Red Dragon DC pump maintenance.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Yup, tried that too but when i started hearing nasty scrapping sounds I stopped doing it. LOL

And the pump is less than a year old so it can't be THAT hard to get a part.
 
Well, I got to looking at those pictures, and then back to the pump, and over to the pictures again. And I thought THE DAMN THING HAS GOTTA JUST SLIDE APART!. LOL

So I took it back apart again. I pulled on the impeller with my finger tips for all I was worth. Then I took two large flat screw drivers and tried prying behind the large black flange. Nuttin!

I put it back together the second time.

I'll try calling Premium Aquatics in Indiana where I purchased it. Maybe they can offer some pointers. That is, if they're even OPEN.
Crazy world we're living in right now!
 
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Randys said:
Well, I got to looking at those pictures, and then back to the pump, and over to the pictures again. And I thought THE DAMN THING HAS GOTTA JUST SLIDE APART!. LOL

So I took it back apart again. I pulled on the impeller with my finger tips for all I was worth. Then I took two large flat screw drivers and tried prying behind the large black flange. Nuttin!

I put it back together the second time.

I'll try calling Premium Aquatics in Indiana where I purchased it. Maybe they can offer some pointers. That is, if they're even OPEN.
Crazy world we're living in right now!
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That's frustrating that it's not coming out as easily as it should. Youtube?
 
Well, there was no way I was gonna let this go without removing this darn impeller. I theorized it must be stuck in the bore by mineral build up (I’ve got hard water). I want to be able to do maintenance and in my mind that means coming completely apart.
I ran the pump for two hours in vinegar. That was just enough to allow it to come out. I then removed the left over scale with muriatic acid and a tooth brush. She’s just like new again!
I let the time get away from me and I ran it for 10 months before thinking about the cleaning. I’m going to put it on my calendar for every 3-4 months. It’s a very easy task to remove it and take it apart.
This IS a well built and designed piece of German engineering. You can just tell by working on it. And in typical German fashion the tolerances are tight. There’s not much room between the bore and the OD of the magnet and any mineral build up is gonna cause an issue. That’s probably why it runs so quiet.
I’m still pretty happy with my purchase even though it cost me the price of a beat up used car! LOL

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Nice! Wow I cleaned mine 2 times in four years running in salt water and didn't have that kind of build up. I'll need to keep that in mind now that I'm on a well with extremely hard water also.
 
twentyleagues said:
Nice! Wow I cleaned mine 2 times in four years running in salt water and didn't have that kind of build up. I'll need to keep that in mind now that I'm on a well with extremely hard water also.
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Ya, hard well water can be a hassle. Oh ”well”, at least it makes water changes easy. Right from the faucet to the tank and my centrals love it. But I could see having major problems if let it go any longer between cleaning.

I also noticed my rpms jumping up over 100 at my typical wattage since cleaning the pump. I needed to re-adjust the overflow.
 
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Randys said:
Well, there was no way I was gonna let this go without removing this darn impeller. I theorized it must be stuck in the bore by mineral build up (I’ve got hard water). I want to be able to do maintenance and in my mind that means coming completely apart.
I ran the pump for two hours in vinegar. That was just enough to allow it to come out. I then removed the left over scale with muriatic acid and a tooth brush. She’s just like new again!
I let the time get away from me and I ran it for 10 months before thinking about the cleaning. I’m going to put it on my calendar for every 3-4 months. It’s a very easy task to remove it and take it apart.
This IS a well built and designed piece of German engineering. You can just tell by working on it. And in typical German fashion the tolerances are tight. There’s not much room between the bore and the OD of the magnet and any mineral build up is gonna cause an issue. That’s probably why it runs so quiet.
I’m still pretty happy with my purchase even though it cost me the price of a beat up used car! LOL

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Nice job. Vinegar crossed my mind too but didn't think that would do the trick since you couldn't remove.

What is the model and gph at 0 head pressure for that pump? I think with most if these DC pumps it's a matter of when they will go out. So I always keep an eye for possible replacement when the time comes.
 
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