Casting a new water mixer
Timestamp: Day 1 of Winter 514 AV
Location: Lucis and Lucis metalsmithing area
This day, Ornea would cast a bell bronze item Edward was going to use for maintenance of the pumps, which seemed to be a never ending need. It was after all about the water system of the whole city, and it was only so good, and keeping up the quality demanded constant work. It was one of the replacement parts they kept standard molds for, so she and Edward was currently searching the shelves for the right mold. It didn’t matter to Edward that it was actually the first day of winter and Aviakittis, the lazy lost days of Lhavit had begun.
“Three idle days is at least one idle day too much” he declared. “We’ll work as usual today! Well, just you and me actually, as it wouldn’t sit so well with the rest of Lucis staff to ask them to be here. Good thing your are Inarta...well, I guess we’ll be closed for a day, but first we will get this casted and installed. We’ll need to replace the old one tomorrow. We're a bit behind shedule ... but I hope we'll make it."
“What is this item meant to do?” Ornea asked as she pulled out and investigated one of the iron molds to find out if this was the one.“
“As you saw on the drawing I showed you there’s several sets of thinner pipes going into it, a “chamber in the middle, and a bigger pipe going out. Some of the inbound pipes from the left are for cold water and others, from the right, are for hot water from the Kinell Springs. This is the basic part of what I call a water mixer, a point where cold and hot water is sent in to be mixed to the wished temperature. It can be made hotter or cooler by opening or closing the pipes. There’s more parts that needs to be added to this of course. Taps, of various kinds. And the pipe sets will be connected with the bigger pipes that water comes from. ”
“But there’s ten pipes going into it” Ornea said, somewhat confused. She understood some of what he said but there was always something to ask questions about when they were speaking about gadgeteering. “And there’s only two kinds of water, hot and cold. What are the other eight pipes for?”
Edward Lucis laughed. “They are all for the water. Five for hot water, five for cold water. This way it’s possible to set it to hot only, or cold only, and a number of temperatures in between. “ He continued to search among the molds.
Ornea had stopped searching, because she was now counting and doing maths. “Hot only or cold only” she said. “That’s two temperatures, five hot pipes on and five cold closed, or the other way around. In addition ... so ... the hottest is five hot, then comes five hot and one cold, five hot and two cold, five hot and three cold, five hot and four could ... and in the middle we get five hot and five cold, even proportions ...then it gets colder, with four hot and five cold, three hot and five cold, two hot and five cold, one hot and five cold, and finally the coldest which is five cold and non hot.” While she spoke she added a finger for each combination and finally she counted the fingers : “ It adds up to eleven different mixes of hot and cold. Eleven possible temperatures.”
“Yes, that’s right. You are starting to understand how the water mixer works.”
“Where is it going to be used? The pumps ...”
Edward Lucis shook his head. “No, this isn’t for the pumps at Lucis and Lucis. The tap on the bigger pipe out of this item ... with some added pipe for more length ... will be the main water pipe to Zithia Rest, the bath house at Suraya Plaza. The part we are working at right now will regulate the temperature of the water there, which the employees there certainly don’t need to bother with, they just need to open the main tap. They’d better not touch the water mixer, I say ...” He left the sentence hanging in the air and went back to searching the store of molds.
“It might be this one” Ornea concluded after a renewed investigation of the mold she had pulled out. It was big and heavy and stood on the floor. She squatted to investigate it even closer. Edward joined her, somewhat stiffer in his movements, and soon he nodded.” It’s the one. You are getting better. “
Now when the mold had been found Edward left, and Ornea started to work at the metalsmithing by adding fuel to the furnace. There was already a small fire, but she needed more. This would take time, so it was the very first thing she needed to start with. She put on an apron, tied her hair into a pony tail with a leather string, pulled on working gloves and started to feed the fire with wood. It would be enough with mostly wood for this job, but maybe she would add some coal later in order to speed up the melting. Using a long shafted fork like tool she put the meltin pot where it would be easy to put in the materials she needed for the alloy, then easy to move it to the best position in the furnace. She finished this first step of the smithing by putting the iron mold in place, ready to be used.
