A silt solution ... that is supplied by my well

[Snag]

At least I hope so . Last year I installed a drip irrigation system that is supplied by my well in my garden . It worked swell for a while , then I started having problems with plugged emitters . It turns out I'm picking up some very fine silt/sand/? with the water . This year I'm adding a system to get that silt out of the water before it reaches the emitters . Filtration ain't going to work unless I install a swimming pool type system . My solution is based on the dust collector systems in common use at cabinet shops . The basic principle is to get the medium - air or in this case water - swirling so that the heavier components are forced to the outside by centrifugal force to settle at the bottom . I'm using a 55 gallon plastic drum as my "cyclone" (originally held almond butter) , the inlet will be near the top and angled to impart swirling . The outlet will be near the bottom , a horizontal pipe to the center , then an elbow and vertical pipe about a foot long . I haven't decided yet if the barrel will be pressurized , I'm thinking probably not . Last year I used open standpipes about 2 feet tall , using the overflow to gauge and adjust the flow rate . Comments from those experienced in this stuff welcome ...

[invalid unparseable]

I have a whole house filter for my well. Change filter every three to six months. Looks something like this one:

[Wilson]

then drew the water from the top of the barrel? The barrel becomes a large sediment retainer that you would need to clean periodically, but the system is otherwise passive.

[Snag]

That's pretty much what I had in mind . The swirling action will move the silt towards the outside , the out feed tube being in the center I think will minimize the amount of silt getting into the distribution system - I can adjust the height if I need to . I sure hope this works , I'm using black plastic over the entire garden this year to try and get the grasses knocked out so top watering will be a problem ...

[invalid unparseable]

I would worry about having to replace the filter and the durability of the unit. All filters eventually clog and have to be replaced plus plastic in unit would probably not hold up as well as metal. The one I have was replaced by a plumber years ago after one I had installed failed due to leak in bypass valve. He installed ball valves to shut off the unit for filter change.

[Snag]

Filters cost money and must eventually be replaced . The swirl technology has been in use for dust collection systems for a long time because it works . My first hurdle on this project is fittings to pass the piping thru the wall of the barrel with some kind of watertight fitting . Might just have to cast a brass part and machine it - or modify a part of an old faucet I have in my scrap pile . Modifying an existing part is less work and more appealing ...

[invalid unparseable]

Filters are available at less than $3. Change only takes me a few minutes. Reading reviews on the swirl filter makes it look like a crap shoot as it could clog in a few days at worst. Let us know how you make out.

[Wilson]

where things go slowest. Very simple to demonstrate.

[Snag]

This is not a filter ... this is simple physics . There is a swirling/rotation imparted to the incoming water by angling the inlet pipe . The silt/sand particles , being heavier/denser than water , are forced to the outside by centrifugal force . By drawing the outlet water from the center of the barrel I hope to avoid picking up so much junk that it plugs my emitters . If this doesn't work to my satisfaction my backup plan is to fill the barrel , let it sit for a while to settle , then use the water , refill and repeat .

[Snag]

Exactly !

[songbird]

Snag wrote: ...

except this imlies that you have constant water flow of a fairly stable sort. as soon as you introduce perturbations i think that upsets the swirly effect. or at least i'm kinda guessing that might be a problem.

songbird

[Snag]

The water is coming from our well . When the pump isn't running the water in the barrel will be static , any silt will naturally settle to the bottom . When it is running the water will be swirling and the silt will be moving to the outside and down . With the outlet pipe in the middle of the barrel I expect to see a marked reduction of plugged emitters . I'm thinking the barrel will need to be kept full to not have those disturbances in the flow patterns ... or if I let the level drop between watering I'll need to let the pump run long enough to establish the rotation and fill the barrel before I start to draw water . More new ground for me .

[invalid unparseable]

I read this in one star review: Installed unit After reading suggestions, picked this unit Installation was easy When turned on, unit become clogged in less than 30 minutes Called company and was told that I needed to install a pre filter with a

30 micron filter and replace current unit with a stainless steel filter Installation requires gluing, which in my installation is a short section Followed up discussion with email Was told basically needed to purchase a new unit with a 30 micron SS filter and an additional 100 Ss filter to replace current filter Also was told that they do sell replacement head units

So i requested a price I was then ghosted by the company

[Hul Tytus]

High pressure pump and a short duration. Similar in concept to the m2 carbine if you're familiar with those.

Hul

Snag <Snag [e-mail] wrote: