Tired of my skimmer's pump breaking, care to lend me a hand?

So, it's the third and last time this sucker breaks. I have an eshopps psk-200. It works very well and skims very well too, but the problem is with the pump.

First, the needle or pin wheel would make awful noise, I took it apart, looked everywhere and put it back together. Could not figure out what did I do, but the noise would start and then just go away when I cover the intake with my finger and then let go.

Second time, the pin wheel got stuck, so there I am taking the thing apart again and this time I accidentally broke it when pulling it out of the shaft to clean it. So I ordered a new pin wheel replacement online, put it on, and magic! everything back to normal.

Third and last time... I'm fed up with this thing. The shaft itself broke. I noticed the skimmer stopped bubbling and the water level inside it started rising with absolutely no bubbles. I shut everything down and took it apart to find a plastic stopper in the shaft that locks the pin wheel at a certain position was broken. I'm trying to super glue it, but I'm serious about finding an alternate solution to this.

Is there any modification I could do that won't require a pin wheel any more? I'm really tired of it breaking and my funds are not abundant, so I'd rather fix it right and avoid the pin wheel if possible.

I've seen somebody mention some sort of jet tip you can install somewhere, but again, I'm not sure what it's about or how it's done.

Does anybody know about this and be kind enough to direct me to the thread or page that would solve this issue?

Thanks for any input.

- Magnus.

 

eShoppes is a sponsor of this site and do answer questions on their skimmers. I would suggest you pose this question to them, I am sure they will be more than happy to help.

 

Why not replace it with a similar rated venturi pump instead? Mag drives now have a venturi version of their pumps, designed specifically for protein skimmers.
Danner Model Supreme Pumps w/ Fractionating Impeller

 

In all honesty, and being that I've already had to replace the pinwheel before and now I see the need to replace the shaft the pin wheel hooks up to, I was hoping to just bypass the pinwheel all together. The skimmer is great, but I've seen somebody posting the same type of question and the approach they took was a little strong when somebody suggested to replace the pump with something else. In fact, don't take offense on this. I appreciate the input, but take a look at it yourself and make your own conclusions. Bottom line for me is: I already have a pump that I already paid for, and I would like to, if possible modify it so I don't have to buy a new pump all together.
Here's the thread I was talking about a minute ago:
http://www.3reef.com/forums/eshopps-inc/psk-150-replacement-pump-83055.html#post826971

I believe I would do this if no other options become available. I have a MagDrive 9.5 and love it. It's quiet and an excellent pump altogether.
I have even seen mods on the impeller with fishing line among others.

- Mag.

 

I'm with Eshopps in the thread you linked. Getting a different pump isn't that easy.

If you are reffering to a mesh wheel.... it ain't that easy either. Mesh wheels do give better performance, but the mesh breaks down and you have to replace it every 6 mos. or so....DIY style. To me it's a pain... I'm no fan. Performance also goes down as the mesh deteriorates.

As far as the needle wheel breaking.... well, tough call. Pumps just don't break generally. Belive it or not they can still work sometimes with abroke shaft. Not saying you are doing anything wrong..... My suggestion is to work through Eshopps to get your problem taken care of. Part of the money you paid was to pay for Customer Service. Use what you paid for. Seems they take care of their customers. If Eshopps can't make it right, don't buy Eshopps again. For right now, it is easier to get a shaft or impeller resolved rather than buy a new pump or new skimmer.

Oh ya.... the pin wheel attaches to the shaft the exact same way the pin wheel does, so you are not fixing anything.

 

I tried gel super glue but didn't bond at all with the shaft's material. So... I drilled a tiny hole and put a chunk of epoxy, which I cut and molded to the shape of the broken piece, as you put it "DIY style"
It seems to do the work and stop the pin wheel at the spot it's supposed to... let's hope it holds, at least a week or two. Regarding eshopps customer service, I'm sure I can get them to sell me a new shaft/pin wheel assembly. It's just not the point at the moment. I understand some items can be defective or get broken easily. It's just that I don't have much money to play with lately (specially after buying 150 bucks worth of corals). I know the skimmer works. I've seen it working and it's just crazy productive. I love my skimmer, just that my pump is messed up... or let me rephrase that. My pump's shaft + pin wheel are messed up. Which isn't eshopps fault since I'm sure they don't make the pumps. If the epoxy won't hold, and I'm left with no other permanent alternatives, I'll buy a new shaft and hopefully I can upgrade it to a mesh wheel if the option is available.

