Our upper water tank is leaking. This is the tank that is placed on a raised platform to deliver water under “pressure” to the mission apartments in the back of the assembly hall. Truth be known it has been leaking for many months now but that was good because it alleviated the need to water the pineapple planted under the tank platform. We had planned a trip to Abuja for Jack’s 11th birthday. As we were leaving, Clement, head of security and maintenance, asked if I would turn off the pump so he could pull down the tank to fix the leak. No problem. We returned three days later to see the ground under the platform a lot muddier than I remembered it. After further investigation… the tank had been dropped during the original removal process when the twine, I mean rope, they were using broke, dropping the tank and more notably the float switch 20 feet to the ground. Attempts to repair the leak with non-flexible super glue mixed with sand were unsuccessful. In fact the leak had grown.
I joined a second effortwhere the tank was removed again to the ground and bathroom tile and shower caulk was used to stem the flow of water. This attempt looked promising until the bottom 6” of the tank started to settle and buckle under the water weight. I believe this was caused by the fact that the tank had been dropped and the float switch was now full of water and no longer functioning, causing the tank to overfill and a deluge of water started pouring out the top of the tank. I heard school children yelling “Uncle, Uncle” with such enthusiasm I wondered if armed militia were moving in to use our school compound as a staging point for their intended coup over the Nigerian Government. After my heart rate returned to normal, I climbed the tower to troubleshoot the float switch problem. I should have turned off the power at the breaker panel. This next part may be obvious to those of you with a background in electricity. When I reached the top of the platform and manually tripped the float switch, I noticed that the coupler on the fill pipe was cross threaded and leaking, this I know I can fix “No Wahala” as they say here, meaning no trouble. When I undid the coupler, the water, being overfull in the tank, started flooding out. As if in slow motion, I saw the column of water shooting straight for the wire nuts that connect the float switch to the pump starter box. As I was being electrocuted, I yelled to my lovely and helpful Wife of my youth to cut the power at the breaker panel. During this time - I think it was about 3 years - I learned that increased distance from the actual source of electricity corresponded to decreased intensity of the shock to my body. Why not just let go? A) The tower is about 20’-25’ up above hard dirt and rock, and B)when this fiasco started the float switch dropped, which turned on the pump, which pushed water up the fill line (ultra thin wall PVC pipe), which was now freely flowing with water. To just let go would mean to have to buy a new pipe to replace the fill line. After this trauma was over, we decided the tank need to come down again to be re-patched.
Clement and his crack team of tank repair specialists were on it first thing the next morning. Clement had secured some new “special” glue that I discovered, (once the repair was finished and the tank back up and filling) looked a lot like the original non-flexible super glue/sand mixture and worked just as well.
Down comes the tank for the fourth time but I have a secret weapon… While the tank is being removed I quickly grab my machine, use a bike pump to fill the back tire, which apparently has developed a “slow” leak, run to Ganaja village 12 k away to purchase flashing tape. While in Ganaja, it turns out the slow leak has increased. I curse myself for not bringing the super glue and some sand! As luck would have it, a vulcanizer (picture Les Schwab here using hammers, broken leaf springs, pistons filled with gasoline and a 5 hp compressor) was nearby to fix the problem. I just opted for the quick shot of air and was off. Side Note: Anyone coming to Nigeria will notice that these vulcanizers exist in every village and about every 3-5 kilometers of open road with a back log of work and a customer or two waiting.
Upon my return, I was informed that the main water tank was dry and we were completely out of water at the compound, not just the apartments. This changed the priorities of our work plan being that many, many people depend on the school well for water during the dry season, which we are now in. I don’t think that I mentioned yet that the temperature this day was well over 100 degrees and all this work is on the sunny side of the building. After 30 minutes of frantically troubleshooting the motor starter box from breaker through the capacitor, I determine it must be the float switch in the big (lower) tank. As women stood waiting with empty buckets on their heads, I climbed on top of that tank to enter and check the switch and I discovered, to my chagrin, that the tank was full and “the tank is dry” really only meant the ¼ turn valve where people get their water was not working. Happily, I tightened the packing nut on the valve stem; “NO WAHALA!”
Back to the original problem. I used a sander to clean off all the previous attempts at patching the hole and found that the super glue/sand mixture is very hard and probably useful for fixing… say an engine block or for refinishing the tip of a well drilling auger. When I finished cleaning and prepping the outside of the tank and putting the flashing tape in place, I went to do the same on the inside of the tank. As warning lights were going off in my head and I recalled all the safety meetings I had attended, focusing on confined space entry training, I discovered that this super glue/sand mixture could perhaps also be used as a chemical weapon in a pinch. When the flashing tape was in place, after many trips poking my head out to fresh air, it was time to replace the tank for what I prayed would be the last time.
Before sending the tank up, I took a last look at the float which had been repaired with - you guessed it - super glue and sand. While inspecting the craftsmanship of this repair, I realized that when the float had been removed for repair, the counter weight had not been secured away from the float and this, too, would cause the float switch to not function.
When the float was set up correctly and the tank was back in place we threw the breaker and waited. The tank filled, the pump tripped off, and (after fixing the small leak in the fill line that was created when the fill line was dropped during the final tank install), we were all happy. People are looking at the tank today and probably wondering if the tank is empty, because I think this is the first time since our arrival that there has not been at least a small leak.
I will be sad when the pineapple dies.
P.S. While this blog post sits in the draft folder waiting for final editing and approval the float switch has apparently failed again. As the tank is over flowing out the top I am still looking for the answer to this question: What is super glue and sand good for???
