The importance of having a backup mist pump

Mike Fisher · Aug 3, 2014

My mist pump went out. Switched to the backup pump. Took about five minutes.

For those of you with big collections, might want to invest in an extra pump. I would have been very inconvenienced had I not had a backup.

Action Jackson · Aug 3, 2014

Which brand of pump was it?

I have swiched all my watering way from pumps and I'm now direct connected to my main water lines. I ran my pumps dry once in a while and filling buckets was a pain in the ...

Mike Fisher · Aug 3, 2014

Action Jackson said:
Which brand of pump was it?

I have swiched all my watering way from pumps and I'm now direct connected to my main water lines. I ran my pumps dry once in a while and filling buckets was a pain in the ...

Shurflo industrial 110V, made in USA. I thought that was a safe bet. Replaced with a China 12V DC.

I plan on going direct to my supply line like you've done, but not until I plumb drains direct to sewer lines. I've had too many sprinkler solenoids get stuck in the open position and refuse to shut off fully. I don't want an unlimited supply of water to fill my basement when that happens.

Nothing beats the near silence of misting in that manner. You only hear the click of the solenoid and the sound of the mist coming out. Plus you can get the controllers that have wireless remotes now and several zones and settings, so if you have several species with differing requirements, you have them set on different zones.

Plus, it is cheaper than expensive pumps.

johnnycamp5 · Aug 3, 2014

Mike Fisher said:
Shurflo industrial 110V, made in USA. I thought that was a safe bet. Replaced with a China 12V DC.

I plan on going direct to my supply line like you've done, but not until I plumb drains direct to sewer lines. I've had too many sprinkler solenoids get stuck in the open position and refuse to shut off fully. I don't want an unlimited supply of water to fill my basement when that happens.

Nothing beats the near silence of misting in that manner. You only hear the click of the solenoid and the sound of the mist coming out. Plus you can get the controllers that have wireless remotes now and several zones and settings, so if you have several species with differing requirements, you have them set on different zones.

Plus, it is cheaper than expensive pumps.

Make sure your municipality (township) allows for drainage to waste lines instead of storm drains (street drains).

Years ago I had a sump pump plumbed into my waste line in my basement.

The township came through and re-piped the main waste lines along (under) the street. This temporarily blocked any waste from the houses to the main in the street, which they had informed us, until they re-cut the opening.

It rained for over a day and my basement sump pump just kept pumping, with the water backing in to the basement and half filling it (another reason not to plumb to the waste line- if the street main clogs, waste water can fill your basement through your sump pump pit

).

I ran out to the street upset, yelling at the workers saying they ruined me and my basement.
They brought me inside to show me that I had plumbed the sump line to the main waste line (insread of the street) which is illegal.

One of the few times in my life where I came out like a lion, then back in like a lamb

.

Which solenoid is it that your referring to, that is cheaper than the expensive pumps?
I've been considering doing the same thing.

SMCNARY · Aug 3, 2014

Mike Fisher said:
My mist pump went out. Switched to the backup pump. Took about five minutes.

For those of you with big collections, might want to invest in an extra pump. I would have been very inconvenienced had I not had a backup.

Mike
You bring up an excellent point! This is an excellent topic and i hope it gets others thinking ahead as you have. I keep a back up pump at all times for this reason. Another thing I do that also works as a back up is in addition to misting systems for all my cages I also have separate drip systems for my cages.
The drip systems are all on separate pumps and I also have a spare one of those as well. I use a RODI system for all misting and drip systems with a large tank that supplies water for all my systems. I have all my cages on a drainage system as well so I don't have to worry about filling or emptying buckets. Setting up my systems in this way it has significantly reduced both the labor required to keep my chams hydrated as well as giving me peace of mind.

Mike Fisher · Aug 3, 2014

johnnycamp5 said:
Make sure your municipality (township) allows for drainage to waste lines instead of storm drains (street drains).

Since the cage overflow is waste water aka sewage, it would be illegal to dump it out in the street.

johnnycamp5 said:
Years ago I had a sump pump plumbed into my waste line in my basement.

Yes, that is quite illegal.

johnnycamp5 said:
(another reason not to plumb to the waste line- if the street main clogs, waste water can fill your basement through your sump pump pit ).

That's what a backwater valve is for. It is like a check valve for sewage. My wife and I redid all of the plumbing to local code and installed a backwater valve in 1996. It passed inspection.

johnnycamp5 said:
Which solenoid is it that your referring to, that is cheaper than the expensive pumps?
I've been considering doing the same thing.

It is just a standard sprinkler manifold with sprinkler timer. There are codes on installing that so it can't siphon back into your house supply lines. Too extensive to get into on a reptile forum.

Thanks for your concern!

Mike Fisher · Aug 3, 2014

SMCNARY said:
Another thing I do that also works as a back up is in addition to misting systems for all my cages I also have separate drip systems for my cages.
The drip systems are all on separate pumps and I also have a spare one of those as well.

Great minds think alike: https://www.chameleonforums.com/chad-staged-watering-system-119320/

I have at least two of each type of pump on hand.

Besides the one I have to replace at the moment.

That little China pump is a great little unit. It is currently running 15 nozzles, no sweat. A little noisier than the USA jobber, but less pulsing and the mist actually is finer, which indicates higher pressure. Not sure what the longevity will be, but IIRC it was only ~$20. Kind of curious how many nozzles it will run before it can't keep up.

johnnycamp5 · Aug 3, 2014

Mike Fisher said:
It is just a standard sprinkler manifold with sprinkler timer. There are codes on installing that so it can't siphon back into your house supply lines. Too extensive to get into on a reptile forum.

