The 33 1/3 second mystery #20 - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

kazoo · 03-22-2004, 02:55 PM

Fimble's basement has flooded owing to heavy spring rains. He has two pumps, neither of which will do the job. The 1" output high volume pump has a fine intake screen which will clog with debris, and the 2" output pump is old and cannot manage the lift from the basement floor to the window.

After a few minutes of pondering, Fimble has an idea which works well. What is his solution?

bparker805 · 03-22-2004, 03:35 PM

move?
fit them together in such a way that pump 2 pumps a short distance into a bucket or something and then pump out of there with pump 1.

kutulu · 03-22-2004, 03:47 PM

I thought about that, but if you do that, wouldn't all the debris that would clog the 1" pump just get transferred to the reservouir by the 2" pump and end up still clogging the 1" pump?

archer2371 · 03-22-2004, 04:10 PM

Remove the screen from pump one.

kutulu · 03-22-2004, 04:32 PM

I don't think that would be valid...

VF19 · 03-22-2004, 08:10 PM

take the house off and let the water evaporate then put the house back on it wont cost that much.

Kllr Wolf · 03-22-2004, 08:24 PM

pump 2 is postioned to clear off the screen on pump 1 while it pumps the water out.

kazoo · 03-22-2004, 08:56 PM

No valid answers yet, lads. I'll check tomorrow before heading out for the week.

shakran · 03-22-2004, 09:26 PM

sump pumps have a float switch which turns them on when the water level gets to a certain level. Using this principle, you can use the old pump to clean the new pump. Position the old pump so that its float switch activates at a higher water level than the strong pump, and so that the inlet for the old pump is right next to the filter for the strong pump. The strong pump will then pump the water out until the filter is too clogged, at which point the water will rise and switch on the old pump, which will suck the debris away from the strong pump, and the strong pump will take over again and pump the water out.

Of course, the whole premise is invalid since a properly set up sump system filters the water before it gets to the sump pit, so there wouldn't be any debris to clog the filter in the first place

kazoo · 03-22-2004, 09:55 PM

Sorry shakran. The pumps that Fimble has available are not of the sump variety, and would be better described as trash pumps. My bad for failure to specify.

Shpoop · 03-24-2004, 04:39 PM

place the smaller 1'' one inside, or at the end of the 2'' one? that way it will give it the extra power, and the 2'' will filter out some of the debris... or at least some of the debris will simply pass by in the area between the 1'' tube and the 2'' tube

kazoo · 03-26-2004, 05:39 PM

So very close, but still not quite right.

shakran · 03-26-2004, 06:27 PM

All he needs to do is clear the basement? Swap filters.

kazoo · 03-27-2004, 01:09 PM

The solution involves no filter swapping or cleaning.

redarrow · 03-28-2004, 05:50 PM

Switch the outputs so the high volume pump uses the 2" output and the weak one uses the 1" output.

On the no filter swapping, that is a good idea and should count as an answer :-D

kazoo · 03-29-2004, 10:44 AM

Eh-no. Only one pump is used in Fimble's solution.

losthellhound · 03-29-2004, 11:43 AM

The 2" pump pumps directly to the 1" pump.. Therefore, the 2" does not get clogged, and only has to pump to the 1" high powered pump and out the window

shakran · 03-29-2004, 01:16 PM

OK, I'm gonna call BS on this one then. There are multiple possible solutions, and several of them have been mentioned here. Puzzles are fun until they become akin to word problems in school, where 10 answers may be correct but you get flunked unless you give the answer the prof wants. At this point, this puzzle is rewarding mind reading ability rather than problem solving ability. Only one pump? How could we possibly know that from the original question? There are so many viable solutions to this puzzle that it's now a matter of luck rather than intelligence and critical thinking ability that will determine who "solves" it.

i.e. Use the high-output pump and get off your lazy ass and clean the damn filter!

Run the pumps in parallel

Swap filters

Swap outputs

Go outside, dig a deep pit far away from the house, and run the pipe down into it. The rise is then lessened, and the low-output pump can do it.

Maybe it's just me, but I prefer problems that reward thinking rather than guessing.

Fenton-J-Cool · 03-29-2004, 02:42 PM

Yeah.. many answers have been presented that would work perfectly well.

kazoo · 03-29-2004, 08:19 PM

Well, since you think this is BS-the answer is based on the Bernoulli Effect, and has been used by fire departments for many years.

