Good air pump to brew teas

[MsMileHigh]

Im looking for a good air pump to purchase just for brewing cap beenie teas for my 1800w-2400w grows.Ive been looking all around for a good one,but all the good ones are loud ass hell.Do I need a real powerful one or will a quiet less powerful one work?

 

[messn'n'gommin']

Have little personal experience with anything other than a wally world el cheapo. But, as loud as it is, it worked for me. You might want to look up a few aquarist sites. Fish folk would have a handle on it if anybody does.

 

[ilikeweed21]

Taken from microbe man's site, this dude seems to seriously know his stuff:

"A Word About Diaphragm Air Pumps;
If you are going to buy a pump to run your aerated CT brewer, I can recommend the Eco Plus Commercial 5 (4 CFM max.) for up to 50 gallons and the Eco Plus Commercial 1 (1.75 CFM max.) for up to 10 gallons. I’m sorry but I cannot recommend a retailer for these pumps. I buy them wholesale and perhaps if you contact them, they can refer you to a retailer. http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com
I can also recommend Hailea 9730 pumps (2 CFM max.) which you can purchase from www.aquaticeco.com and other places. These are solid, long lasting pumps and I know other commercial brewers use them for 50 gallons but I just can’t recommend them for more than 30 gallons. If you use one for a 5 gallon unit it will last virtually forever. All of these pumps come with a little threaded brass fitting for screwing into the air output. DO NOT USE THESE! Put them in your parts drawer. These constrict the air and reduce your CFM by at least 20%. Rather, find tubing which slides over the nipple into which the threads are tapped. In the case of the Eco Plus 5 and the Hailea, 5/8ths inside diameter works. Slide the air tubing over and secure with a gear clamp. The Eco Plus has a very short nipple so I score the metal with a couple of swipes with a hacksaw to create barbs for the tubing to grip. You can find tubing at a building supply like Home Depot or Rona in Canada. I use the braided reinforced stuff which does not kink. Always try to keep your pump at or above the surface of the water so it does not siphon back if the power fails.

Now that we have our air supply you can slide the tubing over the barbed fitting air input on the end of your straight piece of PVC and fire her up. Ooops! Forgot the spring clamp. You can use a spring clamp to pinch the long PVC air pipe to the edge of your tank at the top. This keeps the hole thing from floating and you can adjust the distance your whateveragon is from the bottom. Spring clamps are like giant clothes pegs http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&cat=1,43838&p=41712
http://www.hobbytool.com/springclamps.aspx
I’m sure you can find them at Home Depot too or you may think up another idea (like a ‘C’ clamp).

Okay fire up the pump and fill up your tank (pail, barrel) with water. Watch the amount of air coming out of the openings you made. What we want is air coming out right to the end of the whateveragon and even dispersal all around and we want really broiling water bubbling up to the surface. The reason I suggested angling the openings on the bottom towards the center of the tank is so it would sweep right up from the base. You can raise it closer to the surface to get a better look at how evenly the air is coming out. You can also just put the air tube end in the water, right to the bottom so you can get an idea of your air potential and how much should be coming out of the holes you made. You don’t want to restrict the air flow. If you feel comfortable that you need more air coming out start adding more openings (on top), beginning at the cap end on the top of the pipe and working your way around towards the air input. You’ll get the hang of it. If you screw up, no biggy cause you are using really short pieces of very cheap pipe, not glued and you can redo and experiment to your heart’s content.

This is very similar to the KIS 5 gallon brewer (a very efficient little brewer; buy one if you don't like doing this) so their compost brew kits will be ideal to use with this. You can use this system with compost and feedstock in free suspension (added directly to the water) or in the case of a 5 gallon set up you can probably get away with placing your compost and solid food into a mesh bag tightly tied up and floating around in the water. The turbulence may keep it suspended. You could put some fishing floats or ping pong balls in it to be sure it won’t sink.

If you wish to use an extractor bag with a larger brewer, then you can use a variation of the set up previously described, except that you have a PVC air line entering your (tube/sock shaped) mesh extractor bag with diffuser openings close to the bottom of the bag and with a cap on the end of the pipe. This pipe should go very close to the bottom of the bag. You will need to tie off or fashion a lid for the extractor bag or keep the top above the water surface. As stated previously, 400 microns is the optimum sized mesh to use. You may purchase a variety of mesh bags from http://www.aquaticeco.com . You can experiment with the number of diffuser openings which provides sufficient agitation. These types of systems depend upon the agitation of the compost against the mesh, caused by the air, to extract the microbes from the compost. Some systems have no additional air diffusion outside of the mesh extractor, while others incorporate one or more additional diffusers. One could TEE off from the air line, one diffuser going into the mesh bag, the other into the water. A valve to regulate the air flow would be necessary in this case. Alternatively one could use two air pumps. One could combine both designs, using a whateveragon diffuser and another pipe going into the mesh extractor."

