Siphoning stops dead before water level all the way down

Hello, all.

I finally have my greenhouse and system set up and was doing water siphon tests when I encountered a problem I don't know how to fix. When I made my bell siphon I used the breather tube and have the cap - all the stuff that is recommended on various videos on YouTube.

Things started off great - the drip began then the full siphon flow started and then, with about another inch or 2 to go before even getting the water level down to the cap's rim, everything stops dead. At first I thought I had made my breather tube too long, so trimmed it just a bit with no change.

I did not create a trap under the grow bed as I thought that had more to do with getting your siphon started. I do plan to make a trap and see if that fixes the problem of maintaining the flow, but wanted to ask if anyone has had this problem before and how did you resolve it?

Thanks for your help. If you would like, you can check out my blog page to see more about my system and the progress I've made to date.

www.preppinwolf.wordpress.com

Nancie Baker : Fast answer - Goto the you-tube channel of web4deb, good luck, lots of good information !

He also posts here at Permies as As Rob T*********, you will be able to get his name off of the web4deb site !

For the good of he Crafts ! Big AL

Thanks, Allen...I've been to that site lots of times. I added a trap to the first grow bed and that only ended up with the flow stopping even sooner than previously.

I will check his site again to see if I missed anything, but if anyone has any other ideas, I'm all ears!

Thanks!

Maybe I was missing photos that show it but I'm curious about how long your drain lines are going from the bell siphon to the sump. Does it have enough length to hold enough water weight to suck more water up the inside of the bell?

Thanks, Bill. That is going to be my next step. The trap wasn't long enough - none of the videos I watched really explained that part well enough for me to understand. I did go on Bell Brook Farms' facebook page (Web4Deb) and managed to get that same suggestion. I had to saw off the trap since I'd already cemented it on, and have to buy some more elbow joints and make a new one.

My question is how long does it need to be below the bed before the trap?

I know this may not be the answer but you may appreciate the simplicity and gains.

Wow...that's pretty cool! I have never seen anything about coils before. I may have to give that a try. Thanks!

I believe the coil is best effective if the spiral matches the direction of the water when you flush the toilet.

That's a neat idea! Thanks for sharing that.

Probably an air leak around "snorkel tube." First place I would check.

I know this guy makes reliable siphons (250 sold, zero failures). The link is to the IBC 12" media siphon (10" water height, 14" GG, 1" dia pipe. etc.).

Hi Nancy,

How is the back pressure on the system? I could not really tell from your video on your other post. If your pipe touches the sump water it can stop the flow.