pipe filled with water. The leak wasn't spotted for quite a while, and by the time the water was turned off the water had gone into the gas main, and right into the end users euipment in their homes and busineses.

More than 1600 homes and business were effected, and the gas was off for over a week.

200,000 gallons of water had to be pumped from the gas supply!

It also caused problems with electricity supply - everyone who usually used gas for heating and cooking suddenly went over to using electricity and overloaded the system

 

[SidB]

And to think of all the world famous scientists, engineers and "inventors" this country has produced.

 

[BONZO]

I think that most of the trouble is that the services, water, gas, sewage etc where all set up during the Victorian / Edwardian era.


This means that they are very old and only designed for limited additional capacity.


Trouble is that most of the country would have to be dug up to put in new services etc.

 

[Goofyish]

Originally posted by BONZO
Trouble is that most of the country would have to be dug up to put in new services etc.

Judging by the amount of roadworks etc. around our way I think most of the country IS being dug up