I've got a 24inch Python Water vac which runs straight out of the tank and into the garden, However it doesn't seem to pick anything up? Stuff just floats in the middle of the tube, any ideas how to increase the suction?
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I've got a 24inch Python Water vac which runs straight out of the tank and into the garden, However it doesn't seem to pick anything up? Stuff just floats in the middle of the tube, any ideas how to increase the suction?
When you say it runs straight to the garden, do you mean hooked up to the suction fitting connected to an outdoor faucet, or just the tube to ground running via siphon?
It's all about gravity. When I drain out my front door if we are really dry it takes FOREVER. When I drain to the basement basically a 12ish foot drop more or less, it drains pretty quick. Draining to the yard is more like 5 or so feet.
That said, it usually still picks up debris OK, but some heavier stuff is not as readily lifted.
The variance between the height of the water in the tank and the height of the exit from the siphon hose determines the velocity of the water draining. You can either increase that distance or increase the diameter of the drain tube.
I don't connect it to the tap, just run the pipe straight out into the back garden.Quote:
Originally Posted by dspeers
Yeah mine is about 5ft drop. It's a nightmare, I have a thinner vac which is like a hoover on steroids, but takes ages because it's so thin.Quote:
Originally Posted by jwcarlson
Just wondering if anyone had any tips on how I could increase the power of the suction.
I have some that are just a couple feet above the floor drain in the basement. If I need to vac debris I use a narrow vac, but you could even just use a hose. And if I'm doing a bulk change I use a regular python. I'm not afraid to walk away. If I'm really concerned with how much I'm taking out, I situate the tube at the right height and close it in the lid (or some people use plastic clamps) that way it only drains down to that level. If you're doing a combination of both you can start the 'bulk drain' and then clean debris up separately. I don't do a lot of water changes on these low to the ground ones... meaning that they are not discus tanks. Home Depot sells bigger flexible hose here in the US. I'm not sure what your UK equivalent would be, but you might be able to get something like a 1" vinyl hose to help speed up. Or even two smaller hoses. I find that my drain speed (meaning the drain I'm sending the water down into and out of the house) is an issue if I'm draining two tanks at once. So that might be a limiting factor at some point too. One tank drains nicely. If I do two it wants to back up a bit after both are draining for awhile. So I end up starting/stopping one of them if I'm doing that.Quote:
Originally Posted by wuvarien
Cheers Jwc, Going to pop to the shops over the weekend and get a tube that fits in the middle ground!Quote:
Originally Posted by jwcarlson