How To Build a Bell Siphon
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- Опубликовано: 13 июл 2024
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This details all the steps on how to build a bell siphon. This model has been adapted to have a small cup on the breather tube which helps it to stop siphoning under less than ideal conditions. The first video can be found here: • The Better Bell Siphon
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Thank you so much for keeping your instructions brief and to the point, the music low and speeding the video through the repetitive tasks. Your topic is great. But I really appreciate how you put your video together. Thank you!
This siphon works perfectly! I just hooked it up and turned on the water. Without any fidgeting it starts and stops with any flow rate. Thanks a lot.
Thank you young man! Your videos are outstanding!! Today we have discovered Aquaponics and at 55 yo it is going to be a great way to spend my retirement. I shall continue to watch your videos and learn how to do all this. I live in MD, can you grow fish and vegs all year long in a greenhouse??? What an ingenious system. Sometimes I love being a human... mostly when the TV is off :) Thank you again sir.
Adding the cup and trap. GENIUS! Thanks!
Awesome narration! Finally someone who describes in detail and not a lot of stories that only mean something to the filmmaker.
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one of the best diy vids I've seen. thanks for not having punk head banger music and I don't think I ever heard the words "and uh", "well uh". short sweet to the point and now on my list. thx
Thanks. There are many "uh"s when I'm doing the recording, I just edit them all out...or do many, many recordings of the voice-overs. ;-)
I've watched all of your videos... You do some remarkable stuff. I'm very impressed. I'm doing a small IBC Aquaponics setup soon. Thanks for this video.
Best bell siphon video ever...thanks
Using a table saw as a mill, that's awesome!
Rob, this is such an informative video. I feel like I've learned so much!
Oh--and LOVE the music choice.
Great instructions. Thanks for posting.
Must say its a very good illustrative video. Many Thanks
well explained and pictured...we're really needing some useful "tweaking" n will most likely be trying your design...thanks!!
It's not required, but sure is helpful. Usually it's not an issue if you have a small bed, but once you get into the large systems, the water level drains much slower and the siphons don't always break properly and get stuck in a half on-half-off state. The trap under it helps to burp the siphon to get it started again, if you have a higher flow rate, it's not necessary, but I run my beds really slow-some of them only cycle every 2-3 hours. With a "traditional" bell setup, it would never start.
Great video and music. Thanx
I enjoyed your video. I like watching how you use a table saw. Going to make one of my projects slightly more easy. :)
Nice/lol!!! First time I've seen a table saw being used as a mill, that's awesome.
1. Lovin' the Ragtime. 2. I had no table saw so I used a hole saw on the bottom of my bell housing - drilled four holes equidistant around the pipe, then cut it off about halfway with a hacksaw. Table saw looks much easier!
Spot on as per usual....
Very good work, god bless
Very professional!
Hello All. Big Thanks to Rob for the videos and game changer innovations! I love the grow grips and the shale for my seedling system! I am having ISSUES with getting this siphon design to work. I have been struggling with this for weeks with not much success. I have a 21 sqft bed, 12 inches deep and mimicked this video as close as I can see. For those using large beds (20sqft and larger), what length outflow are you using after the p trap and any elbows used? Also, how much of a drop from the p trap to the end of the outlet pipe pouring to the sump?
My issue is, to get the syphon started I had to increase the flow. That meant that the flow in was nearly as much as the siphon could flow out. Before the water level got down to the the cup, it reached equilibrium and stayed the at the same level. My other issue was the siphon not starting and overflowing the bed onto the ground (this system is in my house). I need to increase the siphon's ability to flow faster and increase my drain speed or have some way of decreasing the flow into the bed while still starting the siphon. The threshold for flow into the bed is too negligible to be reliable in any way. I have zip grow towers, a fish tank and the grow bed fed from one pump. Any adjustment would throw out the grow bed from its exact flow rate needed if that is even achievable in the first place. I would think that using 1" or larger pipes would achieve a faster drain but that is where I started 2 weeks ago. I am now going in circles of trial an error without any success.
I just don't understand why I can not replicate this design other than thin walled pvc being not available. I had to use 3/4 schedule 40. That was after trying 1" schedule 40.
Any ideas before I rip out my entire system?
Many Thanks!
