Overflow Gods I need help

[stumpdog]

I have spent the morning doing up my sump and overflow. This has lead my to several questions.
1. The hose which came with the overflow is very flexible, and a little too long. What will keep it in the sump? Do I just cut it to the length that gets it to the sump and call it good? Does that make sense? What do I cut it with?
2. I put the ball valve directly onto the pump, is this okay? If not what else should I do and what do I need to do it? See attached picture.
3. The return hose is also too long and I am worried about it staying in the tank, how do I make this more stable? See next picture down. Thanks for any help. I hope to have this done today and post an update.
Jeremy

 

[stumpdog]

Here is the return

 

[the claw]

Well, I'm no god, but I would suggest anchoring things somehow, because I guess I approach everything from the murphy's law point of view, if something can go wrong it will. Unfortunately, I don't know how to tell you to do this because I alwys work with PVC that is rigid. I think you r ball valve will be fine. I like to have mine out of the tank, so I can adjust it without getting my hands wetor worry about contaminating my tank. Some of them also have metal parts that can rust. I think your return looks good, but make sure it isn't in the tank too far, or that you have drilled a safety hole close to the top of the water line, so that when the power goes off, you won't siphon too much tank water before it stops.

 

[seaham358]

Return line, I have 2 of these on my 125 and 1 on my 55 and I have never had any trouble with them falling off. Why can't you cut the return line to the proper size if you think it is too long. I find that when I run water throught it the weight of the water helps keep it in place also.

 

[jumpfrog]

Having the ball valve up out of the water will make you life a little easier. I would also add a "union." This allows you to remove the pump for service without having to take your ball valve and additional pvc apart. As for cutting your flexible hose, go ahead and size it to best fit. Leave yourself some 'wiggle' room. I just turn on my band saw and "zip" saw it off where I want. Strong scissors would work too I guess.
Also, as The Claw said: make sure you have hole high up on your return side to break siphon when your pump stops.
If you have more questions, just post. We'll get you through it.
Good Luck!

 

[stumpdog]

Thanks for the help. I went to the hardware store and purchased some more stuff that will allow me to have the valve out of the sump. What is this safety hole I always here people refer to? I just don't get it? Is the hole in the tank? I hope not, is there any other place I can put it? Jump- What is a union? Where can I get one? Do you have a picture of one? Sorry I'm not much of a handy man.
Thanks-
Jeremy

 

[jagermeister]

When the power goes out, and it will, a siphon will form in your return line sucking water out of your tank and into your sump. To prevent this, you'll want to drill a small hole in the return line right below your tanks water surface. Make sure you drill this hole in the return that's inside the tank.
I drilled an 1/8" hole on the backside of my return line within the tank right at the water surface level. Hardly any water gets sucked back into my sump when the power is turned off. HTH

 

[jagermeister]

Here you go. Hopefully this is a little easier to envision.

 

[jagermeister]

Oh and to answer your other question. A union is a common piece of pipe fitting used to join two pipes together. If that made any sense. Anyways people usually add them to both the intake and outlet of a pump. If you ever need to switch pumps then you just unscrew the two unions and take the pump off. Very easy.
Unions are sold along side other pvc pipe fittings at HD, Lowes, or most any hardware store. Just ask someone who works there that you're looking for a pvc union and they'll know what you're talking about. Once you see one you can figure out how it works and why you'd want one. HTH

 

[jumpfrog]

Yep!
Good Luck! It seems like this plumbing stuff is really hard at first. Once you actually build and test it will all make sense. Go ahead and get your first flood out of the way and you'll know you've made it
Just kidden' of course.
edit: Jeremy I just noticed you're in Lawrence. One of my company's manufacturing plants is out there. Kinedyne Corp.
What grad school major?

 

[stumpdog]

Jager and Jump=
Again thanks, I see what you are saying about the safety hole.
As far as the first flood, I've had a mini one. I forgot to teflon tape the fittings. Brain Fart. I should have know better we had to teflon all the time in paintball.
Jump-
I am not in grad school just finishing up my 2nd undergrad. I have one in political science and will be finishing up my other one in business with an emphasis in finance.
Thanks-
Jeremy

 

[stumpdog]

I have everything up and running, and I have one more question. It seems that I still have a small leak. It seems to be coming from the spot where the hose connects to the barb, you know what I am talking about? How can I fix this? It is a 3/4" barb and a 3/4" hose. What do I do?
Thanks-
Jeremy

 

[indy1]

With regards to the siphon break i drilled mine just above water level so the siphon breaks immediately. When it is running barely any water comes out of the hole.

 

[jagermeister]

Did you make sure the hose was on as far as it goes? I had a hell of a time doing this. Did you clamp it? If all else fails you may want to put a small line of silicon around the hose and barb to seal it.

 

[stumpdog]

Jag-
I figured it out, yeah! The leak is where the hose connects to the return spray thingy majober (refer to previous image.) The hose is 3/4" but the return things looks closer to 1/2". The hose is just a little too big. Should I go to the LFS and find a bigger return thing or should I go to the hardware store?
Thanks-
Jeremy

 

[jagermeister]

It has been my experience that plumbing supplies are much cheaper at hardware stores. I got all my plumbing supplies from Home Depot and Lowes.
Both HD and Lowes have giant spools of flex hoses in all sorts of sizes that you can buy by the foot. Be sure you're looking at the inside diameter measurements if you need some.
As for barbs look in the outdoor sprinkler section. They should have a large selection of 1/2", 3/4", and 1" barbs.
Now, I can't see from the picture what the barb connection to the spraybar looks like. The barbs you'll find at the hardware store will be threaded, so hopefully it's a matter of unscrewing the barb that's too small and screwing in the right sized barb.
HTH

 

[stumpdog]

Jag-
I would prefer to keep my same hose. Here are pictures from a different angle.
Thanks-
Jeremy
PS Could I find this stuff at Lowes?

 

[jagermeister]

I don't think you'd be able to find that at lowes. It looks like a prefab return. You might want to try your LFS.
But, if the hose is just a little too big, you might want to try a steel clamp first.

 

[stumpdog]

Will a steel clamp work better than a plastic clamp? I have something plastic clamps, but I just can't get them tight enough.
Thanks-
Jeremy

 

[jagermeister]

Well, I know a steel clamp you can screw to tighten it. Did you try using pliers on the plastic clamp to get it as tight as possible? And make sure you have the hose pushed up as far as you can get it on the barb.
I gotta get outta here so I won't be able to have computer access until tomorrow morning.
So.....
1. Make sure the hose is pushed up as far as you can get it. I know for me it took quite a bit of muscle and sweating for my connections.
2. Make sure that plastic clamp is as tight as you can get it. Try using pliers but be careful not to break it.
3. I don't think going back to the fish store will help. If your hose is 3/4" and the barb is 1/2" then you'd definitely know you had the wrong parts. You'd be able to stick the barb into the hose without touching the sides of the hose. Is there a size labeled on the barb?
4. If all else fails then you can either try sealing it with silicon or return the return to the LFS and build your own return with plumbing parts from Lowes. I built my own return and everything fits very snuggly. Like I said, I had to use quiet a bit of muscle to get the hose on the barbs.
Good luck!!!