How To Make A Diy Python

[backtotropical]

Ok, i put this together for someone in the 'New to the Hobby' section as the pics in the pinned topic don't work any longer, and there is an error or two. I thought it might be worth updating the pinned topic.

Any thoughts?

Ok,

well I read all these posts on how good pythons were and that they were brill, yada yada yada, and I thought got to get us one of these. So hunting high and low, looking for one, and then discover they are US only and when you can get them over here they are quite expensive.

After reading peoples experiences of them and looking at the website I realised that it shouldn't be that hard to make your own and customise it to your own length.

So, off I trotted to B&Q (although I am sure all reputable, decent DIY shops sell the required merchandise).

I bought

1 Hose (50m, but length to suit)

1 Tap fitting (again to suit, we have a mixer tap in the kitchen, so I got a multi tap connector)

3 standard hose connectors

1 stop end connector
These bad boys are the key - unless they are connected to something they stop the water flow

1 'Y' connector

Ok, the way a python works is by utilising the pressure of the mains water to create a suction force to start the syphoning process - akin to when we suck the water from the tank into a bucket. However, what makes it more than that is that it conviently does this in the place where the water needs to be disposed (sink) and with the added benefit of then easily allowing you to refill!

Pic 1 - this is how it works when you are emptying
Empty

Pic 2 - this is how it works when you are filling.
Fill

Note that the above 2 diagrams, 'Empty' and 'Fill', are the wrong way round in the pinned topic. I have corrected this for this post.

Ok, so how to make,

Have a cup of tea, make some space and get everything together.
This drawing (excuse my basic paint skills ) labels up the parts.
Here
A - hose pipe from spliter to tank,
B - hose pipe from tap to spliter
C - pipe from spliter to sink
D - 'y' shaped connector.

How to make each bit

A - Cut hosepipe to required length (from tank(s) to sink and a bit more - just in case). Can be left longer if will serve more than one tank, but longer the pipe there is a small reduction in effectivenes.
At one end attach normal hose conector and leave other end free (fit gravel filter if attaches for when emptying)
Note that i have attached a standard connector to both ends. I will explain why later.

B - Cut small bit of hose - short enough from tap to sink. On one end attach tap connector, on other end fit standard connector
Note that i needed a standard connector to connect the tap connector to the hose.

C- Cut short bit of hose to sit in sink, on one end attach standard connector, on other end fit stop end connector

D - erm, should be the same.

Admire no doubt brill workmanship.

How to assemble

attach all standard end connectors to 'y' connector.

Attach tap connector to tap.

Put bare end in tank.
As above, standard connector will be explained later.

Stop, have cup of tea. (very important that bit).

How to use

Before you use, do your usual tank maintenance regime, i.e heater, filter, lights off.

Emptying

When emptying do not attach part C to the 'y' shaped connector. Only A and B should be attached and the third 'arm' should be bare - aim it into the sink.

Put the bare end into the tank to be syphoned, fit the gravel vac/filter if you can.
This is why the extra standard connector was fitted to the hose, to attach the gravel cleaner.

Ensure that it won't move for the first bit (you won't be by the tank!).
I personally use the clip supplied with my gravel cleaner. Very handy.

The hardest bit I found was judging what pressure was needed to suck the water up without blowing air down tube A. With a bit of experimentation, and a flooden kitchen later (sorry dear) I found that if you turn the tap on full welly, wait about 5 seconds, then almost off thats all you need to start the process. With a bit of practice I discovered that I could turn the tap off and the water would still come out.
The only prob with this is that the force of the water isn't too great (the higher the tank above the sink the better it will be). This would be more suited to emptying the water or changing it rather thank cleaning the gravel.
Anyway, so long as the bare part of the 'y' connector is aimed at the sink and not the floor, you are cooking with gas.
When done, just take the bare end out of the tank - hold it upright as there will prob still be some water in there.

Filling

When filling, attach part C back to the connector - this is the equivelent of turning the valve or whatever it is on the real Python. However, before you do this, turn on the taps and use the water coming out of the empty 'y' shaped end to get the temp right of the water going into the tank.

Make sure you have your declorinator handy as this will need to go in before or during the water.

Put the bare end of A back in the tank - make sure its secure as the water coming out can make it kick and come out of the tank.

Quickly connect part C -

if you do it smoothly then there should be no need for turning the water supply off. Make sure the normal connector connects to the 'y' otherwise it wont work.

