Built custom dripper but it won’t start up

[Little_Miss_Mo]

Hi guys! I built a custom dripper like the one in @JoXie411 did in this post: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/custom-dripper.167448/
But it won’t start working. The pump is running, but no water comes out. I even tried siphoning it too to get it started. Any ideas? Do I need a stronger pump? Thanks!

 

[Kaizen]

So, check the head height max on the box of your pump. A tiny statuary pump will have a hard time lifting water 4’. You can put the bucket on a box to raise it, and also make sure the pump is primed: ie has no air in the impeller chamber. My guess is the pump is too weak to lift the water that high. Just raise the reservoir and pump a couple feet.

 

[Tihshho]

I would say this all is determined by head pressure (the amount of pressure exerted by the pump to drive the fluid up X vertical distance) in proportion to the dripper required operating pressure to get the appropriate GPH drip rating.

Let's go through and try some debugging. First, if you can post up the following information:

1 - GPH rating of the pump
2 - Distance of vertical hose (from pump outlet to the drip emitter)
3 - Do you have extra hose coiled in the vertical run?

From there we should get some useful information to help you move forward.

Some simple tests I would also run to see if it's a pump or dripper issue are:

A - Disconnect the dripper end and see if the pump is able to draw water with a decent pressure up the vertical hose (be sure to put something to collect the water so you don't make a mess!)
B - Cut a small section of hose and attach that to the pump and add the drip emitter, see if you're seeing any fluid being dripped.

 

[Little_Miss_Mo]

I would say this all is determined by head pressure (the amount of pressure exerted by the pump to drive the fluid up X vertical distance) in proportion to the dripper required operating pressure to get the appropriate GPH drip rating.

Let's go through and try some debugging. First, if you can post up the following information:

1 - GPH rating of the pump
2 - Distance of vertical hose (from pump outlet to the drip emitter)
3 - Do you have extra hose coiled in the vertical run?

From there we should get some useful information to help you move forward.

Some simple tests I would also run to see if it's a pump or dripper issue are:

A - Disconnect the dripper end and see if the pump is able to draw water with a decent pressure up the vertical hose (be sure to put something to collect the water so you don't make a mess!)
B - Cut a small section of hose and attach that to the pump and add the drip emitter, see if you're seeing any fluid being dripped.

Thank you guys so much for responding!
The pump is 80GPH, I edited this post-went to Amazon to find it!

I am trying to run it up 52” inches so that may be the problem. The reservoir is in the cabinet under my cage that the Mist King is connected to as well, so unfortunately I can’t raise it.

I will try seeing if the pump will work on its own!

 

[Little_Miss_Mo]

So the pump works with a tiny bit of tubing, and there is no excess tubing behind the cabinet leading up, i think the pump just may be too small...

 

[Tihshho]

There you go! Not all small pumps are created equal

You just need to find the right pump for the application. Are you only dripping a single cham or will your dripper be used for multiple enclosures on the long run? I ask because this will also change your pump specs as you will have multiple escape paths for water and longer runs of hose which will require higher pressure.

 

[Little_Miss_Mo]

For sure! It’s just one veiled Thank you so much for your help! On amazon the description said it only goes to about 2.5 feet ahhaha, so I am picking up a 440GPH which goes to 6 feet, so we should be good!

 

[Tihshho]

Also, there is a big difference between AC pumps and DC pumps. Keep in mind that limiting the head pressure for a pump is never a good thing. It will be required for what you're after, but back pressure on an impeller in the long run will wear a pump out prematurely, so if you have a dripper like this it would still be ideal to run it on a timer so that it goes off regularly, but still gives the pump a break.

 

[JoXie411]

Hi guys! I built a custom dripper like the one in @JoXie411 did in this post: https://www.chameleonforums.com/threads/custom-dripper.167448/
But it won’t start working. The pump is running, but no water comes out. I even tried siphoning it too to get it started. Any ideas? Do I need a stronger pump? Thanks!

Happy the diy dropper is helping other members out.

 

[Little_Miss_Mo]

Also, there is a big difference between AC pumps and DC pumps. Keep in mind that limiting the head pressure for a pump is never a good thing. It will be required for what you're after, but back pressure on an impeller in the long run will wear a pump out prematurely, so if you have a dripper like this it would still be ideal to run it on a timer so that it goes off regularly, but still gives the pump a break.

Ah for sure! Thank you so much! I am definitely going to sync it with the lights, so once the lights turn off the dripper will too.

 

[Little_Miss_Mo]

Happy the diy dropper is helping other members out.

It definitely is, thank you so much for sharing it!

 

[Kaizen]

For sure! It’s just one veiled Thank you so much for your help! On amazon the description said it only goes to about 2.5 feet ahhaha, so I am picking up a 440GPH which goes to 6 feet, so we should be good!

Before you buy a new pump, just raise the whole reservoir up 2 or 3 feet.

 

[Little_Miss_Mo]

Before you buy a new pump, just raise the whole reservoir up 2 or 3 feet.

Unfortunately I can’t because it is in a cabinet that the cage is on And my mist king is underneath and connected to it as well. The reservoir can’t be raised up that much in the cabinet either :/

 

[Tihshho]

Didn't see the note about it being a shared reservoir... When it comes to submersed impeller based pumps you want to make sure they stay 100% submerged and that they never run dry, otherwise you're going to wear down the pumps quickly as their impellers are going to either burn through shafts or wear into the pump housing. Be sure that you keep a good eye on the reservoir as a constant dripper system will need to be topped off much more frequently than a MK only reservoir. If you're near a water source maybe you can add a float switch and an auto top off and never have to worry about it!

 

[Little_Miss_Mo]

Didn't see the note about it being a shared reservoir... When it comes to submersed impeller based pumps you want to make sure they stay 100% submerged and that they never run dry, otherwise you're going to wear down the pumps quickly as their impellers are going to either burn through shafts or wear into the pump housing. Be sure that you keep a good eye on the reservoir as a constant dripper system will need to be topped off much more frequently than a MK only reservoir. If you're near a water source maybe you can add a float switch and an auto top off and never have to worry about it!

Awesome, thank you so much for all the info, I really appreciate it!