-
Folks, if you've recently upgraded or renewed your annual club membership but it's still not active, please reach out to the BOD or a moderator. The PayPal system has a slight bug which it doesn't allow it to activate the account on it's own.
How often do you empty the skimmer cup?
- Thread starter Sunny
- Start date
I check on it everyday but empty every couple days.
Mine drains into a 5 gallon bucket and I dump that every week or two
I do the same. a lot of skimmers come with a hose in the cup.
I used to have a smaller one that did not. I took a male threaded jg fitting (you know for RO unit) drilled the cup 1/3 up from the bottom and siliconed it in place then a 1/4" hose into a bucket.
I used to have a smaller one that did not. I took a male threaded jg fitting (you know for RO unit) drilled the cup 1/3 up from the bottom and siliconed it in place then a 1/4" hose into a bucket.
The design of the waste collector is pretty simple and rather DIY, if you want to give it a try. Just take a look at one online. Golf ball in a PVC tube with holes drilled at both ends. When the tube fills with water the airflow is stopped and the skimmer stops producing skimmate.
Otherwise you can buy them from Geo, MRC, etc...
Otherwise you can buy them from Geo, MRC, etc...
My MRC 2 has a threaded barb that comes off the collection cup.
The tube drains down into a rather simple waste collection container ( a used grapefruit juice container from ShopRite).
There are double “safety systems” on this. For one, the tube going into the collection container, if the volume passes the tube, it causes back pressure which will kill the flow from the skimmer. If is it excessive, behind the picture you can see the bucket (that the collection container actually sits in), that has a float kill switch that will stop the skimmer pump if the collection container overflows.
The tube drains down into a rather simple waste collection container ( a used grapefruit juice container from ShopRite).
There are double “safety systems” on this. For one, the tube going into the collection container, if the volume passes the tube, it causes back pressure which will kill the flow from the skimmer. If is it excessive, behind the picture you can see the bucket (that the collection container actually sits in), that has a float kill switch that will stop the skimmer pump if the collection container overflows.
You will need to size the hole size with the barb. One note of imporatnce...the tap needs to be NPT....PIPE thread....not standard "bolt" thread. The difference is that pipe is tappered.
monroereef said:
What Paul is saying is that you will have to drill and tap the hole to screw the barb into the PVC. You can't use a normal tap that you would for a standard bolt. You'll need one designed for NPT filttings. It's the same thread pattern as those on John Guest type fittings. I have a couple of NPT Taps if you would like to borrow them. I think I have 1/4 and 3/8 but I'll have to check.
I'm not sure how those skimmers are built, but one suggestion I have is it may be easier to drill the bottom of the cup rather than the side. Because of the type of material used and the curvature of the cup I'd be afraid of cracking or breaking the collection cup. The bottoms are usually thicker and flat and sometimes made of different materials.
