The Pythagorean Siphon Inside Your Washing Machine

I always knew my washing machine secretly had a very greedy cup

yes

Notably, American toilets work on a completely different principal, for some odd reason. One of those strange things you find out after moving transatlantic when you go to fix something

One thing I noticed when visiting the EU (I'm Canadian) was that most toilets have a 2-flush system. You can do the "light" flush to just cycle the water the bowl (for liquids), or a "heavy" flush (for solids). That's not a feature that is generally found in North America.

I have never seen a toilet in the U.S. using a siphon in the tank. The old public urinals used a siphon in a tank high on the wall. The problem with those was they wasted water flushing when no one was using it. We always use a flapper valve.

Crazy how differently your toilets work. Neat though

that is not how the flush system works here in the USA
the lever arm opens a flapper valve to drain the tank. the float valve works about the same. just not the syphon. were you state the water goes into the bowl is were the water comes in. from the wall hose.

yeah sure but everyone has been calling this a bell siphon for centuries

The question really becomes which is more efficient and which flushes better. In most parts of the USA water was not a problem and 5 gal flush got the job done and the flapper was common. But as water became scarce, the 3 gal version was made and the flushes were not so good. When the desire for a 1.5 gal flush came the engineers need to design the s shape better to evacuate the bowl with less water. It was common to see in CA a pressure flush to force more water out, or a faster tank flow to increase water flow speed while terminating the water quantity. Does the siphon flush work well? Does it save water with a low 4.8 liter flush? I have only seen a few designs with 1/2 flush flapper for only liquid waste.

My toilet 🚽 has the cistern and the plastic ball thing .. but I don't think it has a siphon mechanism 😅
It's directly connected to the inlet hose.

Way over engineered toilet valve. Simple flioat fill valve and rubber flap flush valve were cheap and worked fine. So improvement was needed to make more money.

Every toilet I've seen in the US interestingly has just had a rubber flap in the bottom of the water reservoir portion of the toilet, and the lever would pull that flap up. I'm guessing the flap is slightly buoyant because it only lowers back into the sealing position once the water lowers to a certain point.

Wow. Ok, I learned something new today - never knew that's how the dispensers in a washing machine work! Thank you!

Who says u-RHI-no ??

Is that a British thing??

I noticed you pronounce Pythagorean to rhyme with aluminium... vs rhyming with aluminum

I’ve never seen this style toilet plumbing.

I still don’t understand how it works!

Australian toilets use a two flush system with two buttons for half and full. Not sure what mechanism is being used to accomplish that

It's "PythagoREan".

My toilet runs away from me. ?

Not all toilets have a siphon in their tank (cistern). In the U.S., all I've seen as a flapper valve at the bottom of the tank. However, I think all toilets have a siphon that starts as the bowl fills quickly, which helps the bowl to empty more completely.

😅😅😅😅😅😅😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂❤o

Ha😅😅😅😅😅😅

I built a pond filtered by plants growing in a tub that filled and emptied using this principle...works well too

My technological secrets stay between me and my toilet.

05:60: That's not how toilettes in the U. S. operate. THere's a flap valve that is lifted when you flush it. However, they are susceptible to leaks, The U. K. version demonstrated is clearly leakproof.

Does this explain where the socks go?😂

There is also a syphon in the drain of the toilet once the water makes it reach a. Certain level it will spill over the top of a high point in the drain pipe it will create a syphon

Ours LG washing machine doesn’t it leaves water at the bottom of the tank.

I have never seen a siphon toilet flusher in Oklahoma USA.

That's so weird the toilet has that siphon to put water into the toilet. You don't need that lol. Every toilet i see here just has a flap at the bottom, and the water just pours down that (it has this other tiny hole for if the toilet is overfilling for some reason, so it still doesn't overflow or anything).
There is a siphon jet that happens at the start of the drainage pipes however, that part is way more interesting imo. Since it is what actually makes the toilet flush all the water down, this doesn't.

Quick explanation: there is a sharp bend right at the start, like an upsidedown U, so when a ton of water is poured in the bowl (like you can literally just pour it in with a bucket manually) then gravity pushes the water up the start of that bend, then when it creates a seal just like the pyth siphon, the siphon is triggered and all the water falls down the drain.
A clog occurs right at the start of that bend, that's why when you get it unclogged, a flush happens automatically. Once the water is free to move down again, the siphon is triggered.

Actually when you said "this is how toilets must work" I laughed because I've never seen a siphon contraption used in a toilet tank. Now I see one and it's interesting and functional but seems overly complicated as a means to flush a toilet. The flapper valves in most home toilets in the US are simple, reliable, easy to replace and not expensive. They work on gravity.

Stuff does not fall because of gravity. You shouldn't speak on a topic if you only know the name and nothing else.

stop using these unnecessary additional softener chemicals producing more waste water and chemical sensitivities/disease, gumming up your equipment and pipes. shorter lives for all involved, except maybe those selling it.

*comments

why make machines too complicated and more difficult to repair. COS MAKERS DELIBERATELY FORCE YOU TO RE BUY AS OFTEN AS POSSIBLE.

My pythagorean siphon is broken, you need to fill it way above the max to work, how is it posible? I regularly find it filled after the washing machine stops, so the liquid is not used

I am now fascinated by toilets 🚽

“At this point in the video, many of you will have already said out loud, ‘that’s how a toilet works!’”

Me at this point in the video: “I don’t get it! I mean, I kinda get it… but I don’t get it!”

All the toilets i've seen in Canada just have a hole in the bottom of the reservoir and a plug that gets lifted up by the lever. The plug floats until the reservoir is empty, then plops back in place to refill the reservoir.

my sick japanese toilet has a big and small flush lever for up and down. im assuming each pulls the lever a different height

Urine-denials is the only correct pronunciation

When people call a toilet a greedy syphon, people are referring to the bowl part of a toilet... not the reservoir...

I don’t have washing machine because we’re not allowed to have it, but I still watch this because I love physics))

Fabric softener is awful, don’t use it.

Very clever, pity fabric softener is full of carcinogens.

Found your vid interesting thanks mate! I have a toiled in my house, it's white in colour 😀

In North America toilets work mostly by gravity - when you flush, it raises a flapper-ball valve at the bottom of the tank (cistern) and the water flows down into the bowl, which actually begins a siphon from the bowl, out of the bowl through a curve and down the drain (that ‘curve’, filled with water, is also the seal that stops sewer gasses from coming up and into your bathroom). When the water is empty from the tank, the flapper falls closed and the tank refills with water. That same flow of water is also flowing down a drain tube, which is what refills the bowl, and is also the leaky overflow that you described. That portion works the same way, if the valve fill, the tank, doesn’t shut properly and leaks a little, it just dribbles over, down that tubing into the bowl, and the bowl’s own natural siphon would then dribble the excess water out the drain at the back of the bowl.

Так работает самый дешëвый и самый надëжный смывной бачок унитаза. Жалею, что поменял на другую систему.