RDSB help

[anomie]

Hello all! I was wondering if I could ask for a little help. I'm trying to plump my RDSB and have run into a few problems with my plumbing. I have used 1/2 bulkheads with an mj1200 to feed the bucket. My main problem is that the water isn't draining out as fast as it is being pumped in and overflows. When the lid is on tight, it works well until I lift the outlet hose higher than the bucket which causes leaks around the lid. I'm gussing pressure within the bucket is helping at this point to force the water out. I was trying to similate my sump height by lifting the hose. I'm at a loss when it comes to plumbing which is why I had a professional help me with my tank's intial installation.


Do I need a bigger bulkhead for the outlet? Should the outlet be lower than the inlet? Any tips? What am I doing wrong?

Thank you for looking and trying to help me out.

*I tried to add this post onto one of the RDSB threads, but kept getting the search error."

 

[anomie]

Sorry, I think I posted this in the wrong forum.

 

[aninjaatemyshoe]

First, part of your problem comes from the fact that the outlet hose is that cheap vinyl hosing with kinks all over it, which is restricting flow. Buy the black ribbed drain tubing or at least braided tubing (both can be found at Home Depot or Lowes). Or, you could just plumb regular PVC to the outlet depending upon how you want to rig this up. I would have gone with a larger outlet perhaps, but what flow rate are you intending to run? If the flow rate is slow enough it shouldn't be a problem. You can certainly lower the drain a bit, but at this point it would likely mean you need to replace the bucket.

Another possible problem I see is that you used bulkheads instead of uniseals. Since the bulkheads are up against a curved wall, they might not be sealing completely. Check to see if it is leaking at all around the bulkheads. Uniseals would really have been a better choice for this as this is pretty much what they are designed for.

 

[eshook]

The overflow problem you are experiencing is explained by the balance of the mj1200 and gravity. The inlet pipe has an mj1200 pumping 295gph through a 1/2" tube. Then you are relying on gravity to move an equal 295gph through another tube of the same size. Unfortunately gravity cannot move that much water through such a small pipe. If you increase the pipe diameter to 3/4" and possibly throttle back the mj1200 you will be fine.

If you don't want to purchase uniseals you can just add a *lot* of silicone around the bulkheads and it should help seal them. It won't last for decades, but it should last a while. However, like ninja recommended, I would suggest in the long run to purchase uniseals.

 

[Qcks]

It might be just me, but another thing that might help is varying the levels at which your influent/effluent bulkheads sit.

They look like they're very close to being level with each other.

I'd drop the level of my effluent bulkhead slightly.

Beyond that... RSDB's are more efficient when they have a high rate of flow. If the influent flow is really that much higher then the effluent flow, i don't think it'd hurt to add another effluent bulkhead.

anyway.... my 2 cents.

 

[BryanJen]

I used an old CPR BakPak return I had laying around, works great.

 

[billsreef]

A good rule of thumb for sizing outlet plumping is to have the outlet double the size of the inlet. So for a 1/2" in, you want a 1" outlet

 

[KEstep]

when I plumbed mine I made the input lower than the output and it splashed no matter what i did to it. What I do now is install a larger output bulkhead 3/4 to 1" and install it slightly higher than the input. I use bulkheads and they seal just fine, I do not trust uniseals in a clients home. I used a dremel to cut the bucket braces at the top flat so the bulkhead can fit snug up against the bucket. I have not had one leak (not to say that it cant but I have not seen it). When you tighten the bulkhead it will flatten that portion of the bucket and seal it. I also plumb the output with pvc so as to avoid any kinks. You can always place a ball valve on the tube between the maxijet and the bucket and adjust the flow accordingly. I do this to all buckets just as a safety precaution but I have only had to restrict flow on one of them.