View Full Version : Forced Water Return
Hans420
12-27-2010, 03:15 PM
I was wondering if any one has ever tried forcing the water back into the dry cell using a small pump.
My theory leeds me to believe that it could help with a more speedy release of gas bubble from the plates and allow the cells production rate to increase.
I have not tried this my self because I was unsure if doing so could damage the cell or its components.
If any one has any info or thoughts I would love to hear your advice!
hhoconnection
12-27-2010, 05:20 PM
I have not personally done it but everyone that I know that has tried using a pump has had no noticeable increase in production. I think they ended up using it more to control temperature on setups with poor circulation.
myoldyourgold
12-27-2010, 06:10 PM
The main reason a pump is used is to keep the foot print of the whole setup small, especially where you can not or do not want to raise the reservoir high enough to get a good flow.
astrocady
12-28-2010, 08:47 AM
The main reason a pump is used is to keep the foot print of the whole setup small, especially where you can not or do not want to raise the reservoir high enough to get a good flow.
Exactly :)
Hans420
12-29-2010, 07:20 AM
Perfect thanks for clearing that up for me!
rpatten
01-09-2011, 04:54 AM
I thought the same and have been using a pump from the window screen jets on a car. The idea of knocking the bubbles off so new bubbles will form is solid but I can't say that I've yet found that it makes a massive difference if anything you may just end up using more electricity for little gain. I'm sticking with the idea though while experimenting with pressurising the water. Anyone tried this???
I used a pump on my 5 LPM dry cell system I built because I had a problem with the e-lyte pumping out of the large dry cell so fast that the gravity feed couldn't keep up causing lower LPM output.The water level was too low to utilize the entire surface of the plates.
The pump however created another problem of foaming in the first bubbler and going past the second bubbler(recomended for large systems) sometimes.I cured this by using a 3/4" gravity return fitting at the bottom of the first bubbler running back to the reservoir tank.
The pump I used(http://boats.wholesalemarine.com/index.jsp?D=galley+pump&Ntt=galley+pump&Dk=0&N=0&Nty=1) was a 1 GPM galley pump which supplied more than enough e-lyte to keep the cell flooded.I also installed a small lawnmower fuel valve between the pump and cell to regulate the flow.
Hope this helps you Hans420
myoldyourgold
01-11-2011, 10:37 AM
I used a pump on my 5 LPM dry cell system I built because I had a problem with the e-lyte pumping out of the large dry cell so fast that the gravity feed couldn't keep up causing lower LPM output.The water level was too low to utilize the entire surface of the plates.
The pump however created another problem of foaming in the first bubbler and going past the second bubbler(recomended for large systems) sometimes.I cured this by using a 3/4" gravity return fitting at the bottom of the first bubbler running back to the reservoir tank.
The pump I used(http://www.wholesalemarine.com/p/ITT...lley+Pump.html) was a 1 GPM galley pump which supplied more than enough e-lyte to keep the cell flooded.I also installed a small lawnmower fuel valve between the pump and cell to regulate the flow.
Does this pump have a bypass. If not when you regulate the flow with your valve does it just slow the pump down because of the pressure build up or ??? I would be very interested in how this inexpensive pump holds up under these circumstance along with the alkaline solution. Great resource if it holds up. Is your first reservoir filled with electrolyte? Thank you Sir
The pump was a continuous duty pump and had no by-pass that I'm aware of,I had wired to run when the truck was started.It's used for marine galley faucets to run whenever the faucet is turned on at any flow rate.
I ran 28% KOH e-lyte and had the pump installed for over a year with no problems.The regulator valve I used only slowed the e-lyte flow down a little just enough that foaming didn't get out of control probably restricted it 20% or less.When first started the flow didn't need to be regulated until after the dry cell warmed up.
And MOYG I think you misunderstood when you asked is my first reservoir filled with e-lyte I have 2 bubbler scrubbers before my engine because with 5 LPM and a pump there is quite a bit of foaming.I had a 1 gallon reservoir tank and kept it about 3/4 full of KOH.
BTW I patched the link for the pump so it would show,don't know what went wrong there.