North - South Equator Flow?

[atog254]

Here is a unique problem!
North of the equator, water flows clockwise down the drain, and counter clockwise south of the equator, RIGHT?

Well I have three toilets in this home in Delaware. Two flow clockwise, and one counter clockwise! The latter one has developed a problem. It will not flush out all paper every other flush. Just seems to slow down once in a while.

I thought the water jets around the rim had gotten clogged over the years and have checked them. (no Problem), I have worked a drain snake through the toilet and pipes (no problem). Still the water flows counter clockwise, and paper will not flush out every flush.

Any ideas? If something were in the drain, why will it flush fine every other flush? Other than this, the toilet runs fine. Have only had to replace the flowmaster..

[Reedwalker]

Originally Posted by atog254

Here is a unique problem!
North of the equator, water flows clockwise down the drain, and counter clockwise south of the equator, RIGHT?

MYTH!

Bowl and plumbing system design are the main factors.

I imagine you either have an issue with your venting, siphon jet pressure is too low, or you're an fart with hard turds. In either case, as long as you're sure there are no obstructions, go get yourself a Toto, American Standard Champion 4, or a Kohler Cimmaron.

[atog254]

Coriolis effect - Water does rotates differently north and south of equator!

[Reedwalker]

Then how do you explain there being different directions of flow in 1/3 of the toilets in your home?

I searched Coriolis and here's what I came up with.

From wikipedia section 5.3.2

Draining in bathtubs and toilets

Coriolis rotation can conceivably play a role on scales as small as a bathtub. It is a commonly held myth that the every-day rotation of a bathtub or toilet vortex is due to whether one is in the northern or southern hemisphere.

It goes on to say:
In reality, this experiment shows that the Coriolis effect is a few orders of magnitude smaller than various random influences on drain direction, such as the geometry of the container and the direction in which water was initially added to it.



Actually quite interesting. Thanks for giving me a reason to look it up. I really only knew it was a myth from what I was taught in Plumbing School (yes, there is such a thing). I had no idea about Coriolis prior to tonight.

[Conway]

Damn Reed I have been holding on to that myth for the better part of a decade as truth. Thanks for the correction.

[Austin]

I read the Wiki, very interesting.

[PlumbingTheCape]

DONT be messing with Reedwalker- he obviously knows his ****- literally hahaha!

There was a think on tv (Brainiac) where they tested this! Pretty interesting stuff but a common myth at that.

[tbart16]

have you removed the toilet from the floor and snaked it backwards? I do maintenance at a school and am often confronted with the every other flush problem usually a cell phone, makeup or some other small flat obect is causing the obstruction. I can usually remove what ever is inside ,but i have smashed a couple toilets to retreive cell phones. good luck