by Dayal Khalsa
Why are air lift systems chosen over submersed pumps?
12:29 am in Uncategorized by Dayal Khalsa
I like the pump as it is simple and contained in the tank. Air pumps seem fidgety. Then you need to put the air pump some place. So, what is the report on pumps? I hear they fail a lot. Is it because they run dry and cook? They seem to come with warrantees.
They run dry and cook, the nutrients gunge up bearings…
And no, that kind of abuse is not covered by a warranty.
There are a variety of reasons to choose each, look back at some of the discussions previously posted for more information. One main reason is that many water pumps aren’t designed to pump water with sediment infused in it, so organic nutrients are a no go, and some synth nutrients as well. And for the reasons mentioned, and what I said, and their submergence in water, water pumps are more prone to failure, whereas the air pump itself should essentially never fail. While the air pumps can be finicky to use in this application, I think it is just a matter of reforming the design for more continuity, such as: http://our.windowfarms.org/2011/01/26/low-water-level-pulser-pump/
The airlift is definately finicky, but when you play around with it (which is actually really fun unless you have plants that are waiting for water) you learn the parameters of your set up. My airlift stops pushing water when the reservoir drops to a certain level, but as soon as you refill it starts up again no problem.
Have you started to build the system? Are there any specific problems you’re experiencing?
The windowfarms team has a pile of pumps apparently in a corner somewhere. @Britta – you should take a pic if you still have them.
Beyond the water pump failures (I have about $600 worth of dead water pumps at my apartment), 1) they use more power for the same pumping capacity 2) they are limited in their head height (how high they pump) and that makes your system much more restricted 3) getting a system with continuous flow is really tricky because you have to perfect timing between flow to the top and trickle down so you don’t run the pump dry 4) they generally make you control the flow rate to the plants by limiting flow through some small aperture which quickly starts to have clogging issues. In short, they cost more and add on several factors that make the systems harder to maintain over time.
We are moving next week so I will inventory all working pumps and let ya’ll know if I’ve got any up for grabs! -Britta