Official: Masterflex Calcium Reactor Setup Thread
- Thread starter tkeracer619
- Start date
Depends on what type of tubing you use, it can range from a few hundred hours to 4,000+ depending on the material and the RPM it runs at. PharMed or Norprene have the longest life and are preferable.
The tubing life charts have been posted a few times back in the thread for CP pumps.
What rpm? If memory serves it's rated at 50 rpm so every time speed doubles it will cut the tube life by half or more.
Was it CP tubing or another brand? Supposedly the CP tubing has a proprietary outer diameter and wall thickness and the pump heads are designed for their brand tubing, which might make other tubing wear faster?
I've just stuck with the standard L/S heads and CP tubing for that reason, nothing to fuss with or wonder about proper setup, just a bit more of a PITA to load and change the tubes.
Well, that does seem like something fishy caused it to fail. Even making the assumption that you'd only get 250hrs out of it that's still nearly one year..........
Something tells me it's not the tubing, lots are using that stuff without issues on the thread. Any debris or rust on the rollers?
Makes me wan't to go replace mine now as it's approaching the one year mark.
tkeracer619
New member
At these speeds we are talking a year continuous duty. Something else is up.
d2mini
Premium Member
Ya, i figured it's not normal.
Maybe it wasn't seated right or something.
Rollers seemed clean with quick inspection.
It was a horizontal split along the length of the tubing about an inch long, right in the center.
I put in a new piece and this time made it just long enough so that the fittings would keep it from moving and I didn't make the clamps very tight.
Maybe it wasn't seated right or something.
Rollers seemed clean with quick inspection.
It was a horizontal split along the length of the tubing about an inch long, right in the center.
I put in a new piece and this time made it just long enough so that the fittings would keep it from moving and I didn't make the clamps very tight.
I like it. There is a slight hum to it, but not any louder than my Dolphin AMP Master pump. I wrapped a towel around it and that actually muted the noise quite a bit. It will be interesting to see how long it lasts. All in I paid $200 for the pump and $100 for the head; for $300, I think that's cheap for what it brings to the table in terms of consistency.
My first piece of tubing was real short, but the fittings did not stop it from being pulled through.
Mine did tear too, but I think that was from the tubing being pulled out of the fitting. I did notice when I first setup my unit that the head had a slight sway to it, but I think I just had to tighten the screws that hold the head unit on and that stopped it. Maybe check to make sure there is no play in the head unit.
Good news with the AWC, it can't drain the tank. when it's hooked up the CaRX, that can definitely pump more water out of the tank than anyone would like to loose, but that's why we have sump alarms and what not.
tkeracer619
New member
I would be concerned that the occlusion is not correct. These heads are for ls17 and your using the ls17 equivalent tube correct?
d2mini
Premium Member
Correct. The heads are 7518-00.
dcmartinpc
Member
That head is cold rolled steel. Does It have any corrosion or abrasiveness on the rollers?
Grasping at straws. Since it is a fixed occlusion head there isn't anything you can do to adjust it.
Don
Sparky0028
Member
Hi
I just set up a CP pump with a 900-1021 head, l/s17 tubing on a GEO Carx. First i set up with pushing thru reactor, wasn't working so great so switch to pulling through, still not great. Also the tubing is really getting pulled through the head, any advise?
Thanks
Rich
I just set up a CP pump with a 900-1021 head, l/s17 tubing on a GEO Carx. First i set up with pushing thru reactor, wasn't working so great so switch to pulling through, still not great. Also the tubing is really getting pulled through the head, any advise?
Thanks
Rich
slief
RC Sponsor
If I am not mistaken, that pump head is not designed for LS17 tubing. It's designed to be used with LS13, 14, 16 & LS25 tubing. Incorrect tubing will not work properly.
Sparky0028
Member
Thanks, I bought the tubing before i received the pump head so I figured I would give it a shot. I tired to look up info but wasn't able to find much and did notice the l/s sizes on the pump head. Is the pump head ok to use? if i get correct size tubing.
slief
RC Sponsor
No reason it shouldn't work with the correct tubing size. You will just need to adapt it over to whatever your using for your reactor which I assume is 1/4" tubing.
Sparky0028
Member
Great, thanks Slief.
slief
RC Sponsor
Is your head designed for the Pharmed tubing? Not all of them are... What model head and what size tubing?
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