Pin broke off BM Pin Wheel Impeller

Jyetman · 07/21/2018, 12:45 PM

I have a Bubble Magus NAC 3.5 skimmer and recently a pin broke off the impeller but there are still lots of bubbles. Will this really have a serious impact on performance?

slief · 07/21/2018, 01:00 PM

I wouldn’t worry about. The impact will be minimal if any.

Jyetman · 07/21/2018, 01:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slief

I wouldn’t worry about. The impact will be minimal if any.

I been reading about skimmer mods. One mod is adding fishing line or plastic zip ties to make a mesh is this worth trying?

slief · 07/21/2018, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jyetman

I been reading about skimmer mods. One mod is adding fishing line or plastic zip ties to make a mesh is this worth trying?

Have no idea. People do all kinds of weird mods to their skimmers. Some work OK, others not. I’d leave it alone unless people with that model skimmer suggest it makes a worthy difference. Thing is that if you start adding weight to the needle wheel, that can impact the motor due to increased load and potentially damage things if the impeller gets out of balance.

Jyetman · 07/21/2018, 02:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slief

Have no idea. People do all kinds of weird mods to their skimmers. Some work OK, others not. I’d leave it alone unless people with that model skimmer suggest it makes a worthy difference. Thing is that if you start adding weight to the needle wheel, that can impact the motor due to increased load and potentially damage things if the impeller gets out of balance.

Wouldn't broken pins also make the impeller unbalanced too? I removed impeller to clean and there are actually several broken pins.

slief · 07/21/2018, 02:43 PM

The pins weigh less than zip ties. A couple broken pins won’t hurt anything but if there are a bunch of broken pins, it might be time to order a new impeller.

Jyetman · 07/21/2018, 06:14 PM

I have one more question, there is a straight line crack starting from top neck down to cylinder bottom is this going to cause performance issues? The skimmer is 7 years old so maybe age? It just showed up one day no idea how it happen? I remove skimmer and clean every 2 years or so figure it cracked while in tank. No water is coming through the crack that I can see above water line anyways.

slief · 07/21/2018, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jyetman

I have one more question, there is a straight line crack starting from top neck down to cylinder bottom is this going to cause performance issues? The skimmer is 7 years old so maybe age? It just showed up one day no idea how it happen? I remove skimmer and clean every 2 years or so figure it cracked while in tank. No water is coming through the crack that I can see above water line anyways.

It shouldn’t cause performance issues. It’s likely just due to poor quality acrylic that got brittle over time. Sometimes you get crazing or cracks over time with cheap acrylic. As long as it’s not leaking, it’s purely cosmetic at this point.

Jyetman · 07/23/2018, 02:33 PM

Today the motor stopped working so I said the heck with this crap and tossed the BM out the window! Bought a new Eshopps X-120 at LFS for $229 seems like a better skimmer. Could had saved $20 online but ah well. Now got to wait 5 days for break in.

07/21/2018, 12:45 PM	#1
Jyetman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,712	Pin broke off BM Pin Wheel Impeller I have a Bubble Magus NAC 3.5 skimmer and recently a pin broke off the impeller but there are still lots of bubbles. Will this really have a serious impact on performance?

07/21/2018, 01:00 PM	#2
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	I wouldn’t worry about. The impact will be minimal if any. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

07/21/2018, 02:43 PM	#6
slief RC Sponsor Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 14,173	The pins weigh less than zip ties. A couple broken pins won’t hurt anything but if there are a bunch of broken pins, it might be time to order a new impeller. __________________ Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476

07/21/2018, 06:14 PM	#7
Jyetman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,712	I have one more question, there is a straight line crack starting from top neck down to cylinder bottom is this going to cause performance issues? The skimmer is 7 years old so maybe age? It just showed up one day no idea how it happen? I remove skimmer and clean every 2 years or so figure it cracked while in tank. No water is coming through the crack that I can see above water line anyways.

07/23/2018, 02:33 PM	#9
Jyetman Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 1,712	Today the motor stopped working so I said the heck with this crap and tossed the BM out the window! Bought a new Eshopps X-120 at LFS for $229 seems like a better skimmer. Could had saved $20 online but ah well. Now got to wait 5 days for break in.