waterlift experimentation/phillip
1:10 pm in Getting Started, Help the project by testing this, How-Tos, made from scratch (without a kit), Materials and Resources, Projects in Process, pumps, Uncategorized, Water flow by Phillip A Faugno
Greetings all.
Just as I; I am sure many of you have had problems getting your setup up an running reliably.
I have done some testing with various types of tubing, pump settings, reservoir setups etc.
I attempted a type of pump set up called a “geyser hybrid” which is in my opinion a waterlift with a little more complexity.
I had some trouble getting this setup to work at all.Maybe with a little more head pressure it would but the end result I was trying to get was more water movement with less air.
Next I attempted the setup with the needles.This works but I am worried about the jury rigged connection at the needle juncture and it proved to be no more effective than replacing the needle with a “T” connector.
It seems to me the point of the needle”no pun intended” is to insert the air further up into the column of water and to reduce the chance that the air may back up and bubble into the reservoir.
As stated in some other articles and online at sites like U tube.Th more head pressure the better the result.Air has a springy quality and when you have sufficient head pressure you can sometimes see air backing up into the inlet tube but it slows and returns the the junction and feeds the output line.
I used a two liter bottle with a fitting in the lid and the bottom cut off.a short section of head(feed)tube.about a foot worth.
A “T” junction. and a discharge tube to the height of about 6 feet.All tubing is semi rigid.i think this works better as some energy can be lost to flexing.My “T” junction I may add was a 1/4 outside dia fitting with a short length of tubing attached to feed and discharge sides to enlarge it to the size of my rigid tubing.the air line is just the standard size purchased at pet stores.
I placed my reservoir at a height of about 18 inches above the floor.or that is with my water starting surface level at 18 inches above ground.This gives a head of 18 inches but I find I don’t need that full head space.It just works better.I may be able to eliminate this with a larger reservoir say maybe a 5 gallon bucket with a fitting in the bottom. In my tests putting the tubing into the reservoir like a dip tube is troublesome and unreliable.
In my future setup I am going to attempt to use compression fittings that snap on and off with ease and fit on the outside of the tubing to make use of the full diameter of the inside of the tubing.and since I am planning on using a larger reservoir I may fit a charcoal filter to keep water from stagnating.
I may add that I am planning on using this to water my orchids and I am concerned about stagnation.
More later….please feel free to give me your input and experiences.
Bye for now.
Phillip
I am wondering now if a larger reservoir may eliminate the need for more head tube.
Ok.
After a trip to Lowes.and they have a much better selection then home depot.I spent 20$ on compression fittings, tubing,washers etc.The setup I had in mind works as good as I had expected.Although it seems that the size of the reservoir makes little difference.
The 4 outlet air pump I purchased will make 4 feeds for plants.So I should be able to build a 4 tier version.And fyi.The head tube needs to be about 20 inches long in my version.That seems to work best as when the pump comes on the air creeps back towards the reservoir till water pressure takes hold and pushes it back.so I needed the extra head tube after all.
Just not really clear on the bottom part thing in the diagram and how it acts as a piston to produce thrust.
Hi, Philip,
You need to post pictures. T-joint airlift is very simple and there are only a few mistakes that people can make. It might be that your tubing is a little big or a little small or your T might need to be a slightly wider version or that you did not have an effective “u” to prevent backflow behind the T.
The other issues are air delivery too fast or too slow (A little adjustment can cure that) Without pictures or a little video it is impossible to tell what is going wrong. ( If you are embarrassed, you can keep it private and just give the link on windowfarms and you can delete it after a couple of days). Seems to me the video is very helpful in these types of discussions but very few people post them.
Brian
Hi Phillip,
I would not add a charcoal filter to this setup, It will only remove the Nutrients that you are adding for the plants. The best way to keep water from going stagnant is to keep it moving. If you want to go for max assurance that it won’t, add an air stone in the reservoir and a small air pump. That will keep the solution moving and it won’ stagnate.
To hardware junkie.
I am having a hard time getting the geyser pump setup to function at all.I am wondering if it is more suitable to a larger setup.
Brian.
I had made a document showing my setup in detail but it was to large to post and I am the worlds worst at posting pictures.But I will try to get my camera and take some pics.My setup is working sufficiently to do what I need it to do.Plus I opted for compression fittings instead of barbs to reduce the flow restriction.It seems to work well so far.My air flow requirements are near the low setting on my pump so I can do a set up of four lines instead of two lines feeding one setup.I have just a few small details.But I seem to be on track.
Jay.
Thank you….I will try the air stone as you suggested.It’s all a work in progress after all.
Thank you all for your inputs and I will work on getting pics posted in the future.
Phillip
I believe that you may need to add a slug developing section to your pump. The geyser gets it thrust when it the accumulation chamber exceeds it capacity and as the chamber empties of air a slug of water rushes in giving it that big push. Without the slug of water’s inertial, the upthrust will not be there.