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AC_Hacker · 12-05-10, 11:47 AM

I have been experiencing a slow drop in the level of water that is being circulated in the loop.

I wasn't sure if it was because I was too casual in my measurements, or if I had a slow leak in the system that I had not caught.

A slow leak was certainly possible in the 720 feet of HDPE, which featured more than 112 hand-welded joints, done with homemade thrift store sourced components. I did test all the welds before burying the pipe, but accidents can happen.

So last night, I was very careful when I measured the water level, and I noted the exact time of the measurement. I also noticed that ever since I installed the quarter horse sump pump, a very thin stream of occasional bubbles had been coming from the loop output (where the output tube goes into the barrel, I put on some transparent tubing, and the end is beneath the surface of the water, making thin bubble streams easy to spot). This held out another explanation as to why the water level was slowly dropping... because air was being slowly purged from the system, in the form of a thin bubble stream.

If I had a more robust pump, The purging would most likely have been done in the first hour.

So this morning I went down to look at the water tank again and I saw no more evidence of the bubble stream, so it looks like the purging process is complete.

I also carefully checked the level of water in the barrel, and there was no perceivable change in level over a 15 hours period. If I don't see any change in level over the next few days, I'll call it a perfect loop.

Regards,

-AC_Hacker

12-05-10, 11:47 AM	#388
AC_Hacker Supreme EcoRenovator Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 4,004 Thanks: 303 Thanked 723 Times in 534 Posts	Loop Testing (part 3) I have been experiencing a slow drop in the level of water that is being circulated in the loop. I wasn't sure if it was because I was too casual in my measurements, or if I had a slow leak in the system that I had not caught. A slow leak was certainly possible in the 720 feet of HDPE, which featured more than 112 hand-welded joints, done with homemade thrift store sourced components. I did test all the welds before burying the pipe, but accidents can happen. So last night, I was very careful when I measured the water level, and I noted the exact time of the measurement. I also noticed that ever since I installed the quarter horse sump pump, a very thin stream of occasional bubbles had been coming from the loop output (where the output tube goes into the barrel, I put on some transparent tubing, and the end is beneath the surface of the water, making thin bubble streams easy to spot). This held out another explanation as to why the water level was slowly dropping... because air was being slowly purged from the system, in the form of a thin bubble stream. If I had a more robust pump, The purging would most likely have been done in the first hour. So this morning I went down to look at the water tank again and I saw no more evidence of the bubble stream, so it looks like the purging process is complete. I also carefully checked the level of water in the barrel, and there was no perceivable change in level over a 15 hours period. If I don't see any change in level over the next few days, I'll call it a perfect loop. Regards, -AC_Hacker