pattico...how cute! and very functional. I am in the process of re-doing my sewing area, so I will definately add this to my list of things to make. Thanks!

Thanks for all the nice compliments!! Sal, right at the moment I dont have any caps listed in my ebay but sometime between today and tomorrow I will make some up so keep checking back to see them.. Here is my site addy below... Now for sticking them to the paper tags that I do.. I use a good cement e6000.. I have this other cement called Dunco Cement.. just a dab will do ya... Here is a link that might be useful: My Ebay

lazypup's in the ballpark but I think his long discourse on cavitation is more tailored to an extreme version you'd see in a hot water system. Cavitation occurs at a microscopic level. It happens at points in the pump volute and on the impeller where low pressure occurs (the trailing edge of the impeller is the best example). If the suction head required by the pump to operate is greater than what's available due to suction line throttling or friction losses, the low pressure becomes low enough to cause water to vaporize. It's technically "steam" but not like you think b/c it can happen even at room temperature. This can be exacerbated by pumping a hot fluid b/c it has a higher vapor pressure (i.e. it 'boils' easier). Your pump can be sitting there pumping water pretty much normally and still be cavitating. Lazypup's description makes it sound like you suddenly get a pump full of steam, but that's not the case. The bubbles that are formed by cavitation immediately collapse back on themselves and that's what causes the pump's parts to erode, since the bubbles occur at surfaces in the pump. It sounds like you're pumping marbles. Lazypup's description sounds more like a pump that's air binding. For hot water, it can be an extreme version of cavitation. But what he describes sounds more to me like a situation where the pump is depending on the pumped fluid for some of its lubrication/cooling. If the fluid isn't there, then the pump can quickly overheat.

You could definitely have a point that I didn't think about. I just started a new bottle of spring bloom with the load I discussed above. This makes total sense and could describe the differences in the experiences other than just the water. If the companies do not have stringent quality control (and in a way why would they?) there may be differences in the production runs. This could be enough of a difference to vary the experiences we all have. They may figure that subtle variations in batches will go completely un-noticed....