Using siphons to expand (coolant) tank capacity

Jan 30, 2012 2 Replies

Awl --



Reasonable? "Serial siphoning"?



Coolant tanks are typically no more than 1 ft tall. Think 5 gal pails. Would it make sense to serially-siphon, say, ten 5 gal pails for 50 gal worth of capacity? The height differential is not that much, so mebbe a bunch of siphon tubes from pail to pail would speed up the volume rate of transfer.



Losing siphon would be royal pita, so I guess you'd have to ensure that fluid level doesn't drop below a certain level, by I suppose having enough overall volume for the fluid demand.



Inyone done this? Practical? Limitations?


Can't you just smash a hole in the floor and get a few free 55 gallon drums?

More seriously, Can you have a small lift pump, Up to a couple 55 gallon drums. The drums gravity feed your real coolant pump. The lift pump keeps ypu machine tank pumped up into the resevoir. Drums are cheap or free. And your coolant pump will much more ambitious with a small amount of head pressure.

The bung threads on a 55 gallon drum is just a standard pipe thread, so no trouble plumbing it up.

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