Tuner ATO pump doesn’t stop pumping

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xaflatoonx

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Hi guys.

my tubes ATO pump fills the sump with ATO water once the levels go low. But once the water level reaches “full” the water keeps coming through (although slowly)

eventually the water leve rises in the sump and the ATO alarm starts going on.

the sump and the ATO are on the exact same height. I have even put the tube going UP from the ATO before going down to the sump to increase height of tube from pump.
is it siphoning? How do I prevent this?
 

Hersheyb

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u can do a simple test, trigger the pump to go on and unplug the power to the ato unit and see if water continues to come out, if it does then you have a siphon.
 

bacc2bacc

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u can do a simple test, trigger the pump to go on and unplug the power to the ato unit and see if water continues to come out, if it does then you have a siphon.

I agree, you probably have a siphon somewhere. Most likely it’s because your ato and sump and the same height, ideally you want the ato to be lower than the sump
 

rvitko

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The water level in the reservoir has to be below the end point of the hose, otherwise water will siphon in after the pump stops.
 

Bryknicks

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I can't remember where I got it, but I bought an anti-siphon fitting that attached to my feeder hose as a backup to prevent this issue. I use a 30 gallon barrel in my garage to hold my ATO water and it is higher than my sump water level. This has worked flawlessly and haven't had the issue again. Of course this was only after I siphoned all my water and flooded my garage. Hopefully you are able to find this and fix the issue. If I find where I bought it from I will post it.
 

rvitko

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Just keep in mind any anti siphon device can fail, gravity will never fail, and should be almost universally possible to just get gravity on your side. You can always route the top off hose to your main tank or overflow box.
 
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xaflatoonx

xaflatoonx

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Excellent points.

@rvitko - thank you for your insight. Even though my ATO and the sump are at the same level. The ATO is taller. ANd filling it to the top - is what probably makes the water continuously go.

I cant access the overflow box anymore since the tank is long and against the wall.
I can only put the hose directly into the DT but that would bother me so much.

My only other option is to keep the water level BELOW the hose outlet that goes into the sump.

Thanks again
 

rvitko

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You can make basically a gutter with an air gap, take a PVC pipe with a cap, drill two holes about 1/4", the hose will insert in one just enough to hold tight, the other is for air to enter and break the siphon. Just clamp the pipe to the stand wall so it drains into the sump and this will set the tube height well above the reservoir.
 

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