Hey fellow RC'ers,
I just wanted to post a happy ending about my previous thread on my brand spankin new Octo-Pro-250 going out of commission.
Turns out the Askoll pump, (which by the way there was little to NO information on pre-purchase) is considerably under-designed for it's purpose.
The fact that the 900 pump requires that the original impeller head be dremel-fied to adapt a pinwheel over it, is ultimately what causes the failure.
In my case, the gap between the top of the magnet and the top of the impeller head "seats" itself into the end of the volute where the rubber bushing goes. Vibration ensues, ceramic shaft snaps and meanwhile the magnet keeps rotating like a garbage disposal, chewing the whole assembly up.
Now, this skimmer pump is a work of art, Truly. CNC milled acrylic volute, a custom impeller, and a nice 3/4" quick release make this skimmer one of the nicest LOOKING in terms of engineering.
However, the pump just isn't designed real well for 24/7 operation.
Now, here comes the part where it gets better. I posted on here last week when it happened (friday) and saw several other threads with the same or a similar issue with the askoll 900.
Now, mind you I have had my share of issues with retailers and vendors alike. Being in the technology business I deal with Cisco, Juniper etc. on an almost weekly basis, and I feel like I have a good grip on how warranty and RMA services work.
So, I found several derogatory comments about CoralVue the NOW sole source manuf. for these skimmers and pumps. Particularly Dave, from CoralVue. (VUE Technologies.)
Hagen however, the U.S. dist for Askoll is slowing down the dist of 900 series pumps for these skimmers due to this issue. They're just not a good choice due to track record of breakages, and start-up issues.
The alternative is the more powerful Askoll 1500 pump, which CoralVue throttles down via different Pinwheels on each of the Cat-1 thru 4 skimmers. Same custom volute, around 80W power draw, and higher GPH.
The kicker is, Unfortunately, the 1500 pump is probably still overkill for the Pro-250 skimmer body and I didn't want to throttle down via reducer or valve. So the solution for me ultimately was to get in touch with the NOW vendor, CoralVue, and a Gentleman named "Dave". The SAME Dave I read scathing reviews and criticism of.
So it turns out the original vendor for the body and volute was CNCMarine in Canada. They since welched on an order to CoralVue and went into hiding. They most likely had a bucket of parts for the Askoll 900 but are neither in business, nor taking calls or emails.
Obviously Vue Tech is ticked, and looking for ways to engineer around this issue. Thus, no more subbing or outsourcing parts.
Their answer was to in-house all the skimmers and parts. Also, they have ceased marketing on the Pro series, and are now marketing the Hurricane Cat-1 thru 4. They all use the Askoll 1500 pump but use a custom pinwheel for each skimmer resulting in different mixes between air flow and water flow tuned to the appropriate sized skimmer body.
So wrapping up, the pump broke friday at lunchtime, I contacted vue about 1:30, and I got a response from Dave at CoralVue by 3:30 pacific time (which is 5:30 in Louisiana, ON A FRIDAY EVEN,) Dave told me the history on that pump, and aksed me to send pictures. Within 30 minutes he told me to ship him my pump and see what he could do, and after a trip to the post office it was en route next day to Louisiana.
He explained all of the above to me. And essentially apologized for my issues with the pump. He was under no obligation to do any of this. He could have told me to pound sand. However, he offered me several alternatives.
1.) swap my new / broken 900 for an Askoll 1500 with Cat-1 wheel for his cost. (still pretty expensive.)
2.) swap at no cost, for a Sicce PSK-2500. A good , popular skimmer pump but still not the engineering marvel the Askoll is.
3.)Or, he could dig through his parts bin to repair my 900 with his remaining repair parts, and return it to me with fingers crossed.
After mulling the alternatives, I decided to go with the repair on my 900, AND purchased a Sicce PSK-2500 from him as a spare.
Throughout this, from Friday when I shipped it, to Tuesday when he received and repaired it Dave stayed in constant contact with me via email, and gave me all the info to make a good informed decision.
The point I am making is that not only did he repair a pump he was not obligated to, but he also talked me OUT of the expensive Askoll-1500 pump, stating basically for my skimmer body it may tend to overflow, or have to be throttled back and would be overkill.
He had an opportunity to pull in a few more $$ of revenue, but he ultimately helped me make the best decision for me.
I can't say enough good things about the service I received and had I gone purely on the reviews here, I may not have even contacted Vue. I am especially grateful for the quick turnaround and the background information on their product, which ultimately helped me make an informed decision.
I am a happy customer, and will certainly continue doing business.
