Tiny Might skimmer rockin'
- Thread starter smjtkj
- Start date
Yeah, I put them side by side with the carbon fiber and they are actually smaller than the .070 rod. They taper from really small to .070 at the base where I glued them. The more I think about it I think you are right about the old wheel being overtightened. Especially when I realized the pins I used are smaller than .070". So I decided to give these a try again. I admit it is a lot less trouble too! I will let it dry over night and get it rockin' tomorrow.
kentrob11
Premium Member
Hey Spazz- Have you tried simply machining a solid needlewheel out of Delrin? When talking with my machinist, we originally decided that we were'nt going to be able to get any smaller tha 1/8" but that was when I was wanted to make one with equal sized gaps between pins. with bigger gaps like that, couldn't you try machining the whole thing out of something that is strong yet more forgiving like Delrin?
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
I can do injection molding if that helps. All I need is something to base the mold on... the rest is taken care of...
The problem is that the pins need to be way smaller than 1/8 inch or it will cause way too much drag on the tiny might motor. That is the reason we are using such small diameter needles. Injection molding would be the best route, but for just a couple here and there, this is the easiest and most reasonable way to do it.
Not proprietary at all. It is a DLS type of material which is a black nylon mesh. I read on another forum that ATI skimmers work really well but need regular cleaning. Every 3 weeks or so you need to take apart the pump to get the build up of trash out of the mesh or the performance goes down drastically.
Mike
Mike
ChemE
New member
Hmmm, interesting. It hadn't occurred to me that they would need to be cleaned but of course that makes perfect sense.
Anyone have a link or two to a source of this nylon mesh? I'd like to work some into my mad scientist tinkering.
Also, even though it isn't reef safe, has anyone ever played with using actual needles in a needlewheel? I'm very curious what happens to bubble size and power draw as the needles get smaller and smaller. It would seem that both improve as the needles are shrunk.
Anyone have a link or two to a source of this nylon mesh? I'd like to work some into my mad scientist tinkering.
Also, even though it isn't reef safe, has anyone ever played with using actual needles in a needlewheel? I'm very curious what happens to bubble size and power draw as the needles get smaller and smaller. It would seem that both improve as the needles are shrunk.
RandyStacyE
New member
It doesn't look like that impeller can move much water.
kentrob11
Premium Member
Thanks for the pics. A couple of questions:
First, does the stock impeller simply unscrew and the fabricated needlewheel just screw on?
Second, would making the needlewheel slightly bigger so that it only clears the wall by about 1/8" and adding another couple of rows of pins make any difference in performance?
First, does the stock impeller simply unscrew and the fabricated needlewheel just screw on?
Second, would making the needlewheel slightly bigger so that it only clears the wall by about 1/8" and adding another couple of rows of pins make any difference in performance?
dgasmd
New member
I also did some relieving of the inside and outlet of the dart a few days ago, and it made a world of difference. I even went up on the air input some more. The ideal thing would be for sequence to make the volute dedicated for these pumps with a2" or even 3" inside diameter and a housing that has very little to no resistance to flow of air.
