D.I.Y. Vortex chamber calculations...
- Thread starter fg4608
- Start date
I'm still trying to straighten it out but I'm not at home right now.
I found a research paper from a Brazilian Chemical Engineering organization (I think). The application was slightly different, but being a real research paper, it is loaded with links and references.
Like I said, I don't know exactly how much applies and to what extent. I will put up some links when I get home from watching Bama hand it to Penn State..
I found a research paper from a Brazilian Chemical Engineering organization (I think). The application was slightly different, but being a real research paper, it is loaded with links and references.
Like I said, I don't know exactly how much applies and to what extent. I will put up some links when I get home from watching Bama hand it to Penn State..
Sorry for being late with the information promised.
I still have not been able to gater the data I was going to. But, if you google "hydrocyclone" you should find all the information I started digging into.
Thanks,
I still have not been able to gater the data I was going to. But, if you google "hydrocyclone" you should find all the information I started digging into.
Thanks,
well, i see that this thread is long dead, but i made a diy swirl filter (or vortex, cyclone, whatever...) for my outdoor AP system.
I watched about 45min of YouTube videos for inspiration, but roughly, this is what I did:
I took a 30gal open-top barrel, and a 55-gal open-top lid, and a handful of pvc pieces to make the filter.
1) I drilled a hole in the center of the bottom of the 30gal barrel for a 1" Uniseal, and pushed a piece of pvc barely through (about 1/2" over the top of the seal). I put in 2 45-degree elbows (less restriction to water flow than a 90-deg elbow, but i think a 90-deg long-sweep elbow would be better if you can find it...). With an extension of pvc to reach out from the bottom edge of the barrel, I put on a ball valve, and 2 more 45-deg elbows. This is your clean-out drain for the filter.
2) I cut a 2" hole in the center of the 55-gal lid, and used a saw to cut a straight line from the center to the edge. I folded one end over the other to create a cone, and pushed it down inside the 30-gal barrel. This is the tricky part. You have to try to get the cone sitting level in the bottom, just over the clean-out drain, and simultaneously hold it in place, while driving a couple screws through the overlap in the plastic to hold the cone in place.
NOTE: be careful not to drive the screws into the side of the 30-gal barrel.
3) I drilled a hole near the very top of the 30-gal barrel for a Uniseal matching the size of the pipe from the water pump (in my case, 1.5"). I pushed the pipe into the barrel, and put on 2 45-deg elbows to drop (about) straight down the center of the barrel. I put a T-fitting at the bottom, and pipe towards the sides of the barrel, with a pair of 45-deg elbows on either end. The pipe dropping down to the T-fitting should be long enough to leave the arms on the T at about the same level as the top of the cone. This is your intake line into the filter.
4) I drilled another hole a little below the top of the barrel for another Uniseal, and shoved the pipe through about to the middle. I put a 90-deg elbow on, pointed up. This is the drain out of the filter.
NOTE: Place the hole low enough that the top of the drain elbow is lower than the top of the barrel. I placed mine about 2" lower, so there would be room for an overflow (we'll get to that...).
NOTE: Use a larger pipe for the drain than for the intake line. There are charts to compare flow rates from pressurized pipe to gravity-fed, but there is also the back-pressure from the weight of the water over the intake arms, combined with reduced flow from head height, and the math gets tricky. Basically, because I used 1.5" pipe for the intake, I used 2" for the drain, just guessing. With my water pump, this is just too small, so I put in an overflow drain in an attempt to prevent catastrophe.
5) I drilled another hole near the top of the barrel for another Uniseal, shoved pipe through, and another 90-deg elbow, pointing up. This is your overflow drain, if the incoming volume of water exceeds the max volume of your gravity-fed drain.
NOTE: Because it's the backup, you want the top of the elbow higher than the elbow of the drain, but lower than the top of the barrel (for obvious reasons).
That's it. You're done, besides connecting the plumbing lines.
Since then, I have decided that 1.5" arms on the intake provided too much flow at too low pressure to create an efficient vortex, so I reduced the size to 1". This seems to work better.
