Chrome
Silvery Lines, going through my mind. Don’t do it!
Chrome, if you listen to the chemists of this world, is a steel-grey, metallic solid (at 298K), which takes a high polish.
To me, it’s only serious use is that it makes emeralds green and that, when combined with ammonia, once helped to make a chemistry lab ‘untenable’ for several days - which is what all chemistry students really strive to achieve.
However, in the ‘aqueous containment’ world in which we plumbers live, Chrome is best described as ‘a bit of a bug**r!’.
The problem stems from zit infested teenagers working on commission. He can A) Sell a standard, boring white, £1.49 plastic flush pipe and spend Friday night at home with his mum, or B) promote the £32 Chrome flush pipe equivalent and awake late Saturday afternoon with a traffic cone in his bed, no wallet, and clamidia. Being an innocent youth, he obvious goes for option B).
When asked, said youth states that both pipes are 32mm in diameter and he is, in a way, correct. What he is saying is that the ‘internal’ diameter of the chrome pipe is 32mm, as is it’s cheaper plastic counterpart. However, washers and fittings are designed to seal around the ‘external’ diameter of a pipe. The result is that whilst the washers provided by the manufacturers will create a water tight seal for plastic, they create a loose and useless bangle when applied to chrome.
“Looks great and leaks like crazy” is the most common description of chrome.
“Looks great but contains half an hundred weight of sealant” is the only alternative.
“I liked the idea of chrome… and then my plumber pulled a gun on me.” is the ethos I’d like to develop.
