Drill-Less Siphon Overflow

[rallysman]

here is what I see if the power goes out... the water will drop only to the level of the overflow in the U Water will stay in the U to keep the siphon. as in the picture below ....

Looks like that should work
It is more aesthetically pleasing

 

[arlo]

what does it mean when something loses its prime?

 

[rallysman]

It will stop flowing.

 

[Lil_Stinker]

what does it mean when something loses its prime?

Air gets in the system & causes the flow to stop. Air will then need to be removed (purged) to start the system again.

A system that minimizes the chance of large quantities of air entry will be the lease likely to lose its prime.

If you lose prime, and the pump empties the sump into the tank then you can overflow. This is a strong reason why a non-siphon overflow is better.

Purging air from a siphon can be accomplished with a check-valve & suction (top of system) or a pump that forces the the air out with water.

Many people submerge & cap the siphon to "prime" it again.

My system (as most siphon dependant systems) risks loosing prime & causing an overflow. The object is to put safeguards in to mitigate this.

The likelyhood of air entering this system is low as the intake is not near the air, and backflow is not possible due to the "bar-sink" design in the chimney.

 

[Lil_Stinker]

Looks like that should work
It is more aesthetically pleasing

& keepin the wife happie is important.

Don't make that thing look like 'crap' or I will ....

 

[beex215]

So I decided that I need to be creative,

I have a desire to have an overflow to allow me to maintain water level and an external filter (wet/dry sump)

I didn't want to have to drain the tank & take it to get drilled. Here is my idea

A siphon/overflow.

The construction is 1-1/2 inch PVC & 3/4 PVC water will siphon into the "u" then overflow into the center pipe. This will keep the siphon from breaking.

The input will either have a strainer or be connected to the UG pipe. Then the output will go to the sump, then back to the tank & it all starts over again.

There will be a valve of some sort at the top to void the air & get it up & running. The oversize chimney top will allow the "u" to be filled prior to voiding the siphon. A round sponge will also be in the chimney to reduce noise.

The "u" will also lay flat against the tank, not as displayed.

If anyone has any thoughts on this being a bad idea, let me know, I have everything except the valve for the top. & everthing except the center pipe is cut.

thats wat i thought.i was the 1 already post up but yours is slightly different

 

[CHOMPERS]

I like the design and the innovative thinking From what I see, it should work without a hitch. Add a valve to the bottom of it to control the gurgling. With the system in operation, throttle down the valve until it just stops gurgling. At that point it will not impede the flow and it will actually increase it (no air in the plumbing makes more room for more water).

 

[CHOMPERS]

... From what I see, it should work without a hitch...

Before I eat my words, I figured I should run the numbers... I grabbed a caliper and some pipe and...

1 1/2 pipe (sch 40) = 1.6" ID
Area = 2.01 square inches

3/4 pipe (sch 40) = 1.05" OD
Area = .866 square inches

That is a combination that will probably be hard to beat.
If anyone wants to calculate other sizes, the formula is

Area = .785 x D^2

D = diameter
D^2 = diameter squared

 

[CHOMPERS]

Just a thought...most calclulators have a square button (mine are all round) but if you like math the hard way,

D^2 = D x D

(but not 2 x D)

 

[Aquayne]

overflow diagram.gif (28.5 KB)

This is a much more stable version.

I first posted this several years ago on Reef Central. It has had quite a life since then.
These are now all over the world. They are wonderfully idiot proof.
If you want to control flow, decrease the output of the pump. Never restrict the outflow. You are just begging for disaster.

F. Wayne Johnson
Aquayne