I mention this here rather than in the Equipment forum because new to the hobby folk are in the process of weighing costs and advantages.
My skimmer is a frothy foam type, a very nice Eshopps, which has some age on it. And it stopped making foam. Despite its age, I could still order the exact internal pump that powers it, and despite a hoary pink encrustation of coralline, it could look like new if I used a bath (I used vinegar and water; and the new thing is citric acid: see the post on same)---that removed the crust without a scratch.
A new impeller comes in the pump; (that's one part that can wear in a pump.) And replacing the pump required removing 6 bolts on the base, two bolts in a clamp holding the old pump, and a central screw in a bubble chamber atop the pump, plus a hex retaining ring holding the base of the chamber. Pop in the new pump, do the retaining ring and all the bolts, and fire it up---good as if it had just come from the maker.
At 1/3 the cost of a new unit. It should go another 10 years doing a great job.
When estimating the overall advantages of one purchase over another, one really good question is---what wears out on it; can you get parts; can you get parts years from now, and does it require any really complex assembly, ie, can you do it yourself? This took a small pair of pliers to get the bolts moving--and to unscrew the retaining ring, nothing more. Sometimes the least expensive equipment you can buy is not the least expensive in the long haul.
My skimmer is a frothy foam type, a very nice Eshopps, which has some age on it. And it stopped making foam. Despite its age, I could still order the exact internal pump that powers it, and despite a hoary pink encrustation of coralline, it could look like new if I used a bath (I used vinegar and water; and the new thing is citric acid: see the post on same)---that removed the crust without a scratch.
A new impeller comes in the pump; (that's one part that can wear in a pump.) And replacing the pump required removing 6 bolts on the base, two bolts in a clamp holding the old pump, and a central screw in a bubble chamber atop the pump, plus a hex retaining ring holding the base of the chamber. Pop in the new pump, do the retaining ring and all the bolts, and fire it up---good as if it had just come from the maker.
At 1/3 the cost of a new unit. It should go another 10 years doing a great job.
When estimating the overall advantages of one purchase over another, one really good question is---what wears out on it; can you get parts; can you get parts years from now, and does it require any really complex assembly, ie, can you do it yourself? This took a small pair of pliers to get the bolts moving--and to unscrew the retaining ring, nothing more. Sometimes the least expensive equipment you can buy is not the least expensive in the long haul.
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