Matt
I had purchased a bunch of the 1-1/4" fittings at surplus for a fraction of the price of new ones so it's what I'm stuck with. ;-) Most of the ones that I've found don't have 3/4" slip-fit built in, which would be the best. By luck, the 1-1/4" thread to 1" slip fit adapter and 1" to 3/4" adapter are fairly cheap and can be found at Loews or HD so I just went with that.
I used similar tricks with chop saws on jobs, always wanted to try making my own pvc fittings like what you did with the spade bit and the 3/4 inch fpt die, I highly recommend True blue pipe dope, they sell small squeeze tubes of it, I love the milling you did with the table saw, with regards to the Vinale hose you used off the barb, I use a piece of copper solid wire, twisted, or a zip tie works great too, great place for a dab of True blue, seals every thing, Propane approved, Do another one, Video, ask for donations to cover your materials and, pay yourself, create a job, hobby of sorts,, get paid, have fun, teach others, build kits and sell them online, I loved your video, Good luck
Yup. I agree. I run my water really slow slow so it's hard to get the siphons to kick on without the trap. Higher rates and you could use a standard bell or the Afnan variation. Basically, I would say these are 99.99% reliable. It's the roots that cause problems!
Thanks. When I do build it I will use these instructions.
Heh, I pretty much designed this system in my head 5 minutes before I found this video. A few differences in construction, but the concept and mechanics are pretty much the same. Mildly disappointed that I can't claim credit for it, but it is also nice to have evidence that it was a good concept.
i0
wow amazing job man
Brilliant!!!
1/2" tubing will be fine. I don't like to use less than 3/8" because it seems to catch too much junk. If you can find a 3/4" bulkhead, that will work fine. I get the other ones as surplus so it's what I had laying around.
Thanks for the all in one clip :)
Will be using some of your ideas on the new beds as ours are a tad dodgy :/
Thanks Rob :)
Some suggestions from a carpenter builder w/50 yrs experience:
1. Put a large, thick washer or 2 inside the mandrel before you drill, so as to get the disc out more easily.
2. Do NOT do the priming [it's purple; solvent adhesive is clear, grey, or bluish] over finished masonry paver bricks, as it's VERY difficult to remove the stains.
3. Keep some sandpaper on hand to remove the burrs.
Yeah it can. Just my clear tubing on my Air pump collects Algae, I've heard block tubing helps but never tried it myself.
very helpful!
Nice vid, thanks!
I agree with this too! I can remove all my stand pipes and traps. Sometimes I like to adjust the water level in the beds and it's simple enough to yank it out and put in a slightly shorter one. After our open house, I did discover some stones in my bells....kids love getting into trouble!
im tryin to rigg my water collectors to floatvalve/ bell syphon to another float valve or have water stop for drip feed any suggestions or things to help
the float vlaves then regulat the bell syphon
@@coryryder9070 I recommend keeping the systems as simple as possible
I don't know what all the part numbers are. The problem is there are several types of bulkhead fittings on the market which need different adapters. The best bet would be to find a bulkhead fitting, then search at Lowes or HD for the adapters that will get it down to a 3/4" pipe.
Great tutorial. I made one today, after experiencing the problem of the siphon not completely stopping. I find, when using pea pebbles, the water level at the siphon drains much faster than the opposite side of the bed, due to all the resistance from the small pebbles, that the siphon partially stops, but then, as the water level redistributes itself again, some water gushes to the siphon, causing the suction to resume before the vacuum has been completely broken (therefor the siphon does not stop completely).
I've just installed your design and I'm about to do a proper trial run. If my roots start rotting because the bed doesn't drain low enough I guess I'll either have to install a little drainage system towards the bell siphon, or use bigger pebbles so the water can flow faster and drain before the suction is broken by the little cap drop.
Or, I guess I can choke the return line to my sump so the siphon flow is reduced a little, but still more than the water coming into the bed. That'll give the bed more time to drain evenly.
the roots will be fine. The flood and drain cycle will draw in enough air to keep the roots happy. I've been running for years with these siphons and haven't had any issues with root rot. Thanks!
you're the man
There's probably a tiny allen bolt in the side of your hole saw which you can loosen to allow the inside drill bit to float freely of the outer shell. And it's probably metric.
Here is a request, could you post a parts list that one can print out? The adapters for the stand pipe and the one for the trap are confusing...
You are Very brave on that saw my freind
Can you please make a list of the material, size and quantities that we need. So we can just go to the depot store and buy the needed material to later assemble it?
does the clear 3/4" breather tubing collect algae? would using black tubing make any difference do you think?
