When & how to adjust the air/water levels

If you want to keep your Sandelier brand new over the years, you will have to do some maintenance in order to keep it functional.

If you checked The Prerequisite and noticed that your Sandelier required an adjustment, you've come to the right place!

1) Why does it need adjusting?

• The water and air levels in your art piece are already adjusted before shipping. However, the variations in humidity/temperature during transit can alter them.
  When you receive it, check The Prerequisite to see if your Sandelier is perfectly set up.
• Over time, some water in your Sandelier will evaporate. Maintenance is required once or twice a year to compensate for this.
• The air level in your art piece will regulate the flow speed. If you want to increase/decrease the flow speed of your Sandelier, then you are free to adjust the amount of air bubbles inside of it until it reaches your desired flow time.

2) The water level

To check the water level, simply let all the sand fall at the bottom.
This is what your Sandelier should look like:
The water must reach the very top of your art piece, leaving only a little space for the air bubbles. If the water drops below that level, simply refill it using any injector with a 27 Ga needle. Make sure the needle that you buy is long enough to reach the inside of the frame. You can get a suitable injector here: Injector.

Fill your injector with water, then insert the needle inside the sealed hole in the frame. Add small amounts of water until your Sandelier is full.
Do not overfill it with water as it will increase the pressure on the glass and might cause it to break.

3) The air level

It must be adjusted for one of two reasons:

• The sand doesn't fall down as it is stuck above the layer of air bubbles.
• The sand falls at the bottom very fast even though you use it correctly (to learn how to use it check out this page: How to use my Sandelier)

If the sand doesn't fall completely at the bottom, it means that there are too many air bubbles blocking its way, or that they are too big.
Simply insert your needle into some of these bubbles (preferably the biggest ones) in order to pull them out. Repeat the process until the sand is able to find its way in between the bubbles.

If the sand falls at the bottom too fast, then it means there aren't enough air bubbles inside your art piece to create a nice barrier between the sand and water.
Simply fill your injector with air and insert it into your Sandelier. Add small amounts of air in order to create a nice layer of air bubbles going all across your art piece, as in the picture below.

Repeat the process until the sand is hold up by the air bubbles when you flip your Sandelier over, leaving only a few spaces for the sand to flow down.