Bell Siphon the Parts List

Folks have been asking for parts lists and drawings on how to put this together. So Ive (finally!) put together a parts list, complete with links to the product pages for these bits on the Home Depot website.

Bernoulli Standpipe

• 1" slip to 3/4" male pipe thread (MPT) adapter - $0.77
• 3/4 in. Sch. 40 PVC Pressure Slip x FPT Adapter - $0.44
• 5.5 inch length of 3/4 in. PVC Schedule 40 Pipe - $1.97 for 10 feet, $1.15 for 2 feet

Inexpensive Bulkhead Fitting

• 3/4 in. Male Terminal Adapter - $0.46
• [A 1 inch diameter hole drilled through the bottom of your grow bed]
• #18 O-ring - $2.27 [for Box of 10]
• 3/4 in. Female Conduit Adapter - $0.50

Coanda Discharge

• 5 inch length of 3/4 in. PVC Schedule 40 Pipe (already bought)
• 3/4 in. PVC Sch. 40 45-Degree S x S Elbow - $0.62
• 5 inch length of 3/4 in. PVC Schedule 40 Pipe (already bought)

Auto-siphon "Bell"

• 10 inch length of 2 in. PVC Sch. 40 Pipe - $3.69 for 2 feet
• 2 in. PVC Cap - $0.98

Media Guard

• 11 inch length of 3 in. PVC Sch. 40 Pipe - $5.95 for 2 feet

All told, the parts add up to about $20 if youre just building a single Bell Siphon. If you build two of them, they come in at $14 apiece. Or if you get a bunch of friends together to build 10 of these, the price comes down to $9 apiece (because youll buy the 10 foot long lengths of 2-inch and 3-inch pipe - economies of scale).

Now that youve got the parts, heres how to put it together:


Small system I put together for a Feb 2012 science fair

Installing the Bulkhead fitting (the grey conduit bits and O-ring)

Assembling the Standpipe, Bell, and Media Guard

Different Discharge Options (I like the 45 degree or Coanda Discharge)

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12 Installing a Float Valve

Float Valve Hardware
It isnt fun going to my garden and finding the pump grinding away in a mere 1-2 inches of water. When the water in the sump gets that low, you no longer get adequate water circulation in the system. Plus, its hard on the pump.

I spent hours trying to figure out how to modify a standard toilet float valve to add water to my sump to replace evaporation. I may yet figure it out. Or you may figure it out and explain it to me. But using toilet bowl hardware to regulate my water levels is still a mystery.

Luckily, I have a smart mother who has lived much of her life in desert conditions. When I explained the problem to her, she said, “You need a float valve like they have in swamp coolers, to replace the water that evaporates.”

Oh.

I live in a humid climate where there are no swamp coolers. So no one sells the bits to replace swamp cooler parts. The big hardware stores don’t even list these parts when you do online searches, because no one in a moist climate would need to buy such a thing, and they stock them in dry climates in such quantity that there’s no reason to allow dry climate folks to buy them online.

There’s a flaw in there, somewhere. It turns out it is possible to buy such bits via a site like eBay, once you know what you’re looking for. Better yet, have a friend in a dry climate buy the bits and ship them. I assume fine aquaponics stores everywhere will start stocking them soon, as well. In the mean time, you can search for "aquarium float valve" on a site like eBay and find something to do the trick. The float valve itself will run you about $15. The tubing and bibb to connect to your system will be additional.

The way it works is the plastic bulb floats on the top of the water. As long as the water is high enough, the float keeps the valve closed. But once the water level drops, water will flow in (from a special bibb and tubing you connect to your faucet or some other water source, like a water barrel). Easy peasy.

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