I was watching The Magnificent Seven(1960) last night, and saw something new.

In the Mexican village they had these large round things sitting among the buildings with fitted straw mats on the tops. They appeared to be fired clay, large (maybe 7-8 feet tall), with a small base. If they didn't have the straw 'hats', I would have thought they were some kind of grain containers, but the hats made me think they were large water containers.

Any thoughts? What would they be called in Spanish?

Sue

I'm not sure of the name but as I understand it your right, they are large pots that are used as a cistern for storing water. The grass mats keep bugs out and limit air flow that could increase evaporation.

If they are left unglazed and soft fired they are porous and the water weeps out. Keeping the outside damp. In a dry climate having one or more of them on a patio is a primitive form of air conditioning.

Even if glazed and entirely watertight the volume of water also acts as a heat sink, carrying the cool of the night into the day and the heat of the day into what can be a chilly night. The concept works well in high desert environments where the days are hot and the nights quite cold even in summer.

I agree with Art

These things have been used in other parts of the world like the Middlle East too.

In the past, they put a cup on top of this water cooler and dipped the cup in the water to fill it. I guess someone told them that it was more hygenic to add a faucet for filling the cup.

Here is an interesting picture that combines the old cooling technology with newer technology (faucet).

Neighbor's of mine have one & use it,They call it"Monstrojarra", Which translate's to "Monster Jar"!That thing is Completely Black inside from yrs. of Algae build-up.They use that water exclusively for cooking,& the food is Excellent,though I would Never have a drink from it or Drink the Agua fresca's they make!

give you the immune system of a shark, that would.

Wow those are awesome, I wouldn't mind having a few on my porch. I would be frightened it would be a bit of a mosquito magnet.

They're covered with fine netting or screening. The water goes through, the debris and mosquitoes stay out.

Sue

So, how do you reckon they fill it up?

Ladder and buckets, would be my guess.

Sue

Doesn't seem very efficient... my best guess would be a wind powered well, but I'm not even sure about that.

As I understand it some effort is made to arrange for the projections that come off the flat roof to feed these cisterns. A rope or length of chain can be used to guide the water. If you get the water running down the chain it will tend to follow the chain even if it isn't plumb. A rough estimate is that you can divert the water something like fifteen degrees from vertical.

I once saw a system of three rain barrels that used a chain to divert the water. The chain would be transferred from barrel to barrel as each was filled in turn. You could do the same thing plumbing fittings but if all you have is barrels and chain you make it work. Also with three barrels unconnected by pipes there is no risk a leak might drain away your entire supply.

Of course in the dry season you might need to carry water in from a well to fill them manually.

The movie took place in Mexico in probably the very late 1880s, and I didn't see anything that resembled wind power in use.

Of course, this being a movie, they could have been based solely on imagination and made from papier mache or cardboard.

Sue

I think Art probably nailed it... either way it's pretty brilliant. I've seen the movie a dozen times and I never paid attention to the back ground before. LOL