Pondmaster submersible pump maintenance

[Alvarero]

Hello everyone. This is something I learned from trial and error and it applies to those who have never tried to pull an impeller out of a large submersible pump. I live in FL and the water I use for my pond comes right out of the ground. Needless to say my water is hard. The water creates a crust around the impeller until the pump stopped working. In the past I would only get a year or so out of a pump. Well I got tired of sending them to the manufacturer for warranty exchange or buying a new one when the warranty ran out. I started soaking my pumps in vinegar and water for a few days at a time and that would rejuvenate my pumps for a short time and they would stop working after a few days.

Today I took the time to disassemble my Pondmaster pump. The directions say to pull the impeller out and that you might need pliers to do the job. I couldn't get the impeller to budge so I started pulling it out quickly until it taped the cover and gently pushing it back in until I noticed that it was starting to come out. After about 10 minutes I was able to get the impeller out. No pliers needed just some determination. I am now soaking the motor and the impeller in vinegar and water and I plan to use a soft tooth brush to remove the hard scale that built up in the motor and impeller.

Something else I learned is to remove rubber seal rings from your pump before soaking them in vinegar. The vinegar makes the gaskets stretch out and become useless if you don't.

 

[addy1]

Great to know, I stick with externals, but I bet they get mucked up also. Our water in arizona sucked, our well water here is way soft.

 

[koidaddy]

I am getting away from the PM pumps for that reason. I have 3 18's and a 24 that is giving me fits. I still use an 18 for my fines filter. But I hear yah, it was a problem. How about getting the impellor out of a 24, thats a biatch.

 

[Alvarero]

I have a couple of Becket pumps that I need to take apart and look at the impellers after I am finished with my PM. I am considering going to an external pump one day. The cost is a little more but I understand that they last longer than submersible pumps. I can even run a dedicated 220 line out to the pump to reduce the electrical expense.

The more I read on the forum the more ideas I get for my ponds. I am considering a bog filter, especially after reading the post on the forum that gives very specific directions. My Lily pond is much lower than my koi pond so I worry about overflow and running a pump dry. I can use a gravity feed to the Lily pond once I raise the walls to an equal height of the main pond.

 

[Cilyjr]

soaking your pump is good to keep them alive. i do the same with the pumps in my reef tank. you can also use muertiac acid for a much faster soak ( about an hour ) but they require a really good rinsing after. and always remove any rubber rings!