Bell Siphon drain issues

[Michael Sasarak]

Hello, 

I relocated my stock tank from under my grow bed to right next to my grow bed so I have access to all of my stock tank instead of just the first 2 feet of it and so I can see everything in the tank. 

The bell siphon was working perfect when the tank was under the system allowing it to fill and drain properly. 

Since I moved the tank next to the grow bed I had to extend the 1" drain pipe connected to an elbow to the bulk head from the bottom of the bed to reach the stock tank. 

The problem I have now is that the bell siphon will not stop draining. It starts strong as it used to and then near the end it seems as if the pressure is being diminished. I would imagine it is because the length of the pipe. I can hear the siphon try to gasp for air but keeps sucking water down. 

Does anybody know how to fix this so that the siphon cuts off and the grow bed can flood and drain properly? 

any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks! 

Mike

[Ryan Garlington]

Reducing the fill rate a little can help. That way at the end of draining the exiting water will pull harder than the entering water.

[Michael Sasarak]

Thanks Ryan. 

I was tweaking it last night and playing around a bit. I took a level to the drain pipe and seen that the pitch was actually pushing the water toward the grow bed instead of the stock tank. I couldn't really tell with my naked eye because it actually looked as if the pitch was correct. The problem is that the top of the stock tank is only a few inches below the bottom of the bulk head for the drain pipe so I only have that few inches to work with until the end of the pipe rests on top of the edge of the stock tank. 

I had to get on my hands and knees and use my back to lift the grow bed off the ground and quickly slide a few small slim bricks under the legs of the grow bed to raise it higher off the ground so that the pipes pitch could be corrected so when water is draining there is just enough air being allowed back into the drain pipe so the siphon would cut off and I could hear the gurgle for the break in suction. Along with that I did what you mentioned as well, which was adjusted the fill ratio with a ball valve right before the water enters the grow bed. I watched this several times when the fill/drain cycle so that it would fill accordingly, but also have enough water entering the grow bed so the bell siphon could start and stop properly. Not too much and not too little. The fill time is about 16 minutes and the drain time is about a minute +/-.

There is still some more tweaking that has to be done. I also put an elbow at the end of the drain pipe right over the stock tank and turned it slightly upward. This seems to be working perfectly now. 

I'll post some pics soon. 

Thanks!

[Michael Sasarak]

Michael Sasarak said:

Thanks Ryan. 

I was tweaking it last night and playing around a bit. I took a level to the drain pipe and seen that the pitch was actually pushing the water toward the grow bed instead of the stock tank. I couldn't really tell with my naked eye because it actually looked as if the pitch was correct. The problem is that the top of the stock tank is only a few inches below the bottom of the bulk head for the drain pipe so I only have that few inches to work with until the end of the pipe rests on top of the edge of the stock tank. 

I had to get on my hands and knees and use my back to lift the grow bed off the ground and quickly slide a few small slim bricks under the legs of the grow bed to raise it higher off the ground so that the pipes pitch could be corrected so when water is draining there is just enough air being allowed back into the drain pipe so the siphon would cut off and I could hear the gurgle for the break in suction. Along with that I did what you mentioned as well, which was adjusted the fill ratio with a ball valve right before the water enters the grow bed. I watched this several times when the fill/drain cycle so that it would fill accordingly, but also have enough water entering the grow bed so the bell siphon could start and stop properly. Not too much and not too little. The fill time is about 16 minutes and the drain time is about a minute +/-.

There is still some more tweaking that has to be done. I also put an elbow at the end of the drain pipe right over the stock tank and turned it slightly upward. This seems to be working perfectly now. 

I'll post some pics soon. 

Thanks!