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  1. #1
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Draco Solum 25 drum

    I have gone through the various posts using the search facility and know there are a couple of users here so hopefully you can help....

    Looking to change from a midi sieve to one of these as they seem to have the smallest footprint which is what I need.

    Anyone gone from a midi to a Solum 25 and tell me how much movement forward/back and up or down there was?

    Seems like it should be pretty much a like for like but with automated cleaning and increase on fine capture due to the microns. I am hoping this will boost my bead filter and shower and less waste will be getting through.....

    Also, noise. Most are loud but from what I have read these just use your mains water so no need for an extra pump.

    Thanks


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  3. #2
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    Solum16 owner here using tap feed.

    It depends on pressure level of the mains. If I crank it fully open then it’s probably about 3.2bar which is loud with the lid off as the 16 has less nozzles so more pressure per nozzle.
    I turn down the pressure to a point the drum is still cleaned but there is less hiss.
    Having the lid on works and you hear less. Once in it’s final spot it will have a roof and insulation so I’m expecting silence.

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  5. #3
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    2 bar on mains pressure should do it for cleaning lol.
    My draco drum pressure is 2.5 bar. And it does a great job with out a pump.
    Fred

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  7. #4
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    How do I measure bar? I know it comes out at around 8 lpm???


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  9. #5
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rapleyr View Post
    How do I measure bar? I know it comes out at around 8 lpm???


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    With one of these I tested my tap

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  10. #6
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    I have on elm my bead that I can probably adjust to just check


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  12. #7
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    I just know when we had our boiler moved to the attic - they checked the main pressure.

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    Senior Member Rank = Rokusai Simon Fish's Avatar
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    When testing water pressure a few variables to consider.

    Do you want to know the static or working pressure?working pressure is recorded at one point whilst something else is drawing on the supply.

    The difference between static and working pressure can be quite varied.

    A tap partially open will reduce flow. The static pressure would be the same but working pressure would likely be reduced along with a reduced flow.

    If your mains pressure is very high you can fit a pressure reducing valve, they cost around £20-40. Usually preset to 3bar but mostly adjustable.

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  16. #9
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    This is also how I did it to test the flow for pressure. The bucket test copied and pasted of my build thread

    Did the bucket test for running volume to see if i needed a pump for my new draco drum. these where my readings
    timed a 14 litre bucket test with hose that you can see in photo one straight from tap and one with hose on tap without nozzle just hose end
    the readings where exactly the same. this is what i got for 14 litre test
    14 x 60 = 840 divided by 52 seconds from tap = 16.1 LPM
    so i reckon that should be good enough for to work drum without buying the pump. have to see when we set it up.But i believe it will be okay.

    And it was
    Fred

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  17. #10
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    I have fines throughout the pond levels top to bottom, can I expect this to improve with a drum or coils it be that I don’t have enough draw with the bottom drain that the fines will remain....sorry if that sounds like stupid question but before I bite the bullet want to check....after all I haven’t and probably won’t earn any money for the foreseeableDraco Solum 25 drumDraco Solum 25 drumDraco Solum 25 drum


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  19. #11
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Hi Rapley, I have had my Draco 25 for over two yrs with no problems af all.
    It is plumbed into the mains but I turned down the isolator valve a bit as I have really good pressure.
    The screen has never had to be cleaned by me and it is like new,its allways set to no1 clean which is the shortest clean as works great for me.
    I am sure other drums work as well but this is the best bit of kit I have bought for my pond.
    John

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  21. #12
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john1 View Post
    Hi Rapley, I have had my Draco 25 for over two yrs with no problems af all.
    It is plumbed into the mains but I turned down the isolator valve a bit as I have really good pressure.
    The screen has never had to be cleaned by me and it is like new,its allways set to no1 clean which is the shortest clean as works great for me.
    I am sure other drums work as well but this is the best bit of kit I have bought for my pond.
    Well said john could nt agree more.
    Best thing I ever did was get a drum added

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  23. #13
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    Morning Fred hope your well mate.
    John

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  25. #14
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Ok thanks. Just got to find some way of getting rid of the waste and I will order one.

