new (to me) inverter score - Page 10

 

Got it.. see reading this in the morning with a fresh cup of coffee made
that lightbulb above my head finally light up.


One thing about usenet and using only the written word to describe
problems and solutions is good for the old grey matter.  I'm more of a
visual person and when I translate text into images sometimes they get a
bit wonky.

I hadn't accounted for the suction action -- I had imagined a normal ball
type valve of some kind that would require force to open and close, but
naturally your smaller ball will simply stick itself in the intake and
cut off the flow -- no mechanical valve needed.

DOH!

heh

thanks again fellas..

I'll factor something like that into my intake design .. that and porting
my pond intake directly into the hydro line for when the water is really
running.  It looks like for at least 4-5 months of the year I should have
an additional 100-150 foot of head, so I need to build a manifold that
will let the intake come from the pond, or from the pond feeder line as
flow dictates.

For times when the pond is filling slower than i'm draining it, the
double ball float valve should allow it to run longer into low water
times without me having to go up there and screw with it all the time.

Also I've been catching trout and stocking the pond so I want to make
sure not to drain it out too much.

cheers  - yeah wee brain issue got it now!!!

-zachary

 

Yer welcome.  It's funny how deja vue works.  I spent last Sat through Tues
re-engineering a large industrial machine's hydraulic system.  By large, I
mean a 350hp turbocharged diesel engine driving the 5 hydraulic pumps, all
taking suction from a 200 gallon tank.

The machine leaks fluid - seems inescapable in this application - and the
operators are careless so they fairly frequently let the tank run out of
fluid.  That despite a sight glass AND a low level alarm on the operator's
panel. When the pumps suck air, a whole lotta work has just been created,
purging the various hydraulic circuits.

Soooo.  My solution was almost identical to what I suggested for you.  I
installed a 4 inch caged ball valve in the suction line of the tank.  When the
level drops to a certain point, the ball is sucked onto the seat, fluid flow
is stopped and the vacuum switch already installed to detect clogged filters
trips the engine.  Simple and cheap - around $50 (excluding my fees, of course
:-) and stone cold reliable.  Even if the vacuum switch somehow malfunctions,
the machine simply stops working instead of the pump moving oil/air froth
throughout the machine.

The client had employees out there all day Tues testing the thing by pumping
fluid in and out of the tank into 55 gallon drums with hand pumps.  Something
tells me he was a-noid with them, as electric pumps were available :-)  It
worked perfectly every time. And unlike a low level trip, the operators can't
just jumper out this valve and keep on running, hoping the machine will run
long enough for the next shift to arrive.

John
--
John De Armond
See my website for my current email address
http://www.neon-john.com
http://www.johndearmond.com  <-- best little blog on the net!
Tellico Plains, Occupied TN
I don't suffer from insanity, I enjoy every minute of it.

 

I work on old bmws .. 2002s.  Been tinkering with them for years and have
this 74 that I got at an auction i'm trying to get running and sell.  No
matter what I did the damn ignition switch just wouldn't kick the starter
over.  I traced (what I thought) were all the wires, tested the switch.  
I have the big blue book (orignal service tech manuals covering all
models and years) and several other books and I help run one of the
biggest bmw2002 sites out there (http://www.bmw2002faq.com ) and so I
should be able to figure out a simple thing like the damn ignition
system.

So what do I read the other day on the FAQ? Certain production months of
74 non tii 2002s had a non-documented switch in the drivers side seat
belt that won't let you start the car unless its plugged in.  I've had
other 74s without this 'feature' -- thanks a lot USA.  Some stupid lawyer
or politico must have decided it was safer that way .. no german versions
had that obnoxious relay.

Its tucked away where you can't find it -- but man.. I spent sooo much
time chasing a problem that probably doesn't even exist.  Going down to
the shop this afternoon and see if thats really it.. but I bet it is.  I
mean who puts the seatbelt on when you are trying to get a car started
sitting in the shop???

DOH!


So that was the other lightbulb experience for today..

take it easy

-zachary

 

  Ten Feet?  That's a lot of water or a very small but deep pond.
Also most ponds have a source that is adding water over time, a
spring, a stream, a seep.


  I pictured you wanting only one minimum level, this requirement to
wait until the ten foot level changes things.  With the valve I described
the float/ball would be under water but be holding the sealing ball/plug
to the top of the cage.  The rod between the balls would only be long
enough to provide hysteresis ( delay the opening until there is sufficient
water level that even with the valve open the pond would fill at a rate
that keeps the float under water. ) The float would be sized so that lift
required to break the suction doesn't come with the float bobbing on
the surface, but only when at least 3/4 of it is submerged.

  Eight foot of rod could be too heavy, and an eyesore.


   A chain/cable would be a good way to have it open at your ten foot
mark, but eight feet of it might get tangled in debris.  You got the idea
of the suction closing the valve once the ball gets close enough to the
bottom of the cage.

 Luck;
     Ken

 z wrote:


Put something like this upside down inside your filter and screen:
http://www.epa.gov/OUST/graphics/DW16.GIF