battles of the cultures was: old battle of the lovees was: PDP1 3550

Don't be absurd. How do you expect to pump water more effectively than the designs arrived at over hundreds of years of evolution of the technique? Remember, we'd be in a position similar to those old guys- no modern equipment or materials. We would have the benefits of a wrecked industrial economy so we wouldn't immediately need to go back to mining ore to make the materials to build things, so we'd be comparatively better off. Since traces of high precision equipment would presumably remain, production of such equipment would be easier- but I suggest that any such manufactured equipment would be designed to maximize life expectancy with minimum maintenance- in short, the clbuttic steam driven pumps (where alternative drive systems were unavailable).

I will point out that many old-fashioned steam shovels were operated in tidal flats where the machine was literally submerged in sal****er in every high tide. At low tide the machine was washed out, boiler refired and back to work. That is the sort of resiliency any post apocolypse machinery would have to exhibit.

If "charcoal and water" was a good bearing lubricant, you'd think it would be mentioned as a contingency measure, yet it isn't. The heat comes from friction, taking out the heat is not solving the friction problem. It might work fine to lubricate door hinges but its not going to work for a piston.

Gregm