Tiny Might skimmer rockin' - Page 5

rishma · #**101** 08/02/2006, 10:24 PM

Spazz - this must be a dumb question....but why insist on clear bodies for skimmers? Obviously more pleasing to the eye, but I am an engineer not an architect.

I can understand why research/proto types should be clear for observation. But with proven pumps and geometry, why not buy a cylinder tank from US plastics and weld on an acrylic neck and cup??

smjtkj · #**102** 08/02/2006, 10:40 PM

There is really not a reason except to see what is going on in the body. I think once the design is proven, it could be done . No reason why not. I just like the clear because it looks cool!
Mike

smjtkj · #**103** 08/02/2006, 10:44 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dgasmd
His was not a Sweetwater II, but it was another type of sweetwater pump.

It was a whitewater pump.

spazz · #**104** 08/03/2006, 11:27 AM

i want clear so as time goes on you can see if something has entered the skimmer that shouldnt be there. or that its tiem to clean the skimmer. i had a calcium snow happen just in my skimmer once. the reason for that is the ca reactor dumps into the skimmer. if the body was not clear i would have never known. the rest of the tank was fine. no signs of snowing. the side walls were pure white inside the main chamber. things happen and we need to see what is going on inside one of the most inportant pieces of equiptment on our system. i will never own a skimmer that i cant see into. also its hard to find thin wall pvc tube in that size. the walls are so thick you cant really work with it very easy. its too heavy. we need a cheaper alternative to the $300 a foot they get for 18" cast acrylic tubes form the factory. it dont need to be pretty but i feel it needs to be see through. i think if you talked to most people they would prefer to see inside there skimmer if at all possable.

so smjtkj have yo had a chance to put the pins in the acrylic wheel yet and try that one? i think it might work a little better than the pvc one is. i think you will have alot lower wattage draws from the tiny might. and have more air to the skimmer.

smjtkj · #**105** 08/03/2006, 01:43 PM

I plan to work on it shortly. The carbon fiber rods are a pain to cut!! Do you have an easy way to do it?
Mike

ChemE · #**106** 08/03/2006, 02:31 PM

Cut off wheel on a Dremel tool works wonders.

smjtkj · #**107** 08/03/2006, 02:33 PM

Yeah that is what I am using. I have about 60 of the little pins to cut and boy it is not going very quickly. Ha! Ha!

kentrob11 · #**108** 08/03/2006, 02:34 PM

How about snapping some pics while you're putting it together...

spazz · #**109** 08/03/2006, 02:38 PM

i use a scrool saw and just leave them long and then trim them off later once the glue is dried. p.m. me your number and i will give you some easy pointers.

smjtkj · #**110** 08/03/2006, 02:42 PM

Good idea...I have been trying to cut these little terds the right length! I just sent PM.

smjtkj · #**111** 08/03/2006, 02:43 PM

Kentrob I will do that!

tinygiants · #**112** 08/04/2006, 07:28 AM

smjtkj,
I have enjoyed reading about your skimmer. It is a beautiful design implementation. I would love the oportunity to "crunch" your skimmers performance. If you are willing to take few measurements, I can calculte air/water ratio, air feed rate, bubble rise rate.
Thanks,
Dale

smjtkj · #**113** 08/04/2006, 09:19 AM

Thanks! Yes Dale, I would love to do that. Spazz and I were talking about you yesterday hoping you were able to do this for me. Let me know what I need to do. I am going to put a new needle wheel design in the skimmer this weekend that should help the performance even more. It should allow me to add even more air!

spazz · #**114** 08/04/2006, 09:35 AM

at least thats what we hope anyways.

smjtkj · #**115** 08/04/2006, 09:59 AM

Well if it just drops the wattage consumption I will be happy. I think the wheel is probably too tight like you mentioned. So that will be worth the effort alone.

Scott, what size drill bit do you use to drill the wheel befor tapping with the 1/4 fine tap?

spazz · #**116** 08/04/2006, 10:10 AM

i was just using a 3/16 plastic drill bit and the tap would cut out all the excess plastic in the wheel. but you might want to get the #3 drill bit that is recomended for that tap.

tinygiants · #**117** 08/04/2006, 10:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by smjtkj
Thanks! Yes Dale, I would love to do that. Spazz and I were talking about you yesterday hoping you were able to do this for me. Let me know what I need to do. I am going to put a new needle wheel design in the skimmer this weekend that should help the performance even more. It should allow me to add even more air!

These are the things I will need:
Skimmer diameter

Height of the diffuser plate

Water height with air injected

Water height without air (Are you using a hartford loop? If so, you will have to run the skimmer in a closed loop fashion for the measurements.)

Bubble dwell time (This number is most useful if you can measure the bulk of the airbubble cloud. I like to measure it 2 ways. First I measure it by starting the air injection and measure the time till bubbles reach the surface. Next I secure the air and measure the time till the bulk of the remaining air reaches the surface. The very few random bubbles that take forever, really add no value to this "average". )

Dale

kentrob11 · #**118** 08/04/2006, 10:47 AM

Hey guys- A friend of mine is wanting a new skimmer for his 500 gallon + system and another avid DIY'er and I have decided to hit this whole tiny might project from the "square" angle. We were thinking 24" square, 28" tall refraction chamber with a pair of the tiny mights. Would you guys be willing to PM some info on how you bored out the inside of the pump casing as well as needlewheel mounting details? Any other comments would be appreciated. I think this would be a cool way to find out how much better a round body is over a square one....

smjtkj · #**119** 08/04/2006, 11:18 AM

I will be happy to help, but I think you could use the dart on a body that size. I you take 20% loss of effeciency due to the square body you still have 18 inches if chamber. Maybe Spazz can add to this. But it would be cool to see what the 2 tiny mights would do! Spazz does the wheel on his CNC. It would be difficult to do without one.
As for the inside of the housing, I enlarged the intake and the output with a dremel abrasive wheel. I cut as much as I could on the output without going thru the plastic. The input is bored to about 1 1/4 id and I relieved the inside of the input by taking the edge completely out making it rounded. I took out about a quarter inch on this area. That is pretty much it for the housing so for.
Mike

kentrob11 · #**120** 08/04/2006, 11:29 AM

Cool...Yeah anything the would require that kind of precision needs to be CNC'd. What are the diameter of the pins?

smjtkj · #**121** 08/04/2006, 11:44 AM

.070 diameter carbon fiber rod

smjtkj · #**122** 08/04/2006, 04:44 PM

spazz · #**123** 08/04/2006, 05:39 PM

hummmm looks like you went back to the brush for the pins. ha ha ha ha it looks good though. come on come on hurry up and install that thing. ha ha ha ha ha

smjtkj · #**124** 08/04/2006, 05:50 PM

Yeah, I put them side by side with the carbon fiber and they are actually smaller than the .070 rod. They taper from really small to .070 at the base where I glued them. The more I think about it I think you are right about the old wheel being overtightened. Especially when I realized the pins I used are smaller than .070". So I decided to give these a try again. I admit it is a lot less trouble too! I will let it dry over night and get it rockin' tomorrow.

spazz · #**125** 08/04/2006, 05:53 PM

sounds good i will be waiting at 5am for the results. ha ha ha ha ha ha