Creating a Lake

[Bird]

Yeah, Ron, I don't doubt that Eddie's place will attract the RV traffic from that road. What I don't know is just what kind of traffic will be on that road. When I was an RVer, I liked to see as much different country as possible so I took different routes, stayed in different places. However, there are a lot of people who only move their RVs twice a year; go north in the Spring and go south in the Fall, same destination each time, same route each time, etc. A lot of snowbirds use I-35 and schedule a stop in Temple, TX, for an annual physical exam at the Scott & White Hospital (they have their own little RV park for that purpose). The same way some will plan ahead to stop at the same parks every year, maybe for a day, maybe for a week or longer, maybe to see a particular doctor or dentist, maybe for a particular shopping experience, maybe for a particular technician to work on their RV. I don't know which kind of RVers will be the majority of Eddie's business.

 

[EddieWalker]

On our way down to Txdon's place last fall. We drove past Eddie's place. Did not even notice it. He needs a sign. Now that I know where it is. I don't know how I missed it. We picked the route because it took us off the main highway and traffic. I do not think Eddie will have any problems attracting people to his place . Easy on/off location.

When the sign is done, it should be impossible to miss.

This spring I'll spend a little more time on it, but I won't finish is. The second I have a sign on the front of the property, my land ownership status changes and I fall under comercial development rules. As long as I am a farm, I can do just about anything I want on the land without any goverment oversight. The second I turn into a commercial business, it changes.

Here's what Ron drove by and didn't see.

Eddie

 

[SPYDERLK]

Quote from EddieWalker: The lake is down an inch and I'm not sure why that is. I'm assuming it's normal evaporation, but there is always the fear of a leak. One inch over 4 acres is allot of water. It's also been several weeks since we had any real rain and it's too new for me to be able to understand what's going on.

I think its what was referred to in post #582 - last paragraph.
Larry

 

[EddieWalker]

Eddie, that lake is going great!
Let me say a few words concerning the pressure issue:
Pressure at zero flow will be exactly dependent on head rather than pipe size.
At flow, frictional losses come into play causing the pressure at the bottom end-the delivery end- to be less than that suggested by the actual physical head.
Flow velocity causes friction.
Flow is faster in small pipes to achieve any given GPM flow.
Thus small pipes deliver less pressure at flow than would a larger at same flow.

That said, your fuel flow velocity is probably low enuf that you have delivery pressure to spare.

On your lake filling you may have some puzzlement as time goes on. As the bottom and top surface area increase there is continued and increasing loss from both sides. It is easy to forget that the increasing head/pressure on the bottom continues to aggravate absorption losses. You may reach a point where it almost stops rising. Then it rains and fills up - then promptly goes back down!? It will take awhile to saturate the bottom to the prevailing head. Itll give you predictive fits!
I know it will be fun.
Larry

Larry,

You may have nailed it exactly.

I'll keep everyone posted on the changes when they happen.

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[ronjhall]

Here's what Ron drove by and didn't see.
Eddie

I am sure it was a lot smaller when I was driving by from the oppisite direction at 55 mph in the Motorhome.

 

[RobJ]

Eddie,

Here's a simple way to either put your fears to rest or to give you sleepless nights!

Get a 5 gal bucket and weight it down with rocks. Put it in the pond so about 3/4 of it is in the water. Fill the bucket with water to the level of the pond. Mark the level on both sides of the bucket with the date. That way you can compare bucket loss and pond loss. Check it every couple of days. If the water loss is 100% from evaporation, the bucket will be down the exact same amount.


jb

when I read this 2 days ago I thought it made perfect sense. but i wonder if it works the same. in a bucket the water temp could get warmer not mixing with the rest of the lake, down in a bucket wind would not hit the water as much. probably some more physical things that could be in play here. maybe i'm over thinking it. i bet it's just normal evaporation and stuff.

i'll have to shoot a pic of a lake on hwy 19 just north of grapeland that has a leak and the guy has spend years trying to stop it. last time i drove by it had a bunch of water with all the rain. i think he used the wrong clay at first, not sure what the latest problem is. huge dam to.

 

[john_bud]

when I read this 2 days ago I thought it made perfect sense. but i wonder if it works the same. in a bucket the water temp could get warmer not mixing with the rest of the lake, down in a bucket wind would not hit the water as much. probably some more physical things that could be in play here. maybe i'm over thinking it. i bet it's just normal evaporation and stuff.

i'll have to shoot a pic of a lake on hwy 19 just north of grapeland that has a leak and the guy has spend years trying to stop it. last time i drove by it had a bunch of water with all the rain. i think he used the wrong clay at first, not sure what the latest problem is. huge dam to.

Rob,

Thermally, the lake in contact with the bucket will keep them in equilibrium. There isn't much top to bottom thermal mixing, unless the wind is REALLY whipping or you are next to some inflow. You may remember that from swimming in a pond in spring. Stay on top if you want warm, dive down for cold.

As to where the water is going, "down" due to pressure is as good an idea as "up" by evaporation. With the way the lake was built, a leak is not likely. Just my $.02

jb

 

[thunderworks]

"Down" does make sense. When I built my pond the experienced guys told me that it takes a while for the hydraulic pressures to equalize in the ground around the pond. There is a normal amount of absorbtion of water from the pond before that happens. It's most noticable on new ponds where the surrounding ground hasn't done that yet. They also told me that an inch of evaporative loss a day is not abnormal, more in hot and windy weather, less otherwise.

