Float valve help

[Ricordia]

Guys,

I'd like to rig up some kind of auto-topoff for my 20 gallon nano project. The problem is, the area where I can put in a float valve is only 4 inches by 2 inches in area. The float valve would need to work 100% vertically, but all of the ABS float valves I've seen work horizontally only. In fact, I've only found one float valve at all that can work vertically and it's all brass except for the float itself.

I've heard bad things about float switches sticking open and flooding the tank, so I'm VERY hesitant to go that route. Do I have any other options?!?

Ricodia

 

[Anonymous]

I use this guy with the 1/2 male NPT

http://www.usplastic.com/catalog/produc ... 5Fid=12596

It works with the float 90 deg to the valve itself. The one I have now is 3 years old and never failed.

 

[Ricordia]

Thanks Wazzel, I hadn't seen that one in my web searches. Do you use it at the 90 degree position? Is the movement truely 100% vertical?

Ricordia

 

[Anonymous]

That thing is awesome looking Wazzel, I have been nosing around for something exactly like that for mine, I hate adding water to my system.

Cool link

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Wazzel, I hadn't seen that one in my web searches. Do you use it at the 90 degree position? Is the movement truely 100% vertical?

Ricordia

IT can be used at a bunch of different angles. I have used it with the bulkhead mounted on a horizontal plate and with the bulkhead in the sump wall. The movement is a sweeping motion, but it does not take much to get it to open and close. I can never tell the different position, but sometimes I see water leaking out of it.

I'm in Houston right now. I have a spare and I could take a few pics to show differet orentations for you when I get home tomorrow night.

 

[Anonymous]

http://www.floatswitches.net/ I added one of these to my nano. It is working fine for me.

I have hooked two up together in series. That way if one sticks the other will shut off the pump. They were only $6 each, so they were not that expensive.

 

[Anonymous]

Photos as promised. Two different mounting options fully open and fully closed with a tape for scale.

 

[Anonymous]

The other two

 

[Anonymous]

That is actually a valve right? How much pressure can you have on it. Can it be hooked up to say my house plumbing which is at 60 lbs to fill my tank with?

or is it just for gravity drains and such....

 

[Ricordia]

Thanks Wazzel, that looks like it would work perfectly. I'll post an update after I get one and try it out.

Ricordia

 

[Ricordia]

That is actually a valve right? How much pressure can you have on it. Can it be hooked up to say my house plumbing which is at 60 lbs to fill my tank with?

or is it just for gravity drains and such....

From the site Wazzel linked:

Valves have a .093 orifice, with an estimated flow rate of 1.5 gpm at 40 psi and have been tested to 100 psi.

Ricordia

 

[Anonymous]

That is actually a valve right? How much pressure can you have on it. Can it be hooked up to say my house plumbing which is at 60 lbs to fill my tank with?

or is it just for gravity drains and such....

It is a valve and it could be attached to your house plumbing. I hope you are not planning on using tap water. Have you had you water tested?

 

[Anonymous]

Yes I have had it tested, its tap water, its from my well.

I have been using it for 3 years now, when I really start to get crazy with the corals I will start using RO/DI

but for now it will save me having to dump 2 quarts in a day, and even later I can hook it up with a nursemaid to keep the sump at the right level.

 

[dwkoller]

I'm in the process of building a sump/refigium with an autotop off. Attached are two pics of the pvc bracket with the two switches attached.

The lower switch is normally in the open position when the water height is full. As water evaporates and the water level falls, the float lowers, closing the circuit and the pump turns on.

The upper switch is a fail safe, in case the lower switch ever malfunctions, and the pump continues to run -- the upper switch (normally in a closed position) will break the circuit.

The PVC bracket is attached to the tank using nylon ties and plastic anchor plates.

I'm using a solid state relay and running 12V DC through the float switched -- the relay connects the pump with 110V AC.

I've already checked the circuit and the thing runs like a charm.

dwk

 

[Ricordia]

That looks very nice! I've had one of these in my nano for about two weeks now, not set up quite as nicely as yours but it's serviceable. Or at least it was. The switch now stays open no matter where the float is; luckily it happened (or may have even been caused somehow) at the same time my pump decided to stop working. I noticed the water level was lower than it should be, lifted the pump out of the reserve and let it thunk back down. The pump started right up, but never stopped! I got a lot of Kalk in the tank, and damn near overflowed onto my carpet by the time I got it shut off.

I bought four of these switches, so I can replace this one, but now I'm really worried about them. My original fears are back ten fold.

Ricordia

 

[aquamarine]

One method of top off control that I have used in alot of tite apps is an electronic tank level sensor. It works by three tiny probes positioned at the level you want the tank to fill to. Once the water reaches the probes the conductivity in the water engages the auto off mech in the larger part you see in the picture. When installed this method uses under an inch of space inside the tank. If you have a power outage the unit automaticaly clicks int the no flow position.
This is my favorite cuz it looks high tech too!

Bryan

 

[Ricordia]

Where did you get it? Sounds like a good solution.

Ricordia

 

[Anonymous]

I was selling a similar gadget a few years ago, but there is not enough takers, and I gave up.

The problem with the above unit is that it is not intended for saltwater. You can use it for freshwater (not RO/DI, however) tank and it is availabe in SpectraPure.com among others.

 

[srblack]

Hi,

I noticed your setup and I would like to build one too. However, I don't know much about electronics. What is the solid state relay and how do I connect the float to that as well as the electrical chord of the power head/pump?

Also, does the salt water corrode the float? Because, I had one of these set-ups purchased from some guy who makes them in his garage it seems, and it just stopped working. Only, he had it connected with a 9Vbattery in order for the circuite to close when the float raised up.

Thanks,

SB

I'm in the process of building a sump/refigium with an autotop off. Attached are two pics of the pvc bracket with the two switches attached.

The lower switch is normally in the open position when the water height is full. As water evaporates and the water level falls, the float lowers, closing the circuit and the pump turns on.

The upper switch is a fail safe, in case the lower switch ever malfunctions, and the pump continues to run -- the upper switch (normally in a closed position) will break the circuit.

The PVC bracket is attached to the tank using nylon ties and plastic anchor plates.

I'm using a solid state relay and running 12V DC through the float switched -- the relay connects the pump with 110V AC.

I've already checked the circuit and the thing runs like a charm.

dwk

 

[cjsrch]

www autotopoff.com
but you can make your own using that float switch shown above and a relay ( relay to increes max amps and maby make it 24 volt dc if you want instead of running 110 doretly to the tank you could run 24 volt and hten have it turn on and off the 110 relay. BLA im an idiot with electronics unless its " revers engineering " even tho it hardly qualifys as that, its more like taking daddys lawnmower apart then improving it after learning how theres works lol