Fluid Bed Instructions

Building a Multi-Container Fluid Bed

MATERIALS FOR A 3 / 4 Station FLUID BED (Fig. A)

* (1) 1 x 10 - 3 1/2 feet long for base

* (4) PVC 3" Toilet Flange with knock out in place (Fig.

* (4) PVC 3" Coupler (Fig.

* (4) 1/4" Air Right Angle Compression Valves (Fig.

* (2) 1/4" Air Compression TEE-Splitters (Fig. C)

* (1) Roll of 1/4" Clear Vinyl Tubing (Fig. C)

* (1) Dual Output Aquarium Air Pump (Variable Speed Works Best) (Fig. C)

* At least 40" of 3" PVC Pipe (more if you want more paint containers)

* 3" PVC lids for as many paint containers you make.

* Filter Media (Your Choice. I used vacuum cleaner bags) - Coffee Filters, Brown Paper Bags, Vacuum Cleaner Bags

* Tube of Clear Silicone Adhesive

* Small Jar of PVC Cement

* Thread Tape

..

MAKING THE AIR CHAMBERS

STEP 1: Cut (4) 4 1/2" pieces of 3" PVC pipe. Make sure that you make good straight cuts.

Sand any rough spots smooth. Take these and dry fit one in each toilet flange.

Mark a spot where the top of the toilet flange comes to on the pipe you have inserted.

Push down as far as it will go. Now dry fit the PVC coupler on top of the PVC pipe

and mark a spot on the pipe where the bottom of the coupler comes on the pipe. Push

down as far as it will go. Now separate the dry fitted parts. You should have

(4) 4 1/2" pieces of 3" PVC pipe with two marks on each. Find the center between

each of the marks on each of the pieces of pipe. This is where you will drill a

hole for your right angle valve.

STEP 2: Drill a hole (The hole will depend on the valve you purchase......don't

make the hole too big you want a tight fit) centered between the 2 lines on each

piece of pipe that you dry fitted above. Once the holes have been drilled smooth

any rough spots. Put some thread tape on the right angle valve and screw it into

the hole in the 3" PVC pipe. Make sure it is a snug fit........don't drill the hole too big.

STEP 3: Take the toilet flange and one of the pieces of PVC pipe that you installed

your right angle valve into. Add some PVC cement to the bottom of the PVC pipe and

push down into the toilet flange as far as it will go. Add a bead of clear silicone

caulk to the bottom inside where the PVC pipe meets the toilet flange. Run another

bead of caulk on the outside where the flange and PVC pipe join. Apply some PVC

cement to the top of the PVC pipe with the valve in it and place the PVC coupler on

top and push it down as far as it will go. Apply a bead of caulk around the inside and

outside where the coupler and pipe meet. Your fluid bed is basically complete. Just let

the caulk cure for the amount of time suggested by the manufacturer.

STEP 4: After the caulk has cured you can mount everything to your base board. First

lay everything out like you want it on the board so that you get the correct spacing that

you want. If you want the board painted or stained be sure to do that first. Use wood

screws to attach your fluid beds to the base board using the holes in the toilet flange

to secure them to the board. I used velcro tape to secure the air pump to the board.

STEP 5: Once you have mounted everything to the board you can attach your tubing to the

fluid beds and the pump. How you attach them will depend on what type of pump you have.

My pump has two outputs so I ran a short tube from each output to the TEE-Splitter and

then ran tubing from each TEE-Splitter to each right angle valve. I used thread tape

everywhere there were threads.

Your Fluid bed is now complete....now you have to make the paint containers.

...

MAKING THE PAINT CONTAINERS (FIG. D)

STEP 1: Take your PVC and cut it into 4 sections. Then make sure one end has a flat and smooth surface.

This will be the end that you attach you filter material to. I used vacuum cleaner bags as

my filter. Whatever filter material you plan to use attaching it to the PVC should be the same.

This is a little time consuming so it is best to do as many as you can at once. Do not

do one at a time.

STEP 2: Lay out your filter material on a flat hard surface. Put a thin bead of silicone rubber

adhesive on the smooth flat end (rim) of the 4" PVC pipe and press it firmly onto the

filter material. Take a q-tip and clean up any adhesive that comes out....from both inside

and out. Place some weight (like a heavy book) on top of the PVC pipe and let sit for

24 hours.

STEP 3: After the adhesive has set up for 24 hours.....take an exacto knife and cut along

the outside of the PVC pipe to remove any excess filter material. Your Paint container is now

complete. You will need about 4oz (one jar is 2oz) to make the paint deep enough

for use. This is why it is best to buy the paint by the pound. Use the PVC caps to

cover the container after you have added paint for storage.