Connecting Air Needles & Tubing
8:35 am in Completed Window Farms, Featured Post, Getting Started, How-Tos, kits, Materials and Resources, posts with pitcures!, Projects in Process, questions, Version 2.0 airlift system by Johnnie Easton
This is my first blog. Hope I’m doing it right!
I had difficulties understanding how the air tubes connected to the lift tube. The DIY assembly instructions were not very clear to me.
I finally figured it out and have included a hand drawing of it. So far it’s working fine. I would recommend installing the little muffler thing to cut down on noise though.
Please don’t laugh at my drawing… ! 
I hope windowfarms folks will add a better picture to the instructions … it almost made me give up because I couldn’t see how to connect all the tubing.
I had some trouble myself. Had to walk away for a bit. Now everything is peachy.
Great picture and thanks! I wasn’t sure how to do this so I skiped the whole air needle part and still made it with out it (using other method) to learn the water circuit concept. I still wanted to duplicate the project with instructions. I guess the first thing is to make the SAM before the MAMA just to learn.
This is very helpful. The “official” instructions were confusing me. Thanks!
Are these inflation needles stuck into the sides of the rigid tube? Are these lines put in at the top of the reservoir bottle and then turn down to be inserted below the water line? Does anyone have a picture they can post?
Yes, the needles are stuck into the side of the rigid tubing, and yes, thee airlines is inserted at the top and turned into a loop below the point where the needles are inserted into the airlift tube.
This is basically the ‘V2 Airlift’ design.
There’s also an ‘V2 Modified’ design. Then you still keep a needle stuck in the side of the airlift tube, but you only attach a short piece of tubing to it. 4 – 6″ is good.
The air is then pumped in through the bottom of the airlift tubing.
(Use a airtube that fits snugly into the main airlift tube)
The liquids enter the lift through the needle then.
(Works nicely in my farm)