Pump too big? - Aquaponic Gardening2024-03-28T08:19:17Zhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/forum/topics/pump-too-big?x=1&id=4778851%3ATopic%3A142448&feed=yes&xn_auth=notag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1921012011-08-22T23:01:37.845ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
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<a style="cursor: pointer;"><img src="http://www.bkserv.net/images/Smile.gif"/></a> I am not saying they are more…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1920202011-08-22T22:39:08.463ZDavid Waitehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/DavidWaite
I am not saying they are more efficient than submersibles. Quite the contrary. I am only stating if a aquapon wants to use air to lift water they will do it to any height regardless. Bubble size is not an issue in air lifts. It is air volume to pipe dia period. What takes place is archimedes principle or bouyancy principles come into play. If you have to little volume for pipe dia the bubbles mearly percolate up and dont create lift. A small aquarium pump with 1/8 tube into a 3/16 tube will…
I am not saying they are more efficient than submersibles. Quite the contrary. I am only stating if a aquapon wants to use air to lift water they will do it to any height regardless. Bubble size is not an issue in air lifts. It is air volume to pipe dia period. What takes place is archimedes principle or bouyancy principles come into play. If you have to little volume for pipe dia the bubbles mearly percolate up and dont create lift. A small aquarium pump with 1/8 tube into a 3/16 tube will create lift as and example. Put the 1/8 inch tube in a 1/2 and the air wont displace enough water volumn to create lift. Is there a set of specs for airlifts. Sure in salvage operations in dealing with hundreds of cubic feet of air. Nothing out there for what we are talking about. Airlifts are really great at moving solids as well. They are used in dredging operations world wide. Clear as mud I hope............<br />
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<blockquote cite="http://aquaponicscommunity.com/forum/topics/pump-too-big?commentId=4778851%3AComment%3A191427&xg_source=msg_com_forum#4778851Comment191427"><div><p>It always seemed to me that airlifts were appropriate in certain situations but not necessarily all that efficient under other circumstances. Like in a big facility where large blowers are already going and the heights are minimal, airlifts are useful and you don't have to worry about needing separate pumps and electricity to each system if you already have air lines running everywhere anyway.</p>
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<p>Or if you are dealing with very debris ridden situations where solids would foul most small water pumps but are easily handled with an airlift of appropriate design.</p>
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<p>Or if you are dealing with a heavily sediment laden well where the sand would be hard on a traditional water pump the air pump can still handle the job without worry of an impeller being sanded down by the sediment over time.</p>
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</blockquote> It always seemed to me that a…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1914272011-08-22T16:48:55.300ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>It always seemed to me that airlifts were appropriate in certain situations but not necessarily all that efficient under other circumstances. Like in a big facility where large blowers are already going and the heights are minimal, airlifts are useful and you don't have to worry about needing separate pumps and electricity to each system if you already have air lines running everywhere anyway.</p>
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<p>Or if you are dealing with very debris ridden situations where solids would foul…</p>
<p>It always seemed to me that airlifts were appropriate in certain situations but not necessarily all that efficient under other circumstances. Like in a big facility where large blowers are already going and the heights are minimal, airlifts are useful and you don't have to worry about needing separate pumps and electricity to each system if you already have air lines running everywhere anyway.</p>
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<p>Or if you are dealing with very debris ridden situations where solids would foul most small water pumps but are easily handled with an airlift of appropriate design.</p>
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<p>Or if you are dealing with a heavily sediment laden well where the sand would be hard on a traditional water pump the air pump can still handle the job without worry of an impeller being sanded down by the sediment over time.</p> Count me in on air lift 101 t…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1898922011-08-22T12:48:45.831ZKobus Joostehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/KobusJooste
Count me in on air lift 101 too. I have messed around with them before, but have never really committed to trying to make one. I got the idea that bubble size was almost more important than pipe diameter, but as I said, I was not really trying to get a good one going at that time.
