Needle Wheel Pump Recommendation?

I saw a couple threads on them on RC beyond the one's you had. Supposedly, there was a preproduction dart and some sort of industry show a month or so ago. They seem like they will rock for LARGE applications!

In my simplistic mind, the only real difference between Beckett and NW applications is where the venturi is located. A Beckett is a type of venturi placed into the flow after the pump. A NW has the venturi placed in front of the pump allowing the pump to "chop" the foam into smaller bubbles.

After all is said and done, I'm not sure that one has a real advantage over another. I like the idea of chopping up the air/water mix, but that makes the pump less efficient. Conversely, the same pump may be able to more efficiently drive a Beckett. The question in my mind is how much less efficient is the NW and does it offset the "better" quality of foam. I clearly see that NW is better for smaller low pressure applications.

NW in operation is similar to the old SeaClones and they do produce a nice volume of foam for the pump they use. I do wonder if the NW impeller vs. a regular paddle spinning at several thousand rpms really makes a difference in foam production or is it marketing hype?

I'm still so confused! A little knowledge is dangerous. ;D

 

OK, I chickened out on the needlewheel with everything else going on. I just went with an upgraded pump and stayed with the Beckett. I put a MD55 clone on it I picked up for $120. The higher pressure is what the Becket has been begging for. The difference between the MD40 and the MD55 is stunning. It's now a foam machine! It took a while to get this DIY project dialed in, but it's rocking now. It's a great feeling.

Now its time to rig a drain line to the cup.

 

would a DIY needle wheel work? i will try a design I found in the web using bioballs cut into a wheel and plugged into the impeller. Would be great if it worked (the one who did the DIY had a skimmer working using the DIY needle wheel and it was pumping a lot of foam)

 

Wow, a DIY needlewheel pump impeller? I'd be concerned about it self distructing, especially with a large pump.

I'd still love to see the same pump with a venturi in front of the inlet with and with out a needle wheel impeller. I just keep thinking of my old SeaClones and how much foam they produce with a little "regular" pump.

BTW, when I checked the collection cup this morning there was a thick column of reasonably dry foam decending into the cup. It was about 1' thick around the outside of the riser with about another 1" sitting in the bottom of the cup. No real liquid in the bottom. Not bad for the first 36 hours of operation and I had it dialed back a little in fear of having a skimmer explosion without me being there for the 4th to check the operation.

The Jebo 520 even without mods may be very under rated. For well under $100 it puts out a lot of foam.

 

I tried modding a cheap venturi skimmer i bought (many call the junk Weipro 2014! i view it as a prospective DIY gadget) by feeding the downtube of the overflow into it. The pump is a dolphin (worked far better than a Rio and cheaper) and i fed the overflow into it. Very fine bubble and thicker foam is produced. Still waiting for it to produce skimmate (since i just got it started an hour ago).