Hanging Airpumps...

[GuerrillaRed]

This may be a dumb question but I'd rather ask a dumb question then make a dumb mistake. Does anyone hang their air pumps by their power cord upside down? I recently set this up in my greenhouse so reduce noise and vibration. I just want to make sure this won't lead to mechanical failure in the pumps or something worse. Also it's another n00b question to add to the search archive so it never gets asked again.

 

[supaleeb]

How much does the pump weigh? It should be okay if it weighs less than 1/2 lb. My air pumps (whisper series) came with rubber feet, which cancels out almost all of the vibrations, so I can't say I've ever tried that.

 

[guineatrippin]

I hang mine with a (dunno what it's in english, one of those elastic things you use to tie thing down on your bikes carrier, with hooks in each end) , it helps with the resonance and keeps the pump away from water.

Did that after I heard one night my airpump pumping spilled water from the floor.. was lucky it didn't break. *phew*

 

[ak-51]

I have though about doing this. I also have the Tetra whisper pumps, but I would like them above the water level and I don't have a lot of room in one spot to make a shelf or something. I wouldn't want to hang them by the power cord though. If they were just hanging there it would be one thing, but with the vibration... that just doesn't sit well with me even if they don't weigh a lot. I think I'll rig up some kind of harness for them to hang from.

 

[gdtrfb]

i don't currently, as i've traded in the aquarium pumps for linear air pumps (they're a little heavy for the flying walenda treatment) but i used to hang them by wrapping a couple of zip ties around the body, and then crimping one end of an S hook down on the zip ties

 

[Scrogerman]

Gooo Bungie!

Yeah its doable to reduce noise, but shore-up the cable, attatch somthing that hangs the pump, & not using the cable as a hanging aid, its never a good idea imo. putting any stress on electric cords/cables is just asking for problems in the end.

 

[kyndone]

yo trippin, in english its called a bungie cord, or a tie down, but its a good idea im thinking i may do the zip tie thing, i have the whispers also, but im more concerned wit the aspect of the pumps sitting at the bottom of the growbox, in case
(god forbid) water were to leak out of my rez., it would submerge my pumps, and that would be bad.

 

[!!!]

If your grow depends on that air pump, I wouldn't hang it upside down, though it shouldn't matter much. I saw a guide where they put the air pump into a glass jar with holes in the lid for intake and outtake to reduce sound.

But a good pump will be less noisy than the bubbles it creates. I got tired of weak/noisy $10 pumps. Threw them out and got this dual diaphragm pump:

 

[noreason]

I use crappy air pumps and I hang them by the hole they have using some sort of cord...

 

[Haps]

My air pumps have a loop built in to use to hang them, and I hang all mine, but not by the cord, bad form in general, eh?

 

[greenwithenvy]

I hang mine also. I heard that you can get better oxygen from a higher elevation. I run a 1/2" clear hose outside for cooler air in the winter.

 

[petemoss]

I always hung the small air pumps to the handle of the 5-gal bucket, above the water level.
Not to cut noise or increase oxygen, but so water won't siphon down to the pump if the electricity goes out.

 

[newmexgrow]

speaking of airpumps

speaking of airpumps

I need some advice on a beefier air pump for our system. We're currently using 4 of the GH pumps, but to be honest, they are wimply.

Lots of "higher end" pumps out there, but with $250+ tied up in these gh pumps ( which hang nicely on the wall with a single finishing nail) I could use a solid suggestion for another brand of pump before I drop a couple of hundred on some more ( I'll take a shot int he dark rather then add more GH pumps..which might be the tits if you are sleeping near your setup..they are pretty quiet)

 

[potlatch]

I need some advice on a beefier air pump for our system. We're currently using 4 of the GH pumps, but to be honest, they are wimply.

Lots of "higher end" pumps out there, but with $250+ tied up in these gh pumps ( which hang nicely on the wall with a single finishing nail) I could use a solid suggestion for another brand of pump before I drop a couple of hundred on some more ( I'll take a shot int he dark rather then add more GH pumps..which might be the tits if you are sleeping near your setup..they are pretty quiet)

I like Alita, seems quite popular with koi people.

 

[Cheeb]

Alitas are sick.

Few hundred dollar pump but by far the best and most quiet air pump I've ever owned.

Take a look at their silicone diffuser hose if you want a aeration option that'll never clog and/or need replacing.

 

[Numboard]

I usually hung my air pumps with twine attached to the rubber holes in the feet. a 1" rockwool cube over the intake hole of the pump also cut the noise of the pump by a ton and a half. I only use the commercial air pumps that basically look like one big heatsink. Dunno about other models but neither of these things harmed mine after months and months of constant use.

 

[ILoveit]

Just keep in mind if you pump air from the floor your likely to pump cooler air in your res than the air from an elevated position as heat rises.

 

[smokestack23]

Just keep in mind if you pump air from the floor your likely to pump cooler air in your res than the air from an elevated position as heat rises.

Simple things like this are SO often overlooked. Common sense and a bit of thought can really make some big differences. Once we think about things like the fact that hot air rises we can better control temps AND even save energy.

For example, if you install cooltubes and have the intake down low and the exhaust running "uphill", put your hand at the exhaust point (or a lighter or lit joint) and you'll feel (or see) hot air "blowing" out of the duct. Naturally, we want a little more movement than that to take the heat away...just an example.
If you use a carbon scrubber, why not blow your de-odorized air into your heating ducts in the winter? Just make sure the air isn't too humid or you won't be able to open the doors in the morning lol..seriously though.
Why not add a little extra air movement in the room (or power those cooltubes) by installing some solar powered fans that run off your lights? Of course they would only work during lights on (unless you had a second panel outside) and won't be REAL powerful but they might allow you to get rid of a circulation fan or two. I wouldn't consider this cost effective (might be after a while?) but it IS a greener way to go. Some of us have kids and grandchildren. If I can save a couple of KW for them to use in the future...
If you have a nice cool cement floor and are doing RDWC or UC...have a res with a wide footprint sitting right on the floor. I know that heat rises but it still keeps nutrients much cooler..and is free.

OK..airpumps and the noise they make. My cheap ones have rubber feet but still make one helluva racket. They almost vibrate the whole building it seems. You can hang them with zipties, twine, haywire...oh..or bungies... or you can set them on a hunk of styrofoam or foam.
You can get 10 RFCVs (reverse flow check valves) on ebay for like a dollar (I'm looking at a bag of 'em now). They eliminate the possibility of having water flowing back through the pump and onto the floor in an outage and allow you to leave the pumps way down low in the nice cool air.

If you can find some cheap, high-flow HEPA filters (maybe some HEPA cartridges for a half-mask respirator), they are a good thing to cover the intakes on your airpumps. They'll get rid of some noise while making sure you don't get any crap (dust, pathogens...) into your nutrient solution while not obstructing any flow.

Just some ideas I thought I should throw out there. Remember...heat CAN be your friend if you use it correctly.

 

[Critter]

Check valves reduce output/psi quit drastically.