Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations The finer points of a vaccum breaker vs. a siphon

Well, I finally got to see my vaccum breaker drainage system in action today. A couple of thoughts here:

First - I like the vaccum breaker design. It occured to me that it is practically fool proof in releasing the vaccum. This will prevent accidental draw downs due to a clogged siphon release pipe. Since I am a absentee owner, this seems like a good design for me.

Second - the siphon releases sooner than on a traditional inverted U design and therefore the lake drains at a slower rate after the water level drops below the actual vaccum breaker pipe. The last 2 feet of water to drian due to gravity, not siphon. I'm not sure if this is good or bad...could be good if I go long periods between rain events. That way the lake will hold a higher level, longer. Not sure what the down side is (yet).

Overall, it looks good on the first run. I would like to see it running at full force.

Gator

Gator,
What's a vacuum breaker? Do you have any pictures?

Think of a siphon system except the inverted U pipe is different. Instead, it has a pipe sticking straight up and it is the type that has holes drilled every few inches. Its primary design is to ensure the vaccum is broken as the water receeds. It will always have a little air sucking in there unless the water level is high enough to completely cover it.
Gator

Here is a picture:



Its the white pipe in front of the pier, I am going to shorten it a little. Very simple. The drain pipe is a regular bottom draw design.

Gator

Gator and Jersey there are several ways to set up a breaker system. Look at this link/pic for another way to make one. You can have one that only depends on the cap being on the stand up pipe.

http://www.ponddampiping.com/syphon1.html