The caps should sink when full of water, float when empty. Any regular PVC cap should work.
thanks
Where did you get the end cap from, also can u please give detailed information on sizes of pipe used please.
nice thx for the share
thank's
I have worked some with these bell siphons, i discovered that the cap at the bottom does not need to float, just has to be taller than the inlet openings. See my bell siphon update. Let me know what you think.
Questions Please:
1) Would I be just as well off to buy a 3/4" bulkhead and use 3/4" pvc for the stand pipe or is there magic to having the 1 1/4" stand pipe inside the 2" bell?
2) the clear tubing you attach to the side of the Bell siphon... Would a 1/2" tubing work the same or is there special magic to that size tubing?
Thanks for helping me.
yes I do...hate it when i can't get the plug out of my hole saw i mean...I had to get some stitches in my finger when my hand slipped and my finger hit the bit....Ouch!!
depending on the species. they can help u defend yr garden. to out right attack every thing. butt seems to me that u have the helpful kind
love your work. I am starting a similar build with the pond liner grow beds and bell siphon. just wanted confirm, is the 3/4 inch drain pipe the internal diameter? I have the metric equivalent and it looks smaller than what you have used
I believe it's the inside diameter, but since this is a thin walled pipe, the inside diameter is a bit larger so that the outer wall will fit the standard fittings. You should be able to use something that's close.
nope! That's why I add a little music to them! :)
I know this has been asked but I can't seem to find the answer. Is there a complete parts list somewhere? Not where to buy, an actual list, sizes quantities.. etc. Also what size is the bit used to make the drain hole? 1 1/4"?
Thanks in advance!
I have a large bed (120" x 36" by 10" (LxWxH) that just wouldn't ever break siphon so I tried to do this. I've tried caps from all the local big box stores and none of them float. I have 3/8 tubing, but it seems that it's just sucking a continuous small stream of air and water since the cap won't float. What am I missing?
Forget bulkheads. Get Uniseals. Cheaper and easier to work with and leak proof unlike most bulkheads that are expensive and generally will leak if not properly seated and tightened exactly.
I had never actually seen your siphon version with the breather "CUP" pretty cleaver.
Now if you have your grow beds draining into a tank directly below the grow beds, Skip all the extra junk, don't bother with traps or breather tubes until you test it out because it can be very simple and the extra stuff is only to get it to work if it doesn't just work in the first place.
As to the uniseals, they make it difficult to remove the stand pipe. There are some tricks that can be done but...
Hey rob! Are you a greenhouse technician outside of your channel?
If you don't get yourself or others injured you clearly followed safety guidelines
nicer one
Strangely enough I fabricated my siphon, after yours and many others, and I could not get actual siphon start and stop until I clamp the side tube. now start stop straight for two weeks... I'm confused. but thank you and great video...
Holy Carp! How did you get John Malkovich to do your plumbing???
Believe it or not, that's not the first time I've heard that!
Bigelow Brook Farm (Web4Deb) That guy is just full of surprises, isn't he?
I have a problem of DIY siphon. My plastic water drawer/tank is not too big. I tried a different size of siphon. However, the water does not go fluently everytime, nor it could reach the very bottom of the siphon.
So does the following matter ?
1. Height of inner and outter sihpon ?
2. Size of the water drawer/tank ?
3. Size of the hole for water leakage ?
If there is a recommend sizes or formula, that will be great.
Or if a whole set of tank+siphon can be purchased, I would love to (because I spent a lot of time in testing already).
Thanks a lot for any help please.
Chun Yi Chow Hi. The sizes and flow will always have an effect to how well the siphons work. I believe at the end of the first video we say what the sizes of our pipes are. You can also purchase siphons from TheAquaponiceStore.com. Or for a different design, look up the Affnan siphon.
how do you decide on the size/dimensions of the siphon...? relative to the grow bed i presume? is there a general rule of thumb?
Usually the 3/4" pipe is good for most systems.
If you are still reading comments can you mentioned a list of all the parts? I'm finding it hard to get the names of some of them. Thx a ton.
I got everything at HomeDepot except the bulkhead fitting.
I am starting my first system and I attempted to test my siphon in a bucket of water before working it into the system, however it doesn't create and suction it just dumps water down the standpipe. I am using 3/4 inch standpipe and an 1 1/2" bell, would I need to increase the the outer portion to 2" or may I have another issue? Thanks.
