Water Conservation Cludge

Intro: Water Conservation Cludge

easy to build, purely mechanical version of a sensor activated sink. Could I make a sensor activated sink? yeah no problem, but this was more fun to think up, will be easier for the average person to make, and doesn't involve a) putting high current electricity near water or b) electrically actuated valves which need cleaning (microbe build up).

All you need is to
a) hook up a hose to your sink spout
b) run the hose to the floor where you pass it through the jaws of a strong spring clamp
c) run the hose back up to the sink head (or wherever you wan to send the water)

the most annoying part is adapting a hose to your sink spout. If done incorrectly water will leak out at the junction. As long as the leak isn't much you're still conserving water but try to make the adapter as tight a fit as possible. The tips of many sink spouts unscrew, so you could maybe but a properly threaded adapter somewhere but I just used hot glue (see the glue gun in the video) and the cap of a contact lens cleaner to make a pretty good adapter.


Update 2013:

Here are some supplies that you could use to build the system in a reliable non-leak way:

1) short garden hose with rubber gasket (get two) (see: http://www.amazon.com/American-Specialty-UT-10-Multi-Purpose-Utility/dp/B000T2B468/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1378139332&sr=8-14&keywords=Short+Garden+Hose)

2) Garden hose-to-sink adapter (as described here: http://www.wikihow.com/Attach-a-Garden-Hose-to-a-Kitchen-Faucet)

3) Garden hose foot pedal (as shown here: http://www.amazon.com/Nelson-Yardworks-Water-Pedal-Control/dp/B002URLTXS)

best of luck!

Comments

[rexdino5]

Is it possible to use pipes and guide the water to the floor then just make a small section of the pipe converted to a small tube then convert it back to pipes all the way back up to the faucet?

[leevonk]

 sure, why not. would make it look a little more professional maybe.

[rexdino5]

I can't get the cap off the sink faucet. Like to unscrew the cap off the faucet... it is too round and slippery. Any solutions?

[leevonk]

 buy either a pair of pliers or a "vice grip", will come in handy for many things in the future too. If you don't want to buy those try smacking the cap a couple of times on different sides with a hammer or something, sometimes that helps loosen it. Depending on how you want to attach the hose to the faucet, you may not have to remove the cap anyway.

[rexdino5]

Ok thanks I got removed.  I need to go measure the sink faucet and buy some pipes and some other things.

Thanks!

[leevonk]

one good way to attach rigid pvc pipes to a sink it to use a 1/2 inch pvc compression coupler. If you use that you won't even need to unscrew the sink's end-cap. The compression coupler fits around me sink head perfectly. Here's a link so you can see what it looks like: http://www.amazon.com/1-2-Compression-Coupling-White/dp/B005JTM6D6/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1378140054&sr=8-5&keywords=pvc+compression+coupler+1+inch

[BluTiger]

I've been trying to figure out a way to do just this! what a masterpiece, the simplicity!

[leevonk]

cool, glad you like it.
Here's links to supplies that you can use to build the system in a reliable non-leak way:
1) short garden hose with rubber gasket (get two) (see: http://www.amazon.com/American-Specialty-UT-10-Multi-Purpose-Utility/dp/B000T2B468/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1378139332&sr=8-14&keywords=Short+Garden+Hose)
1) Garden hose-to-sink adapter (as described here: http://www.wikihow.com/Attach-a-Garden-Hose-to-a-Kitchen-Faucet)
2) Garden hose foot pedal (as shown here: http://www.amazon.com/Nelson-Yardworks-Water-Pedal-Control/dp/B002URLTXS)
3)

best of luck!