Bean animal drain not purging

fishkeeprian · 11/07/2018, 01:54 AM

Hello,

I have a Bean animal drain set up on my tank and its been set up for a good while with no issues purging when I stop and restart the return pump.

Over the last few weeks its no longer purging by its self, I have to almost open the main drain valve up fully for it to purge then adjust it back to where I need it. Ive not changed anything in regards to the configuration of the pipework at all, any ideas what happening & how to put it right because its a pain in the ***.

Thanks

mcgyvr · 11/07/2018, 05:38 AM

How far under the sump water level do the pipes exit?
They should be submerged no more than 1 inch (2.54cm)

Did you use threaded plugs,etc.. at the upper elbows/y section just like the bean diagram.. Maybe its leaking some and not air tight anymore..

What about the airline/hole on the partial siphon.. Maybe its clogged/salt creep,.etc...

NikonN8 · 11/07/2018, 06:37 AM

How long has it been set up? Any chance of dirty lines slowing things down?

YYCReefer · 11/28/2018, 04:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

How far under the sump water level do the pipes exit?
They should be submerged no more than 1 inch (2.54cm)

Why ?

mcgyvr · 11/28/2018, 04:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by YYCReefer

Why ?

Typically it wont purge air properly/fully/fast enough on startup if more than that..

YYCReefer · 11/28/2018, 07:27 PM

Sure enough, mine was 2-1/4" below surface level and I couldn't get it to stabilize. I pulled all the pipes out and cut them down to 1/2" and it stabilized right away.

I'm really surprised that the small additional back pressure from a couple of inches of water column would be that critical. I'm equally surprised that such an important detail hasn't managed to make it's way back to the original designer's page so people don't have to pull their hair out !

I also suspect that my emergency overflow is too high as well. The relative heights of the water coming from the tank to each overflow and their heights relative to one another are important parameters not specified in the original design !

Thanks for the help !

fishkeeprian · 01/11/2019, 02:10 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

How far under the sump water level do the pipes exit?
They should be submerged no more than 1 inch (2.54cm)

Did you use threaded plugs,etc.. at the upper elbows/y section just like the bean diagram.. Maybe its leaking some and not air tight anymore..

What about the airline/hole on the partial siphon.. Maybe its clogged/salt creep,.etc...

Need to get on top of my purging issue now.

All my pipework is cemented so not sure about an air leak. the pipes sit at the correct depth under the sump water.

I've noticed if I do one full turn open before I turn the return pump back on it will purge the majority of the time by itself and then I set it back to the correct position afterwards, but occasionally it will still need a little more adjusting to get out the last bit of trapped air.

I've even left it all day to see if it sorts itself out but it just sounds like a running tap and remains in the same state until manually adjusted.

The air hole in the partial syphon is clear, but I do not run any air tube from the hole does this make a difference?

It just went from working as it should to being a pain.

What else can I try?

Thanks

mcgyvr · 01/11/2019, 05:38 AM

Well.. can you give us images of the drain lines (shot of how it all exits at the sump.. shot of how it starts in the overflow box, shot of the overall drain,etc...) so we can see if you have any excessive horizontals or other problematic areas that only looking at it could spot..

fishkeeprian · 01/11/2019, 06:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mcgyvr

Well.. can you give us images of the drain lines (shot of how it all exits at the sump.. shot of how it starts in the overflow box, shot of the overall drain,etc...) so we can see if you have any excessive horizontals or other problematic areas that only looking at it could spot..

A bit difficult to shoe the pipework from the back because of how the tank is positioned, but I can shot the pipework in the sump. I will upload a video of the system trying to purge.

mcgyvr · 01/11/2019, 07:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by fishkeeprian

A bit difficult to shoe the pipework from the back because of how the tank is positioned, but I can shot the pipework in the sump. I will upload a video of the system trying to purge.

Do the best you can.. The better the info you provide us the better answer you can potentially get..

11/07/2018, 01:54 AM	#1
fishkeeprian Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: England, Earl Shilton Posts: 1,452	Bean animal drain not purging Hello, I have a Bean animal drain set up on my tank and its been set up for a good while with no issues purging when I stop and restart the return pump. Over the last few weeks its no longer purging by its self, I have to almost open the main drain valve up fully for it to purge then adjust it back to where I need it. Ive not changed anything in regards to the configuration of the pipework at all, any ideas what happening & how to put it right because its a pain in the ***. Thanks __________________ If in doubt ask!

11/07/2018, 05:38 AM	#2
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	How far under the sump water level do the pipes exit? They should be submerged no more than 1 inch (2.54cm) Did you use threaded plugs,etc.. at the upper elbows/y section just like the bean diagram.. Maybe its leaking some and not air tight anymore.. What about the airline/hole on the partial siphon.. Maybe its clogged/salt creep,.etc... __________________ Who me?

11/07/2018, 06:37 AM	#3
NikonN8 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2018 Location: Minneapolis Posts: 89	How long has it been set up? Any chance of dirty lines slowing things down? __________________ My name's Nate, not Nikon. In case it wasn't clear.

01/11/2019, 05:38 AM	#8
mcgyvr Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: North Carolina Posts: 20,050	Well.. can you give us images of the drain lines (shot of how it all exits at the sump.. shot of how it starts in the overflow box, shot of the overall drain,etc...) so we can see if you have any excessive horizontals or other problematic areas that only looking at it could spot.. __________________ Who me?

11/28/2018, 07:27 PM	#6
YYCReefer Registered Member Join Date: May 2018 Location: Calgary, Canada Posts: 14	Sure enough, mine was 2-1/4" below surface level and I couldn't get it to stabilize. I pulled all the pipes out and cut them down to 1/2" and it stabilized right away. I'm really surprised that the small additional back pressure from a couple of inches of water column would be that critical. I'm equally surprised that such an important detail hasn't managed to make it's way back to the original designer's page so people don't have to pull their hair out ! I also suspect that my emergency overflow is too high as well. The relative heights of the water coming from the tank to each overflow and their heights relative to one another are important parameters not specified in the original design ! Thanks for the help !