Air pump pumping really hot air

[sophanox]

yo fellas, i just bought a new 50l/h diaphragm air pump and got it set up last night. It was producing loads of bubbles and is relatively quiet and doesn't get too hot.

However, this morning when I had a peek inside I was shocked to find that my air temps had risen from their normal 77 to 92, and rez temps had gone from the low 70s to high 80s! The odd thing was, it's not the air pump itself that's hot, it's the tubing that connects the manifold to the air pump that was the hottest. Naturally the manifold itself and the airlines were also hot as a result.

Of course I understand that the air it's pumping out will be a degree or two higher than the ambient air temp, but the manifold and tubing are actually hot to touch, not uncomfortably hot, but getting there - considerably hotter than the rest of the room anyway.

I was considering buying a load of airline and putting the pump outside my grow room, but if it's not the pump that's actually getting hot, then I dont think that would work.

I am in a small 3x2x6 (lwd feet) cupboard and currently just getting some seedlings started off under a 125w blue cfl.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before?

Thanks all

 

[tom__420]

I would put it outside the grow room like you said and maybe have a small fan blowing over it to keep it cooler. I'm sure if it was outside the grow area it would stay cooler, it is more open and not under bright light

 

[HomeGrownHairy]

yo fellas, i just bought a new 50l/h diaphragm air pump and got it set up last night. It was producing loads of bubbles and is relatively quiet and doesn't get too hot.

However, this morning when I had a peek inside I was shocked to find that my air temps had risen from their normal 77 to 92, and rez temps had gone from the low 70s to high 80s! The odd thing was, it's not the air pump itself that's hot, it's the tubing that connects the manifold to the air pump that was the hottest. Naturally the manifold itself and the airlines were also hot as a result.

Of course I understand that the air it's pumping out will be a degree or two higher than the ambient air temp, but the manifold and tubing are actually hot to touch, not uncomfortably hot, but getting there - considerably hotter than the rest of the room anyway.

I was considering buying a load of airline and putting the pump outside my grow room, but if it's not the pump that's actually getting hot, then I dont think that would work.

I am in a small 3x2x6 (lwd feet) cupboard and currently just getting some seedlings started off under a 125w blue cfl.

Has anyone ever experienced anything like this before?

Thanks all

"...it's the tubing that connects the manifold to the air pump that was the hottest."

I dont understand what you did here. You are connecting ther air pump to the airstones and not to the water pump...right?

 

[sophanox]

"...it's the tubing that connects the manifold to the air pump that was the hottest."

I dont understand what you did here. You are connecting ther air pump to the airstones and not to the water pump...right?

there is only one outlet of the air pump, so to connect this to the manifold a larger piece of tubing is used. the manifold then splits down into six smaller outlets which are the right size for airline tubing - which then attaches to the air stones in the rez

cheers for the responses so far

 

[redi jedi]

Try larger air stones, smaller stones might be too restrictive for the amount of air your moving. I tested different airstones myself, found the small cylindrical stones to be way too restrictive for the output of my pump. Like you said, when you compress a gas the temp rises, but when you restrict flow the pressure rises. The small airstones make too much back pressure, Think of a bunch of people trying exit out a single doorway, everyone crowds around the door and as more people try to exit the crowd just gets bigger. Now think of your airstone as the door and the people are the air...make sense?

 

[smk2jnts]

Try larger air stones, smaller stones might be too restrictive for the amount of air your moving. I tested different airstones myself, found the small cylindrical stones to be way too restrictive for the output of my pump. Like you said, when you compress a gas the temp rises, but when you restrict flow the pressure rises. The small airstones make too much back pressure, Think of a bunch of people trying exit out a single doorway, everyone crowds around the door and as more people try to exit the crowd just gets bigger. Now think of your airstone as the door and the people are the air...make sense?

Are you sure the pump is not defective? I have a similar pump and it doesnt run hot at all...

 

[redi jedi]

Are you sure the pump is not defective? I have a similar pump and it doesnt run hot at all...

He said the tubing is hotter than the pump, which leads me to believe the problem is with the air stones.....

 

[sophanox]

I am actually using 5 circular air stones and one long 8 inch air stone at the moment, so you could be right redi jedi. Unfortunately i have no spare air stones lyin about so i can't test this atm.

Though the pump could be faulty too cause although the pump is not too hot, the air it's pumping out must be in order to heat up the tubing and manifold so much.

Thanks for all the responses so far

 

[redi jedi]

Take a stone and try to blow through it using a short piece of tubing...should be able to pretty easily but still a bit of resistance...just thinking they might be clogged or defective also?

 

[pencap]

physics are a bitch huh? I agree so far that with out a different stone/stones, you'll never know... Lets Keep using the crowded theater/door analogy.... if everyone's trying to get out that same door, not only will it slow "output" but it's also gonna get hot n sweaty around that door...that degree difference coming from the pump will exponentially increase!