Overflow Box and Pump at same speed

[SinkyShippy]

I am building a sump. Everything I set up. Only problem is I can’t get the overflow box to pull water in as fast as my pump can put water back in. Any idea how to fix this?

 

[ndrwater]

You can choke the return line with a ball or gate valve, or... Increase the size of the drain line
The latter is the better option as creating unnecessary pressure on the return pump can shorten it's life.

 

[erk]

Can you take a picture of your overflow and the piping leading from it? Also list diameter of the pipe used. The setup determines what can be modified to increase flow.

 

[erk]

You can choke the return line with a ball or gate valve, or... Increase the size of the drain line
The latter is the better option as creating unnecessary pressure on the return pump can shorten it's life.

I agree with increasing the pipe size on the overflow drain, if this is possible.

 

[Mical]

You can choke the return line with a ball or gate valve, or... Increase the size of the drain line
The latter is the better option as creating unnecessary pressure on the return pump can shorten it's life.

Not only shorten the life of pump but creating extra heat for the tank created by restricted return pump

 

[SinkyShippy]

Can you take a picture of your overflow and the piping leading from it? Also list diameter of the pipe used. The setup determines what can be modified to increase flow.

I can’t get a bigger deal pvc pipe. It’s a 1” and that’s the largest it can go

 

[Paul Sands]

Buy a smaller return pump.

 

[erk]

It appears you only have a single drain. This will be problematic. Drains clog frequently in a mature tank. I would recommend modifying the drain to add at least an emergency drain.

As for the existing drain line, you might try adding adapting the 1" drain to 1.5". While this won't drastically increase flow, it does reduce the resistance in the drain line.

Another option is to use a bean animal style drain. The advantage of this style is it sucks the water out of the drain rather than wait for the water to flow due to gravity. This can increase your flow rate quite a bit. To do this, take two 90 degree PVC fittings and join them together to create a U shape. Then install one of the straight legs into the bulkhead at the bottom of your overflow box. Keep the other straight leg facing down. The pressure of the water will prime the line and start the suction. The main issue with this method is it can't work without an emergency drain. When first starting up, there is no flow, so the water can quickly overflow the overflow, lol.

 

[SinkyShippy]

It appears you only have a single drain. This will be problematic. Drains clog frequently in a mature tank. I would recommend modifying the drain to add at least an emergency drain.

As for the existing drain line, you might try adding adapting the 1" drain to 1.5". While this won't drastically increase flow, it does reduce the resistance in the drain line.

Another option is to use a bean animal style drain. The advantage of this style is it sucks the water out of the drain rather than wait for the water to flow due to gravity. This can increase your flow rate quite a bit. To do this, take two 90 degree PVC fittings and join them together to create a U shape. Then install one of the straight legs into the bulkhead at the bottom of your overflow box. Keep the other straight leg facing down. The pressure of the water will prime the line and start the suction. The main issue with this method is it can't work without an emergency drain. When first starting up, there is no flow, so the water can quickly overflow the overflow, lol.

How would you add an emergency drain?

 

[Mical]

It almost sounds like your overflow is too small for the tank. Most are rated for 600 gals per hour or more. For the sake of this discussion a) how big is your tank, b) what overflow (brand & model #) are you trying to use, & c) what pump are you using?

 

[ca1ore]

HOB overflows don’t move much water unfortunately. Plus you don’t want to run them at their max capacity for safety. You could try adding a second U tube as that’s generally where the bottleneck happens. Either way you’ll likely need to run a smaller pump or throttle back the one you have.

 

[trmiv]

Restricting an AC pump with a ball valve is not going to shorten its life or make it run hotter. It actually will reduce energy consumption by the pump as you restrict the output. You can stick the pump on a kill-a-watt and watch this happen.

My Eheim 1262 has been running almost 24/7 for over 13 years restricted by a ball valve.

 

[erk]

How would you add an emergency drain?

Drill a new hole above the HOB overflow water level and install a bulkhead similar to what is already installed. It's crude, but it will work.

 

[andre wells]

Put a gate or ball valve on the return or get a dc return pump

 

[SinkyShippy]

Put a gate or ball valve on the return or get a dc return pump

Why Dc and not Ac

 

[andre wells]

Why Dc and not Ac

A dc pump is variable speed. For instance 200 to 1000 gallons. That way you can adjust the pump to just under the capacity of the overflow. Not to mention feed modes, running more quickly etc

 

[Water Dog]

Before DC pumps were available and before people started drilling tanks for Beananimal or Herbie drain set ups, many of us used the exact same HOB overflow that you have on your tank. I used an HOB overflow for years with no issues back in the day. As stated earlier, the easiest solution would be to use a gate or ball valve to throttle back your return pump. In fact, even though I currently have a drilled tank with a modern style drain system with an emergency overflow, I’m still using a reliable AC pump, throttled back using a ball valve with no issues whatsoever. In fact, throttling back an AC pump will actually reduce it’s energy consumption.