Small air assist pump

[tylerv]

I'm looking for a small air assist pump that can fit inside, or easily attach to the laser enclosure. I found this aquarium pump on PetSmart's website, any ideas on whether or not it would move enough air? They've got different sizes for larger fishtanks, so maybe a larger model would be better. I imagine with the new printed nozzles that have a narrow hole it wouldn't take much pressure to keep smoke off the lens.

I have an air compressor to use if needed, but that gets really loud and takes up a lot of space...

[bdring]

There are no specs on that, but it appears a little small. I went to a fish store in the early days and tried a few in the store. I did not find decent ones. They are nice because they are quiet, but the flow is low. My current one would definitely scare the fish.

[Mike-f]

I have used a Hailea 35w Piston Air pump, cost me £10 and seems to do the job without a lot of fuss or noise! It oupust 70L/m free air. A more powerful pump would have been better but I just wanted somthing to keep the lens clean!

Like this one http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/70-LTR-AIR-PUMP-KOI-PONDS-HYDROPONIC-HAILEA-ACO-318-/200509248037?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PondsWaterFeatures_UK&hash=item2eaf485225

Mike

[tylerv]

Bart,

What air assist pump do you currently use? I looked at the one Mike-f posted, but that looks to be 240v.

[cpdude]

I picked up a similar air pump (70/lpm), however, I decided it was putting out way too much air. My calibrated fingers told me that is was putting out at least three times more air than the pump that came with my 40W FSE laser.

I'm planing to try a lower volume pump.

Brian

[bdring]

My pump is this one.

Search for pond air pump on eBay. Mine is 70lpm. It works fine, but has heavy pulsing, is a little loud and vibrates a bit. I run it through a ball valve half closed that reduces the noise and pulsing. If you run it into a small tank first that helps too.

[tylerv]

I'll see what I can find. I didn't see a link on your last post, did you have one of the Hailea pumps?

[cpdude]

Here's the one I got: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=330554907195

I like Barts idea about adding a tank and ball valve. I think that would work well with this pump.

Brian

[r691175002]

I run one of those pumps as well and have been happy with its performance although it is quite loud. I may throw it into a soundproof box with a small air intake or something.

[Liberty4Ever]

I'm reanimating this dead thread. Now it's a zombie thread! It just seemed that some of the best air assist pump info was in this thread, so I figured I'd add my info here.

Here's the air pump that I just bought. Being a guy, I usually think "ridiculous" is a good range for any power setting, but I deliberately went on the low end of the air flow rating to reduce the noise. I think this is a 38 LPM air pump for $38.52, delivered.
http://www.amazon.com/EcoPlus-Commercial-Air-Single-Outlet/dp/B002JLJC0W/ref=sr_1_11?ie=UTF8&qid=1348890897&sr=8-11&keywords=pond+air+pump

Here's the longer version of this post, with more technical info, design justification, noise attenuation tips, and shopping info.
http://www.buildlog.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&t=1506&p=13970#p13970