NEW!!! "DROP SIPHON" For Media Beds

Not sure of a good name for this one so I'm going with "Drop Siphon" ;-)
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0:00 Intro
1:22 Why I'm changing siphons
1:55 Removing and checking the media gravel
3:30 Explaining the new design
5:17 Installing the new drop siphon
6:00 Showing it running
7:38 Installing the gravel guard
9:12 My final thoughts

[@DanielMatulich]

BABE WAKE UP, NEW AUTOSIPHON JUST DROPPED

[@deanwinchester7179]

That's really cool, I'm always glad to see people innovating and inventing.

[@Bigelowbrook]

I tend to like doing design work over growing. ;-)

[@kenjisnow7995]

The bell siphon is officially dead! Been running two of these drop siphons for a couple months now and they run flawlessly. Great design Rob! The only drawback is that I'm using hydroton as a grow media and the smaller pebbles fall through the gravel guard and jam under the siphon cup. This issue has decreased as the smaller pebbles next to the gravel guard have been getting removed and larger ones back filled behind them. When I do yearly maintenance I'll probably build a sifter larger than the gravel guard holes and pack the larger diameter hydroton around the guard.

[@chadm6777]

lol so the bell siphon isn’t “officially dead” yet😅

[@nitramdmij]

That is a really cool design!

[@bradleyakulov3618]

The neat part of the system I notice is if the stopper pops out while you're away for a prolonged period of time, the float would just lift out of the hole (given the tower is high enough so that it doesn't lit the lid) and clears the drain hole so that there will be no overflow. The bed might dry up, but at least you won't have any water damage.

[@Bigelowbrook]

You're 100% right. It happened to me a couple of times while testing. 😜

[@Mattsextonabq]

The bed drain rate, the water rate into the bed rate and the cycles per hour are entwined. You said that this will trigger even though the water input rate is a relative trickle, that’s a huge benefit, thank you!

[@Mattsextonabq]

This thing is awesome!

[@Bigelowbrook]

I"m really happy the the large span of flow rates. Basically you can from a drip to just a hair slower than the drain rate with the filling. So far, it has been bullet-proof!

[@Hoocho]

This is so cool. Do you think the moving parts will become a long term problem? Does the height of the cup reduce the shallowness of the water allowed to drain? And with the moving pipe, does this mean that the bed needs to be directly above the res? Great stuff man, this is an innovative new design. So cool.

[@Bigelowbrook]

So far, nothing has gotten stuck between the drain pipe and coupler, but that has been one of my concerns. It's been running for a couple of months non-stop. Even with stirring around the media and having the debris go through, surprisingly it's been all good! Yes, the height does affect the lowest water level since it can't drain lower than the rim. Even with my current bell siphon with the cup, it basically had the same water level. So it probably isn't draining about the last 3-4cm. Looking at the gravel after several years, since the gravel is still clean, I"m not worried about it. Having the bed above the res is easily possible. My system has an elbow about 6 inches below the bed and it heads off to a drain pipe. I would say that's one of the biggests problems with this design is that you need some clearance under the bed so that pipe can drop into there. However, even with a bell siphon, I usually recommend having a tail several inches under the bed to give plenty of length to create a good siphon.

[@GavinFish]

I love it when your videos pop into my subscription feed! Does the new siphon have more flow than your previous bell siphon? I wondered if it accomplished what you were looking for.

[@Bigelowbrook]

The old siphon used a 3/4" for the standpipe and this uses 1". Comparing the ID of the two, it's a 62% increase in size. There's a few other factors involved with calculations (like drag), but it's still a lot more flow.

[@konichiwatanabi]

Awesome! Aquaponics and 3D design/printing is a match made in heaven

[@ChuanfaBuddha]

That’s an awesome idea, thanks

[@markottaway6899]

Nice design, and very satisfying to watch the new syphon drain the bed!!

[@kolebuscher5733]

Nice improvement, thank you for sharing your knowledge

[@VicMorrowsGhost]

What a simple and effective design. Great job.

[@AngkolJ]

Great innovation 👍, i could see this also can be made with a modified pvc end cap 👍

[@Bigelowbrook]

Probably could. In this case the 3D printer comes in handy for testing and making slight modifications.

[@AngkolJ]

@@Bigelowbrook yup 3d printer is the best 👍😊

[@HendeSzabolcs]

Amazingly creative idea!

[@TikvahDave]

Looks amazing. Very impressed with your design. I'm afraid that there will be too much friction with the slow build up of scum on the pipe that slides up and down, or simply some snails or any natural contaminate. But time will prove the system. I'm tempted to try it myself. Thanks for the video.

[@Bigelowbrook]

So far after a couple of months, not a single problem! 🤞

[@DesertGardenPrepper]

you are a stinkin' genius dude. I would like to see a little bit smaller holes on the gravel guard or just slits like the one you removed. that design for the gravel guard seems like it didn't need improving, but, who knows?

[@Bigelowbrook]

horizontal slits are difficult to print because the need support. Vertical ones will make the walls weaker. They could have been smaller but this size should hold back just most normal hydroton or shale.

[@BitsOutTheBackFarm]

Absolutely awesome design Rob!!!

[@blairrogers8724]

Great work as always Bob!

[@zestynotions]

That looks like a great new design!

[@gafrers]

Brilliant

[@vonponics]

That is a super cool design thanks for sharing.

[@sean2074]

Looks fantastic Rob!

[@Gozelis]

very innovating, thanks!

[@mariusaquaticus3102]

You are an absolute genius!!! Wow super cool

[@yeschefwithchadkubanoff]

Very cool

[@shuminwang8279]

Good job

[@Bigelowbrook]

Thanks! I have been trying to find your contact info. Can you message me?

[@Javinkay]

Awesome

[@firepinto]

Water leaking past the pipe is also lubrication. 😃

[@Bigelowbrook]

That would be my excuse! Technically if the parts were machined, the tolerances could be so close that barely anything would get trough....but once a grain of sand gets in there......

[@sevenproxies]

nice

[@AdityaMehendale]

What's the advantage of the floaty system compared to a "regular" greedy-siphon (i.e. with no moving parts)?

[@Bigelowbrook]

A regular siphon needs a minimum amount of water going into the bed to get it to trigger. This will trigger regardless if water was dripping in or a normal flow rate.

[@mauriceb77]

Love it!

[@FishOnIsMyHandle]

👍👍

[@BrokenArrow685]

What did you print that out of? ABS?

[@Bigelowbrook]

PLA

[@BrokenArrow685]

@@Bigelowbrook In my experience, PLA tends to deform/degrade in hydroponic greenhouse conditions. I've prototyped plenty in PLA, though. Nice gizmo!

[@Bigelowbrook]

@@BrokenArrow685 I have some bell siphons in my system that have been running for around 8 years. Never had a problem with them. ;-) A lot of other components in my system are made with PLA

[@thearkedcrown]

What kind of gravel is in your bed?

[@Bigelowbrook]

expanded shale

[@heckyes]

Wow, did you invent this?

[@Bigelowbrook]

I think so. I haven't seen anything like it before. The closest thing I've seen in the Flout. www.rissyplastics.com/

[@heckyes]

@@Bigelowbrook Incredible! And the STL's are available for purchase? Any chance they could be made available in the openSCAD format?

[@Bigelowbrook]

The files are on my little store: shop.bigelowbrook.com/Item.aspx?ItemID=412 Basically I put them for sale to help support the channel a tiny bit. ;-) I tend not to give away the cad files.

[@heckyes]

@@BigelowbrookTotally fair. Cheers!