85 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
85 lines
7.4 KiB
Markdown
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categories = ["build"]
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date = 2024-10-16T20:27:44Z
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description = ""
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draft = false
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slug = "bicycle-pump-sprayer"
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title = "🚲 Bicycle Washing Contraption"
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author = "nicholas"
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I lack a method of washing my bike that does not have the potential to disturb my neighbors. The wooden deck of my third floor apartment sits directly above each neighbors' deck. To spell it out, if I wash my bike outside on my deck, the water, soap, dirt, grit and grime that results will run off of my deck and spill onto the neighbors'. I try to be a good neighbor, so this will not do. The bathtub is not big enough, and that is no place to wash a bike anyway. There are no good options remaining – I must wash my bike outdoors.
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## Solutions
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Basically, my next obstacle is solving the distillation of the original problem: find a sensible way to transport water to my bike outside. My options are to take the water with me to ground level, or feed it down through a hose.
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### Hose
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I can run a hose from the kitchen faucet, or the supply line, to the ground level, snaking it through the back door and beneath the deck to the ground. This can work alright, but the solution presents several issues. It requires that I buy a 50 foot hose, a faucet adapter, and a nozzle. Additionally, each time I wash my bike I need to remove the faucet nozzle, attach the adapter, attach the hose, unwind the hose, route it through the apartment and onto the ground and finally turn on the faucet. And when I am done I need to do it all again in reverse, all while the kitchen sink is out of commission for any other purpose. I could attach the hose to the water line that feeds the kitchen faucet, but this only solves the concurrent use issue. There is the problem of stagnant water sitting in the hose, which itself does not present a problem necessarily, but I fear this may smell or somehow corrupt the atmosphere in the apartment. Also, I need to leave the door open to unwelcome bugs, humidity, and changes in temperature. There are many issues I have not thought of. This is not a great option.
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### Pump Sprayer
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My next option is a plastic pump sprayer. Theoretically this solves or addresses every issue with option 1. No open doors or fiddling with adapters or routing hoses around the apartment. The only problem seems to be that the cheap ones are universally terrible products, at least according to a worrying portion of the reviews. Their problem is that they are prone to leaking and have durability issues. This is not a big deal, but I believe I have a more robust solution. I have mostly everything I need to fashion a pump sprayer of my own.
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### Bike Pump and a Keg (winner)
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#### Topo Chico solved my problem years ago
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I am fond of the carbonated beverage Topo Chico. During the initial phase of my obsession I tried to find a way to recreate it myself. To shorten what could be another log post, this decision lead me down a path resulting in me owning all the equipment necessary to carbonate and dispense my own beverages. For years I had all the carbonated water I could drink, fresh and cold on a tap. I cannot remember why I stopped making it. The city water supply was full of minerals, too. Pretty close:
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{{< image
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src="images/topo-chico-minerals.PNG"
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caption="Topo Chico minerals" >}}
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{{< image
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src="images/city-minerals.PNG"
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caption="City minerals" >}}
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#### Keg
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Importantly though, my Topo Chico reproduction means I own a keg. Inside the keg there is a long tube that runs from the bottom of the tank to an outlet valve. The inlet valve accepts gas, that, when pressurized (with, for example, a bike pump), pushes the liquid up the straw, out the valve, and through the hose. Under the water-carbonation regime, the keg pressure is supplied by a carbon dioxide tank and regulator, but the pump will perform the same functions. All I need to do is find a way to pump air into the inlet valve – everything else is already suitably configured. The keg holds 1.6 L of water, which I have found, to the eye and on paper, a deceivingly large volume of water. Enough to get the job done, but not more.
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## Parts
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| Part | Purpose |
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| ---------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
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| 1.6 L Ball Lock Keg | Pressurized Water Vessel |
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| Worm Drive Hose Clamp | Fasten hoses to barbs |
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| Bicycle Pump | Pressurize water vessel |
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| 1/4" M Threaded Snifter (Schrader) Air Valve Fitting | Valve interfaces with bicycle pump, fitting threads into barb fitting |
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| 1/4" F Threaded Barb Fitting | Barb accepts 5/16" gas line, fitting threads accepts Schrader valve fitting |
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| 5/16" ID Gas hose | Carries pressurized air from bicycle pump through ball lock valves, to the keg |
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| 3/16" ID Liquid Hose | Carries pressurized water from keg through ball lock valves, to picnic valve |
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| Picnic Faucet | Dispense water |
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{{< image
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src="images/picnic-faucet.jpg"
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caption="Picnic faucet & hose" >}}
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All of the parts listed above I already had. I only needed the two fittings below. I bought these parts at a local Ace Hardware store. The barb fits into the gas hose, which has an inner diameter that matches the outer diameter of the barb. This fitting is secured with a worm drive clamp. This is a common configuration for securing gas tubing to metal fittings. The other end of the barb is a 1/4" female threaded fitting, which accepts the 1/4" male thread of the Schrader valve. Each of these fittings fall under the National Pipe Thread standard, so I do not need to worry about thread pitch, TPI, etc. I simply match the relevant numbers up. I use a bit of teflon tape to ensure air tight fit.
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The other end of the gas tube is fitted with a female ball lock valve, which accepts the male ball lock valve that is affixed to the keg. The ball lock valve is common in home/craft beer brewing systems and other small scale beverage production. It is excellent for quickly connecting/disconnecting and thus for my purpose of modularity and convenience.
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{{< image
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src="images/barb.PNG"
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caption="Barb" >}}
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{{< image
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src="images/valve.PNG"
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caption="Valve" >}}
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{{< image
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src="images/ball-lock-schrader.jpg"
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caption="ball lock" >}}
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## Result
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The resulting contraption is a modular, robust, lightweight and small package. I tested this out on my moderately dirtied bike, and the only issue I noticed was that, obviously, I did not have a lot of water. In the end, I did have enough water, but not enough to have an entirely comfortable margin for error. This small sacrifice is well worth the the convenience the solution affords me. I am pleased with the results.
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{{< image
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src="images/full-assembly.jpg"
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caption="Keg pump sprayer" >}}
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{{< image
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src="images/full-assembly-air-pump.jpg"
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caption="Keg pump sprayer with pump attached" >}}
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{{< image
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src="images/full-assembly-packed.jpg"
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caption="Keg pump sprayer ready to go" >}}
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Done. |