Overflows: Durso-ish/Quiet Standpipe

Having just gone through this excercise, I wanted to share how I made my overflow standpipes.

First, what am I talking about?

Traditional overflow systems allow the water to fall the height of the tank before going down the drain to the sump. This can be loud and give you the urge to pee every time you enter the room.

To quiet the flow, you would use a standpipe (like the ever-so-popular Durso Standpipe). A standpipe will raise the level of water in the overflow area so the water only falls a couple inches instead of a foot or two.

How can I make one cheap?

What you'll need (this is all schedule 40 PVC):

• A length of 1 1/4" PVC tubing (how ever much you'll need, I think they sell them in 5' lengths)
• 2 x 90 degree elbows
• 2 x 90 degree elbows with a slip side
• 2 x 1 1/4" to 3/4" bushing (the second size should match your bulkhead hole)
• 2 x 2" lengths of 3/4" PVC (this should match your bulkhead hole)

Make a candy cane shape with the pipe and the two elbows. The pipe length can be what ever you need to raise the water level in your overflows.

Put the bushing on the bottom of the candy cane shape and a 2" piece of 3/4" PVC in the bushing. The 3/4" PVC on the bottom should fit into your bulkhead. * This part will vary based on the size of your bulkhead opening. I didn't glue any of my pieces together, it's not needed.

Drilling the holes - the make or break part of this!

Once it's all put together, drill a 1/4" hole in the very top center of the candy cane. This should be the highest point when it's standing up. This is the siphon hole (draws in air).

Next, drill a 1/2" hole on each side of the 1 1/4" PVC about 3/4" down from where the elbow connects.

This should allow for proper flow and stop your standpipe from gurgling and whistling. If it IS whistling, I've ready that you want to slowly increase the size of the siphon hole. I didn't have to for mine, but that probably depends on the amount of water flow you have.

Had I thought about posting this before I installed them I'd take a picture of mine, but it's too much of a pain in my ass to get them in and out (because of the return loc-lines).

I went through a couple iterations of holes in the elbows thinking that more holes would be good but that's not the case. This is the most quiet method I've found. It's so quiet that, unless you knew what to listen for, you probably wouldn't notice it at all.

Nice i plan on making one as well. I cant stand the noise sometimes from my overflow. Thanks for the info!!

Kizmar, I've got a similar set up. two "candy cane" drains. one of them is tied into the emergency overflow that's just a straight up pipe. If I turn my pump off both drains loose the siphon. When I turn the pump back on I can't get either drains to return to a full siphon which then causes my return chamber to start to run low. Do you think drilling the holes will help solve this issue? If so, should I drill both? Here's a couple of pics of mine.

I'd drill a couple 1/2" holes on either side of the vertical pipe about an inch or two down from where they connect to the 90 degree elbow. If that doesn't fix the issue, drill a single small 1/4" hole at the highest point of one of the 90 degree elbows.

I had to drill than test, drill then test, so start with smaller holes if you want. You can always drill the hole bigger if needed.

The hole on the top can cause noise if its not just right, so avoid that if you can.

thanks, i'll try it this weekend. when it's on a full siphon it's totally silent so i'll hold off on the hole at the top for now.

Jimbo662 said:

thanks, i'll try it this weekend. when it's on a full siphon it's totally silent so i'll hold off on the hole at the top for now.

Click to expand...

Are you only getting full siphon if you fully emerge the pipes under water to get the air out?

yep, Once teh pump is running the water will cover the top of the candy cane and I've got to pull the pipe out of the bulk head so it clears the air.

Jimbo662 said:

yep, Once teh pump is running the water will cover the top of the candy cane and I've got to pull the pipe out of the bulk head so it clears the air.

Click to expand...

You might have to drill a hole in the top for suction then...

Well...the small hole in the top didn't work. Just drew in a lot more air. I covered those up and drilled a set of hole in the stand pipe. Ended up with a total of 4 holes in one and 6 holes in the other. that kind of put a band aid on the problem. it was letting enough water through so that the pump doesn't suck air but just barely. Is there a diagram of where the intakes should be in relation to the water level? Not sure if my stand pipes are just too tall. Also, would it work if i drilled holes at different levels down the stand pipe and just capped the top rather than doing the candy cane shape?

Well, my redo now has the returns working perfect. Previously I had the ball valves closed about half way to prevent a full siphon from draining the overflow box. I ended up lowering the stand pipes and adding the airline tubes and opening up the valves all the way. After two tests of draining the box completely the water returns to the same level each time. only thing now is there's a lot more air draining making it quite a bit noisier...lots of bubbling in the sump. Most of the air sucking noise is coming from the emergency drain. Any ideas how to quiet these down?

OH...wait...I think i just solved the problem. I dialed both valves back a little...stopped about 90% of the bubbling and about 50% of the air sucking noise in the emergency drain. I turned the pump off and back on and back to perfect draining in less than 30 seconds.!!! WOOHOO!

Jimbo662 said:

Well, my redo now has the returns working perfect. Previously I had the ball valves closed about half way to prevent a full siphon from draining the overflow box. I ended up lowering the stand pipes and adding the airline tubes and opening up the valves all the way. After two tests of draining the box completely the water returns to the same level each time. only thing now is there's a lot more air draining making it quite a bit noisier...lots of bubbling in the sump. Most of the air sucking noise is coming from the emergency drain. Any ideas how to quiet these down?

Click to expand...

That's about where I left mine. I have my valves opened all the way and let the stand pipes flow as fast as they can. I do have a lot of bubbles going into the sump, but with my setup I don't hear them and they don't cause micro-bubbles. I can barely hear the air being sucked into the top of my standpipes, but I don't have airline tube on my top holes. It's just holes. :)

Jimbo662 said:

OH...wait...I think i just solved the problem. I dialed both valves back a little...stopped about 90% of the bubbling and about 50% of the air sucking noise in the emergency drain. I turned the pump off and back on and back to perfect draining in less than 30 seconds.!!! WOOHOO!

Click to expand...

Nice! Getting a full siphon is all about the valve adjustments. Which is why they say you should have an emergency overflow when you do it. :)

thanks for all the info!!! I only hear the noise while I'm sitting at my computer desk. Thankfully I don't hear anything from the living room side.