Fimble takes his high volume 1" pump, and draws from a bathtub full of clean water, thereby negating the need to clean the intake filter. The discharge of this pump is placed an inch or so inside the 2" unused pipe from the other pump which couldn't do the job.

Fluids in motion have a lower pressure than static fluids and as such will draw adjacent fluids into the lower pressure area created by concentric orifices. When the draw level approaches floor level, a wet towel placed across the assembly will allow draw to within an inch of floor level, within the parameters described.

I didn't think people would become cranky simply because they couldn't figure it out.

No bunny awarded.

shakran · 03-29-2004, 09:23 PM

well dude we got cranky because you kept telling us that our viable solutions were wrong when in fact they were right. A better way to have phrased the question would be "list all possible ways" to solve it. Otherwise, like I said, it ceases to be puzzle solving and becomes instead random guessing.

bparker805 · 03-30-2004, 01:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by kazoo
Well, since you think this is BS-the answer is based on the Bernoulli Effect, and has been used by fire departments for many years.

Fimble takes his high volume 1" pump, and draws from a bathtub full of clean water, thereby negating the need to clean the intake filter. The discharge of this pump is placed an inch or so inside the 2" unused pipe from the other pump which couldn't do the job.

Fluids in motion have a lower pressure than static fluids and as such will draw adjacent fluids into the lower pressure area created by concentric orifices. When the draw level approaches floor level, a wet towel placed across the assembly will allow draw to within an inch of floor level, within the parameters described.

I didn't think people would become cranky simply because they couldn't figure it out.

No bunny awarded.

duh... i could have told you that...

Mercury · 04-03-2004, 09:01 AM

Put some chlorine in, and use as a pool.

nosuchuserexist · 04-15-2004, 02:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mercury
Put some chlorine in, and use as a pool.

I like that answer. When life hands you lemons...

03-22-2004, 02:55 PM	#1 (permalink)
kazoo Psycho Location: Where the night things are	The 33 1/3 second mystery #20 Fimble's basement has flooded owing to heavy spring rains. He has two pumps, neither of which will do the job. The 1" output high volume pump has a fine intake screen which will clog with debris, and the 2" output pump is old and cannot manage the lift from the basement floor to the window. After a few minutes of pondering, Fimble has an idea which works well. What is his solution? __________________ There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

03-22-2004, 04:10 PM	#4 (permalink)
archer2371 Sarge of Blood Gulch Red Outpost Number One Location: On the front lines against our very enemy	Remove the screen from pump one. __________________ "This ain't no Ice Cream Social!" "Hey Grif, Chupathingy...how bout that? I like it...got a ring to it." "I have no earthly idea what it is I just saw, or what this place is, or where in the hell O'Malley is! My only choice is to blame Grif for coming up with such a flawed plan. Stupid, stupid Grif."

03-22-2004, 08:24 PM	#7 (permalink)
Kllr Wolf Psycho Location: Lubbock, TX	pump 2 is postioned to clear off the screen on pump 1 while it pumps the water out. __________________ Caffeine - the molecule of life.

03-22-2004, 08:56 PM	#8 (permalink)
kazoo Psycho Location: Where the night things are	No valid answers yet, lads. I'll check tomorrow before heading out for the week. __________________ There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

03-22-2004, 09:55 PM	#10 (permalink)
kazoo Psycho Location: Where the night things are	Sorry shakran. The pumps that Fimble has available are not of the sump variety, and would be better described as trash pumps. My bad for failure to specify. __________________ There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

03-22-2004, 03:35 PM	#2 (permalink)
bparker805 is KING! Location: On the path to Valhalla.	move? fit them together in such a way that pump 2 pumps a short distance into a bucket or something and then pump out of there with pump 1.

03-22-2004, 03:47 PM	#3 (permalink)
kutulu Junkie	I thought about that, but if you do that, wouldn't all the debris that would clog the 1" pump just get transferred to the reservouir by the 2" pump and end up still clogging the 1" pump?

03-22-2004, 04:32 PM	#5 (permalink)
kutulu Junkie	I don't think that would be valid...

03-22-2004, 08:10 PM	#6 (permalink)
VF19 Banned Location: back to my old location	take the house off and let the water evaporate then put the house back on it wont cost that much.

