hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Ahhh, glad to see my global plastics linky worked for ya.
Dart threadwheel skimmer build
- Thread starter smjtkj
- Start date
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Hmmm. interesting. I suppose you could bond another 1/4" piece to the flange on the dome too to make it 1/2" thick...hmmm.
Just curious, when you contacted global, did you mention or talk with them about other riser shapes? Like cones/funnels? Last I talked with them they mentioned something about being able to do cones, but that they just hadnt tried it yet...
Just curious, when you contacted global, did you mention or talk with them about other riser shapes? Like cones/funnels? Last I talked with them they mentioned something about being able to do cones, but that they just hadnt tried it yet...
dgasmd
New member
Having gone the route of the Dart already and playing with different configurations of the plumbing, I do have a few suggestions. Take them for what they are worth to you.
1. Cut down as much as you can the distance between the outlet of the dart and the inside of the diffuser. It will make a world of different regardless of how good it works without it. Cut the union parts in half to cut that distance. Also, a 2" union fits right over the outlet of the dart cutting down on the plumbing pieces you need, and again, cutting that distance.
2. Another option is to just plumb it with a unisela to the tube itself rather than the box. It will ultimately be the shortest distance.
3. Sand down the inside of the dart's volute as much as you can. It will seriously improve the flow.
1. Cut down as much as you can the distance between the outlet of the dart and the inside of the diffuser. It will make a world of different regardless of how good it works without it. Cut the union parts in half to cut that distance. Also, a 2" union fits right over the outlet of the dart cutting down on the plumbing pieces you need, and again, cutting that distance.
2. Another option is to just plumb it with a unisela to the tube itself rather than the box. It will ultimately be the shortest distance.
3. Sand down the inside of the dart's volute as much as you can. It will seriously improve the flow.
I did follow your thread and remembered your experiences with the plumbing. I am going to be experimenting with this threadwheel material quite a bit. I am still concerned about the cleaning of the threadwheel to keep up performance. This is why I put in the unions. I am hoping that the performance of the dart will be better at the much lower head pressure of a shorter body.
My thought was that this would offset the additional plumbing.
I might regret it but I wanted to see.
As for plumbing it to the tubing, I did that on the Tiny might skimmer with a uniseal. This time I opted to drop the bubble diffusor to make the most of the tubing. Also I did cut the unions in half and also the fittings that enter the body. I will probably be reworking the plumbing after I see what the initial results are.
I did alot of work on the volute of the dart. I relieved the inside of the volute with a dremel to the point of almost going thru the housing. I had to do this to get the mesh wheel in there. It is probably much more relieved than what is needed for the needlewheel you guys have been using.
Thanks for the advice! I appreciate your insight. This is just a little different spin on things, so I tried some different configurations. I may find that the first way was better, but I wanted to try.
Mike
Hahn,
Adding a 1/4 in piece to make it 1/2 inch is an option. I just opted to put it on a 3/8 flange. I tried to get them to use 3/8 material, but they would not hear of it. They said they don't do work with anything thicker than 1/4". It would have been nice to have a flange built on in 3/8.
Adding a 1/4 in piece to make it 1/2 inch is an option. I just opted to put it on a 3/8 flange. I tried to get them to use 3/8 material, but they would not hear of it. They said they don't do work with anything thicker than 1/4". It would have been nice to have a flange built on in 3/8.
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Beenalongtime79
New member
Fire it up Mike! 
Looks like a solid build and if previous experience with the mesh material holds, then you will have one heck of a powerful skimmer!
Peace,
John
Looks like a solid build and if previous experience with the mesh material holds, then you will have one heck of a powerful skimmer!Peace,
John
blfuller123
Premium Member
can you post a link to the place that made the dome? Everything looks great so far.
No, I just cut a 6 inch hole dead center and sanded it flat! They wanted 20.00 extra to drill the hole, so the price kept jumping. It was also extra to cut the flange off. But I let them do that.
I just water tested it for the first time, no leaks! Now I will add vinegar and watch the bubbles!
Mike
Well some interesting developments to report...There is good news and bad news. The threadwheel produces awesome bubbles even with just fresh water and vinegar, super small. The bad news is that the dart cavitates the minute I put the air pump to it. I don't know how much air it pulls on its own because I used 3/4 inch air inlet for the adjustable venturi and I can't get the dwyer meter on it. I can tell you that it is enough fine bubbles that I can't see my hand in the middle of the tube when I put my arm down the neck. And that is with fresh water and vinegar. We will see what it looks like with salt water tomorrow evening. It runs with the threadwheel at 118 watts. Not bad for a dart by itself. But I really had hopes to get the wattage down below 100w including the air pump. Stay tuned for pics with the salt water.
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