Volcano club

tom obrecht

the Alita 40 may help as Hahn said but imo you need to check for more option's to let this skimmer perfrom better and if it was mine i was also opening the pump volute and check if there is any option or any way to try to Mesh part of it because this for sure will increase your Air & maybe to match a better inlet.

i am sure you paid for skimmer to work and not to mod or to play with but if you have hard time to get it fix ..... and you are handy try to find other solution to let this toy to work better till spazz will find better solution ..... anyway this is my opinion and i hope things will work for you good .
 
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Is Spazz using the stock needlewheel for the Dart or is it custom? I thought I heard at one time he was using a custom version but then someone told me he switched to the stock one. I know the new needlewheel they are selling to replace the stock needlewheel on Reeflo 250 skimmer is seeing impressive results. Unfortunately it appears to only be available to those that purchased a Reeflo 250 skimmer. Maybe someone could get their hands on one and try it.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13288556#post13288556 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mavgi
tom obrecht

the Alita 40 may help as Hahn said but imo you need to check for more option's to let this skimmer perfrom better and if it was mine i was also opening the pump volute and check if there is any option or any way to try to Mesh part of it because this for sure will increase your Air & maybe to match a better inlet.

i am sure you paid for skimmer to work and not to mod or to play with but if you have hard time to get it fix ..... and you are handy try to find other solution to let this toy to work better till spazz will find better solution ..... anyway this is my opinion and i hope things will work for you good .
Click to expand...

We'll see what the Alita does and go from there. Spazz might be working on a solution but IMO I doubt it. I think if he was REALLY trying to solve the issues brought up here he would respond or contact me. From what I can see he has choosen to disregard the issues and hide low. As a business owner I find that to be a strange way to keep your customers happy but to each their own.:confused: If the Alita doesn't do the job I will have have to try another route. Thanks for the suggestions.
 
hahn...do you think a bigger air pump would help my skimmer or would it be too much? It has an alita 40 on it now. My brother brought over a pond air pump we thought was bigger but it dropped the water level 6 inches because of the lack of air. I keep hearing you talk about a cone which got me thinking. The skimmer lid is one of the first places to get dirty in this skimmer.What do you think about making the lid cone shaped or rounded so that the gunk will run off better instead of collecting on the top of the lid?
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13288608#post13288608 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jknecht
Is Spazz using the stock needlewheel for the Dart or is it custom? I thought I heard at one time he was using a custom version but then someone told me he switched to the stock one.
Click to expand...

Good question and I'm not sure. I know at one time he was said to be using custom ones but am not sure now or what is on mine. Spazz can you help us? Spazz oooohhhh Spazz are you there????????? :lol: :lol: :lol:
 
Tom do you have a pic of the PW that is on your Volcano? Or did you get a chance and look at it? I believe wizsmaster said his had a stock Orca pin wheel.

Here is a shot of the stock Orca PW on the left. It is a black disk with square Pins.
DSCN2993.jpg
 
The thing being left out is that as the pins get smaller, you need more of them to provide the same contact area to provide the mechanical 'push' of the water (and air, but more water). So you really should calculate the total radial interface area of the pins and try to match them up as much as possible, even with regards to their distance from the center if possible. To end up with a lower wattage often means you are also moving less water/air. Lets say you have a ring of 20 pins on needlewheel 1 that are 1" high and .25" wide (lets say square pins to keep it simple), and you want to replace them with pins that are 1" high and 1/8" wide... you would need 40 pins or needles. There are many ways to skin a cat... but the thing that concerns me is that a drop in wattage might seem like a good thing, but it usually also means a drop in flow (despite better blending). A good impeller design I am seeing more of recently is where the impeller is pins at the leading surface of the impeller, then it changes back to blades right at the disk. This is sound because as the air and water enters the volute, its going to be somewhat blended already by a good venturi, but then it will get hit by the pins on the front of the impeller, and by the time the mix hits the traditional bladed part of the impeller, the air bubbles will be fine enough that the blades can function somewhat normally and provide more centrifugal force. Another similar application would be to use a regular paddle impeller and if you have enough clearance inside the pump's volute, simply attach some mesh to its face. The air and water will pass through the spinning mesh and get blended and then the paddles do what they were designed to with the blend. Simple, but effective. Likewise, one can imply that if you use finer/denser pins towards the center of the pinwheel, you can use wider pins towards the outer diameter. The outer diameter moves at a higher speed than the inner, so maximizing its potential is more important. If you can get enough blending action from the central pins (maybe a disk with blades at the edge and a hollow center that holds removable mesh <<< hey, there's a wicked idea) then by the time the larger blades/pins at the edges encounter it, the more functional they will be.
 
