Solving Problem with Siphon: Vacation Plant Watering System

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braxx20
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question -- When I go on vacation I set up a watering system for my plants.
I set up a siphon by placing one end of a 30 foot hose in my toilet tank and
the other in a bucket with a submersible pump and timer. It works very well
BUT every day the level in the bucket is reduced slightly. After a week the
bucket is only half full.
The syphon is obviously working but not completely. The only thing I can
theorize is that there is a pinhole in the hose that allows some air to
enter. Or maybe dissolved air accumulates in the hose between cycles
.HOWEVER, how can the syphon work at all then?
Note: the hose exits the tank and then runs along the floor and then up and
over and into the bucket.
Thanks for your help
 
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Did you check the timer? Maybe the water is leaving the bucket faster than it is coming in.
 
mathman said:
Did you check the timer? Maybe the water is leaving the bucket faster than it is coming in.

That is not a problem. The timer is only on for a few minutes and then the bucket(never empty) re-fills from the siphon action - only a little less each day