Hydraulic expert needed

[fixit]

I have heard of them for one input, into two outputs, but do they make them for two inputs, into one output?


Interesting idea. For that little use (I'm a big coffee drinker, so don't take that wrong, just comparing to other uses in the house), I would not do any thing fancy. likely just the valves, and probably add two pressure gauges, so you could check every so often to see if the flow is being impeded. Just remember you would have to check the gauges when the pot is being filled, or another valve on the output line is open. With no flow, the pressures would be the same.

A downstream psi gage will read the combined psi due to the installed tee. A regulator in each line will do the same, only maintain downstream psi by giving you more untreated water as the filter plugs. You will need a device that reads FLOW, I'm sure such a device exist but it will be pricy.

 

[westerner]

This is a great subject! I work on a lot of Caterpillar equipment, and have been to a few of their trainings on hydraulics. They are a Fortune 500 company, with a gigantic investment in hydraulic technology. That said, there are a very few simple basic principles, discovered by the pioneers of the science, that will lay the groundwork for anything beyond, and really help to "keep it simple". Physics has Newton and Einstein, Electricity has Tesla, Edison and earlier, Chemistry has Salk, etc,etc,etc. These are the recent groundbreakers. The true pioneers are the tradesmen whose work these people studied. But I digress. For hydraulics, study Bernoulli. Great stuff, and basic. The "basic" sure helps me

 

[hman]

Off topic a bit ... but I always had a hard time wrapping my mind around the principle of faster flow = lower pressure. The one day I figured it out. When moving rapidly (as in a pipe), the molecules of gas or liquid are just too busy motivating forward to bother with pushing sideways on the walls. It's when they slow down that they can pay attention to pushing in all directions.

 

[Tozguy]

It's a dedicated line for a coffee machine.

But I think it's probably way overkill for this.

I think so too.
We have shallow well water that is divided into two lines. The main line has a Kinetico water softener to remove iron and manganese. This line supplies the whole house except for drinking and cooking water. The other line for drinking and cooking water has a Rainfresh 3 stage (sediment, microbe and carbon filter. There are no special valves or regulators and there is no need for them.
We do at least two years between changes of the Rainfresh filters. We only descale the kettle once per 6 months and the coffee machine never. We ruined one coffee machine by trying to descale it so now we plan to just sail off into the sunset with the new one.
The sediment prefilter on the Kinetico system is changed every 6 months at which time it is very black but not causing much if any change in pressure.

 

[Eddyde]

Off topic a bit ... but I always had a hard time wrapping my mind around the principle of faster flow = lower pressure. The one day I figured it out. When moving rapidly (as in a pipe), the molecules of gas or liquid are just too busy motivating forward to bother with pushing sideways on the walls. It's when they slow down that they can pay attention to pushing in all directions.

Analogous to what's in the "mind of a molecule", I believe you are correct.

 

[markba633csi]

I knew there were a lot of smart people here even though the topic doesn't pertain strictly to machining I knew I would get some interesting and informative answers
thanks everyone