Herbie-2 overflow boxes, 1 bulkhead per box?

[jandb]

Hey guys, sorry for the repost but I'm worried about moving forward with using one box for the main drain and one for the emergency. Someone brought up creating a vortex in the emergency if it's placed too high for a full siphon. It will have to be placed above the teeth to allow for flow into the main drain as I see it. Has anyone ever done this? Thanks in advance.

 

[jcardona1]

Hey Jonathan - just got around to reading your pm. Not sure where we last left off, but what do you mean a 'vortex in the emergency drain'? The emergency drain is just that, a backup. During normal operation it should not have any water flowing through, or just a tiny trickle. The emergency drain will never operate as a full siphon because you do not have a gate valve on this one restricting the flow. This will operate like a regular siphon, that's simply a straight-shot to your sump.

I guess I'm not sure what your question is

 

[jandb]

Thanks Jose. I feel better about it. I posted the original question on the other site and a guy said to be worried if the emergency had to operate it would create a vortex because it was set so high (above the overflow teeth so water could flow into the main drain-overflow) and overflow the tank. Half of this stuff is a foreign language to me but the terms vortex and overflow worried me. Seems like if I set the emergency about an inch above the teeth that would allow for plenty of water in the main drain bulkhead and enough to allow flow in case of a block in the main. How often does a main drain block anyway? I think I'll probably put an airstone in the emergency overflow so it isn't stagnant. Does that make sense?

 

[jcardona1]

Yeah in the event the main drain clogs, there will always be a 'vortex' for the emergency drain because it's not a full siphon. Kinda like pulling the stop plug in a bath tub. You'll just need to play with the height of the pipes, and keep in mind that the water level will always be a little bit higher than the edge of the standpipe.

As for it clogging, it shouldn't, unless a large piece of debris gets stuck inside the gate valve. However, each time you turn on the pump, the water level may rise and you'll be using the emergency pipe for a few seconds, as the system purges the air out of the main drain.

 

[jandb]

Thanks Jose. I'm going to roll with it.