|
I thought maybe I'd chime in here...
Despite the fluid dynamics disputes, the skimmer bar does work. I have the proof in my basement. The physics here is really quite simple - you have orifices on the back of the tank that must be large enough to drain the return input and overcome the friction loss of directing the water through the skimmer bar slot. Yes, air enters the piping, and yes, it reduces the water volume in the piping, slightly. There's no reason why this design can't work for higher flow - but it would mean increasing the bulkhead size and skimmer bar diameter...and the slot area would have to increase proportionately (either by length or width). Based on my experiments, 1.5" PVC could drain 600-700 gph with the same safety factor I'm using (which is overkill).
A coast-to-coast or beananimal overflow has it's advantages over this skimmer bar (mainly that they're perfectly quiet), but the noise coming from my water flow is less than my return pump's hum. And there are some nice advantages of going the skimmer bar route - it's much cheaper, smaller and simpler ...and easier to keep clean. I'm not arguing that one approach is better than the other (in-fact I love the beanaminal design), just that both work and both have pros & cons.
There are a couple posts about an MD5 (500gph) and a RIO1700 (642gph) pump having to be dialed back...I'd really like to see those designs to understand what is happening. As stated in my video, I'm running an ECO633 full-out and not only does it drain easily, I can reduce the skimmer slot down to ~25% of it's length and it still drains. This should address the flood concerns raised - my safety factor is ~3.6 (more than double what the FAA allows).
I'd be happy to answer any questions and assist those who are having trouble getting their designs to work as they wish. It did take me two tries to get the slot right, but I actually reduced the size on the second version.
- youtube guy
|