 

[RM - aquagrower]

Top Fin brand (from petsmart) comes with a lifetime "no questions ask" warranty, just like craftsman handtools at sears.

 

[MsMileHigh]

Taken from microbe man's site, this dude seems to seriously know his stuff:

"A Word About Diaphragm Air Pumps;
If you are going to buy a pump to run your aerated CT brewer, I can recommend the Eco Plus Commercial 5 (4 CFM max.) for up to 50 gallons and the Eco Plus Commercial 1 (1.75 CFM max.) for up to 10 gallons. I’m sorry but I cannot recommend a retailer for these pumps. I buy them wholesale and perhaps if you contact them, they can refer you to a retailer. http://www.nationalgardenwholesale.com
I can also recommend Hailea 9730 pumps (2 CFM max.) which you can purchase from www.aquaticeco.com and other places. These are solid, long lasting pumps and I know other commercial brewers use them for 50 gallons but I just can’t recommend them for more than 30 gallons. If you use one for a 5 gallon unit it will last virtually forever. All of these pumps come with a little threaded brass fitting for screwing into the air output. DO NOT USE THESE! Put them in your parts drawer. These constrict the air and reduce your CFM by at least 20%. Rather, find tubing which slides over the nipple into which the threads are tapped. In the case of the Eco Plus 5 and the Hailea, 5/8ths inside diameter works. Slide the air tubing over and secure with a gear clamp. The Eco Plus has a very short nipple so I score the metal with a couple of swipes with a hacksaw to create barbs for the tubing to grip. You can find tubing at a building supply like Home Depot or Rona in Canada. I use the braided reinforced stuff which does not kink. Always try to keep your pump at or above the surface of the water so it does not siphon back if the power fails.

Now that we have our air supply you can slide the tubing over the barbed fitting air input on the end of your straight piece of PVC and fire her up. Ooops! Forgot the spring clamp. You can use a spring clamp to pinch the long PVC air pipe to the edge of your tank at the top. This keeps the hole thing from floating and you can adjust the distance your whateveragon is from the bottom. Spring clamps are like giant clothes pegs http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=1&cat=1,43838&p=41712
http://www.hobbytool.com/springclamps.aspx
I’m sure you can find them at Home Depot too or you may think up another idea (like a ‘C’ clamp).

Okay fire up the pump and fill up your tank (pail, barrel) with water. Watch the amount of air coming out of the openings you made. What we want is air coming out right to the end of the whateveragon and even dispersal all around and we want really broiling water bubbling up to the surface. The reason I suggested angling the openings on the bottom towards the center of the tank is so it would sweep right up from the base. You can raise it closer to the surface to get a better look at how evenly the air is coming out. You can also just put the air tube end in the water, right to the bottom so you can get an idea of your air potential and how much should be coming out of the holes you made. You don’t want to restrict the air flow. If you feel comfortable that you need more air coming out start adding more openings (on top), beginning at the cap end on the top of the pipe and working your way around towards the air input. You’ll get the hang of it. If you screw up, no biggy cause you are using really short pieces of very cheap pipe, not glued and you can redo and experiment to your heart’s content.

This is very similar to the KIS 5 gallon brewer (a very efficient little brewer; buy one if you don't like doing this) so their compost brew kits will be ideal to use with this. You can use this system with compost and feedstock in free suspension (added directly to the water) or in the case of a 5 gallon set up you can probably get away with placing your compost and solid food into a mesh bag tightly tied up and floating around in the water. The turbulence may keep it suspended. You could put some fishing floats or ping pong balls in it to be sure it won’t sink.

If you wish to use an extractor bag with a larger brewer, then you can use a variation of the set up previously described, except that you have a PVC air line entering your (tube/sock shaped) mesh extractor bag with diffuser openings close to the bottom of the bag and with a cap on the end of the pipe. This pipe should go very close to the bottom of the bag. You will need to tie off or fashion a lid for the extractor bag or keep the top above the water surface. As stated previously, 400 microns is the optimum sized mesh to use. You may purchase a variety of mesh bags from http://www.aquaticeco.com . You can experiment with the number of diffuser openings which provides sufficient agitation. These types of systems depend upon the agitation of the compost against the mesh, caused by the air, to extract the microbes from the compost. Some systems have no additional air diffusion outside of the mesh extractor, while others incorporate one or more additional diffusers. One could TEE off from the air line, one diffuser going into the mesh bag, the other into the water. A valve to regulate the air flow would be necessary in this case. Alternatively one could use two air pumps. One could combine both designs, using a whateveragon diffuser and another pipe going into the mesh extractor."

Thanks!!! very good info....Has anyone had any experience with General Hydroponics Dual Diaphragmair pump.I heard it isnt loud but isnt very strong either.