Inline Diaphragm Pump Question

J

justice8965

Active Member
Hey all. I'm working on automating my next coco grow, both watering and drainage. Having some trouble with the drainage part.

I recently saw a post where someone used drain away trays connected to an inline diaphragm pump:

36765-Drain-away-setup.jpg

My question is on how exactly the pump works. It says it has a pressure sensor that turns on automatically. Does this mean when drainage from the trays enters the hoses, the pump automatically turns on until the water is gone? If so, would something like this rough sketch work?

20210607_095414.jpg
 
Darkoh69

Darkoh69

Well-Known Member
Could drain the trays into a tote bin with a pond pump in it that turns on by a float switch
 
J

justice8965

Active Member
Darkoh69 said:
Could drain the trays into a tote bin with a pond pump in it that turns on by a float switch
Click to expand...
Right, so I have a bucket with a float pump in it already. My issue is getting the water from the saucers into that bucket. I don't want to prop the saucers up super high to use gravity to drain, since I'll lose a good amount of vertical room.

So does the diaphragm pump work like I think? Will it simply turn on, and pump the water from the trays into my waste bucket?
 
Darkoh69

Darkoh69

Well-Known Member
Im not sure about that pump. But I know giving plants enough altitude to overcome gravity in drain to waste & top fed recirc like mine is an ongoing issue & if you beat the bitch I’d love to hear about it
 
J

justice8965

Active Member
I hear that. If I could find some sort of 5x5 plastic tray I could drill a hole for drainage and I'd be set. I just can't find any that size
 
1

1212ham

Well-Known Member
justice8965 said:
Hey all. I'm working on automating my next coco grow, both watering and drainage. Having some trouble with the drainage part.

I recently saw a post where someone used drain away trays connected to an inline diaphragm pump:

View attachment 4918175

My question is on how exactly the pump works. It says it has a pressure sensor that turns on automatically. Does this mean when drainage from the trays enters the hoses, the pump automatically turns on until the water is gone? If so, would something like this rough sketch work?

View attachment 4918176
Click to expand...
So what happens when you plug it in? I don't see any pressure switch and it looks like the wires connect directly to the pump motor....
 
Sk-one

Sk-one

Well-Known Member
I doubt that the pump will turn on automatically. There is going to be very little pressure between your drain trays and the pump. Most pressure sensors will require at least a couple psi to activate and I doubt you will have that. I have been using these little pumps, and they work great.

https://www.amazon.com/Gikfun-Aquarium-Cooled-Diaphragm-EK1856/dp/B0744FWNFR/ref=sr_1_2?crid=OLZL65EF16G&dchild=1&keywords=diaphragm+pump+mini&qid=1623108969&sprefix=mini+diaphram,aps,260&sr=8-2

They are self priming, and I use one pump for each drain tray. They are cheap enough if you buy them on aliexpress that it's usually cheaper than one larger diaphragm pump with the added benefit that you don't need to use drain away trays. I just use a foil cake pan for a drain tray and put the intake tube from the pump in the tray.
 
1

1212ham

Well-Known Member
Sk-one said:
I doubt that the pump will turn on automatically. There is going to be very little pressure between your drain trays and the pump. Most pressure sensors will require at least a couple psi to activate and I doubt you will have that. I have been using these little pumps, and they work great.

https://www.amazon.com/Gikfun-Aquarium-Cooled-Diaphragm-EK1856/dp/B0744FWNFR/ref=sr_1_2?crid=OLZL65EF16G&dchild=1&keywords=diaphragm+pump+mini&qid=1623108969&sprefix=mini+diaphram,aps,260&sr=8-2

They are self priming, and I use one pump for each drain tray. They are cheap enough if you buy them on aliexpress that it's usually cheaper than one larger diaphragm pump with the added benefit that you don't need to use drain away trays. I just use a foil cake pan for a drain tray and put the intake tube from the pump in the tray.
Click to expand...
Controlling them manually?
 
J

justice8965

Active Member
Thanks for the advice all. I ended up grabbing a 4x4 flood table. Going to prop up one corner slightly, drill a hole in the opposite corner and put my catchment bucket under that. Floating pump sits in the bucket and pumps water out to a 5 gallon whenever the water level is about 1.5in

Going to put Pvc legs under it for support and to create the slight slant needed to run it to the one corner. Also discovered I can use one of those aluminum plant trays as the catchment instead of a bucket, which saves me like 12in of vertical space.
 
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