+Jessy Artman Maybe a longer drain pipe under the bed to create a bigger suction. Another trick would be to make the bottom of the bell have less area for the water so it creates a little more restriction and force more water through the breather tube. Or the breather tube is too high...it should enter the bell at about the level of the top of the stand pipe.
I am a student in a conservation class we are wanting to build 3 different aquaponics systems in our green house the one I am researching is a 55G barrel cut into 2 and that video said it need a bell siphon. will this be easy for a beginner to build?
+Kayla Copenhaver If you can do basic plumbing, you should be able to build this.
is it vital to cement pieces together? or can i just dry fit everything and leave it that way?
I dry fit the standpipe, but everything else should be cemented so they don't leak water or air.
My rule is all stand pipes should be removable! I just encountered some stand pipes that people had glued into place. AND there is a rock in one of them, and no easy way to remove it.
And what if you wanted to change the system over to timed flood and drain later? How do you get a drill in to put the holes near the base of the stand pipe if the stand pipes are glued into place? Or what if the stand pipe is the wrong height and you need to cut it down?
Keep drains removable.
care to explain why?
What is your grow media depth? Mine is going to be 11 inches in 55 gal drum cut in half. I'm wondering how much id need to shorten/lengthen my siphon vs your 9 inches. Thank you!
+321 Shooting my beds have about 11" of media
Thank you
"
BroganTDB7 months ago
Here is a request, could you post a parts list that one can print out? The adapters for the stand pipe and the one for the trap are confusing..
"
I would like to request this too.
hey pal did you figure out where one can get the 90 degree NPT fittings from? i searched the web and they are hard to find
hey newbie here. why do we use bell siphon instead of keepinthe water just flow normally (at certain level).
what is the use case of bell siphon here?
im tryina to start my own aquaponics here. please help me fella
I helps to get air to the roots
just put a cover over the media guard.
cant find a 1/4 inch 90 degree NPT fitting. anyone know where sells them online?
I got mine at both Home Depot and Lowes. I'm sure you can also find them at McMaster.com too.
Thank you my good man
What if I put a the breather tube on the top of the bell siphon instead if the side? Would it affect the siphon our design
it can make a difference, the siphon may not have enough suction to get the water all the way up and over to the top.
ok, cause my bell siphon it again giving me problems. i fixed the old problem of not having enough flow to start the siphon now it back but i ahvent change anything except for the the grow bed it self. But strangely with the good flow and all, its ahving a hard time starting, it just stay full and sometimes the water level goes over the bell siphon, so i believe the pressure is there?
MY bell siphon is 15mm inner diameter and bell siphon is 30-35mm inner diameter.
is your stand pipe 3/4" or 1 1/4"? thanks
+Justin Bourlier 3/4"
Electronic and software engineer. :)
Where was this two years ago! Haha joking, good tutorial.
Could you just use a 3/4" bulk head adapter instead?
+321 Shooting yes. It's what I had in my collection of junk.
is that just regular PVC glue?
yes. standard off-the-shelf pvc cement. After it sets clean the areas (inside and out) to remove the extra. It's nasty stuff.
was there a bird in your green house at 1:16 to 1:19../ if not then u caught on of the stick bugs of yr camera film.
wasps. ;-)
1000 mahalo"s!!
6:42
4:20
Hay look, "rocks" oh and a hole to drop them in. Yep, make it easy to get at things to fix, clean them.
What could this do for a waterwheel generator? Also, and why would people think your plumbing was done by a famous actor?
*yoink*
Why is a bell syphon necessary why not just a stand pipe? I have used stand pipes for years in aquarium overflows with no problems. It just seems like allot of extra for no reason.
This isn't a standard overflow, the purpose is to made the water level rise and fall in the grow beds.
why not buy the bulk head with a 3/4" out ? then you wouldn't need the adapters ? I know that this is really obvious. hence the question.
Is there a reason for using the larger bulkhead.. not being a ass really would like to know.
Thumbs up for Ragtime Music.
just build a U siphon...take 10 min and no adjustement needed.
g
expandedshale (dot) com
Heavy Metal would be wrong.
The snorkel is unnecessary, it's just for lazy people who doesn't want to size their siphon.
not true. If you look back into the designs in the 1800 in the sewage systems, it's a key part to insure it operates properly regardless on how much flow you have.
Bigelow Brook Farm (Web4Deb)
In cases where you have no control of the flow, sure it's necessary, not in the case of controlled environment.