Also, I put a check valve on the feed line from the water pump, as well as a ball valve to control the water flow into the filter. I reduced the incoming waterflow with the valve until the overflow was no longer being used, allowing it to be a true backup.
Union valves are also nice on the plumbing lines, to allow an easy disconnect.
I watched about 45min of YouTube videos for inspiration, but roughly, this is what I did:
I took a 30gal open-top barrel, and a 55-gal open-top lid, and a handful of pvc pieces to make the filter.
1) I drilled a hole in the center of the bottom of the 30gal barrel for a 1" Uniseal, and pushed a piece of pvc barely through (about 1/2" over the top of the seal). I put in 2 45-degree elbows (less restriction to water flow than a 90-deg elbow, but i think a 90-deg long-sweep elbow would be better if you can find it...). With an extension of pvc to reach out from the bottom edge of the barrel, I put on a ball valve, and 2 more 45-deg elbows. This is your clean-out drain for the filter.
2) I cut a 2" hole in the center of the 55-gal lid, and used a saw to cut a straight line from the center to the edge. I folded one end over the other to create a cone, and pushed it down inside the 30-gal barrel. This is the tricky part. You have to try to get the cone sitting level in the bottom, just over the clean-out drain, and simultaneously hold it in place, while driving a couple screws through the overlap in the plastic to hold the cone in place.
NOTE: be careful not to drive the screws into the side of the 30-gal barrel.
3) I drilled a hole near the very top of the 30-gal barrel for a Uniseal matching the size of the pipe from the water pump (in my case, 1.5"). I pushed the pipe into the barrel, and put on 2 45-deg elbows to drop (about) straight down the center of the barrel. I put a T-fitting at the bottom, and pipe towards the sides of the barrel, with a pair of 45-deg elbows on either end. The pipe dropping down to the T-fitting should be long enough to leave the arms on the T at about the same level as the top of the cone. This is your intake line into the filter.
4) I drilled another hole a little below the top of the barrel for another Uniseal, and shoved the pipe through about to the middle. I put a 90-deg elbow on, pointed up. This is the drain out of the filter.
NOTE: Place the hole low enough that the top of the drain elbow is lower than the top of the barrel. I placed mine about 2" lower, so there would be room for an overflow (we'll get to that...).
NOTE: Use a larger pipe for the drain than for the intake line. There are charts to compare flow rates from pressurized pipe to gravity-fed, but there is also the back-pressure from the weight of the water over the intake arms, combined with reduced flow from head height, and the math gets tricky. Basically, because I used 1.5" pipe for the intake, I used 2" for the drain, just guessing. With my water pump, this is just too small, so I put in an overflow drain in an attempt to prevent catastrophe.
5) I drilled another hole near the top of the barrel for another Uniseal, shoved pipe through, and another 90-deg elbow, pointing up. This is your overflow drain, if the incoming volume of water exceeds the max volume of your gravity-fed drain.
NOTE: Because it's the backup, you want the top of the elbow higher than the elbow of the drain, but lower than the top of the barrel (for obvious reasons).
That's it. You're done, besides connecting the plumbing lines.
Since then, I have decided that 1.5" arms on the intake provided too much flow at too low pressure to create an efficient vortex, so I reduced the size to 1". This seems to work better.
Also, I put a check valve on the feed line from the water pump, as well as a ball valve to control the water flow into the filter. I reduced the incoming waterflow with the valve until the overflow was no longer being used, allowing it to be a true backup.
Union valves are also nice on the plumbing lines, to allow an easy disconnect.
Now that you all know what I've done, I'm looking to modify my filter or replace it with something more efficient. I found this thread, trying to determine if my design logic actually works.
Are there basics to the geometry (besides round) such as length/height/angle of cone?
Are there recommendations for sizing the arms of the intake to the water flow/pressure from the pump?
Are there basics to the geometry (besides round) such as length/height/angle of cone?
Are there recommendations for sizing the arms of the intake to the water flow/pressure from the pump?
