Heeeeeeeeelp! Standpipe Problems!

[RMThompson]

Ok, I built my Durso Standpipe as I recieved all the instructions to do so. I put a nice 1/8th inch of a hole on top. In an attempt to fix the problem below, I opened it SLIGHTLY more.

It works fine as far as lifting the water, however here is the problem. Every minute or so, the water level in my (wish I knew the correct term) sectioned off area of the tank where my pipes are RAISES, making it quieter, but THEN it suddenly LOWERS, and a rush of water and air comes flowing out, creating a very loud noise for about 10 seconds.

It's REALLY annoying and as the ol' story goes, the wife aint haveing it. What can I do?

I drew a diagram to show exactly what I mean:

(Probably have to click it to understand it)

[RMThompson]

OK, here are pictures of the whole system. I put the original "swiss cheese" pipe on to show the Durso Standpipe and the whole system:
It's standard 1 inch on the drainpipe, with 3/4th on the return. The pump is rated 700 GPH.

[Poseidon]

I find using a piece of rigid tubing thru the hole you drilled will eliminate that problem. You will have to experiment with the length though, you can raise it or lower it as needed. However, you may have to replace that cap, as mst rigid tubing is around an 1/8 or 3/16 at the most...

[Ninong]

Hi RMThompson,




The problem you are experiencing is not caused by the size of the hole. The size of the hole is responsible for the water level in the overflow compartment but not for the cyclical flushing effect you are experiencing right now. Trust me on this, I went through the exact same thing myself and stayed up until three in the morning working out a correction because my tank was in my bedroom and I couldn't go to sleep.

Before I get into an explanation of what's wrong and how to fix it, I would like to point out that your present hole appears to me to be too large. You can fix that later.

The flushing effect is usually caused by back pressure in the drain line. In my case, this was caused by my drain pipe being submerged too far below the surface in the sump. I couldn't change that because it was a custom built sump and I didn't want to mess with it but I did fix the problem. I gradually closed the ball valve on the drain line just below the tank until the water level inside the standpipe was just right to eliminate the extremely annoying cyclical flushing effect.

Back pressure in the drain line prevents air in the pipe from exiting the drain line. Instead of exiting the drain line, the air tries to rise in the pipe, slowing the rate at which the water drains. The water level in the compartment now rises. Once the water level rises high enough to overcome the back pressure, the air is forced out of the drain line all at once, causing a sudden rush of water and a rapid drop in the water level in the overflow compartment. The cycle then repeats itself.

So, to fix your problem, you can either change the level that your drain pipe exits into your sump so that it is just under the surface or you can adjust the water level inside the standpipe by carefully closing the ball valve on the drain line under the tank (assuming you have a ball valve there). Then later on you can worry about the size of the hole in the top of the standpipe.

P.S. -- I think I just noticed another potential problem. What is the size of the PVC pipe you used for your standpipe? If you have a one inch drain, then your standpipe should be 1.25", NOT 1". The 1.25" PVC standpipe would be inserted into a 1.25" to 1" reducer. A 1" standpipe usually does not work for a 1" drain. In my case, I had a 2" standpipe over a 1.5" drain. I have heard that with larger drains, such as mine, that you can get away with the same size standpipe as the drain but the guy who invented the Durso standpipe (Rich Durso) says that a 1" standpipe just won't work over a 1" drain. It has to be either 1.25" or 1.5" and then you use a reducer between the standpipe and the bulkhead fitting.

However, even if you did use the wrong size standpipe, you may be able to get away with it by adjusting the ball valve beneath the drain. However, this is going to reduce your water flow capacity. In my case, I had way more water flow capacity than I needed, so reducing it a little was not a big deal.

[RMThompson]

Thanks for the answer. I pushed the hose closer to to the outflow creating a U like under a sink, and it seems to help.

you may be right about the size of the pipe, but we tried 1 and 1/4th FIRST and it wouldn't fit. Is there ANOTHER type of silent pipe I can use?

[RMThompson]

And no I don't have a ball vavle

[Ninong]

Is there ANOTHER type of silent pipe I can use?

Yes. Check out these ready-made standpipes. I haven't used those myself but I know of a few people who are using them. Looks like they take up very little space, even less space than a Stockman standpipe, which is what I used. My Stockman standpipe was home-made for me by a friend and it was the original design, which was a little bulkier than Ken Stockman's latest designs.