Logic in the Little Desert

[bernieq]

Flabergasted – I’m struggling to think of a more appropriate word !

Water supply at Kiata Campsite - Little Desert

tank tap.JPG (158.54 KiB) Viewed 8111 times

At a campsite in the Little Desert (near Dimboola, VIC), we arrived to be confronted with the above curious design element – anyone care to explain the logic (and I use that word loosely) behind this?

[vagrom]

The Ranger dresses to the right?

[Lady McGuyver]

So you cannot run the tank dry??

[Moondog55]

Standard procedure, was there a CFA plug and tap on the other side?/
Keeps all the dead birds and possums on the bottom and below the tap.

[bernieq]

Welllll, vagrom, you might have tapped into the as good an explanation as any :)

LMcG, nope. The outlet (to which the piping is fitted) is 5cm above the bottom, so enough water would remain in the tank, even if the tap was fitted at the outlet, to stop the tank being blown away. Attaching the piping renders a ridiculous amount of water unuseable.

Nothing else around the tank, Moondog55, no other outlets, CFA plugs et al. The inlet is through a standard sieve so no dead possums or birds inside the tank.

[tastrax]

Maybe so you can get a bucket under the tap? But they could have just as easily moved the tank over the surrounding timber barriers to gain a bit of room.

[Moondog55]

I think tastrax has the answer, can't cantilever the tank as that would place too much pressure on the edge

[bernieq]

Maybe so you can get a bucket under the tap?

I think tastrax has the answer

Hmmm, I considered that. However, a much better arrangement would be a straight length of pipe projecting horizontally from the outlet, extending over the pedestal – providing plenty of room to place a bucket-sized container under the tap – access to virtually all the water and no need for the two elbows. (of course, the starpost would be placed against the pedestal and the pipe secured to it providing the support needed to prevent the fittings being broken off).

In fact, the tank had water to the level of the tap (ie inaccessable)! Imagine the frustration, confronted with this after a 20km tramp!

Fortunately, the much smaller tank in the background had a horizontal pipe/tap arrangement and still had accessible water.

[vagrom]

Access for a bucket yes, but perhaps not a tallish Jerry Can. In any case, in defying Occam's advice, they're probably just doing it by the book.

[Strider]

Keeps all the dead birds and possums on the bottom and below the tap.

This was my first thought too.

[wildlight]

It's done like that to cater for bigger drips...

SafeSteps

WildLight