Bell siphon won't stop

Ragin' Cajun

arbe wrote:

I like Mr Damage's steps - specially step 1. I think almost everything AP should begin with that step 1 (note: when building your system - that should be the last step, not the first step).

@Ragin' Cajun

I would follow Mr Damage's steps but would also look at the return pipe. It may be better to use a 90mm T piece and have your standpipe discharge into that rather than directly into the return pipe with a uniseal as this is a place which air may come from to break the siphon.

Thanks

Ragin' Cajun

mantis wrote:

+1 on the pipes under the beds running uphill. Siphons will not stop with that happening. I found this out when one of my beds sunk a bit

Thanks

Ragin' Cajun

Amph wrote:

Removing the uniseals from where the siphon outlets meet the 3" pipe under the growbeds (photo_5) might help.. The siphons break by letting air in but they need to get air from both ends..
The outlets running uphill may also be what's stopping the air, but taking the seals out might lower the pipe enough too..

Thanks

Ronmaggi

Why not upgrade to affnan siphons? It is an easy modification, and they are super reliable.

Jimbo Rollins

I've also found that siphons work better with empty growbeds.

The angle of the return pipes will make it harder to break the siphon in my (limited) experience, also.
And, Ron is right about the Affnan siphon-very reliable and less sensitive to flow changes.

Ronmaggi

Did you find your fix? I am curious to know what the solution was.

aquatanker

I found this thread which caught my interest. I build two bell siphons very similar to the ones I saw in these pictures. I mess around with one for a week before I got it working reliably and then built a second one. Now the second one will not stop siphoning.

When I got the first one working well the last thing I had done seemed to be the trick. I started with a toothed configuration like I see in the pictures. I wondered if there was sufficient water flow so I cut a few V notches in between the straight tooth notches and with that simple thing my siphon was working like clock work.

The next one I built was based on the same schematic. It siphons great but it just won't stop. I used the plastic tube like shown in the picture and diagram and when the water hits that level I can hear the suction breaking but for some reason it just keeps on with that annoying trickle. I thought since the saw tooth pattern was so good I would just use that again. For some reason I have yet to understand it still won't quite shut off properly.

Oddly enough mine worked just fine with no growth media in the tanks. I do wonder if part of the problem with the no media test is that I run a lot more water for a faster testing experience. These things work great when they work but they certainly are tricky.

Wildcoconut

This thread was a lifer saver....my bell syphon wasnt stopping....read this and saw my drain line was uphill a bit....adjusted and its suckkin air awww yea....thanx guys.

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Bell siphon won't stop

Backyard Aquaponics
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