Is Air Pump Below Water Line Safe if using Air Check Valve for UAS???

[duganderson]

Is it safe to mount the air pump below the tank if you use an air check valve? I don't want to take any risk of flooding my floor.

If air check valves work consistently to prevent back siphoning, which one do you recommend? How often do you need to clean or replace them? Any other tips appreciated.

[SantaMonica]

If the scrubber is not too far down into the tank, it might be ok. The further down it is, the more "up-shoot" there will be when the power goes out, and thus the more chance the water will shoot up and over the tank wall. You can check it easily though by unplugging the pump and watching it.

No experience on valves, however.

[ddalgleish]

Check valves work for a while, when they get old they still work to a certain extent. I have an old check valve, the water in the tube will go about half an inch above the water line and stop half an inch above the water line. A brand new one will completely stop water flow.

Draw back of check valves (for air lines and water lines) is that it robs some of the pressure and essentially lowers the flow rate. So be aware that you may get slightly less air flow with one.