JohnHuff said:
1) His filter will be very different from S&G filters because he's putting bags of material into his barrel, meaning that water will flow around the area of most resistance to the area of least resistance, i.e. around the bags. I would consider this a skippy like filter with rocks/gravel rather than pads. It would not be a mechanical filter, but a upflow bio-filter, unless the different layers of material are tight and water must flow through them.
If your layers of material are tight, your design has the advantage of having the pea gravel on the top, which would be the one most necessary to clean. Congrats, it's a good design!
2) I have done extensive research on slow sand filters because I wanted to build better ones. I built a true S&G and 2 of my own design. The problem with the S&G is that every year or so, the muck has to be cleaned from the top layers. Some US cities have humongous ones to help clean their drinking water, but in 3rd world countries they're trying to set up small ones for villages to clean their drinking water. The cleaning action is from a top layer of Schmutzdecke.
1) His filter will be very different from S&G filters because he's putting bags of material into his barrel, meaning that water will flow around the area of most resistance to the area of least resistance, i.e. around the bags. I would consider this a skippy like filter with rocks/gravel rather than pads. It would not be a mechanical filter, but a upflow bio-filter, unless the different layers of material are tight and water must flow through them.
The impression I have is the material are layered, not still in the bags, quite compact on top of each other exactly like a S&G.
Also, it would be a bit awkward if the pea gravel also was still in their bags in the filter and would be quite ineffective.
Of course, I definitely can be wrong!!
2) I have done extensive research on slow sand filters because I wanted to build better ones. I built a true S&G and 2 of my own design. The problem with the S&G is that every year or so, the muck has to be cleaned from the top layers. Some US cities have humongous ones to help clean their drinking water, but in 3rd world countries they're trying to set up small ones for villages to clean their drinking water. The cleaning action is from a top layer of Schmutzdecke.
Now that I am back home, off my cell phone, but gotta jet here again after this post.
Here's a very good example of a system I was talking about that is actually used in creating safe, clean drinking water.
The Biosand Filter.
Not for sure what ya mean by a "true" S&G filter. The S&G filter mentioned for drinking water is a gravity flow system, that is functioning much like a reverse osmosis system. The S&G filters used for ponds are pump fed up-flow filters, that allows it to be easily maintained.
Now, in regards to the muck accumulations with S&Gs, this would be dependent on how often flushes are performed, which only take around 5 minutes dependent on how the system is designed. If allowed to operate without proper flushes, then I can see how there would be problems. Again, if the large particulates are properly pre-filtered and the S&Gs are properly blown out in a timely manner, then I bet a fella would never, or at least once every 5 years or so, have to dismantle the S&G, which is really not much different than a bog, except for the lack of plants. Heck, I bet an accumulation of some organics inside would be good to help fuel some denitrification.
Notice the acorns that pop out due to the cleaning process.
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