03-22-2004, 09:26 PM	#9 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	sump pumps have a float switch which turns them on when the water level gets to a certain level. Using this principle, you can use the old pump to clean the new pump. Position the old pump so that its float switch activates at a higher water level than the strong pump, and so that the inlet for the old pump is right next to the filter for the strong pump. The strong pump will then pump the water out until the filter is too clogged, at which point the water will rise and switch on the old pump, which will suck the debris away from the strong pump, and the strong pump will take over again and pump the water out. Of course, the whole premise is invalid since a properly set up sump system filters the water before it gets to the sump pit, so there wouldn't be any debris to clog the filter in the first place

03-24-2004, 04:39 PM	#11 (permalink)
Shpoop Curious Location: NJ (but just for college)	place the smaller 1'' one inside, or at the end of the 2'' one? that way it will give it the extra power, and the 2'' will filter out some of the debris... or at least some of the debris will simply pass by in the area between the 1'' tube and the 2'' tube

03-26-2004, 05:39 PM	#12 (permalink)
kazoo Psycho Location: Where the night things are	So very close, but still not quite right. __________________ There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

03-26-2004, 06:27 PM	#13 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	All he needs to do is clear the basement? Swap filters.

03-27-2004, 01:09 PM	#14 (permalink)
kazoo Psycho Location: Where the night things are	The solution involves no filter swapping or cleaning. __________________ There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

03-28-2004, 05:50 PM	#15 (permalink)
redarrow Banned Location: i gotta go	Switch the outputs so the high volume pump uses the 2" output and the weak one uses the 1" output. On the no filter swapping, that is a good idea and should count as an answer :-D

03-29-2004, 10:44 AM	#16 (permalink)
kazoo Psycho Location: Where the night things are	Eh-no. Only one pump is used in Fimble's solution. __________________ There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

03-29-2004, 11:43 AM	#17 (permalink)
losthellhound Thats MR. Muffin Face now Location: Everywhere work sends me	The 2" pump pumps directly to the 1" pump.. Therefore, the 2" does not get clogged, and only has to pump to the 1" high powered pump and out the window __________________ "Life is possible only with illusions. And so, the question for the science of mental health must become an absolutely new and revolutionary one, yet one that reflects the essence of the human condition: On what level of illusion does one live?" -- Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death

03-29-2004, 01:16 PM	#18 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	OK, I'm gonna call BS on this one then. There are multiple possible solutions, and several of them have been mentioned here. Puzzles are fun until they become akin to word problems in school, where 10 answers may be correct but you get flunked unless you give the answer the prof wants. At this point, this puzzle is rewarding mind reading ability rather than problem solving ability. Only one pump? How could we possibly know that from the original question? There are so many viable solutions to this puzzle that it's now a matter of luck rather than intelligence and critical thinking ability that will determine who "solves" it. i.e. Use the high-output pump and get off your lazy ass and clean the damn filter! Run the pumps in parallel Swap filters Swap outputs Go outside, dig a deep pit far away from the house, and run the pipe down into it. The rise is then lessened, and the low-output pump can do it. Maybe it's just me, but I prefer problems that reward thinking rather than guessing.

03-29-2004, 02:42 PM	#19 (permalink)
Fenton-J-Cool Insane Location: Toronto	Yeah.. many answers have been presented that would work perfectly well. __________________ wra

03-29-2004, 08:19 PM	#20 (permalink)
kazoo Psycho Location: Where the night things are	Well, since you think this is BS-the answer is based on the Bernoulli Effect, and has been used by fire departments for many years. Fimble takes his high volume 1" pump, and draws from a bathtub full of clean water, thereby negating the need to clean the intake filter. The discharge of this pump is placed an inch or so inside the 2" unused pipe from the other pump which couldn't do the job. Fluids in motion have a lower pressure than static fluids and as such will draw adjacent fluids into the lower pressure area created by concentric orifices. When the draw level approaches floor level, a wet towel placed across the assembly will allow draw to within an inch of floor level, within the parameters described. I didn't think people would become cranky simply because they couldn't figure it out. No bunny awarded. __________________ There ain't nothin' more powerful than the odor of mendacity -Big Daddy

03-29-2004, 09:23 PM	#21 (permalink)
shakran Tone.	well dude we got cranky because you kept telling us that our viable solutions were wrong when in fact they were right. A better way to have phrased the question would be "list all possible ways" to solve it. Otherwise, like I said, it ceases to be puzzle solving and becomes instead random guessing.

04-03-2004, 09:01 AM	#23 (permalink)
Mercury Upright Location: Canada	Put some chlorine in, and use as a pool.