Why do you think you need sweep 90's?
You really won't see any appreciable efficiency increase. And the sweep 90's can cost twice as much as a standard 90.
The numbers disagree!
An overall shot of the test system at the AES facilities in Apopka,
Where, What And How
The test took place at the Aquatic Eco-Systems facility in Apopka, FL. In the test, we compared 90º PVC elbows to two 45º elbows and 90º sweeps. Trying to keep the test as realistic as possible short of building an actual pond, a 500US/416UK gallon show tank was used as our pond.
The Short, Common, 90º Elbows
For the plumbing, 3ft/91.4cm of 1.5in/40mm PVC pipe with two 90º elbows that lead from a 1/4hp SHE 2.4 pump to a bead filter running at 6psi was used. For the rest of the test 46ft/14m of 2in/50mm PVC pipe was used with eight 90º directional changes, as well as a 4ft/1.2m vertical rise to simulate a waterfall.
Bob did not want to rely strictly on a flow meter, so the flow was also measured by catching the pumped water in a 45US/37UK gallon tank over a timed period. Each test was run six times and then averaged to get the final numbers in gallons per minute.
Just a quick note here; do not get caught up in what equipment was used for the test. We are not testing equipment we are testing the turning options we have with different pipe configurations. The equipment used is just a means to an end.
The Results
The Short, Common, 90º Elbows
35.5US/29.5UK gallons/min, which is 2130US/ 1773UK gallons/hr.
Two 45º Elbows next to each other
Two 45º Elbows next to each other
38.5US/32UK gallons/min, which is 2310US/1923UK gallons/hr.
The 90º Long Sweep
39.8US/33UK gallons/min, which is 2388US/1988UK gallons/hr.
source:
We always hear about the efficiencies of some pipe fittings over others, but let’s find out how they work in a controlled test. Is it worth using two 45ºs elbows vs one 90º, to attain better flow or is there another choice? Learn what actual head, dynamic head, and Total head are. Read this to...
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