Paul B
NJRC Member
This powerhead has been running non stop since the eightees when they invented them. It has only stopped a a few times when the power was out.
Lately, if it stopped, I could not get it running again and I would have to take it apart and spin the impeller a few times to start it.
I decided today to do a little badly needed maintenance. Of course, I could always buy a new one, but anyone can do that. Part of this hobby is maintenance and repair.
The shaft was badly worn allowing the magnet on the impeller to contact the sides of the housing and the hole where the shaft attaches to the housing was egg shaped due to age and vibration. I epoxied the shaft in the hole so I could center it and I used shrink tubeing on the shaft where the metal was worn away. I also lubricated the shaft with food grade silicone. Now I know the shrink tubeing will not last 20 years like the stainless steel shaft but It will probably last a year or two. If not, who cares, I think I got my moneys worth out of this powerhead by now.
Besides I do have some stainless steel radio antennas which I could make into a new shaft, but that is a project for next year.
Now the thing runs perfectly.
That strange looking below it is my surface skimmer. I think I built that the same time I got that powerhead. I don't have a sump or any holes drilled in the tank so that "device" skimms the surface of the water and feeds water to the homemade skimmer which feeds the algae trough.
So that one powerhead provides surface skimming, protein skimming and supplies the algae trough.
Lately, if it stopped, I could not get it running again and I would have to take it apart and spin the impeller a few times to start it.
I decided today to do a little badly needed maintenance. Of course, I could always buy a new one, but anyone can do that. Part of this hobby is maintenance and repair.
The shaft was badly worn allowing the magnet on the impeller to contact the sides of the housing and the hole where the shaft attaches to the housing was egg shaped due to age and vibration. I epoxied the shaft in the hole so I could center it and I used shrink tubeing on the shaft where the metal was worn away. I also lubricated the shaft with food grade silicone. Now I know the shrink tubeing will not last 20 years like the stainless steel shaft but It will probably last a year or two. If not, who cares, I think I got my moneys worth out of this powerhead by now.
Besides I do have some stainless steel radio antennas which I could make into a new shaft, but that is a project for next year.
Now the thing runs perfectly.
That strange looking below it is my surface skimmer. I think I built that the same time I got that powerhead. I don't have a sump or any holes drilled in the tank so that "device" skimms the surface of the water and feeds water to the homemade skimmer which feeds the algae trough.
So that one powerhead provides surface skimming, protein skimming and supplies the algae trough.