I just wanted to post a happy ending about my previous thread on my brand spankin new Octo-Pro-250 going out of commission.
Turns out the Askoll pump, (which by the way there was little to NO information on pre-purchase) is considerably under-designed for it's purpose.
The fact that the 900 pump requires that the original impeller head be dremel-fied to adapt a pinwheel over it, is ultimately what causes the failure.
In my case, the gap between the top of the magnet and the top of the impeller head "seats" itself into the end of the volute where the rubber bushing goes. Vibration ensues, ceramic shaft snaps and meanwhile the magnet keeps rotating like a garbage disposal, chewing the whole assembly up.
Now, this skimmer pump is a work of art, Truly. CNC milled acrylic volute, a custom impeller, and a nice 3/4" quick release make this skimmer one of the nicest LOOKING in terms of engineering.
However, the pump just isn't designed real well for 24/7 operation.
Now, here comes the part where it gets better. I posted on here last week when it happened (friday) and saw several other threads with the same or a similar issue with the askoll 900.
Now, mind you I have had my share of issues with retailers and vendors alike. Being in the technology business I deal with Cisco, Juniper etc. on an almost weekly basis, and I feel like I have a good grip on how warranty and RMA services work.
So, I found several derogatory comments about CoralVue the NOW sole source manuf. for these skimmers and pumps. Particularly Dave, from CoralVue. (VUE Technologies.)
Hagen however, the U.S. dist for Askoll is slowing down the dist of 900 series pumps for these skimmers due to this issue. They're just not a good choice due to track record of breakages, and start-up issues.
The alternative is the more powerful Askoll 1500 pump, which CoralVue throttles down via different Pinwheels on each of the Cat-1 thru 4 skimmers. Same custom volute, around 80W power draw, and higher GPH.
The kicker is, Unfortunately, the 1500 pump is probably still overkill for the Pro-250 skimmer body and I didn't want to throttle down via reducer or valve. So the solution for me ultimately was to get in touch with the NOW vendor, CoralVue, and a Gentleman named "Dave". The SAME Dave I read scathing reviews and criticism of.
So it turns out the original vendor for the body and volute was CNCMarine in Canada. They since welched on an order to CoralVue and went into hiding. They most likely had a bucket of parts for the Askoll 900 but are neither in business, nor taking calls or emails.
Obviously Vue Tech is ticked, and looking for ways to engineer around this issue. Thus, no more subbing or outsourcing parts.
Their answer was to in-house all the skimmers and parts. Also, they have ceased marketing on the Pro series, and are now marketing the Hurricane Cat-1 thru 4. They all use the Askoll 1500 pump but use a custom pinwheel for each skimmer resulting in different mixes between air flow and water flow tuned to the appropriate sized skimmer body.
So wrapping up, the pump broke friday at lunchtime, I contacted vue about 1:30, and I got a response from Dave at CoralVue by 3:30 pacific time (which is 5:30 in Louisiana, ON A FRIDAY EVEN,) Dave told me the history on that pump, and aksed me to send pictures. Within 30 minutes he told me to ship him my pump and see what he could do, and after a trip to the post office it was en route next day to Louisiana.
He explained all of the above to me. And essentially apologized for my issues with the pump. He was under no obligation to do any of this. He could have told me to pound sand. However, he offered me several alternatives.
1.) swap my new / broken 900 for an Askoll 1500 with Cat-1 wheel for his cost. (still pretty expensive.)
2.) swap at no cost, for a Sicce PSK-2500. A good , popular skimmer pump but still not the engineering marvel the Askoll is.
3.)Or, he could dig through his parts bin to repair my 900 with his remaining repair parts, and return it to me with fingers crossed.
After mulling the alternatives, I decided to go with the repair on my 900, AND purchased a Sicce PSK-2500 from him as a spare.
Throughout this, from Friday when I shipped it, to Tuesday when he received and repaired it Dave stayed in constant contact with me via email, and gave me all the info to make a good informed decision.
The point I am making is that not only did he repair a pump he was not obligated to, but he also talked me OUT of the expensive Askoll-1500 pump, stating basically for my skimmer body it may tend to overflow, or have to be throttled back and would be overkill.
He had an opportunity to pull in a few more $$ of revenue, but he ultimately helped me make the best decision for me.
I can't say enough good things about the service I received and had I gone purely on the reviews here, I may not have even contacted Vue. I am especially grateful for the quick turnaround and the background information on their product, which ultimately helped me make an informed decision.
I am a happy customer, and will certainly continue doing business.