...Timestamp: Day 1 of Winter 514 AV
Location: Lucis and Lucis metalsmithing area
This day, Ornea would cast a bell bronze item Edward was going to use for maintenance of the pumps, which seemed to be a never ending need. It was after all about the water system of the whole city, and it was only so good, and keeping up the quality demanded constant work. It was one of the replacement parts they kept standard molds for, so she and Edward was currently searching the shelves for the right mold. It didn’t matter to Edward that it was actually the first day of winter and Aviakittis, the lazy lost days of Lhavit had begun.
“Three idle days is at least one idle day too much” he declared. “We’ll work as usual today! Well, just you and me actually, as it wouldn’t sit so well with the rest of Lucis staff to ask them to be here. Good thing your are Inarta...well, I guess we’ll be closed for a day, but first we will get this casted and installed. We’ll need to replace the old one tomorrow. We're a bit behind shedule ... but I hope we'll make it."
“What is this item meant to do?” Ornea asked as she pulled out and investigated one of the iron molds to find out if this was the one.“
“As you saw on the drawing I showed you there’s several sets of thinner pipes going into it, a “chamber in the middle, and a bigger pipe going out. Some of the inbound pipes from the left are for cold water and others, from the right, are for hot water from the Kinell Springs. This is the basic part of what I call a water mixer, a point where cold and hot water is sent in to be mixed to the wished temperature. It can be made hotter or cooler by opening or closing the pipes. There’s more parts that needs to be added to this of course. Taps, of various kinds. And the pipe sets will be connected with the bigger pipes that water comes from. ”
“But there’s ten pipes going into it” Ornea said, somewhat confused. She understood some of what he said but there was always something to ask questions about when they were speaking about gadgeteering. “And there’s only two kinds of water, hot and cold. What are the other eight pipes for?”
Edward Lucis laughed. “They are all for the water. Five for hot water, five for cold water. This way it’s possible to set it to hot only, or cold only, and a number of temperatures in between. “ He continued to search among the molds.
Ornea had stopped searching, because she was now counting and doing maths. “Hot only or cold only” she said. “That’s two temperatures, five hot pipes on and five cold closed, or the other way around. In addition ... so ... the hottest is five hot, then comes five hot and one cold, five hot and two cold, five hot and three cold, five hot and four could ... and in the middle we get five hot and five cold, even proportions ...then it gets colder, with four hot and five cold, three hot and five cold, two hot and five cold, one hot and five cold, and finally the coldest which is five cold and non hot.” While she spoke she added a finger for each combination and finally she counted the fingers : “ It adds up to eleven different mixes of hot and cold. Eleven possible temperatures.”
“Yes, that’s right. You are starting to understand how the water mixer works.”
“Where is it going to be used? The pumps ...”
Edward Lucis shook his head. “No, this isn’t for the pumps at Lucis and Lucis. The tap on the bigger pipe out of this item ... with some added pipe for more length ... will be the main water pipe to Zithia Rest, the bath house at Suraya Plaza. The part we are working at right now will regulate the temperature of the water there, which the employees there certainly don’t need to bother with, they just need to open the main tap. They’d better not touch the water mixer, I say ...” He left the sentence hanging in the air and went back to searching the store of molds.
“It might be this one” Ornea concluded after a renewed investigation of the mold she had pulled out. It was big and heavy and stood on the floor. She squatted to investigate it even closer. Edward joined her, somewhat stiffer in his movements, and soon he nodded.” It’s the one. You are getting better. “
Now when the mold had been found Edward left, and Ornea started to work at the metalsmithing by adding fuel to the furnace. There was already a small fire, but she needed more. This would take time, so it was the very first thing she needed to start with. She put on an apron, tied her hair into a pony tail with a leather string, pulled on working gloves and started to feed the fire with wood. It would be enough with mostly wood for this job, but maybe she would add some coal later in order to speed up the melting. Using a long shafted fork like tool she put the meltin pot where it would be easy to put in the materials she needed for the alloy, then easy to move it to the best position in the furnace. She finished this first step of the smithing by putting the iron mold in place, ready to be used.