Thanks for your concern!

Its called a back flow preventer. They are not cheap, and you still have to buy the sprinkler manifold and timer.
So in comparison, this must be some expensive water pump your referring to!

Oh........your welcome

.

Mike Fisher · Aug 3, 2014

johnnycamp5 said:
Its called a back flow preventer. They are not cheap, and you still have to buy the sprinkler manifold and timer.
So in comparison, this must be some expensive water pump your referring to!

Oh........your welcome.

Yes, I'll need a backflow preventer.

Yes, a decent pump is ~$100. You can get by on less like I'm doing now, but the shurflo pump I had was a $250 pump. It could have run 200+ nozzles. I believe in always having headroom so if I want to add enclosures/nozzles I'm covered. I'll be taking it apart to see if I can fix it.

Between the pond pumps for drip and the diaphragm pumps for mist, plus the backup pumps, yes, much cheaper to have the city pressurize the water for me and just control the flow.

Those with large setups will agree. It will provide much more options at a lower price overall, and lower maintenance. If you just have a couple enclosures, not so much. The only thing that stops most of them from doing it on indoor enclosures is the flooding hazard.

I could get by using a pressurized tank instead of hooking up to city water, but then I'd have to refill it, same as I do now, but I'd also have to pressurize it. I had a system like that for awhile that used a corny keg with a fitting for my air compressor. It was pretty slick, and silent. I still have a case of sprinkler timers and valves from my former caging/mist system business so my upfront costs would be negligible.

johnnycamp5 · Aug 3, 2014

Mike Fisher said:
Yes, I'll need a backflow preventer.

Yes, a decent pump is ~$100. You can get by on less like I'm doing now, but the shurflo pump I had was a $250 pump. It could have run 200+ nozzles. I believe in always having headroom so if I want to add enclosures/nozzles I'm covered. I'll be taking it apart to see if I can fix it.

Between the pond pumps for drip and the diaphragm pumps for mist, plus the backup pumps, yes, much cheaper to have the city pressurize the water for me and just control the flow.

Those with large setups will agree. It will provide much more options at a lower price overall, and lower maintenance. If you just have a couple enclosures, not so much. The only thing that stops most of them from doing it on indoor enclosures is the flooding hazard.

I could get by using a pressurized tank instead of hooking up to city water, but then I'd have to refill it, same as I do now, but I'd also have to pressurize it. I had a system like that for awhile that used a corny keg with a fitting for my air compressor. It was pretty slick, and silent. I still have a case of sprinkler timers and valves from my former caging/mist system business so my upfront costs would be negligible.

Sounds excellent!
Let us know what you end up doing

.

Mike Fisher · Aug 3, 2014

I tore down the "broken" pump tonight. It was only a stuck high pressure cut off switch. This pump will run at too high a pressure if the demand is too low, so it has a built in cut off switch to keep from overpressurizing the lines. That's why it pulses because it is only running 15 nozzles. So the switch gets used a lot. Probably keep this one in the wings as a backup since the China pump is working really well for the current load.

CarlC · Aug 4, 2014

Orbit makes some great products for standard house water pressure misting and drip systems. At 60psi I get a nice mist from their brass nozzles. They have a 1/2" pvc system that that is perfect for outdoor set ups.

For indoor they offer 1/4" quick connect fittings that use the same brass nozzles. They produce a really fine mist when a pressure pump is used to feed them. If you use their controller they offer lots of different solenoids to set up different zones. Orbit also makes a controller that works wirelessly and can be controlled remotely by a pc or your cell phone if you are using the "NEST" system that is offered by Lowes.

Carl

deerharvester · Aug 4, 2014

Just wanted to throw it out there, I use the mist king fed from a 5 gal. Bucket. But I don't ever have to fill it up, it is fed directly off of my ro system into a float on top of my bucket. It is a very easy maintenance free option for spraying your chams. The 1/4 inch float valves can be purchased from ebay, and are rather inexpensive.

Scott

Chuck Lawson · Aug 4, 2014

For house pressure systems, do you not have to worry about dechlorination? Or is that not an issue for misting chams? I run RO water in my misters for dart frogs, had figured chams needed the same...

Mike Fisher · Aug 4, 2014

Chuck Lawson said:
For house pressure systems, do you not have to worry about dechlorination? Or is that not an issue for misting chams? I run RO water in my misters for dart frogs, had figured chams needed the same...

Ideally yes. Fluoride is also a concern. High minerals is also reported to cause edema. One reason I collect rain water most of the year. The other part, I filter it.

villanueva11 · Aug 8, 2014

How do you go about collecting rain water? Also how do you filter it? Just wondering, my mom collects rain water for her plants but its coming pretty much directly from her gutter into a big barrel connected to the hose she waters with. Its nothing that you would want going into your mister or coming out to your chams. But I like the idea.

The importance of having a backup mist pump

Mike Fisher

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Action Jackson

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Mike Fisher

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johnnycamp5

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SMCNARY

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Mike Fisher

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Mike Fisher

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johnnycamp5

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Mike Fisher

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johnnycamp5

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Mike Fisher

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CarlC

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Chuck Lawson

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