Q. Will you be kind enough to help a young man who is puzzled? I would like to find out how to rig up a self-acting water-closet, one that will flush when the door is opened. I do not understand how the cranks and valves are arranged.

Figure 68.

a - Measurement compartment.

b - Storage compartment.

c and d - Valves.

e - Chain by which the door opens and closes valves.

f - Door-stop.

A. The above sketch will give you an idea of how to arrange a chain to work the valves in a cistern to flush a water-closet. This shows a cistern directly over a water-closet, but when it must be located elsewhere, it can be made to work by using more pulleys. The chain f is to act as a door-stop, in order to prevent opening the door so wide as to break the chain e. It will be noticed that we have, for the purpose of illustration, selected the kind of waste-preventing cistern approved by the New York Board of Public Works. The door should have a spring on it to keep it closed.

In such situations a waste-preventing cistern is desirable, so that if the door is held open, only a limited amount can be drawn off.