Count me in on air lift 101 too. I have messed around with them before, but have never really committed to trying to make one. I got the idea that bubble size was almost more important than pipe diameter, but as I said, I was not really trying to get a good one going at that time. David, do you have any number…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1911072011-08-22T12:19:07.734ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
David, do you have any numbers about air pump sizing and pipe sizing and all that so people can actually estimate the flow rate they would get from a particular airlift set up? That has always been my problem, people keep telling me they work but they can't tell me how to find out how much water any particular set up will lift without my having to buy it all set it up and time the interval it takes to fill a bucket. Really hard to invest in such a set up if you can't compare efficiency to a…
David, do you have any numbers about air pump sizing and pipe sizing and all that so people can actually estimate the flow rate they would get from a particular airlift set up? That has always been my problem, people keep telling me they work but they can't tell me how to find out how much water any particular set up will lift without my having to buy it all set it up and time the interval it takes to fill a bucket. Really hard to invest in such a set up if you can't compare efficiency to a regular water pump which does give you a pump curve that tells you about how much water flow you will get at different heights. Not sure why people feel a ai…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1908012011-08-22T03:56:16.667ZDavid Waitehttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/DavidWaite
Not sure why people feel a airlift is restricted by how high it can lift. Airlifts must match air volume to pipe size but they can lift water hundreds of feet in the air. The higher the lift the lower the water volume of course but they really do a great job.<br/>
Not sure why people feel a airlift is restricted by how high it can lift. Airlifts must match air volume to pipe size but they can lift water hundreds of feet in the air. The higher the lift the lower the water volume of course but they really do a great job.<br/> with the IBC's there is plent…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1907212011-08-22T00:39:34.886ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
with the IBC's there is plenty of water depth to use an air lift to lift water up to a barrel half sitting on the IBC. Quite a different thing to lifting water about 5 feet above a barrel on it's side fish tank. If you want to use air to lift water higher than the depth of the pipe down into the water you would need to use a geyser pump instead and still you don't get much lift along with flow.
with the IBC's there is plenty of water depth to use an air lift to lift water up to a barrel half sitting on the IBC. Quite a different thing to lifting water about 5 feet above a barrel on it's side fish tank. If you want to use air to lift water higher than the depth of the pipe down into the water you would need to use a geyser pump instead and still you don't get much lift along with flow. Looks like Travis uses air li…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-22:4778851:Comment:1907182011-08-22T00:07:44.836ZChi Mahttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/ChiMa
<p>Looks like Travis uses air lifts on his IBC's. @ about 00:56.</p>
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<p>Looks like Travis uses air lifts on his IBC's. @ about 00:56.</p>
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</p> Hi TC,
I think you're right a…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-21:4778851:Comment:1898592011-08-21T22:44:25.518ZHarold Sukhbirhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/HaroldSukhbir
<p>Hi TC,</p>
<p>I think you're right about the head with and air lift pump. At one time I tried a design with a small air pump i saw on youtube using 1/2" PVC but later I got better results using CPVC(smaller diameter), I remember lifting to about 2 1/2 - 3 feet but, at the time I didn't take into account that I'd have to lift about 5 feet! I'll try it again and post some results.</p>
<p>Hi TC,</p>
<p>I think you're right about the head with and air lift pump. At one time I tried a design with a small air pump i saw on youtube using 1/2" PVC but later I got better results using CPVC(smaller diameter), I remember lifting to about 2 1/2 - 3 feet but, at the time I didn't take into account that I'd have to lift about 5 feet! I'll try it again and post some results.</p> Harold, an air lift pump isn'…tag:aquaponicgardening.ning.com,2011-08-21:4778851:Comment:1898572011-08-21T22:15:32.064ZTCLynxhttps://aquaponicgardening.ning.com/profile/TCLynx
<p>Harold, an air lift pump isn't going to be able to lift water to the top of a barrel-ponics system. Air lifts generally can't lift very high and the amount they can lift is directly related to the depth of water in the pipe above where the air is injected. A 3-4 watt air pump isn't going to be able to pump air down below 5 feet of water in order to lift water to the top of a barrel ponics system.</p>
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<p>Please provide a link and or diagrams of how you go about pumping 50 gallons…</p>
<p>Harold, an air lift pump isn't going to be able to lift water to the top of a barrel-ponics system. Air lifts generally can't lift very high and the amount they can lift is directly related to the depth of water in the pipe above where the air is injected. A 3-4 watt air pump isn't going to be able to pump air down below 5 feet of water in order to lift water to the top of a barrel ponics system.</p>
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<p>Please provide a link and or diagrams of how you go about pumping 50 gallons of water an hour with a 4 watt air pump.</p>