Ok found a hopper how big of pvc for spray bars?

[amcjavelin]

ok I 've found a nice hopper through south yuba mining a nice 10" hopper now you can get the aluminum spraybars for a extra $75.00 but if I make my own pvc pipe bars how big? will be running a 2.5hp water pump with 52gpm also would like recommended drill hole size too if possible?

 

[Hobo lobo]

Size of tubing isn't critical' it will be pressurized. You will have to experiment with hole size and number of holes , the more holes the smaller they need to be. Small holes plug up easier, I would start with 1/4 " holes 2" apart .If that's not enuf water add more holes If its too much put some screws in some holes. Drill some of the holes at a slightly different angle to spread the spray around.
You can always drill more holes if needed.

 

[tvanwho]

52 gpm isn't a lot of water but should work ok with 1 inch PVC pipe and no more than 3/16 inch holes. Or start with 1/8 inch holes and see how you like it. You can always drill the holes out to a larger size but its hard to reduce the size. Also, you can aim the holes as you drill them as to where the water stream will hit in the hopper. And I found that sheet metal screws work real good for plugging up unwanted holes or if you need higher pressure and fewer holes in a pinch. Don't go any smaller than 3/4 inch PVC pipe tho. The larger diameter the pipe, the more expensive your spray bars and fittings will be too. I used sheet metal screws to hold my pvc pipes and fittings together as they can be unscrewed easy enough for modifications and adjustments.If you use PVC pipe cement, everything is permanent and not adjustable in the field.Something to think about...

-Tom V.

 

[Hobo lobo]

Quote ' 52 gpm isn't a lot of water but should work ok with 1 inch PVC pipe and no more than 3/16 inch holes. Or start with 1/8 inch holes and see'

The size of the hole depends on how close they are. Small holes (1/' holes will plug up easy unless you are using clean water with no debris and not provide enough water volume. 52GPM will handle holes larger than 1/8. IMO......

52 GPM is 10 5 gal buckets per min.

 

[tvanwho]

I dunno, I've never seen 1/4 inch holes in Highbanker spray bars myself....

-Tom

 

[amcjavelin]

well I keep changing my mind on hoppers I just can't see the money for them, but what I did was I bought a open header box instead and will be getting some cheapo classifiers to mount on top to act sort of like a hopper and going to use 3/4" pex piping to go completely around on my classifier from the top, basicly a steady flow from the bottom and spray through from the top, its going to look a little red neck but I think it' l work, i'll show pics later when i'm done so you can have a good laugh, thanks everyone that has replied back on the spray bars and hole size.

 

[Hobo lobo]

Just experiment with hole size & flow you will get it figured out. If you don't want to glue the PVC together you can use a sheet metal screw and be able to take it apart for changes.