DIY Red Dragon Pumps, gathering ideas.

[JCTewks]

so your saying the impeller is half the cost of the pump??? for that price i can live with the copper and run cuprisorb constantly LOL

 

[Creetin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9842472#post9842472 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JCTewks
so your saying the impeller is half the cost of the pump??? for that price i can live with the copper and run cuprisorb constantly LOL

LOL For 500 bucks i can get 2 darts.
All i need is a 3/8 drill bit that will chew thru ceramic, and i can drill out the old shaft and install a stainless steel rod in there.

 

[spykes]

yeah appearently the impeller is half the cost lol. Azpond has already shipped out my 5000. I was wondering if we can seal it using PVC welding. the bottom where the bearing is has his plate made of plastic. If we seal the bottom the top is covered by a carbon bearing .

 

[dudedudedude]

You can get the non needle wheel RD 4500 impeller for 110 Euro from aquaconnect.de. Also, I wouldnt give up on the Laguna 5000, someone is going to be able to come up with a mod simular to RDs custom impellers.

 

[Creetin]

I wonder which pump company has a magnet the same size?
I know the ocean runners do not fit.
They are pretty hefty mags on the laguna.

 

[Creetin]

Well i just ordered a new impellor assembly for the 5000.
There must be a way to mod them. I know i can seal off one end, The other end that has the flange just needs a bead of superglue around it and it is sealed off from water contact.
Might be the only way to go unless we do a group order for 100 impellors from ASKOLL.

 

[smjtkj]

If you guys look at the newer max flo series of pumps by Laguna,
there are several sites that advertise these pumps as salt water
safe. I have the max flo 2400 coming in. I ordered it last week, so it should be here any day. It has 1.5 inch outputs too! This thing may be really easy to mod. It is a bigger pump than some may want though. 2400 gph at 100 watts is pretty darn good.

 

[Creetin]

Link please where it says saltwater safe.
TIA

 

[Creetin]

Can the pump come out of the basket?
I wonder if the 1500-2000 gph impellors for the maxflow will work for the 5000 or related pumps?

 

[dudedudedude]

If it is true that the 2400 is saltwater safe then I am pretty sure that a maxflow 2400 impeller which can be purchased at azpond will fit into a 5000 or 7000 given that all the impellers on the larger laguna pumps have the same greneral footprint with different size paddles.

 

[smjtkj]

Yes the pumps do come out within seconds! Different pump motors, may fit but I don't know!

 

[Creetin]

We need to find this out if it is truely saltwater safe, The guy at AZponds said its the same impellor, that there is no differeance, So that scares me if i order one that i will end up with one with another brass fitting. He doesnt see anywhere where its saltwater safe on any max flow.

 

[spykes]

im wondering if the carbon bearing top has any contact with the brass. if it's just at the end i can seal it off. If this looks like my RD pump then i think it's possible to seal

 

[smjtkj]

Maybe it will fit but they are a different part number. The max flo
uses a PT 461 and the 7000 uses a Pt 462. The 5000 uses a PT 460.

Mike

 

[Creetin]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9844140#post9844140 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by spykes
im wondering if the carbon bearing top has any contact with the brass. if it's just at the end i can seal it off. If this looks like my RD pump then i think it's possible to seal

No contact with the bearing, If there is any contact its with the spacer/tension clasp, and its very minimal. I wish i took a pic of mine when i had it destroyed, you all would see. The brass is incapsulated within the fan and the steel spacer/tension clasp.
One end is flanged on the bottom of the fan so it is blocked off from the back, and could be sealed in if glued in the back with glue, and the other is open on the face of the fan which could also be sealed in.
The part of the tension clasp i am now thinking its a 400 grade stainless now because it was very heard to get off the brass fitting. Initially i thought aluminum.

 

[Inflames]

I hope you pull it off because frankly, the prices for those pumps and skimmers is just obscene. They cater to a small group of people with a disposable income and if there's a way to get the same performance from cheaper pump then go for it. I think its laughable the prices they charge.

 

[hahnmeister]

So would that PT-459 impeller for a Max-Flo 1500 work with a utility 5000 pump?... thats what I wonder..

Or perhaps there are some other combos possible to swap out the newer impellers with the old ones. I am currently waiting on Laguna to get back to me on this one.

 

[smjtkj]

I don't think so Hahn. It shows the 460 for the 5000. The 459 is for the PJ 1500 and Max flo 1500.

 

[JCTewks]

I think if we go swapping impellers with other brands it will lose one of the big pluses of this pump...the lack of an upper shaft support. i would say if you found an impeller the right size from another company it prob wouldn't have the support plate around it and would need a shaft that goes clear through. Personally, if we could figure out a way to overcome the brass insirt with epoxy or something, that the ceramic shaft would be a non issue for me. even if i have to replace the impeller every 6 months to get the performance of a pump that is 10+ times the price...well that seems worth it to me. The impellers are only like $35...at that price you would have to go through about 30 impellers to start getting near the price of a RD. if an impeller lasts 6 months, thats 15 yrs. I'm pretty sure we'll all have found something better in 15 yrs and not even be using these anymore. Plus it gives you a chance to refine or upgrade your meshdesign every 6 months or so.

 

[hahnmeister]

Same brand, just newer models.