On mine the bearing is held by a 1.5" Threaded PVC Coupling which I cut through the wall to allow the bearing to seat inside. It holds the bearing flush and level with out being permanantly attatched. There are lot of different techiques to do this. Pick on that fits your situation.
DIY Swirler Stein
- Thread starter miwoodar
- Start date
chrismunn
New member
my downtube is glued into the bearing.
i heated a strip of acrylic and bent it around the bearing creating a retaining ring, then i glued the ring into the box. i then glued the bearing into that retaining ring.
that was my second attempt though. at first i had just glued the bearing to the bottom of the box but the latteral force from the motor eventually broke it free.
i heated a strip of acrylic and bent it around the bearing creating a retaining ring, then i glued the ring into the box. i then glued the bearing into that retaining ring.
that was my second attempt though. at first i had just glued the bearing to the bottom of the box but the latteral force from the motor eventually broke it free.
DeathWish302
Clown Hoarder
I did something similar, except I took a 1.5" piece of PVC and cut it to match the thickness of the bearing. Then the PVC piece ID was sanded to fit the 42mm bearing. This was glued into place in the junction box. The result is a press-fit housing for the bearing. The bearing/downtube can be removed anytime if needed for service.
chrismunn
New member
i like you what you did better than what ive done. since mine is actually glued in, thats it... it cant be removed. i would like to have every piece of the unit be removeable for maintainance or replacement if need be, with mine, it is what it is.
maybe its a good excuse to create my own second generation SSmini?
maybe its a good excuse to create my own second generation SSmini?
DeathWish302
Clown Hoarder
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14788846#post14788846 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chrismunn
i like you what you did better than what ive done. since mine is actually glued in, thats it... it cant be removed. i would like to have every piece of the unit be removeable for maintainance or replacement if need be, with mine, it is what it is.
maybe its a good excuse to create my own second generation SSmini?
Unfortunately my rotor (downtube arm) is welded solid with Weld-On 16, so I know what you mean. I figure a shielded bearing should not need service for many years in this application. I'm on the 3rd Gen and I'm not screwing with the junction box again if there is a 4th Gen in the future.
chrismunn
New member
my rotor is also welded with #16 onto my down tube, so there is no removing the bearing . the problem ive had with my bearing is that ive had water weep up into the main housing via the hole that the down tube passes through. the water ends up right in the bearing so i now have rust. its not alot but its enough to peave me slightly. ive since added silicone grease to the area where the down tube passes through the main housing so that water wont weep into the unit. ive also had to oil the bearing and the motor. this combination of oiling the bearing and motor, and adding grease to the down tube has made the whole operation of the SS near silent aside from the low frequency hum of the motor, but its a little scary having used real liquid wrench lubricating oil rather than a safer food grade alternative! :eek2:
im pretty sure if oil was going to leak into the tank it would have done it by now? [fingers crossed, knock on wood!]
. the problem ive had with my bearing is that ive had water weep up into the main housing via the hole that the down tube passes through. the water ends up right in the bearing so i now have rust. its not alot but its enough to peave me slightly. ive since added silicone grease to the area where the down tube passes through the main housing so that water wont weep into the unit. ive also had to oil the bearing and the motor. this combination of oiling the bearing and motor, and adding grease to the down tube has made the whole operation of the SS near silent aside from the low frequency hum of the motor, but its a little scary having used real liquid wrench lubricating oil rather than a safer food grade alternative! :eek2:im pretty sure if oil was going to leak into the tank it would have done it by now? [fingers crossed, knock on wood!]
DeathWish302
Clown Hoarder
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14794964#post14794964 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by chrismunn
my rotor is also welded with #16 onto my down tube, so there is no removing the bearing
im pretty sure if oil was going to leak into the tank it would have done it by now? [fingers crossed, knock on wood!]
I haven't noticed any wicking effects from the downtube in the housing, which is only 1.5" from the water surface. I did coat the bottom side of the bearing with silicone grease for a moisture barrier. I have less than 1/16" of clearance between the downtube and the housing. What clearance does your housing have?
chrismunn
New member
i also have less than 1/16" clearance around my down tube, its so tight that it was actually making an annoying sound as the acrylic tube and housing rubbed against each other. thats the main reason i added the grease. as the acrylic heated up it started to make the noise.
the reason i got water in the housing is because there is barely 1/4" between the bottom of the housing and the waters surface. ive learned to be alot more carefull while doing water changes now!
the reason i got water in the housing is because there is barely 1/4" between the bottom of the housing and the waters surface. ive learned to be alot more carefull while doing water changes now!
For one I now have a switch controlling the powerhead and the motor on the housing which has been most helpful. Other than that I am real happy with my build and my mounting setup. Its easy to do maintenance and adjust the action and angle of flow.
With the full 2" coupling shroud the flow doesn't outpush the sieo superflow at the otehr end of a 4' tank but it is alot more gentle and pushes alot more water.
With the full 2" coupling shroud the flow doesn't outpush the sieo superflow at the otehr end of a 4' tank but it is alot more gentle and pushes alot more water.
DeathWish302
Clown Hoarder
I would NEVER use a 4x4 junction box again! Next version (Gen 4) will be a complete acrylic housing. SOOOO much easier to orient the motor to the downtube to get the exact degrees of rotation w/o having to have tiny fingers to cram it all in the junction box.
I would also suggest that you design the mount with adequate clearance for turbo snails (if you have them). Luckily my downtube is threaded at the end and the PH is mounted to a slipxthreaded coupling so that I can rotate it vertically and horizontally. When a snail passes the MJ and interferes with the path of motion, the PH just tightens or loosens on the downtube. It was my method to keep the PH as close to the overflow as possible w/o compromising precious real estate.
HTH
dzeadow
Premium Member
looks like everyone just hooked their motors directly up to a 2 pronged plug or put the ground wire from the plug under the motor for some kind of ground. Am I missing something? its 60hz 120v, this was the auction:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=350183719876
TIA for any help... i'm guessing it was just a bad motor.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&item=350183719876
TIA for any help... i'm guessing it was just a bad motor.
dzeadow
Premium Member
apparently the guy i'm getting motors from doesn't sell quality stuff or I'm doing something wrong. the first 120v motor didn't work at all, so he was kind enough to send me another one, which worked for 30 seconds when testing it then when i plugged it in again it didn't work. So do any of you know what I need to get one of those 21v motors to work instead? There's more of them on ebay for less money if I can get it to work. TIA
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