Hi all
I was sitting out in my back yard last night after a bit of a session and got to thinking. I've got a greenhouse in my backyard (for my Veggies etc...)which I've put 2 bubblers on a res into it (similar to my indoor grow). Last week I had a nute pump fail on me so went to the local hardware shop and purchased a brand spanking new 1500 ltr/hr pond pump. As per usual I've over spec'ed it as the original pump I had on it was about 400 ltr/hr. This was fine until I fired it up because it's now a fair bit noisier than my original pump. It's only running 8 drippers from 13 mm poly tubing.
Anyway, last night I came to the conclusion that it must be back pressure on the pump causing the extra noise and I really needed to do something about it as the greenhouse is very close to my neighbours house and the pump comes on for 15 min's every hour to ensure that the nutes turn over regularly in my bubblers.
All at one it hit me, reduce the back pressure and let the pump run freely. By doing this the pump will run quiet and will last a hell of a lot longer.
So, this morning when I got up I gave it a go and it has worked an absolute treat.
All I did was cut feeder line about 15 cm up from where it joins pump and put in a Tee piece. By doing this I've reduced the line pressure (the excess nutes feed back into the res), the pump runs quieter and I've got the added bonus that my nutes are kept well mixed and circulated in the res.
This is such a simple solution to a noisy res pump I had to let you all know.
The only improvement I'll be making (when I can be bothered) is to get a 13 mm tap to put on the end of the return line allow me to regulate the line pressure.
cheers
Paca