Now, I have a new question base on your post... will any shaft + mesh wheel fit in my pump?

I could just buy a replacement online if the price is better than going through eshopps.

 

Here is just a little general info.... you should have spare shafts for your pumps just for this. So when it breaks, you are not out for some time. My Sicce pump has a ceramic shaft and I keep a spare just in case I break it. Also... never do pump maintenance on a holiday week end.

Shafts for a PSK pump can't be more than $10-$20. They do break. No telling why. If it continues... that's a problem. I am not familiar with what Eshopps is using. I think it is a Atman if I'm not mistaken. Most parts come from the maker so it is tough to find "deals" from some place else on cheap pump parts... but maybe Marine depot or something.

How you "mesh mod" a pin wheel is by cutting off the pins. Yuo still use the base.... then you take fishing line or small zip ties and attach mesh to the base. If you put on too mush you can have start up issues. If you don't trim it right you can have start up issues. The mesh will break down and you have to keep redoing it.

Some makers now offer "hybrid" wheels. I think Atman and those that use them.... SWC, Bubble Magus...if I'm not mistaken. Sort of pins and mesh. I think I heard it was a little more durable... but still a PITA IMO. Mesh increases the air draw of the pump and it is a legit performance mod.... but I just size my skimmer right and don't care about mesh. I love low maintenance.

So my point is that mesh is not going to solve your problem, it;s the same parts just a modded wheel. And if you do not know what you are doing you can have more problems and I get the feeling you are trying to minimize problems.

 

Definitely 100% right. Although performance is in my best interests I would trade some of it for ease of use and low maintenance.
My skimmer is rated for a 200 gallon tank when my tank is, in fact 55 gallons. 70 at the most with the sump.

I really didn't know shafts will break that easily.... it makes me think about the possibility of building it with a more durable material. But I suppose I can do the 10 or 20 bucks for a shaft. My thinking is always in the "long run" scenario. If I spend average 15 bucks per shaft that breaks, in the end, I could have purchased a more durable pump. But being that this appears to be something that happens all the time, I'll have to do what everybody else does and bite the bullet.

Thank you for the tips. I never work on holidays

- Mag.


EDIT: The epoxy fix did not work. It's holding, but something else must be wrong. It seems as if water is being sucked in very slowly, not fast enough to create a vacuum for the air intake. Any thoughts?

 

So.... Ceramic is used because it won't wear and will last probably the life of the pump. Except they break easy. Some high end/better pumps use Ti. Even Mag pumps use ceramic shafts.

A venturi works by velocity. Water moving past the air tube will create a low pressure area and draw air in. When you put your thumb over the tube you are making the pump draw nothing but water and you will overflow the skimmer.

You wrote in the beginning that the pump made a bad noise. Not sure if it is "rattling" trying to start. Shouldn, but was that it. Some guys that do mesh mods the shaft won't start and they have to blow air in the tube to get it going.

Are you sure there is nothing in the air line. Tube and venturi are all clear and venturi nozzle on the pump solid? Could anything you did be causing drag?

 

Yes, the rattling was the initial issue. It was doing it on start really bad, but even after it started the noise was pretty bad. I just took it apart and put it back together and it worked. One of the possibilities that was suggested was that the washer might have not been installed correctly in the deep part of the chamber where the shaft goes.

As far as the air line goes, it doesn't look like there's anything in there. It has a muffler, so I even removed that to see, blew air and felt no resistence.

I finally just now put everything back together and retested it with no happy ending. The epoxy did not hold for long and broke off, probably because of the velocity the shaft takes hitting the pin wheel. Now it's my last resort to try Gorilla Glue. I know this is a nasty fix, but again, it's a temporary fix. I'm currently dosing vodka, so not having a skimmer is not an option at the moment.

Oh, and when I was starting it, since the lock in the shaft (that locks the pin wheel in place) was broken, the pin wheel probably wasn't even spinning in there.

Thank you again for all your help, Powerman.

- Mag.