9002 pump availability

[moze229]

I have one of the older 9002 skimmers, and I've had it for about 4 years (bought in early 2006). It's worked well I suppose - my established system is dependent on it now. I'm attempting to clean the pump now with a vinegar solution, but appears it may be too far gone to clean. It may need to be replaced - or at least a new impeller. I didn't see anywhere on the Tunze site where this could be ordered though - impeller or the 804 pump.

I've read through several threads, coming to the conclusion that this pump will soon no longer be available. It may not be available now for all I know. I'd like to inquire - when the pump becomes unavailable if it isn't already, what are us folks to do with the older skimmers? Just chuck the $130.00 out the door and forget about it? Will there be another solution? That's gonna be a tough pill to swallow for a lot of people if they have to just throw the skimmer away after the pump goes out.

Matt

 

[rvitko]

It will be available for at least one more year. It is part 0800.040, the impeller is 0800.042, both can be ordered on tunze.com or from many of our dealers. Ignore the text on tunze.com re the 0800.040, if that is what you order, that is what you will get. We will have to see what will happen after this year, we may keep the old pump in stock or offer a discounted upgrade, worst case you would only need the 9002.100 skimmer body, 9002.040 nozzle and the 1073.008 pump to convert to the new pump. I should add that we are out of 0800.040 and 0800.042 until early next week.

 

[moze229]

It will be available for at least one more year. It is part 0800.040, the impeller is 0800.042, both can be ordered on tunze.com or from many of our dealers. Ignore the text on tunze.com re the 0800.040, if that is what you order, that is what you will get. We will have to see what will happen after this year, we may keep the old pump in stock or offer a discounted upgrade, worst case you would only need the 9002.100 skimmer body, 9002.040 nozzle and the 1073.008 pump to convert to the new pump. I should add that we are out of 0800.040 and 0800.042 until early next week.

Thanks Roger, for the info. It seems to be that I'll need to get a pump replacement. The vinegar solution did not do the trick. At this point I can't tell if it's the impeller or the pump, or perhaps both. The shaft has become fused to the impeller and no matter what I do it will not come off. The inside impeller housing also looks to be in pretty bad shape. The entire assembly has lasted me four years, so I suppose just replacing the pump isn't too big of a deal. I'll just make sure that I clean the replacement more often.

You say that next week you will have some of the replacements - did I need to order from you or do I just order from the Tunze site? Thanks!

Matt

 

[rvitko]

Yes, they will be shipping them to me this week, I should have them early next week. If you order on tunze.com those orders come to me and we will get the ordered filled ASAP.

 

[moze229]

With the $45.00 price tag on the 800.040, do you think it's worth just upgrading to the newer pump? I can't find the 9002.040 part number on the site, but I see the new pump is ~$35.00 and the skimmer body is ~$30.00. Just a bit more in cost can get me to the newer pump. How much is the 9002.040 part? Were you referring to 9002.400? If so, what is the difference between this part and what I have now? Thanks for answering my questions!

Matt

 

[rvitko]

I would just stick with the 0800.040_A odds are by the time 4 years have passed there will be a completely new version of 9002 so you will be in the same place and the 1073.008 is only marginally quieter and does about 5gph more, there is no noticeable difference. There is a slight difference in the nozzle 9002.400, sorry I gave the wrong number. When you read about recent defective nozzles, what really happened is older nozzles were put with newer pumps and they have minor adjustments to the venturi to compensate for the distance from the pump and take in air effectively. It may work if you don't change it, but it is best to change it to get max air flow. It is possible to position an older nozzle just right so it will work, but the new one will be far less finicky.

 

[moze229]

OK Roger. I ordered the 800.040_A pump via Tunze's website. It stated that I should mention that I needed this pump specifically for the older skimmer body, but the site didn't give me an opportunity to enter any comments. I thought I would let you know since you said that you will get the order yourself. If you need any other information, let me know. Thanks!

BTW - the pump does come with the impeller - right? LOL

Matt

 

[rvitko]

Yes, it comes with the impeller, I got your order, I should have the pumps next week and will ship ASAP.

 

[moze229]

Yes, it comes with the impeller, I got your order, I should have the pumps next week and will ship ASAP.

