neural
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2019
Posts: 129
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Post by neural on Feb 11, 2022 14:45:32 GMT -5
I have a cab machine which I need to get water to. The fitting is a 3/8" compression type hose, and this is a non-changeable feature.
I need a no BS way* of using a bucket to store water that can, through a valve at the bucket, use gravity to feed the machine while in use.
I have spent probably $50 on this simple thing and can NOT get it to work.
It needs the following features:
1) valve of some sort at the exit point on the side of the bucket 2) Needs to be strong enough that a moron like me can work the valve without causing it to spring a leak 3) No reliance on silicon, flex seal, or other types of sealer, because I managed to break *that* within turning the valve just three or four times.
Key point would be that whatever seals the valve to the hole in the bucket needs to be so strong that in order to break the seal, the bucket material/plastic would need to give out first. If there's a way to **** it up, I am capable of finding it, so it needs to be moron proof. A bonus would be if the method used a 1/2" hole, so I don't have yet another $5 wasted on a bucket that no longer holds liquid.
*by "no BS" I mean I need the method to use parts that can be bought from either Lowe's, Home Depot, Ace, or off of Amazon.
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vwfence
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2013
Posts: 564
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Post by vwfence on Feb 11, 2022 16:34:20 GMT -5
there are fittings that are brass with a flange on the back side and a washer on the nut side and if you cut a couple pieces of an old bucket and make a couple extra strips 6 or 8 inchs long and drill em for your fitting and bolt it together with some gel super glue you should have a strong conection . opps the fitting should have rubber washers
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Post by stardiamond on Feb 11, 2022 16:47:57 GMT -5
The only people who like a recirculating water system are Diamond Pacific and me. Everyone else uses drip. I bought a machine that had a fitting for a water supply. I bought a Genie and then retrofitted the other machine with an aquarium pump and brass geysers. I don't have a contamination problem on either machine. I work in batches and change water from grinding to sanding to pre-polishing. I use an additive with my water. When I'm done pre-polishing, I Move the tray under the grinding wheels with the same water.
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Post by Peruano on Feb 11, 2022 18:10:38 GMT -5
I know you said drip (gravity), but the cheapest fountain pump that Home Depot sells will do the deed, with no hole in the bucket and requiring only a plug in synched or not with your arbor motor. I hook my pump on a circuit with a light so I can always tell when its on. The pump really doesn't care whether you have any valves open or not; it just spins the water in the source bucket instead of along the water line. You can do what you want to do usually with threaded nuts backed by rubber washers (just like your toilet tank), but drip often does not produce enough water for good coverage on my wider wheels.
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vwfence
has rocks in the head
Member since January 2013
Posts: 564
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Post by vwfence on Feb 11, 2022 18:15:23 GMT -5
Peruano : what kind of machine do you have ? the older machines all came with wipers to spread the water on the wider wheels
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hoolligan1938
spending too much on rocks
Member since January 2022
Posts: 253
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Post by hoolligan1938 on Feb 11, 2022 19:54:20 GMT -5
I made a water feed for my flat lap by using a plastic ice cream storage container (quart size) some 3/8" plastic tubing and a lawn mower fuel shutoff valve. Don't laugh! There is an epoxy mix that is just for plastics, I think by JB Weld. It WORKS extremely well on plastic and plastic tubing. Bought it at a local hardware store. The valve is a fuel shutoff valve, for lawn mowers, with the 3/8" tubing nipples molded in the valve. The tubing slips right on the in and out nipples and does not need a clamp. I found my ice cream storage bucket at a little nick nack store that sells all kinds of items for the home and kitchen. You could also use a quart or larger plastic bucket from a paint store. Drill a 3/8" hole in the bucket near the bottom, run your tubing into the bucket and epoxy it inside and out on the bucket. Leave it sit undisturbed for at least 24 hours and it should work fine. Be sure the plastic tubing and the bucket are oil free before epoxying. I used electronic spray cleaner on a paper towel for this. It's not pretty but it works great. That new plastic epoxy is GREAT! Set the bucket as high as you want and you'll have plenty of water.
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Feb 11, 2022 20:54:18 GMT -5
neural - Next time you're at our house I'll show you the little fountain pump and two-bucket setup I have here.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Feb 12, 2022 0:05:09 GMT -5
I bought 3 of these for the shop and some cheap pumps from Home Depot. All the water you need for wheels or laps. Everyone loves them and so easy to use.
