Draining the “Coffee makers lane”

  Our Venetian correspondent is at it again!

As you have seen in previous posts, Holy S – – T ! A Gondoliers impression and The latest sewer notes and history of Venice, Gio, the Venetian Gondolier, knows how much our readers love to see how waste water and sewer is moved around Venice.

Hey mate!
I’m so proud to be on the site that I decided to send you more stuff about Venice. Here is first of all a picture of my lane ” calle del Caffettier” ( the coffee maker lane) while a draining is on the go.

As you see on the first pic our local plumber has the drain hose on the left side of the lane with all the pipe going over the bridge.

Venice pumping waste

Then you see how the pipe goes to the drain boat in the canal where it empties into a tank to be taken for treatment.

Venetian drain boat collecting waste

Then a picture of our proud fire patrol just after the draining of a boat that sunk because the owner did not drain the rain out…. shame!

Venice fire team to the rescue

That is all my friend.

See the statue of our Lady on the top of the wall near my house? Isn’t it a corner of paradise?

A special piece of Venice

Yes it is Gio. Thanks for sharing it with us!

Hot Water Heaters are Big ticket items $$$$

Do you know:

1. Where is your hot water supply coming from?
2. Is it electric or gas? Can you turn off the supply safely?
3. The pressure relief valve (T&PR valve), usually near the top of the heater, should be eased quarterly; it does drip water under normal circumstances, but should not constantly be running.
4. Turning your water heater off whilst on holidays saves electricity and gas. The unit will heat and cool whilst you’re away, wasting energy & your money. Turn it on when you return, have a coffee, unpack, say hi to neighbours etc. The water will be hot before you know it
5. Don’t forget to shut off the water valve. Storage heaters are under pressure. My brother in law had his water heater burst about the time he boarded a jet for the islands. After 2 weeks, the damage to carpet, floorboards, furniture, paint added up – $$$$!
6. Flexible water connections on the inlet and outlet of your water heater are dangerous. Check if you have them. If you do, I strongly recommend you have them removed and have the connections redone in copper tube and brass fittings. I guarantee these flexis will rupture and if they are indoors the damage they can cause is huge.
7. Rusty water coming from the unit is a sign of age and potential disaster. Don’t ignore it!

Temperature & Pressure Relief valves. Don’t forget to activate them.

More from Venice 2

St Marco drain boat

Now Giovanni knows his way around the lagoon and the Grand Canal and all the other canals of the beautiful city of Venice.

His impressions of the sewers and sights of Venice along with his images of the way sewer is transported from the grand homes and palaces along the canals is always educational.

Apart from being a wonderful host and waterman, this excerpt from a recent correspondence underlines just how well our correspondent in Venice knows his way around his water bound city.

Hey Dave!
So can you imagine that Sophie the daughter of a friend from Evans Head, came to visit me in Venice?
Yesterday we had a great evening and this morning I had to wake up early ‘cause I had a commitment with a Norwegian novelist. He is writing a novel about somebody escaping from an island in the lagoon of Venice with a gondola, so he had to check out if it was possible for somebody to do it without knowing anything about a gondola before the moment of the escape.

I took him out on my gondola this morning at 8 for some research and now I’m back. I took these pics on the trip.

Gondolier at rest

So dear readers, this gondolier knows his S – – T.

Please enjoy some more images of Venice courtesy of Gio.

Cruise ship at anchor Venice