how effective is the pressure system as the water level in the bag drops? is the pressure system effective down to the last 10% of water? thanks
1985083
Since there are TWO separate compartments, one for air and one for water, you can get pressure to the last bit that will reach the drink tube. You have to pump more air into the pressure compartment, as the water is drunk, to maintain pressure.
1985084
At 10%, you will have much better luck than with a non-pressurized bag, although, it would also be dependent of if you are standing still or moving around quite a bit while drinking. The only downside, is that the bag never gets smaller, as it would with a non-pressurized bag, but it is SO much easier to get water from, and not only can you fill your friends cup, but you could wash that bug out of your eye :)
1985085
Absolutely, it works until the last drop. In addition, because you are pumping air in to take the space of consumed water up, and the air and water compartments are separate and placed front-to-back, your pack weight doesn't shift as your water level gets low like with non-pressurized bladders.
1985086
As the water decreases, so does the pressure to push it out. The solution is to pump it up a little bit more to get the water out. On my hike, I was able to get almost all the water out with the air pressure.
1985087
It does lose some of its pressure holding capacity when it gets to nearly empty. That being said all you have to do is give the bulb a few quick pumps and your up and running again. I've found that if you have the water outlet on the engine at the bottom it holds the flow better. You can also always use it as a regular bladder when the pressure drops but that just "sucks"
1985088
Yes. It's effective until the bladder and hose are both empty. You keep the pressure up with the squeeze bulb as the water level drops.
1985089
As the others have said in answer to this question, as long as you keep pumping more air into the air compartment, the water should still spray out. I've had the water level low in mine and it works fine.
1172688
The system has a floating sensor that will trig when water level drop about 1/4 if an inch .The only problem with this ATO it's that make sure that float sensor it's free of algae, salt or any calcium deposit .
2277001
I really can't answer this, we have had it for 8 months now, and have never let the water level stay empty or too low. Sorry.
1249250
I have not noticed a drop in pressure, I don't use the drip system. I find the units work very well with small sprinkler nozzles.
1571779
Hi Nicole: Pumps 10 gallons/minute. Effective in that range. We have had several over the years and are quite satisfied. Pump turns on when submerged so we dug a hole for the pump to sit below the incoming water, leaving only minimum amounts on the floor. :-) Bob & Mary
1217973
i have a ph of 7.8 out of tap and i use a regular net bag of about 1/3 of the box i have a 90 gallon tank and it lowered my ph to 6.5 within a week ,but it will fluctuate if your doing regular water changes ,if your looking for something more stable i purchased an ro filter online for 50 dollars ioo gallon a day its much easier than trying to keep a steady ph with peat imo !!! good luck
2148330
Hey Johnny, The pressure is good, but I had to return it after 5 uses because it stopped working. I've read the same complaints from water pic users. I liked the product overall. Maybe I just got a bad one.
1168714
Pressure drop would occur only when you've got a lot of air moving. For normal usage there's no detectable change.
593717
I am doing 10 GPM. I am sure it can take more since I do not notice a drop in pressure before the unit was installed and after the unit was installed. What is your reason for buying the unit?
1649733
Yes, however since the water will be split, the pressure will lower a little bit.
2929
The bag is porous but any significant amount will drain slowly. I used a shop vac to get the majority of the water out.
295142
I have well water that is about 7-9, seems like ph stays about the same, it might drop a point. This machine is awesome man it takes my 485 ppm water down to about 12
1799267
I've never gotten water in from the outside. I once had a 20 once water bottle open inside of it and empty. Not a drop went through even after house sitting inside. It was pretty impressive.
712440
I have used it for several years and have had great success with it. First, I do not just rinse it I soak it and continually shift the bag while it is soaking. Then drain he sink and repeat until it no longer darkens the water. Second, I do not place it in the sump (what I consider the pump tunnel), I place the bag so that the incoming water flows over it prior to going through my bio filter. By doing this the bag catches any debris before it reaches my bio filter. Once the water flows through the bio filter in enters the pump tunnel and is returned to the tank.
204424
Hi Kathy. In my experience, although it's been a long while, no. Part of the problem was that the system is fighting gravity with the water on the bottom and it just couldn't compensate. Great concept. Poor execution.
697993
I put a quart of water in the bag. It was a little less than half full and seemed like it would be strong enough for what you want.
748304
Yes, it should work fine. The top piece (pictured) is what floats on the top and is propelled by the water pressure. The bag is connected to this piece by a hose and is pulled around the bottom. The only potential problem I see is if the "wrinkles" hold the debris it may not get picked up in the bag. The cool thing is the hose that connects the bag also provides a jet which displaces the debris and usually blasts it into the bag.I hope this helps.