[rescueweasel]

I was going to build my water table with a drain and a sump system but now that I have the pan built I really dont know if I want to drill holes in it and go to the trouble of building a sump system.

If you have a water table what do you do and why? Do you drain to stop evaporation? Can I skip the drain and just pump it out every once in a while to clean then pump it back? If you were in my shoes what would you do?

[tjb1]

Same boat for me, I want to drain mine so I dont have to worry about router shavings getting into it when I switch but its quite a pain to build a water table for a 4x8 table that allows complete drainage without taking the table off of level. I was going to use hinges on one end and a cheap electric actuator on the other end to tilt the table on demand...you know, the overkill solution. Money will determine which way I go...

[BBchevy396_]

The most simple and elegant solution is an air blader in your pan. My 5 x 10 table has a pan 8" deep, with a 4" pan just a couple inches smaller in length and width,mounted upside down in the pan. My slat holders are mounted to the top of the upsidedown bladder tray. Two 3/8" fittings, one to add air, and the other to vent are placed on the top of the bladder.

Fill the table with 4" of water,... add air to raise it to desired level, vent air to return the water back into the bladder...easy, clean, simple.

[rescueweasel]

I don't think the air bladder system will work with the set up I have. I think I'm going to go with my first idea.

My pan is 3.5in deep. I raised my slats .5 inch off the bottom and went with 2.5 in tall slats. That will put the top of my slats at .5 inch below the top edge of the table and the water level will be .5 inch below the slats for a pool 2.5 in deep. I have seen several that are 4 -8 in deep but I don't see the point in having that much liquid sitting there.

I'm going to use two 55 gallon drums mounted under the table to fill and drain the table.

I finished welding the slat holders and made the rolling cart for the drums now I have to finish the plumbing.

[rescueweasel]

Here is what I came up for the table. I put two 3/4 drains in the table one on each side. The drain tubes run down to an individual drum one for left and one for right. I have a valve at the table and at the drum so that I can shut things off and multiple locations and do maintanice.

The top ports on the drums are connected togeather and are my vent. I ran them over to one side where my air regulator and air connection is. I put multiple shut offs on this section as well.

I filled the pan with a hose and checked the pan for leaks. I was happy to find no leaks in the pan.

I then opened up the drains and allowed the table to drain into the drums. It was a little slow since my outlets for the drums are joined into one 1/2 pipe exit. It took about 15 minutes for the table to drain the 70-80 gallons the table was holding.

Some may say that's way too slow but I dont think it will be that bad. I can open up the drains and work on a few other things while it drains. I dont expect to be draining everyday. More likely it will be for cleaning and maybe when I shut down for the weekend during the summers to limit evaporation.

My drain bungs in the pan were set in 3/16 above the bottom of the table. I did this in an effort to limit the gunk that flows down the drain. I hope and expect to have most of the junk in the water to settle to the bottom and not flow down the drain. I have screen filters in line to limit junk going into the drums.

Since there is that 3/16 step the table does not empty every last drop. I sucked out the last of the water with a shop vac to see how much it would leave. It was only about 8 gallons which is not bad and I can live with that. I expect to use a shop vac when I clean it out anyways.

When it came time to pressurize the drums and send the water back up I had a regulator on the line but not a pressure gauge. I added a pressure gauge so I could watch the pressure later. I found that I did not need anymore than 5-10 psi to move the water back up to the table.

It took about 10 minutes to move the water into the table still not a big deal for me. I can start the fill while I turn on the computer and get other things set.

All in all it worked out pretty well.

I have attached a few pictures. I have everything out for powder coating and expect to go live in a few weeks for some actual cutting.