Pump for 1/15 Chiller on RSM130

O

Outatime

Member
Hi All

Recently discovered that my pump I have on my chiller right now is causing major I mean major microbubbles, I can hear from the pump that its sucking air from somewhere but can't see where, to be fair its an old pump that I bought over from England when I moved to Florida and I am using a voltage converter to power it so its not ideal, think it needs upgrading.

The Chiller is a Current Prime 1/15 and is using an aquabee up2000/1 for circulation right now....although I have it turned off so I can see my tank :)

I am off to my LFS today and wonder if anyone can please give me a recommendation for a good pump I can use inside my RSM cabinet. Also what size or flow rate would be best for it if I was looking? I used to use a MJ1200 which turned out to be a big mistake as the seal on the bottom dried out and it leaked all over the place and my cabinet is warped in places now :( so I am looking for a good solid circulation pump for the job.

Any help would be much appreciated. Thank you.
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
Are you sure it's the pump? You could have a air leak in your hose connections. If you have not already done it you can pull the pump and test it in a bucket to be sure it's the cause. I can't help on the pump, your going to have to look for the size you need and flow rating. Others will jump in here to help you there. Good luck!
 
O

Outatime

Member
Hi Tom

I would be suprised if it was the pipe as I have hose clamps on them to keep them tight so I just don't know right now, I would like to rid my cabinet of the voltage converter though.

I checked out the Current website and they are looking at a flow of about 100 to 350 gph. Any pump recommendations anyone?

Thank again
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
Is this an internal or External pump? I was thinking Internal but now I'm guessing your looking for an external to keep in the cabinet. If so how much room do tou have in the cabinet with what ever else is in there? Is the max flow on your chiller 350gph? I'll see whaty I can find.
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
I looked up your chiller, guessing it's a current 1/15hp prime mini rated at 600gph max. Here are 3 external pumps that you can look at that should go in your cabinet depending on what else is in there. Remember you have head pressure you have to overcome to push your water from the cabinet back to the DT so you need to look for a higher Max flow pump than the chiller rating. I think there is a sticky in the equipment section on figuring the head for your tank. Good luck!

Gen-X External Water Pump

Danner Mag-Drive Supreme Water Pump

Eheim 1260 Universal Water Pump - AquaCave
 
O

Outatime

Member
Thank you Tom for all your hard work, I actually picked up a Danner Mag-Drive Supreme 2 250 GPH Water Pump today at my LFS but on closer inspection I am not 100% sure its what I need? Its really big and looks like a pond pump, its got a threaded end and the pipe from my chiller to the pump right now is about 3/4" or 1/2" and it works well but I would have to change out the tube to larger as the new pump has big ends on it, maybe I should visit Lowes and check out there fitting section and pipe.

What do you think of the above pump will it be ok or is it overkill and should I change it.

Thank yiu

Stuart
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
Hey Stuart, I looked at it and IMO it's to small (GPH) for your chiller. It's 250GPH and the minimum of your chiller was 300 GPH. So first you'll have far less than 250 GPH being returned to the DT because of head pressure and while it will push thru your chiller, the chiller will run a lot which will drive up your electric bill. You could try it and see. But, I'd take it back new and get the Mag-drive 9.5 if they had it. You can find about eveerything for plumbing it at Lowe's Good luck!
 
O

Outatime

Member
Hi again and thanks for your time with my issue Tom.

There seems to be some confusion on the flow that this chiller needs, I have read some times and they are claiming flow between 300 and 600 gph like on this site Current USA 1/15 HP Prime Mini Chiller - Dual Stage (2680) Chillers

But when reading further and looking on the Current website they say between 100 and 350 gph. Prime Inline Chillers | Current What's Next

So I would assume that the Current website would be correct? This is starting to hurt my head :)
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
Current's web site should be correct but that is a big difference. Try the pump you got. If you end up getting something bigger then it will make a good salt/water mixing pump so it won't go to waste. Good luck!
 
O

Outatime

Member
Hi

ok new pump installed, flow is great and I am very happy with it but I have a bad microbubble problem.

I just can't stop it, it can't be the pump as this is the 2nd pump its been doing it on now.

Can't be sucking air from inside the chiller can it? Surly it would be leaking if it did?

I have the main input and return pipe next to each other on the hole provided by RS, the input pipe goes long into the back of the tank and the return just touching the level of the water.

Anyone know what I might be doing wrong here please?
 
tnwillia

tnwillia

Well-Known Member
You can have air trapped in your chiller lines. Over time it should work it's self out or you can purge it out in a bucket. How about the connections chiller to hose for possible air leak or the connectors themselves.

Is it possible your input line is picking up bubbles from your skimmer? Pictures of the hoses going into the tank & plumbing for the chiller would help. Are there any gate/ball valves or unions in the path? You can get an air leak from a point that will cause you only a drip now and then. Ty-raps on all your connections are an additional seal. If you do this watch the bubbles each place you add the Ty-rap to try to see where the leak was if it gets fixed.

I've had air leaks on the RSM accessory port connector connections that Ty-raps fixed. I'm just throwing things out here, Good luck!
 
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