by Ben Vella

I basically used some clear acrylic, this I had left over from my skimmer and happened to fit perfectly. I used the two end peices that come in the Beckett and are used to hold it together. These are glued into my housing, and although they dont form a perfect seal, the water can only leak into the housing, so this isnt a problem. A layer of PTFE thread tape would seal it better if needed.

Firstly I got a piece of clear acrylic (you can use white PVC as well, but I had this lying around) and cut it to about the same length as the Beckett injector. Then I took off the end of the injector (flanged end shown in left side of this pic) and then sanded it down until it was smooth as it has some lumpy writing on it.

Beckett 1408 injector, disassembled to show parts.

Then I used a holesaw to cut a peice of clear acrylic that can seal up one of the ends of the tube. I also cut a hole in the middle to take some 3/4" PVC pressure pipe. I then glued this onto the acrylic tube, glued the sanded flange bit on one side and then the 3/4" pressure pipe to the other (I pushed it in until it almost touched the flange).

Base.

Then I cut another peice of acrylic that was about 15mm larger around the edges than the clear acrylic pipe. I then cut a hole in the middle of this so it fits snugly over the acrylic tube (shown below) and glued it (Weldon 16).

Top flange.

The top part was made in a similar fashion to the flange but the hole in the middle was cut to fit 3/4" pressure pipe.

Top flange plate.

A short length of 3/4" pressure pipe was glued into this, and then a 90^o bend. A threaded adaptor was then glued to this in which a 3/4" barbed fitting was screwed in with some PTFE thread tape. Then the other end of the Beckett was glued onto this end. Once this was all dried, the Beckett was pushed into the bottom holder, and this pushed over the top, then some screw holes were drilled (drill screw holes last to make sure it is all aligned. Then the two flange peices were sanded together so they look neat.

Completed.

Then, I took the injector out, drilled a hole and glued in a 13mm fitting I got from Bunnings.

Air inlet.

Make sure this is drilled above the line of the inlet holes in the Beckett. This was glued in with superglue.

I will connect the air inlet to a short hose which has a 13mm ball valve (also from Bunnings) to control air supply. It is just one of those black/green ball valves they use for the watering systems. It is not perfectly airtight, but its only $2.50 and the other plumbing place wasn't open on Sunday.

On the big flange, I put a 1 mm layer of silicone on it, then some gladwrap and then put the other peice on top and lightly did up the screws so there was some pressure on the silicone. Then I let this cure, and removed the glad wrap. This now gives a excellent seal, I find this method works better then using a rubber seal.

Comments

Beckett Written by on 2006-05-05 10:28:44 I am just about finished with a similar installation using a similar injector. Difference; I see you have discharged the injector into a smaller 3/4" pipe where I have just let it discharge into a 3" dia acrylic riser. Is the discharge into the 3/4" pipe necessary and/or required?

Re: Beckett Written by on 2006-05-05 10:32:00 I am not the author of this particular project, but ....    The outlet of the injector doesn't have to go into a particular sized pipe, other than ensuring that it is the same size or larger than the outlet of the fitting. Reason being, as you want the least amount of back pressure on the injector, which will assist in getting as much air in as possible. If anything, it is probably better to step up to a larger diameter tube directly after the end of the fitting.

Beckett Injector Written by on 2006-08-15 11:33:25 How does the Beckett injector work and where i can find one?

Re: Beckett Injector Written by on 2006-08-15 11:35:51 It is a type of foam jet used in fountains and works on the same principle as a venturi. A restriction of the water flow followed by an expansion creates a vacuum into which air can be sucked.    As for where, well that depends where in the world you are. Any irrigation supply store will most likely have foam jets for use in fountains, so you can pick one of those up. Nothing really fancy about the Becketts, it is just a particular brand and there are others out there.

Written by on 2006-10-27 16:53:39 Where can I buy a beckett injector from?

Written by on 2007-01-11 12:50:36 Where can I buy a beckett venturi? I have been trying for months to find one on the net, tried everywhere. Asked a thousand reef keepers - I am just ignored, does it infact exist or is this a hoax????

Re: where to get one? Written by on 2007-01-11 12:52:15 In Australia you can't. There is no importer, you have to get them from the US. An odd hobbyist or business gets a number of them from time to time, but there is no-one with an on going supply.    BTW, it is not called a venturi, they are a pond aerator as that is what they are manufactured to actually do. Another name you might hear them to referred to is foam jet or foam nozzle.

links to get Beckett Written by on 2007-01-16 17:35:19 Below are URLS to buy a Beckett as well as other DIY stuff    www.precisionmarine.com  www.myreefcreations.com  www.aquaticeco.com

clear acrylic pipe Written by on 2007-01-16 17:37:14 Where can I buy lengths of clear acrylic pipe from?

Re: clear acrylic pipe Written by on 2007-01-16 17:45:46 Your local acrylic supplier. Easiest way is to check the Yellow Pages (www.yellowpages.com.au) in the "Plastics--Products--Retail" section. Ring around to find best price. Plus if you find a good one, they typically are good at cutting things to size or providing off cuts. Otherwise you will have to purchase an entire length.

Only registered users can write comments.
Please login or register.

Powered by AkoComment!