Viola. Assuming you have put the stop end on the right way round the water will have no where to flow other than down the pipe into the tank.
Stop, congratulate yourself and have another cup of tea.



Thats it. Your own personal tank emptying and filling device. While writing this I have realised that this will only really work with mixer taps, if you want warm water going in your tanks.
However, cos you can adjust the rate at which the water goes into the tank, you can maybe let it trickle in and get heated by the heater.
Or, I am sure its possible to use another y connector to mix the water from two taps in part A. Theres another project for another saturday.

Cost wise, I guess it depends what you already have and where you buy things from.
I bought 50m of hose (I will have 2 part a's for different tanks) @ £15
and the fittings were about a tenner in total so it was around £25, not including the afternoon it took me to put it together, test it and so on.
That can easily be cheaper though if you use a smaller hose, or buy cheaper connectors (i got the hozelock ones, but there were B&Q own brands for a little less)

Anyway, I hope this helps some people, I know I will now find it indispensable, cos it means we only need one of us to empty the tank. If anyone has any questions, feel free to put them here or PM me and I'll see what I can do.

Its a shame that real Pythons are so hard to come by here, but its not beyond our skills to improvise and make do with what we can.

Oh, if you hurry out now it can be the perfect Fathers Day Present!!!!

Nick

You will notice that my python required more connectors than recommended by Nick as i made it slightly more complicated to fit onto my gravel cleaner. How complicated you want to make yours is personal choice.

Hope this helps you.

BTT

 

[tenohfive]

Sounds like a good post, my only question is the line that said,

"Because of the pressure this isn't much good for cleaning the gravel" which would seem to be half the reason for having one disappearing.

 

[backtotropical]

Sounds like a good post, my only question is the line that said,

"Because of the pressure this isn't much good for cleaning the gravel" which would seem to be half the reason for having one disappearing.

I agree, however people with small tanks don't really need one, and people with large tanks still get lots of benefit just by being able to change the water without lifting lots of heavy buckets.

I vac the gravel with mine (as you will have seen) and its not great but its ok. I sometimes do an odd gravel vac without the python to pick up any debris which has been missed.

I think the main purpose is to eliminate the carrying of lots of water in buckets, and the python does this pretty well.

Anyone else have any thoughts?

BTT

 

[adamgreen240]

Very effective guide, would dread to see how mine turned out though!

Oh, and you have a lot of cups of tea lol

 

[Rooster]

...and how much did this lot cost ? My experience of BnQ is that they are far from cheap ! (cheaper to buy a real one ?)

Sounds to me like your tank is higher than your sink, and you are just syphoning the water out - original "python" SUCKS water, I think the "Y" adaptor wouldnt be able to do this, as the path from tap to sink needs to be straight (ish) in order to create the low pressure that draws water from the long pipe - maybe a "T" would work better ?...

Nice to see such a great effort - Well done for taking the time to share - an example for us all !

 

[backtotropical]

It worked out that it cost about the same as buying a 'Python', but this way i could tailor it to my needs / wants (longer hose, gravel cleaner attachments etc etc).

If i had stuck to ncjharris' original instructions, it would have been cheaper than buying a 'Python', but i like to fiddle and add my own bits.

Thats interesting about the T-Connector. I may have to try to find one of those and see if it makes a difference (as you say though, maybe not from B&Q ).

BTT

 

[RedeyesUK]

As luck would have it, I found a tap adaptor and y piece in the bargain bin of our local garden centre the other day (50p each!), so I'll be putting one together myself soon.

My tanks are more or less on a level with the sink, so that'll prove or disprove Roosters' theory. I've already got some old hose, so only now need a few connectors, so if it doesn't work properly I won't have lost much money.

I guess one way to get around the gravel vac problem would be to do the vac as normal into a bucket (maybe on a chair or something, for height), and then have the python draining the bucket at the same time?

 

[Behold]

I built my python for about 30 quid (I think.... ) i used genuine python parts and bought some external fish pond hosing that is reinforced so its not crushable. i taylored it to length.

I start my tap and once running for about 2 mins i turn of the tap and it just keeps draining. there is enought presure to suck stuff up but i net out the large bits to stop it clogging. looking at creating a extra catch tank to capture the bigger bits that clog it all up.


Does anyone know where you can buy hose clips with out the vac