    I currently have sieve and bead so bulky waste stays on sieve and I can flush and remove manually. The bead has pipe work going down to a gravel flower bed with the outlet about 12 inches down. I don’t have to worry about build up as the waste is just water and very fine stuff.

    If I go for a drum then it is all going to go down the waste pipe and I am worried it will build up and block. I cannot get to any manholes/underground waste pipe or have a pit as there is no where for it. the garden is sloped with the pond in the middle so it has to go towards the front....

    Why is nothing ever easy!


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  27. #15
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john1 View Post
    Hi Rapley, I have had my Draco 25 for over two yrs with no problems af all.
    It is plumbed into the mains but I turned down the isolator valve a bit as I have really good pressure.
    The screen has never had to be cleaned by me and it is like new,its allways set to no1 clean which is the shortest clean as works great for me.
    I am sure other drums work as well but this is the best bit of kit I have bought for my pond.
    I don’t suppose you know roughly how much water is used per wash and rough how many washes a day it does?

    I may have to have a place for the waste to go to so would give me an idea of capacity requirements?

    Thanks


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  29. #16
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Supreme Champion john1's Avatar
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    To be honest I have never measured the waste as I am fortunate to have mine go straight down the drain.
    You could have it go into a small barrel or similar and then a sump pump with a level float to pump round the garden.
    In the summer it washes every 1/2 hr at the peak.
    John

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  31. #17
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by john1 View Post
    Morning Fred hope your well mate.
    Morning john. All well mate. Hope you and the family are all well mate.

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  33. #18
    Senior Member Rank = Supreme Champion freddyboy's Avatar
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    Also depend how mucky your water is.
    Algi. As john said more feeding.
    Same here never clocked it. To see.

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  35. #19
    Senior Member Rank = Kyusai Rapleyr's Avatar
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    Ok thanks. Going to take some thinking about as the pond is so awkwardly positioned but was the only place I could have it.

    Hey ho


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  37. #20
    Extreme Koi Member Rank = Adult Champion NickK-UK's Avatar
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    From trial and error the removal of matter depends on the the pressure of water against the mesh of the drum behind the debris. The higher the pressure the more the mesh will act like a debris slicer than an extractor. The lower the pressure the more likely it is to catch and hold it. The pressure is dictated by the difference in water level between the clean side and the dirty side.

    Setting the sensor depth that triggers a wash allows you to control the water level/pressure.

    Set the sensor lower and the drum will pick out fines.

    In a really dirty situation, I had the sensor high but it was triggering every minute! However over time the dirt is extracted and the time between washes increases, at which point you lower the sensor height so the drum washes trigger and don't allow the debris to dry on the drum. The effect is that the filter captures finer and finer materials.

    The sensor position lower/higher depends if pump fed or gravity fed so pick depending on your filter type.

    In really dirty situations I'd advise switching to more rotations per wash too. That really seems to help.

    Secondly flow rate - most drums are rated at a clean water flow rate. It's the maximum that the drum can physically pass through. If you have dirt then I would reduce the flow rate by 1/2 (due to the above point) and if you have less muck then the flow rate can be increased from that 1/2 way spot.

    The Solum 16 is rated at ~16000l/h with the standard bio rated at the pond size (16000l) rather than flow rate. Given the really dirty situation of my pond after I put the old pressure filter bio into the new filter - it was pumping at ~5000l/h (6000l/h pump with a head height of about 70cm) and it was flushing each minute with a single rotation per wash. Think of it as the worst case scenario hence I would say the rating of a manufacturer depends on how much cack you have on average!

    I was a little concerned as the water still had some fines coming out - but after readjusting sensor height it occurred to me about the pressure and effect on soft waste after the drum was triggering every 15 minutes again.


    Fast forward two days and the same set up is now ticking over, although my sensor height is still higher and my water pressure is set low overnight because I have an NHS nurse living next to me. However I'll take a photo of the current water state - it looked clear as a bell this morning as I got my coffee. Now I would say the drum would be happy doing 12000l/h without washing every 5 minutes.

    I will put the sensor further down today and report back - it should be reducing fines further.

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