Top up water concept

[tineng]

hi guys,

I'm running a small 1 footer in the office and is constantly facing water top up problem as the air-con is evaporating the water quite fast, abut 1 liter very 2 days....

anyway, while topping up water i notice something very interesting...there is what i did....

i filled a 1.5Liter bottle with water and invert in vertically on top of the tank (with the cap still on). I remove the cap underwater and the water does not flow (this is expected as pressure acting on the surface of the tank is strong enough to keep the water level in the bottle) out...slowing i raise the bottle until the mouth of the bottle is just above the water surface....the water starts flowing out....when the water level reach the mouth of the bottle, it stops flowing .....

I'm thinking of DIYing some sort of a clamp that can hold the bottle on top of the tank at a constant level and if succesfull we will have a auto-topup system that is completely gravity driven!!!!

Anyway, any guys come across this before??? will it work?

[neokn]

Physic, definitely will work. Same theory as the flash system.

[tineng]

dun know the praticalility of it...because the volume of water that is kept in the resoviour will depend on the surface area of the destination....this method might only be practical for small tank.....but then never know until i try it out....

anyway, any bro interested in helping me diy the clamp???

[Cedric]

Its the same as the nurce auto top-off system making use of gravity. Check it out!

[Seng]

Wonder how the nurce system works ... spent quite some time thinking of how siphoning can make it top up .... is the top-up container airtight?

[ah^siao]

i think it is air tight. u read the instructions.. one of it says the water level must be in the nurce must be same as the sump...

so when not enough water.. the water in nurce will flow out to replace

[weishun]

After reading the diagram, still dun understand. Perhaps someone can explain how it works? Maybe can diy out this thingy and try

[Kaf]

Ok I think I know how it works.

It's similar to Tineng idea, and actually I use this way to dose my kalkwasser.

Will do an experience on it on my tank in a few hours time and let you guys know the result.

Cheers.

Kevin

[weishun]

Good good... experiment liao then tell us how it works... cos i also wan to try out....

[Seng]

Please do keep us informed of the experiment ... heh heh .. then can DIY for my top-up tank, which will be my next DIY project

[Kaf]

I just tried using a mineral water bottle and going with 2 tubes from the top. (drilled holes in the cap just nice to fit the tubes)

Looks like it's not air tight enough so the pressure doesnt built up so it doesnt stop the flow when the water volume is up to the right level. And that the tube being used is too small in diameter.

If you based it on the upside down 1.25 litre bottle, the water pressure is kept inside cos air is trap in and the outlet is of a bigger diameter compared to the tube I am using.

Anyhow will try again after I get some silicon and stuffs to prevent air from escaping thru.

Anyone have better ideas please contribute.

Cheers

Kevin

[Cedric]

Hi to all, I purchased the actual Nurce top-off before the company went bust. That is after I tried to DIY the product with much difficulty.

The various containers I used could not hold negative pressure and the hose and adapters I used always leaked. After I bought the NURCE system, I am very impressed by its simplicity. Since installing it, it has yet to fail on me!!! The best thing is that there are no mechanical parts to fail so it is less likely to fail.

I believe Octopus Bay has a similar product.

Hope this helps!

[weishun]

Ehh Cedric.. you mind posting a picture of your Nurce?

[Cedric]

Er . . . pic? I only have this at present moment.

[weishun]

Hmm thanks alot for the pic.. Its quite a pleasent looking piece of equipment huh? Where else got sell ah?

[Cedric]

. . . I purchased the actual Nurce top-off before the company went bust. . .

. . . I believe Octopus Bay has a similar product . . .

Hi Weishun, I believe I've already answered your question.

[tineng]

I just tried using a mineral water bottle and going with 2 tubes from the top. (drilled holes in the cap just nice to fit the tubes)

Looks like it's not air tight enough so the pressure doesnt built up so it doesnt stop the flow when the water volume is up to the right level. And that the tube being used is too small in diameter.

If you based it on the upside down 1.25 litre bottle, the water pressure is kept inside cos air is trap in and the outlet is of a bigger diameter compared to the tube I am using.

Anyhow will try again after I get some silicon and stuffs to prevent air from escaping thru.

Anyone have better ideas please contribute.

Cheers

Kevin

i think the tube have to be as large as the mount of the bottle....because if the surface area for output tube is too small, the pressure asserted by the water on top is too big for the surface area of the tank to balance out....also the system has to be air tight, if not air entering the bottle will provide enough pressure to push the water out.....i think end of the day a balancing....

unforutantely right now to busy to try out some of the design in my mind.....