some questions about some older equiptment

[senorpyro]

ok, here's my situation: i just purchased a used acrylic 180 & stand, with sump, a horridly rusted little giant return pump, 2 tunze turbelle classic 2002's that look to be in decent condition, just dirty and used, and a tunze skimmer, with no distinct markings, save the following info on the pump:

Tunze
Turbelle 235.02

and a few lines down, 0700\236, which i think i read in another older thread may have some bearing on the date manufactured.


anyways, the entire setup was said to be working nicely when torn down roughly 2 years ago.

i got an awesome deal on the setup, and wasnt even expecting the pumps or skimmer - they were essentially an awesome, free bonus.

i'm going to try and clean all of them up, and verify they all still work, if i do need parts, i'm more than willing to have a go at refurbing them myself, i'd just like to know a bit more about the skimmer and the parts used therein (including the official model number; 235/2 i'd guess, but i don't know as its no longer listed on the site). the classics are still listed on the site, and there seems to be a fair bit of info regarding them on the net, so i'm not terribly concerned about them, yet


fyi, i'm not in any huge rush to get this going, as the floorboards in my current house won't support a tank of this size, so i'm looking at july/august as a rough timeframe for being able to move into a new place and set it up.

 

[rvitko]

The pump is either to a 230/2 or 235/2. A 230/2 will have two "dog ears" on the back of the skimmer used to suspend it. A 235/2 will have two groves that fiberglass rails slide into, one on either side. The date is embossed (stamped into) the plastic near the top back of the pump. 0700/236 are model ranges (ie this motor coil is good for a 700 return pump or skimmers 230 and 235). There are details for rebuilding this pump at Tunze.com under technical aid - pumps made prior to 7/2000.

For the 2002 the critical thing is bearings. The bearings are permanently lubricated with grease and cannot be relubricated, oil or cleaning agents will destroy them and usually they go bad just from sitting for a couple years as grease is hygroscopic and tends to break down. These motors aren't so easy to rebuild and I might suggest you send them to me but you are welcome to try. I charge $15 labor per pump plus parts so I think it isn't a bad deal. For a novice a 2002 takes about 30-45 minutes to rebuild. With some experience it can be done in 15minutes. It isn't a bad idea to learn how since it needs to be done every few years but keep track of all the small parts and I can send you a manual if you PM me your email address.