fishatron7429
Fish Fanatic
I want a cheap air pump but my dads always going on about me getting involved in D.I.Y so i thought this would be the perfect idea. Any one got any ideas? 
O2 ideas
- Thread starter fishatron7429
- Start date
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Fish Herder
Hmm... my air pump was $7. I figured that was cheap. I don't see how DIY could be cheaper than that.
fishatron7429
Fish Fanatic
i know but i want to build one myself just to see if i can
you need 2, 1 way air valves, a small electric motor and a diafragm of some sort.
for a diafragm you would use a pill bottle with a piece of plastic wrap over the top which is sealed off good.
drill 2 small holes into the pill bottle and place both 1 way valves in these holes, siliconed up so they they have airtight seals. position one of the valves to only let air in, the other to only let air out. fab youreself up a small camlobe out of a piece of plastic and attach it to the electric motors output shaft. position the motor so that the cam lobe intermittenly pushes against the plastic wrap on the top of the pill bottle.
run the motor at very low speed, if you run it too fast it probably wont give the plasticwrap enough time to tighten back up. vary the speed by using different voltages. try it with just a 1.5V battery, then try 2 or 3 or 10 to get the best speed which makes the most air.
You can expierment with different plastic wrap thickness and tension, as well as different camlobe size to get an optimum air flow. what will happen is that when the cam lobe compresses the plastic wrap, the internal volume of the pill bottle will reduce. the air has to go somwhere, so it gets pushed out the 1 way valve leading to the airline and consiquently, the airstone. as the lobe comes around and releases pressure on the plastic wrap, the volume in the pill bottle will increase. now this air must come from sumwhere, it comes from the 1 way valve which is positioned to only net air into the pill bottle.
i went ahead and drew you a dirgram in Microsoft Paint. its very crude but should get you started.
for a diafragm you would use a pill bottle with a piece of plastic wrap over the top which is sealed off good.
drill 2 small holes into the pill bottle and place both 1 way valves in these holes, siliconed up so they they have airtight seals. position one of the valves to only let air in, the other to only let air out. fab youreself up a small camlobe out of a piece of plastic and attach it to the electric motors output shaft. position the motor so that the cam lobe intermittenly pushes against the plastic wrap on the top of the pill bottle.
run the motor at very low speed, if you run it too fast it probably wont give the plasticwrap enough time to tighten back up. vary the speed by using different voltages. try it with just a 1.5V battery, then try 2 or 3 or 10 to get the best speed which makes the most air.
You can expierment with different plastic wrap thickness and tension, as well as different camlobe size to get an optimum air flow. what will happen is that when the cam lobe compresses the plastic wrap, the internal volume of the pill bottle will reduce. the air has to go somwhere, so it gets pushed out the 1 way valve leading to the airline and consiquently, the airstone. as the lobe comes around and releases pressure on the plastic wrap, the volume in the pill bottle will increase. now this air must come from sumwhere, it comes from the 1 way valve which is positioned to only net air into the pill bottle.
i went ahead and drew you a dirgram in Microsoft Paint. its very crude but should get you started.
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