Rick

 

[RobJ]

Rob,

Thermally, the lake in contact with the bucket will keep them in equilibrium. There isn't much top to bottom thermal mixing, unless the wind is REALLY whipping or you are next to some inflow. You may remember that from swimming in a pond in spring. Stay on top if you want warm, dive down for cold.

jb

Well it's a physics thing and I can't make a good argument for lack of knowledge. I would think there are many things that cause the water to move around in the lake, mostly thermal, in a bucket there is not much room to mix and it's already in the shallow, warmer water. The wind I was talking about was for evaporation, hot day, more wind, more evaporation. The bucket would be sheilding even a slight breeze. Now that I think about it with the water level half full in the bucket, heat reflection from the side of the bucket hits the water, trapped warmer air, more evaporation?? I promise i'm not a thermal dynamics Phd. Promise!

OK now back to the lake.

 

[john_bud]

Rob,

Only way to tell is for Eddie to get a bucket...

jb

 

[RobJ]

Rob,

Only way to tell is for Eddie to get a bucket...

jb

I just though of something. What if the bucket level is less than the lake level. I guess this means you have a leak in the bucket. Good way to test a bucket for leaks?

JB I'm just funning now!!

 

[john_bud]

I just though of something. What if the bucket level is less than the lake level. I guess this means you have a leak in the bucket. Good way to test a bucket for leaks?

JB I'm just funning now!!

Well, it would be funny to sneak into Eddies pond and drain out water from the bucket.... or add more....

jb

 

[Defective]

Maybe the water level isn't changing...

I think the shoreline has grown.

 

[Farwell]

Well, it would be funny to sneak into Eddies pond and drain out water from the bucket.... or add more....

jb

John,
Don't know if you have seen the mounted heads that Eddie has in his shop. If you haven't, you might want to search his threads. He has almost every size and type of animal except for a human. I am pretty sure you won't want to be the first. Mess with the bucket and you take your chances. Yuk...yuk...yuk!
David B

 

[patrick_g]

Well, it would be funny to sneak into Eddies pond and drain out water from the bucket.... or add more....

jb

John, You are truly an evil minded sneaky kind of guy. I regret not being closer to the scene as I would surely love to help you do it (I could be the lookout?) Maybe a water snake in the bucket would add to the effect.

David, That adds to the challenge. Counting coup on a blind cripple wouldn't be much fun. To get in and out with Eddie and his Annie Oakley lady friend about might require we don Ghillie suits and go in during the dark of the moon about 3AM. Maybe a slight distraction like firecrackers going off at random intervals in different places well away from the lake to draw attention elesewhere...

Pat

 

[Farwell]

John, You are truly an evil minded sneaky kind of guy. I regret not being closer to the scene as I would surely love to help you do it (I could be the lookout?) Maybe a water snake in the bucket would add to the effect.

David, That adds to the challenge. Counting coup on a blind cripple wouldn't be much fun. To get in and out with Eddie and his Annie Oakley lady friend about might require we don Ghillie suits and go in during the dark of the moon about 3AM. Maybe a slight distraction like firecrackers going off at random intervals in different places well away from the lake to draw attention elesewhere...

Pat

Pat,
I take it you have seen the photo of the wild boar? Don't think I would want to join it. I can see it now, one of us on the ground with Eddie's foot on our shoulder, him holding the rifle with a "BIG" smile on his face. Don't think I would try it even with a Ghillie suit. But you have to admit it sure is entertaining thinking about. The adding or removing water from the bucket is something that matches my personality to a "T". A usual type of behavior that I reserve for close friends and family but there is always "pay back".
David B

 

[patrick_g]

David, If you put on the IR resistant BDU's under the Ghillie and use proper distraction it should not be too difficult.

Maybe a diferent approach would be better. Go in broad daylight during the week. Wear a red reflector safety vest and carry a back pack with an antenna with a dayglow orange flag on it. Carry a clipboard and wear a phony ID badge proclaiming you as part of a state survey team. Then when not being observed too closely you sureptitiously lower a tube into the bucket and add or subtract water. When/if detected, complement the owner on his beautiful project and ask if he minds you coming back a couple times with your equipment to check for anomalous indicatioins that have been giving you errors in nearby locations. Maybe you should just go to the door and ask permission to walk your "GPS" datalogger around the property to help you calibrate your equipment in light of errors you have got in the local area. Hiding something in plain sight is very effective. Wear a cap with a pro hunting slogan and a jacket with a shotgun pad on the shoulder.

Pat

 

[Farwell]

Pat,
Great idea as well as entertaining. Guess I am starting to feel guilty for high-jacking this thread. Thanks for the laughs.
David B

 

[EddieWalker]

You guys are killing me!!!

I sure am glad none of you live around here. I truly would be up nights trying to figure out what was going on with the water level.

I'm not convinced the water bucket will tell me anything, but I am curious to what happens with it in the lake. I was gonna do it this week, but had to work on a job, then a few projects here and now it's raining. 3/4 of an inch so far, but nothing very heavy.

I'll post pictures of the bucket when I put it in, then follow up on it when there is a change.

Here's a few hunting pictures for Farwell.

Eddie

 

[Farwell]

Eddie,
Did you ever hear of the restaurant in Rio Vista California that had over 100 stuffed animals on their walls. I forget the name of it. I have eaten there several times and when I worked for KGO TV we did several stories on the huge collection. Looked it up on the Internet, it was called Fosters' Bighorn.
Outside of a museum and the restaurant, you have the largest private collection that I have ever seen. It is beautiful. The wild boar photos are great. From the photos you two look like a very well matched pair. Thanks for the photos.
Glad you enjoyed the humor.
David B