In previous articles, I have told you how to get water. I left you pumping water into a pressure tank. The next problem is to get this water to various fixtures. Before I tried to run any pipe, I'd be sure that fixtures were in place. This includes hot-water heater. By way, there are many ways you can heat water, including a coal range, oil heater, gas heater, electric heater--and I've even seen a fireplace used to heat water.

Because of size and ease of connection, I would suggest a small electric water heater. This is small enough to fit under a sink, in a closet, or even under cottage. The small units use 120 volts and therefore require no special wiring.

I have mentioned polyethylene pipe for cold-water lines from your water source to pump. This type of pipe can also be used for cold-water supply in your house. It is light and easy to handle and requires a minimum number of fittings, because it is so flexible.

Soft copper is another type of pipe that is flexible. It has one drawback, however. It is easy to dent or crimp tubing. Let's start with cold-water piping. From pump run a %-inch pipe to hot-water heater. In this line insert a ¾-by-¾-by-½-inch T. To ½-inch nipple of T run a pipe to various fixtures that require a cold-water outlet.

Because there are a number of fixtures running off from main line, it will be necessary to use a number of T's in order to accomplish this. The illustration shows how this is done. The hot-water system is similar to cold-water, except that you will want to use copper, brass, or steel piping. The process is same.

One word of caution: Be sure that all pipes are tilted for drainage and that there is a good way of getting water out of system. A couple of drain cocks are usually placed at low points in piping. The water is usually allowed to run out onto ground. With no heat in wintertime, you will want to be sure that no water stands in pipes.

The drying process ---------------------------

When clothes are being dried inside your family dryer there are two processes happening. Firstly, heat is applied to air inside dryer drum as it turns. This raises its internal temperature to approximately 175 Fahrenheit causing moisture to be driven out of clothes by evaporation. Secondly, large amounts of air is passed through clothes. Surprisingly, real trick to efficiently dry clothes is not heat, but rather this vast volume of air. Ever wonder why clothes on clothesline dry so fast on a windy day? The hero is wind. Well, same process takes place inside your family dryer. To make them dry faster air is constantly blown through clothes during drying cycle. The tumbling action of drum further exposes clothing to hot air flow. While they tumble air picks up moisture from clothes, carries it down venting, and dumps it outside home. Most people think venting is to push lint outside. Actually, its primary purpose is to dump moisture outside home. It is a process that works efficiently. That is, as long as nothing is allowed to interfere with it. Impede, slow down, or stop airflow and process quickly fails. In past homeowners who wanted to vent their dryers did it using rigid sections of venting. The sections were secured together (using screws or duct tape), and elbows were added if necessary, to connect dryer and venting to wall outlet. Although time consuming to install, straight venting sections were durable and would often outlive dryer. This was in era when laundry equipment always sat in basement, against an outside wall. Then along came flexible plastic venting. It made installations easier. It turned an hour installation into a ten minute job. The flex though tended to become brittle and break easily. Also it was prone to blockage and needed to be replaced every few years. But since plastic venting was more convenient we continued with its use. Then came a change in lifestyle. As both parents went off to work household dryer was moved to accommodate our faster paced lifestyle. To save us time it was moved from basement to a ground floor laundry room. Although moved to working level of home, it was still close to an outside wall. So you are saying, “I know all this, but what does it have to do with venting fires”. I answer, “Have patience, we are almost there”.

Taking this desire for easy access still further dryer was moved again. The laundry room is now often located near centre of home, close to family room or kitchen. If located upstairs it is often centrally located between bedrooms, allowing faster access to where most dirty laundry is produced. Easier for homeowner that is, but no longer near an outside wall. The distance from dryer to an outside wall of home is now substantially farther than it used to be. Presto, we have come to crux of our problem. The venting is too darned long. Physics and venting pipe --------------