Most of the manufactured coil denitrators I have seen, were designed more for looks, than for proper operation. Those of you that have seen a functioning denitrator of any type are aware that the looks go out the window just as soon as the unit becomes active.
A coil denitrator consists of 5 or 6 components; The outer container, the coil & sleeve, a reoxygenation chamber (which can also double as the coil sleeve), a directing tube and the exit tube.
Keep in mind that we need a minimum of 50 feet of continuous tubing. You can build two units and run them back to back to meet the 50 foot requirement, should you elect to use larger diameter tubing, for ease of maintenance.
Since we are talking about low-cost units, I will describe the cheapest way to go, you can elaborate on that and use whatever other materials you may procure.
To build the cheapest unit, the equipment required consists of;
1 - empty 2 liter soda bottle or equivalent wide mouthed jar is better.
1 - bikers drinking cup with lid and straw, any plastic bottle that will
fit into the first item above.
1 - a second straw or 1/4 inch ID tubing, straight, rigid.
1 - 50 foot coil of airline tubing or preferably larger diameter tubing.
To construct; Take the bikers drinking cup and drill a hole in the bottom the same size or a little smaller than the straw or tube. Push the straw into the bottom of the container, until it is just 1 inch from the cap. It should fit very snug. Cut the exposed straw off about 1/4 inch above the bottom of this bottle.
Now take the other straw and place it in the lid, like you would for drinking purposes, but keep the bottom of the straw about 1/4 to 1/2 inch away from the bottom of the bottle, secure with polyethylene tape or silicone. Also, if there is an airhole in the cap, cover both sides with polyethylene tape or silicone. Leave the straw long, uncut.
This completes the construction of the re-oxygenation chamber and coil sleeve assembly. View below.
________::____ Directing Tube
: :: :
: :: :: :
: :: :: : Bottle
: :: :: :
: :: :: :
: :: :: : RE-OXYGENATION CHAMBER
: :: :: :
: :: :: :
I: :: :I Cap
----::--------
::
:: Exit Tube
::
Leaving a pigtail about a foot long, begin by taping the airline tubing close to the bottom of the bottle with polyethylene tape. Proceed winding the airline tubing around the bottle to form a coil from the bottom to 1 inch above the cap. The gap at the top is for about three years of sediment to accumulate. The plans for using a sleeve over the tubing are not shown in this unit. If you would like to use a sleeve, the spacing between the turns should be an equivalent size to the tubing used, like as if you wound two tubes and then removed one. If you plan on using a proper fitting sleeve, the winding is from the cap end to the bottom of the bottle. The bottom is then sealed so that you have a continuous flow from the tube between the windings and exiting at the cap end. It is not easy using bottles, but if you are using acrylic materials the extra effort is worth it for the added flowrate of fourteen to twenty drops per minute, plus or minus. The final part of the construction, consists of placing this unit inside of an inverted wide mouth jar, or taking a two-liter soda bottle and cutting it in half near the bottom. With the top facing down, place the completed re-oxygenation chamber, cap down, inside the soda bottle. The straw should exit the neck of the bottle and the cap of the bikers bottle should be siliconed heavily to the soda bottle neck, or to the cap of a wide mouthed jar if utilized. Drill a hole in the bottom of the soda bottle, previously removed, through this hole place the pigtail from the coil. Fit the bottom of the bottle to the top half so that only about 1/2 to 1 inch of space is above the bikers bottle bottom. A little heat applied to the top half of the soda bottle will cause it to contract so that the bottom will slip on easier. If you chose to use a wide mouth jar, your home free, drill a hole for the exit tube, install the lid and your done. Soda bottle users, use silicone between the layers of soda-bottle where it fits back together, plus place a piece of polyethylene tape around the seam to hold it securely.
_____
_____----- -----_____ Bottom of Soda Bottle
: __________::___ :
OOOOOOOOOOOOOO: :: : : Bottom of Bikers Bottle
: : :: :: :O :
: O: :: :: : : O represent tubing coil
: : :: :: :O :
: O: :: :: : :
: : :: :: :O : Seam and tape with
: O: :: :: : : polyethylene tape.
: : :: :: :O :
: O: :: :: : :
: : :: :: :O :
: O: :: :: : :
: : :: :: : :
: : :: :: : :
: I: :: :I :
:------::-------: Cap of Bikers Bottle
: :: :
: :: :
: :: :
: :: :
I:: I
-::- Cap of Soda Bottle
::
::
Now drill a hole in the soda bottle cap so that it will fit over the exit tube and screw the cap on.
Your project is complete. If you chose to use a two unit system, the output from unit one is fed to the input of unit two.
A simple airline valve is used to control the flowrate at 7 to 10 drops per minute.
See further operating and maintenance instructions below...
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