PYTHON HOSE CHANGE

[richardhmc]

hi all, like most MFKers, I have a python hose. I love it and all but it doesnt get the right amount of suction to pick up poop and stuff. especially when I try to get water of the 30 gallon which is 2 inches off the floor which allows almost no water to go up the hose unless i turn on the faucet to a full blast, wasting ALOT of water..

I remember there was something about replacing the python hoses suction power to make it greater? I tried to search but I couldnt find it.

How do I make the python hoses suction greater?

 

[evercl92]

smaller diameter hose / gravel tube

seems like your issue is that the tank is on the floor, and the faucet doesn't have enough pull to get sufficient suction for that great of a height difference

 

[richardhmc]

shouldnt the hose be bigger so that more can get through?

 

[evercl92]

shouldnt the hose be bigger so that more can get through?

do you want more suction? then use a smaller hose.
same force, over a smaller diameter, gives greater psi (or in your case, suction). that's how physics works.

go try it out.

 

[jtrotter77]

actually a larger hose will give you greater suction and a smaller hose will give more preasure if filling the tank up. I know because I have tried it both ways.as for your problem. try pulling the python hose out the door and start the suction. Let the water flow outside then hook up to your sink to fill up. that way no wasted water and suction will be increased because the hose will be ground level

 

[najiru]

I think the problem is partly due to loss along the hose length. It's true that the same amount of water through a small hose will give you a greater flow rate and therefore be able to suck up more but by using a long thin hose you will greatly increase the losses due to friction especially as you're trying to make the water move faster through the whole length.

It might work out that using a large hose with a narrow end section works best as the losses should be minimised but the suction speed at the nozzel will be higher. I've never used a python though and this is just an idea, which I think might work.

HTH

 

[Ric Foster]

Get a piece of 1/2" pvc pipe about the same lenght as the depth of your tank. Take the large gravel vac off your hose and put hose into 1/2" pipe. this has doubled the suction power of mine.

 

[L.BelcherII]

If your tank is anywhere near a window, start suction maually and drop the hose out of the window to the ground. I used to do that when my tank was on the second story (now it's in the basement). Never had a problem with suction then, and you don't have to clean a sink.

You just have to make sure the hose end is lower than the tank bottom. The greater the distance, the better flow. If this isn't an option, try closing the valve near the suction a bit, and that will increase the suction power generated by the sinks faucet, because you're essentially decreasing the size of the hose.

 

[richardhmc]

well, thats the problem .. the tank is on the floor and the sink about 2 feet taller than that

umm.. the door... I guess that should work

No windows that can open down here

 

[Ric Foster]

Another solution is go to Harbor freight and buy a fountain pump with a 1/2" outlet. These are $10-$15 and about 258 Gallons per hour. I use these on my floor level tanks and it works well. Any submersible pump or powerhead that you can attach a hose to will work.