Jon, like this :D That's an MSX PW with all of the center pins removed and a "coil" of mesh in the center :lol:

<a href="http://s120.photobucket.com/albums/o186/JCTewks/?action=view&current=Tewks080.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i120.photobucket.com/albums/o186/JCTewks/Tewks080.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"></a>

Sorry for the crappy pic, camera focused on my hand instead of the PW :D
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13289782#post13289782 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by saleencobra
It has an alita 40 on it now. My brother brought over a pond air pump we thought was bigger but it dropped the water level 6 inches because of the lack of air.
Click to expand...

IMO this is the problem with the air pump it will make more bubbles but will not perform better. i think you want to look how "Jnarowe" did it :
http://home.wavecable.com/~jrowe/skimmer.htm
but i am pretty sure that modify this impller with mesh will make it better you can try to put 1 layer on the pins and make a test if it's better put one more & etc. (but check the pump watt and the intake)



<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13286656#post13286656 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Mr James
Rude. It was a volcano at the time it was built. Now they have been revised and are much different. What will happen to the models you guys have in a few months if Spazz changes the design again?? Will you lose the right to post??

You ask your questions and I'll ask mine. I'm not bothering you am I?? [/QUOTE


James :

IMO you have a luck since it's more easy modify one laguna or few Sicce that will make this skimmer to work real good (i think 1 laguna will be good enough also it will cost less...)

P.S. those the volute's that i talk about but you can mod simple one or to wait till those will be ready for sell i also will be able to send you one of my pumps (each time, when i can ) to test it and then you can decide if you want to change the pumps or not:)

<center>
vortec150pvcversion.jpg
</center>
Click to expand...
 
Come on Michael, wheres the threaded fittings? :lol::lol:

What's the size of the volutes? they look pretty small to me :)
 
by mavgi
IMO you have a luck since it's more easy modify one laguna or few Sicce that will make this skimmer to work real good (i think 1 laguna will be good enough also it will cost less...)
Click to expand...

I think you are absolutely correct. But I think as Hahn suggested, this forum is for the most up to date Volcano's and I shouldn't deter from the conversation. I will probably start up another thread about my endeavors. I will still visit here, but I'll observe.

by mavgi
P.S. those the volute's that i talk about but you can mod simple one or to wait till those will be ready for sell i also will be able to send you one of my pumps (each time, when i can ) to test it and then you can decide if you want to change the pumps or not:)

<center>
vortec150pvcversion.jpg
</center>
Click to expand...

I am very interested in seeing one pump do the work of 3 or 4. Please let me know where I can sign up. Thanks again for your help. I consider myself an old Beckett-man who has just found an alternative.
 
I have had my 4ft volcano for around 2 months. I am not currently force feeding it. After reading this thread, I would like to try running an Alita 40. Right now, I don't feel like there is enough air for the skimmer. It doesn't produce much of a foam head, and just by looking into the body, you can tell it isn't even close to maxed out on air.


That being said, the skimmer is exceptionally well built. It runs very consistently, and it is quiet.


Without running the water level ridiculously high, I don't get any real production. The foam head simply doesn't push up high enough to be of any value. The water is running just a couple of inches below the very top of the neck.
IMG_0029.jpg




Even though I think there should be more air in the skimmer, it will still produce fairly well. This is about 1 week's skimmate. In that time, I removed a lot of hair algae with a powerhead, which accounts for most of the production (and the green color).
IMG_0030.jpg






Brad
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13298471#post13298471 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jknecht

Tom - Did you get the air pump today?
Click to expand...

I was suppose to but according to UPS tracking looks like I should get it Monday.:rolleyes: I guess I have waited this long, what a couple more days. I'll let everyone know the results.
 
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