Hey Roger - no rush, but just curious if the pumps arrived and were shipped. Im getting a little nervous without having my skimmer Thanks!

Matt

 

[rvitko]

Matt,

I am very sorry, I am just about to post about this but I will answer you here. As you probably know the factory closes from Dec 23- Jan 7 just about every year. Typically they have sold out all they can produce in the time before. The first week they are open is taken up with inventory and bookkeeping. Long story short, we usually don't have any incoming shipments until late January. To this date we have only had 2 very small emergency parts shipments come in. Our first substantial shipment left the factory Feb 5th, unfortunately in landed in Philadelphia the day before the big blizzard hit and we lost some time in that and then it just became a comedy of errors, though I wouldn't say laughing has been my response. We are out of just about everything, the shelves are absolutely bare. This shipment was supposed to arrive February 12th, we will now likely see it February 19th and at this point we are so far behind it will take at least a week just to get caught up. After the blizzard delay, the forwarder neglected to contact me about various customs declarations that needed to be signed off on, they instead emailed Tunze in Germany, which is an instant 24hr penalty because of the time zone difference, to make it worse the email was blocked by a spam filter so after 5 days of sitting there I finally was able to track someone down and get the documents faxed to me so I could complete them. Frustration just barely begins to describe it and I am very, very sorry to everyone who is waiting, I am doing the best I can given the circumstances. For the last 2 weeks we have had almost no sales so it is very hard financially as well as just being ground down by being unable to supply critical parts that people need. The good news is that I think we finally got this shipment shaken loose and another shipment is behind it and the backorders will start to whittle away and the shelves will start to get stocked back up.

 

[rvitko]

Also, I will do everything in my power to get your pump out Friday, this is a big shipment that will take some hours just to unpack, but if it arrives early Friday, we will get the most critical parts orders handled first.

 

[moze229]

Fair enough Roger. Sounds like a day in the life of one of my past occupations - brings back fond memories of having meetings to schedule meetings and dealing with happy customers I'll sit tight and hope I see the pump soon. You can only do what you can do.

Matt

 

[moze229]

Got the pump Roger, and it's all up and going again. No froth yet, but it may take a while since the skimmer has been out of the water for about three weeks. Thanks for jumping on this and not loosing hope, despite all the drama that occurred with the weather in the last few weeks.

Matt

 

[rvitko]

Thanks, FWIW, it is snowing here today and more than I have seen in 10 years, so the weather is just bizarre this year. In the end though, it wasn't weather that caused the biggest delay, it was a bearing compliance form that needed to be completed but I have got this under control and so long as they don't lose it we shouldn't have this issue in the future. Bearings are a red flag for US Customs because the Chinese apparently sell bearings below cost and flood the market so you have to fill out a statement that the bearings aren't made in China or if they are that you aren't getting any kick backs or selling them at a loss. Most of our parts labeled bearings are not technically bearings as they have no balls or rollers so a future name change will also help, we only have one real bearing that needs this form- part 4002.260 and we have had that on file for years.

 

[moze229]

Don't you love the drama LOL

 

[rvitko]

Nope, I honestly like everything to go smoothly, you have to imagine, me and one employee handle all the emails, all the phone calls, all the repairs and supply every Tunze product in the US, I also proofread our manuals and catalogs, submit the ads, pay the bills, and we make here the 8550, 8515, 8550.600 and 0220.700 as well as stock all the associated spare parts. These hick ups turn an already very rough job into a nightmare.

 

[moze229]

Well for what it's worth, thanks for supporting my product. Sounds like Tunze has you loaded down pretty well, but you seem to be doing an excellent job according to the threads I've read on here. If you don't already, you should set up a reef tank close to your work area to help take the edge off a hard day

 

[sjediets]

I've been waiting for a 9002 for a couple weeks now and notice that most of the online vendors are showing out of stock. Any idea when that supply will loosen up a bit?

 

[rvitko]

Which model? 1073.008 we have plenty in stock now (31) 0800.040 we filled all backorders except Premium Aquatics ordered a dozen and were only sent 6, we just didn't get enough. I kept 2 back in our stock for warranty. You really should be able to get either one, I would assume Premium would still have a couple on hand as a dozen is quite a few for this model pump.

 

[sjediets]

Sorry...I meant I was waiting on the whole 9002 skimmer