Is this just when running multiple moving beds or if you run one with too much air will you have a problem? Short of the media launching out do you need to dial it back at all or is the tuning you're talking about solely due to them plugging at different rates, aka dialing them all back to an extent and then dialing them forward as they plug?
Ap100 connection help
- Thread starter Torchia32
- Start date
Is this just when running multiple moving beds or if you run one with too much air will you have a problem? Short of the media launching out do you need to dial it back at all or is the tuning you're talking about solely due to them plugging at different rates, aka dialing them all back to an extent and then dialing them forward as they plug?
Ok so I hooked up what seems to be a nice running system here's what I did. From the ap100 outlet I have a 1/2" male pvc adapter. the female end is on the pump outlet and the male threads are threaded into a ball valve to regulate the air. From the ball valve comes a galvanized threaded nipple. The nipple is screwed into a pvc T. On each of the two ends of the T I have galvanized 1/2 inch barbs that reduce down to 3/8". From both of these barbs I have 3/8 silicone tubing running into my k1 chamber. Each of these tunes connect to another 3/8 barb that is screwed into a female 1/2 adapter and pushed onto pvc pipe that is 12" long with a cap on the opposite end. I drilled 3/8 holes across the pvc diffuser every inch and glued each of these diffusers to a piece of spare plastic to weigh them down. I have the ball valve about 75% open and this seems to be a nice boil for the media to make it dance but not jump out of the chamber. Also dialing back slightly quieted the system down. I am happy with it as the media is cycling now and I will update anything that may be helpful when it occurs. Thanks again to all of you who helped out and added some knowledgable info that aided this setup
I thought ball valves are for flow not control? That was my impression, if i am wrong on that I am putting a ball valve on mine tomorrow...
Well I believe a gate valve has much finer adjusting and ball valves are more for on and off. But I had an extra one lying around and tried it before buying a gate valve. It's giving me enough flow control for what I needed to do as far as circulating the k1 media
I agree with other who have commented that gate valves give a more precise adjustments, but if it is something that you do not expect to need to adjust frequently, a ball valve will get the job done. It is a pain to use a ball valve for tuning if you also use the same valve to shut off the flow regularly, because getting the flow just right takes a bit of time. This has been my experience with ball valve for water flow adjustment at least. I use a ball valve on my sump return, and because my pump kicks more flow than my overflow can carry, I have to keep it partially closed to keep the tank level from rising. Most of the time it just stays set, and since I had a bunch of ball valves laying around, I just deal with it.
Man, you are going to have so much back pressure on the diaphragms they will be blowing out all the time. You need either a smaller pump or a lot more diffusers in the system. I would keep rebuild kits in the house. They only run about ten bucks.
How can I create back pressure without adding more diffusers. I was thinking this could be a problem too
To reduce back pressure, you could add some air stones to the tank or just add an additional tube 'blank' with a valve to release excess air
If you aren't releasing enough air through some method you will have prolems. Even if you just have air lines that release air back into the room. Bottom line........the compressor is way bigger than your needs. A smaller model of the same brand would be an excellent choice. I have an AP 100 doing a great job for my system. It runs a K1 moving bed for me in a 110 gal sump.