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agatewhisperer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2020
Posts: 802
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Post by agatewhisperer on Feb 12, 2022 9:18:08 GMT -5
I bought 3 of these for the shop and some cheap pumps from Home Depot. All the water you need for wheels or laps. Everyone loves them and so easy to use. That would help with what I'm trying to set up as well. Where do you get one of those flexible sprayers? Not even sure what the right term to search for...
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Post by hummingbirdstones2 on Feb 12, 2022 11:01:18 GMT -5
(The name of the product itself was graciously provided by another RTH member in a previous thread on here somewhere.)
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agatewhisperer
freely admits to licking rocks
Member since May 2020
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Post by agatewhisperer on Feb 12, 2022 11:55:41 GMT -5
(The name of the product itself was graciously provided by another RTH member in a previous thread on here somewhere.)
Perfect thank you :-) been looking for a little better system like this for my old flat lap.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Feb 12, 2022 12:06:08 GMT -5
Sorry I could have added the link. You can get it from HighTech Diamond with or without the pump. You can get the pump cheaper at many home stores and it is kind of heavy to ship. I like them because it is very easy to move from one piece of equipment to another. Most pumps will feed two of these with a "T" in the line. You could make one if you tracked down the parts but HighTech Diamond had a 25% off sale in December so I just ordered them.
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Feb 16, 2022 20:03:01 GMT -5
neural I have an unconventional solution. I make my own bulkhead fittings for the gravity fed water to my grinder. First take one of these Drill the hole just so the threaded end fits through the bucket. You'll need 2 rubber washers or o rings to go over the threaded end inside and outside the bucket. Then get one of these And screw it on the fitting where it's sticking through the bucket. The PVC cap can be drilled & tapped to accept a valve with a threaded end and run the line to the grinder. Here's a picture of mine. I didn't use a valve on the container as there's 1 above each wheel.
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Post by Rockoonz on Feb 17, 2022 3:23:14 GMT -5
I use a paint pail from Lowes. It is flat on one side so easy to add a valve and not have it leak.
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NDK
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 9,440
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Post by NDK on Feb 17, 2022 8:47:23 GMT -5
I noticed that pail in your sale thread Rockoonz. I immediately thought hmm that would be a good pail for this! 👍
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Tommy
Administrator
Member since January 2013
Posts: 12,881
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Post by Tommy on Feb 17, 2022 10:18:09 GMT -5
neural I don't know how much room you have below your machine but I built an over-engineered self-contained feed and filter system using a 30 gallon aquarium with glued in plexiglass walls for an under/over/under filter with a $5 Walmart pillow worth of fiber fill. Before we moved to our current house in Napa I had no way of plumbing water to my machine and so hauling fresh water and waste water buckets was getting really old so this fixed that. In a nutshell, water is pumped with a low energy pond pump (from Amazon) from the large chamber on the right side of the aquarium up into one side of a PVC manifold hanging above the machine. Water exits the left side of the manifold and back into the chamber making a continuously recirculating system as long as I have the pump turned on. Individual 1/4" feed lines to the machines are dropped off the bottom of the manifold and a main valve on the return side of the manifold controls the amount of water pressure delivered to the individual feed lines. Waste water drains out of both grinder machines and into the filter side of the aquarium where it eventually arrives back in the main chamber. When I was making a lot of cabs I had to change the filter media about once a year and overall the system has been working very well for a number of years. My original pond pump burned out in 2019 but that's the only breakdown I've had. As you can see there are probably as many solutions as there are rockhounds - keep us updated as you go because it's something we all putz with. Edited to add this sketch I posted a while back in this thread: forum.rocktumblinghobby.com/post/1129284/thread
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neural
starting to spend too much on rocks
Member since November 2019
Posts: 129
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Post by neural on Feb 17, 2022 20:22:15 GMT -5
I bought 3 of these for the shop and some cheap pumps from Home Depot. All the water you need for wheels or laps. Everyone loves them and so easy to use. That's a really nice setup. I have quite a few components for water delivery. My main issue has been getting a seal to work with regards to buckets. The pump method seems to be a lot more straight forward. I will be looking at that. I have a trim saw that still needs water delivery. Thank you all for the responses and assistance.
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rewdownunder
spending too much on rocks
Member since March 2012
Posts: 357
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Post by rewdownunder on Feb 17, 2022 20:34:12 GMT -5
Small fountain pumps have become so cheap the last few years and they can just be put in a bucket and move the water where you need it. Something like Tommy's setup is great if you do not have a water source nearby. Most of the material we grind is heavy and settles out quickly. Gravity feed is simple but something always seems to leak or drip over time.
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