DIY- Ultra Beckett

[slug]

Santa did get me a router after all! I've re-built a few thing with nicer edges and want to make a new skimmer. I was think about making it recircultaing. I was wondering if you have ever built a recirculating beckett skimmer and if so did it work any better then a normal non recirculating?

 

[Zephrant]

Several of us are experimenting with recirculating Becketts- Nothing to report yet though.

The pump needs to be balanced to the design somewhat though- Not too big, not too small.

Zeph

 

[SUMMERS]

The best way to cut circles short of a CNC machine or laser, is to get a Jasper circle jig. It waste little acrylic, not taping or templates to mess with, and takes all of 30 seconds to cut out. Makes a perfect circle everytime without chipping or dents.

http://www.jasperaudio.com/

I use the model 200 and 400.


I finally finished my recirculating Beckett this weekend. Just need to get another Gen-X pump to try it out. I will let you know how it goes.

 

[Bnelson]

This is a great thread but I have a few ??'s. How are the beckets sealed from leaking, how is the becket chamber built and what plumbing is used, and how is the water levell in the skimmer controlled? I thought I read somewhere that becket injectors come in two halves with two rings that hold them together, so thats what I mean about how to seal them. Thanks for the info and that is one mean skimmer.

 

[ridetheducati]

The beckett proper is not sealed. The container that the beckett rests inside of is sealed with only one way for air to escape.

Duct tape works well for me.

As far as construction, I will let others take care of that.

 

[Bnelson]

Oh, ok so the actual becket body isn't sealed. I understand that the housing is created to allow for air controll, but what exactly do you use the duct tape for?

 

[ridetheducati]

Where the top of the housing meets the body of housing. There is a rubber gasket that supposed to prevent air/water from leaving the housing. I just wrap some tape around the edge.

I will take a pic later tonight.

 

[Bnelson]

A pic would be nice, thanks

 

[slug]

Just put the beckett in a 1" pvc span coupling, no need for duct tape:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=72146&highlight=beckett

 

[ridetheducati]

Cool...

Cool...

Slug,

I like the enclosure, but where do you inject air?

Duct tape pic attached:

 

[slug]

Drill a 1/4" hole in the side and attatch a valve.

 

[ridetheducati]

Thats what I thought.

Thanks.

 

[Bnelson]

For those who are interested, I picked up a fly cutter at Harbor Freight Tools today for 5.99. The cutter comes with two cutters on the horizontal shaft allowing for a 5" cut but to get a bigger one all that has to be done is loosen the hex screw that holds the center drill bit and remove it. Then locate the hexscrew in the hole the drill bit came from and loosen that. Now the horizontal shaft can be moved for a larger cut using just one cutter. Tighten all screws and go cut some stuff but be safe.
If you don't have a Harbor Freight locally check out their websight at HarborFreight.com.

Blane

 

[captain7359]

Zeph, I'm combining your mini beckett and ultra and was wondering if you or anybody else had any trouble with burping. Do bubbles gather under the plate for the coaxial injection or is it turbulent enough to keep all the bubbles moving? I'm gonna try a slanted neck and was going to do a slanted coax divider if you had any burping problems, but if it wasn't a problem then I wasn't going to waste my time. Thanks,
-Walter

 

[Zephrant]

That can be a problem with this design- With a large pump, it runs great, but with a smaller pump, you can get a bubble formed in the base that reduces skimming efficiency.

One thing I did was to drill a hole in the Beckett chamber so excess air could vent from the top of the tubes, and back in to the Beckett hole. Just a 1/4" hole in the bottom of the injector piece, next to the Beckett so air can go from the down-tube in to the Beckett chamber. That way if too much air collects in the down tube, it can recirculates.

If I was to do this model again, I'd go with 2.5" down tubes. They avoid the air-lockup better, even with a smaller pump.

In the base I'd go back to what I have in the "Monster Beckett" thread, which also avoids the air bubble lockup in the base.

Zeph

 

[captain7359]

I screwed up and put this in the monster thread instead of this one but, Zeph and others, would you mind taking a look at the attached pdf and see if you see any flaws in the design. Or at least other ways of doing things. I was going with a 3" down tube and won't have the pocket like your ultra had between the down and the coax portion. I appreciate your input and your designs absolutly rock

 

[prugs]

Hey captain,
I like the way you saved space by placing the gate valve on top. But how do you plan to install & remove it? Doesn't look like enough clearance.

 

[captain7359]

I had planned on using it in sump so they were slip fit. Even if you want to use it external all you need is a nice bead of silicone on the joints and it'll be plenty tight. I redesigned a little as I now have more space and plan on running it external and increasing the size also. it's also going to be recirculating with feed from the overflow.

 

[prugs]

I would like to see your new plans, if there not top secret.

 

[captain7359]

Give me a chance to get them finished when I get back home on weds and I'll post them for the world to see. (and pick apart)