drummereef's 180g in-wall build
- Thread starter drummereef
- Start date
Taqpol
New member
That sounds horrible, but I do have a few ideas.
After you posted the pictures of yours I took a flashlight and really examined my own baldor Dart. First of all....... No visible leaks. There is, however, a tiny bit of salt creep and it covers the top of the fin and flows down one side just like you pictured here:
There is also a tiny tiny bit of rust directly under the driveshaft like you pictured here:
I also do remember seeing an absolutely tiny amount of water leakage when I started the pump up for the very first time, but I was really tired and went to bed. The next morning there was no leak and nothing left on the floor of my stand. This makes me think that one of two things might be happening.
1) Maybe once the motor heats up (I did manage to squeeze a finger in there, the driveshaft and motor get noticeably hot) it makes the seals heat up and expand thereby stopping any leaking. It would be easy to test this by just running your pump for an extended period of time, but i don't know if you've already done that.
2) My pump has only ever been run under salt water since I installed it when the system was up and running. I know saltwater behaves a lot differently then freshwater (why skimmers only produce noticeable bubbles in salt water) and as far as I'm aware you've only done fresh water tests. Maybe something about salt water makes the seals more impervious to leaking?
Either way I think Marc has given excellent advice and if it was my pump I would just run it for about a day constantly dabbing away any water that leaked out of it so I could see how much water was leaking and where it was coming from every time I checked on it. Also, if you set up some kind of closed loop thing and it still leaked I would throw some salt in there just to see what happens.
I hope things work out for you! I was so happy switching to my dart from my noisy Iwaki i consider myself a bit of a ReeFlo fanboy.
After you posted the pictures of yours I took a flashlight and really examined my own baldor Dart. First of all....... No visible leaks. There is, however, a tiny bit of salt creep and it covers the top of the fin and flows down one side just like you pictured here:
There is also a tiny tiny bit of rust directly under the driveshaft like you pictured here:
I also do remember seeing an absolutely tiny amount of water leakage when I started the pump up for the very first time, but I was really tired and went to bed. The next morning there was no leak and nothing left on the floor of my stand. This makes me think that one of two things might be happening.
1) Maybe once the motor heats up (I did manage to squeeze a finger in there, the driveshaft and motor get noticeably hot) it makes the seals heat up and expand thereby stopping any leaking. It would be easy to test this by just running your pump for an extended period of time, but i don't know if you've already done that.
2) My pump has only ever been run under salt water since I installed it when the system was up and running. I know saltwater behaves a lot differently then freshwater (why skimmers only produce noticeable bubbles in salt water) and as far as I'm aware you've only done fresh water tests. Maybe something about salt water makes the seals more impervious to leaking?
Either way I think Marc has given excellent advice and if it was my pump I would just run it for about a day constantly dabbing away any water that leaked out of it so I could see how much water was leaking and where it was coming from every time I checked on it. Also, if you set up some kind of closed loop thing and it still leaked I would throw some salt in there just to see what happens.
I hope things work out for you! I was so happy switching to my dart from my noisy Iwaki i consider myself a bit of a ReeFlo fanboy.
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tangtang clown
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15141768#post15141768 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by drummereef
I used Google Sketchup (free version).
http://sketchup.google.com/
I just downloaded and installed sketchup, but which template did you use?
I don't see how you made that, I have sketchup7.
Thanks.
You beat me to page 16 btw.
drummereef
Team RC
Things are looking better with the pump H. I'll check our thread out. Excited to see how it's progressed.
drummereef
Team RC
Thanks for filling me in on your pumps performance Alex. Makes me feel better yours kind of did the same thing as mine, even though I still think any amount of water is unacceptable. But maybe I'm being a little too OCD about it. I can tell you this.... the new pump was only leaking clear water. I almost positive the rust comes from that little washer that's on the impeller. Everything else is either plastic or coated with a rust inhibitor, and the seals are stainless. It's looking a bit better tonight. It leaked a little earlier but seems to have either stopped or really slowed down. Kind of early to tell but I think it's looking up for the new Dart.
