Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

I found several pumps at an online store that may be used to produce enough pressure to be made into a misting system similar to Rainmaker.

My problem is that they are measured in GPH instead of PSI.

They range from 50GPH to 1300GPH. I was wondering which of them do you think would be the = of the needed PSI to produce the nice mist that the rainmaker produces with the high pressure tubing.

Any of these with a 5 gallon bucket and a trip to the home depot for a few high pressure mister nozzles, tubing and a few line clamps would be considerably less than the cost of the rainmaker. I'd be more than willing to set one up first and try it out and let everyone know, I am just worried about GPH to PSI.

If anyone has any input please let me know.

Thanks,

Lu

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Apex Geckos
www.ApexGecko.com (comming soon)

when i had chams i used a pump sprayer and a garden hose timer and it worked amazingly and cheaper then most pumps.

yea, alot of people use them, but this is in the idea and interest of a plug in misting system that will work automatically with a timer, that will cost under 100.00 and work as well as other well known misters. Another benefit, I have found from these pumps is that they can stay on for longer periods of time.

Its just finding the right conversion factors and measurments to find the equivilent of PSI to GPH in order to find a strong enough pump to create the mist.

Lu
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Apex Geckos
www.ApexGecko.com (comming soon)

I am not sure there is a 'conversion'. One is pressure one is flow.

Perhaps contacting the manufacturers for specs might get you some answers.

the method i described above will not cost nearly $100 as the most expensive timer i could find which i could set on/off as short as one min. for i believe up to five different times per day and each day i could have a different schedule was digital and only cost $30 and the cheapest pump sprayer was one gallon and cost $10 so that leaves $60 for whatever tubing, nozzel, and fitting setup you can come up with.
the way i would go about finding out about pumps is to go to a place that is knowledgeable with pond equipment and ask them about waterfalls and foutain pumps. i do not belive that the speed at which a pump can move water has anything to do with the psi created in doing so, thus no conversion.

You're comparing apples to oranges, GPH is flow volume, you can find many pumps that deliver enormous flow volume but can handle very little head pressure(PSI) Pumps for ponds and aquariums are this type for example. They need the volume of flow and most often to be submerged to remain cool. Too much back pressure will reduce the flow and cause overheating and burnout. This is partly why these are inexpensive as the parts need not be high heat/pressure rated to last.

To build your system you need to work backwards. First you need to determine the head pressure or PSI to operate your desired system. Starting with length/diameter of tubing, elevation from resevoir to emitters, number of elbows, emitters and the PSI rating of each emitter. Then you need to find the pump that can handle that PSI plus 25% for it to work and last. These pumps are more expensive to handle the higher pressure/heat.

You'll most likely be finding pumps rated X GPH at 1 foot of head. You'll need to determine your PSI/head pressure then contact the manufacturer of the pumps to find the one that will handle your system.
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Hope this helps.

BigT
There is a difference between ignorance and stupidity. The ignorant can be taught, stupidity is beyond our control.

>>To build your system you need to work backwards. First you need to determine the head pressure or PSI to operate your desired system.

And the desired system is also often overlooked. When someone builds a DIY misting/rain system they need to start with water droplet size.

In general a SMALLER water droplet size will mean the following:

1) More significant evaporative cooling effect (can be good or bad depending on the species).

2) Less water left behind on cage furnishings (bad for species that only drink water droplets).

3) Much less water build up on floor of cage

4) Mist heads need to be replaced more often

5) Reverse osmosis or distilled water often necessary.

6) Seems to cause stress to certain species, especially snakes.

7) Better at raising humidity in a cage with minimal furnishings.

In general LARGER water droplets will mean the following:

1) Much less evaporative cooling effect

2) Less stressful for certain species (such as snakes which often will start striking at super fine mists).

3) Better at inducing defecation (especially in arboreal snakes)

4) Leaves more water behind for drinking

5) A huge amount of water is often used and systems to deal with the water build up are necessary (such as floor drains).

6) Cheaper mist heads and pumps can be used.

7) RO or distilled water not absolutely necessary.

Water droplet size occurs along a continuum, obviously, and one needs to consider the tradeoffs. It's usually best to find out what more advanced hobbyists have used for a particular species and find out the characteristics of that system.

I can tell you that a lot of species really seem to do well under larger water droplets and these are the easiest systems to build yourself. But they do go through a tremendous amount of water and the excess water needs to be dealt with. Moreover, if the system fails while one is away for a weekend the results can be disasterous.

There are no easy answers here.

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Current snakes:

1.1 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Silver/Yellow)

3.4 Gonyosoma oxycephala - (Green)

2.1 Gonyosoma janseni - (Black)

GPH has little to do with the PSI of a pump. You need to multiply the TDH rating of the pump by 0.45 to get the approximate PSI. For example, a pump with 30'TDH would have a maximum output of about 13.5 PSI. Even the least efficient (high GPM rate) nozzles available would need a pump rated at about 75'TDH to even work marginally. Our Pro Mist model PH-60 & 70 systems have a PSI range from 75 to 200 PSI, depending on how they are set up, or about 155'TDH to or about 450'TDH. The TDH (total dynamic head) is usually listed on most pumps.

Bob @ Pro Products
Pro Products

I built my own misting system using this pump:

http://www.interlinksupply.com/index.html?wscdet_show=100000107000107030&page_start=10

I purchased mine from a local supplier and actually paid $45 for the pump - this is obviously much cheaper but it's the same pump. I hooked the pump [which is 55 psi] up to a power cord plugged into a digital timer [Intermatic $29]. I run 1/4" misting line purchased from www.barrs.com along with their misting nozzels. You can buy your own misting nozzels in bulk from www.kesmist.com, but at a minimum order of $50 for roughly 50 nozzels I found that a bit extreme and you'll still have to buy some other type of fitting to hook the nozzels up to your lines. Finish the whole thing off with a 1/2" supply line and run that into a 5 gallon bucket. The Flojet pump is intended for intermittent usage though so you don't want to have misting cycles that run more than a few minutes. For my setup I've chosen cycles that run twice a day Monday through Friday for 5 minutes each cycle. That's more than enough to keep humidity up in the cages that I run the mister on.
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois

http://www.interlinksupply.com/index.html?item_num=AP30
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Matt Campbell
Animal Keeper, Small Mammal/Reptile House
Lincoln Park Zoo Chicago, Illinois

Assistant Curator
Wildlife Discovery Center at Elawa Farm
Lake Forest, Illinois

thank you for that pump link....very good info!!!!