DIY Barrel Filter Help

[AngelaM]

I recently purchased a black food grade pickle barrel and converted it to an upflow filter. Everything seems to be working as planned except my barrel is building too much pressure and leaking around the lid. The lid is in two separate pieces as shown in the photo. The inner plastic lid with rubber gasket sits inside the barrel opening while the outer ring of the lid screws it down and holds everything snug. Currently my inlet is a 1” hose running from my pump to the barrel where it ends up in 2” conduit male and female ends. My outlet is the same setup. 2” male and female conduit at the barrel and a 1” hose that runs to my waterfall. If I make my outlet larger and go with a 2” hose to my falls will it help the water exit fast enough to avoid leaks? Also does anyone know where I can find a replacement gasket for these barrels? Has anyone found anything that works better than the standard gasket? Thanks in advance!

 

[Rex]

I didn't even have a lid on the upflow barrel filters I built. I had a 2" outlet and the water ran out of that before it would overflow the barrel.

 

[Tula]

I have a lid, but don't attach it firmly. Our outlet is larger then the inlet and it doesn't overflow.

 

[AngelaM]

Thanks for confirming my thoughts! I’m running a 4800 gph pump. Is it even realistic to think I can use it with this filter? I might have to add a second outlet to help divert the water back to the pond elsewhere.

 

[mrsclem]

My 55 gallon barrel filters can handle about 1200gph before they overflow. 2" outflow.

 

[AngelaM]

Does anyone have a 90 right after their outlet? My pvc comes out of the outlet and drops straight down. The entire hose is buried until it hits the falls. Could this 90 degree angle just past the outlet be causing the water to drain too slow?

 

[mrsclem]

By looking at the picture, your 2" outflow is reduced to a much smaller pipe. I would run all 2" flex pipe and change the elbow out to a street one that is not as angled.

 

[addy1]

Agree you want your outlet to be all 2 inch.

 

[mrsclem]

Either get a lower gph pump or divert at least half the flow. I have a ball valve on one of mine and with the 1300gph, I have to cut the flow.

 

[TAHOE]

What mrsclem and Addy stated, your output should be 1 1/2 to 2 times the input, you are reducing the outflow too much, convert it too 2" all the way to your falls.

 

[Ronfire]

The 1 inch line is very restrictive for a 4800 gpm pump. I would recommend 2-3" line for that volume of pump.
A 1 inch line under pressure will produce far more flow than a 1inch gravity feed will allow. Increase the outflow line to 2 ".
Divert some of the pump flow to other applications as well, water fall, pond return, or additional filters.

 

[Rex]

I would probably have a smaller pump or divert some water. Another option is to have more than one 2" output line.

 

[ChrisP]

There's nothing about the barrel that's preventing this from working.

The outflow pipe should be larger to reduce the pressure in the barrel if you want it to be sealed, or much larger if you want it open (because then gravity is what send it out on it's way).

The intake pipe is pretty small for that pump, but the net effect of that is a reduction in the overall gph to the filter. (i.e. you're not getting anywhere near 4800 gph).

 

[brc]

4800 might be kind of a big pump for that size filter either way? I feel like you could run a bigger 2-3 inch line straight to the waterfall, and tee off the 1" line from it right after the pump.

If it's a short run to the waterfall / there's not enough pressure to push water through the filter, maybe use a valve in the bigger line after the tee. That way you can dial in the flow to whatever you want.

Edit: I'd still increase the outlet size as well.