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drummereef
Team RC
Hey Marc,
I've been running the pump full throttle all day. The main return valve is 100% open as well as the recirc valve. The subsequent bubbling/dripping has all but stopped as of now. I figure, might as well turn that thing up and melt those seals together! Can't hurt right?
On a side note, the flow through my sump right now is INTENSE! :lol:
I've been running the pump full throttle all day. The main return valve is 100% open as well as the recirc valve. The subsequent bubbling/dripping has all but stopped as of now. I figure, might as well turn that thing up and melt those seals together! Can't hurt right?
On a side note, the flow through my sump right now is INTENSE! :lol:
Taqpol
New member
Maybe I should have clarified my statement a little bit. There was a minor amount of salt creep but there has been absolutely no leaking as far as I can tell in months. I think mine might have been like yours at the very beginning and leaks/bubbles when its not warmed up, but ever since I've been running it non stop (with ten minute breaks for feeding time) it doesn't have enough time to cool down and leak again.
At least, thats what I'm assuming is happening. Some cars leak oil pretty bad till the engine heats up, makes sense that the same thing might happen with the pump. If theres nothing tomorrow then you will have officially won!
At least, thats what I'm assuming is happening. Some cars leak oil pretty bad till the engine heats up, makes sense that the same thing might happen with the pump. If theres nothing tomorrow then you will have officially won!
drummereef
Team RC
Gotcha. You could have something with the heat build up but I was thinking it would be from the friction at the seals since the motor was separate from the volute on these pumps. Or if the plastic side of the seal burnishes down a little to match the ceramic side exactly. Either way I'll be happy with a dry pump regardless!
drummereef
Team RC
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15458009#post15458009 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Perhaps the seals have to break in a bit, like new brake pads.
Exactly what I was thinking. I can't imagine the plastic side being too precise from the mold. I would think running it for a while would burnish it in to the ceramic side. What do I know though....?
drummereef
Team RC
Little update on the pump situation...
I let the pump run at 100% the last 2 days. Both the main return valve and recirc line were fully open. The pump was bone dry, finally! I'm now going to do a couple days of testing with the recirc valve closed. I reduced the return flow by valving down to about 50% with the main ball valve. I'm guessing I'm running about 700-900 GPH based on the flow through the weir teeth. There was a little bit of bubbling around the shaft again so we'll see how it fares through this testing period.
I let the pump run at 100% the last 2 days. Both the main return valve and recirc line were fully open. The pump was bone dry, finally!
I'm now going to do a couple days of testing with the recirc valve closed. I reduced the return flow by valving down to about 50% with the main ball valve. I'm guessing I'm running about 700-900 GPH based on the flow through the weir teeth. There was a little bit of bubbling around the shaft again so we'll see how it fares through this testing period.
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drummereef
Team RC
Most definitely! How much is your valved down Alex?
drummereef
Team RC
Sweet. That's about where mine is right now. Still bubbling a bit but no major leakage.
I hope to be able to put all this behind me and move on to some lighting in the next couple weeks!
drummereef
Team RC
Yes. I called Jeff at Marine Solutions this morning to update him on the status of the pump from this weekend. We are going to hold off on calling Reeflo for a couple of days while the pump runs valved down. Want to make sure this one is going to work before those calls are made. Either way, Jeff will update Chris at Reeflo on the situation and lobby for them to pay the return shipping of my original broken Dart. I'll let you know how that conversation goes.
btw, what does (56/365) mean?
See Alex, Marc beat me to the top of the page this time. :lol:
drummereef
Team RC
LOL! That's what I figured it was. I still think my favorite was Eric Bornemann looking at corals through a microscope. That was pretty cool. See, I can pay attention sometimes.... :lol:
That's what I figured it was. I still think my favorite was Eric Bornemann looking at corals through a microscope. That was pretty cool. See, I can pay attention sometimes.... :lol:
