Life of Osmolator Pump..w & w/out kalk

[ralphie16]

I saw roger in a previous post you said the pumps in the osmolator will last about 2-3 years. do you have any idea how this changes when you use limewater?

[rvitko]

It will be at least cut in half and could be as short as 6 months. It depends on the concentration and if the pump ingests any slurry or powder.

[Fizzio]

Roger would it increase the life of the pump if you cleaned it with vinegar monthly to avoid any buildup..I was wanting to use my 20 gallon pail with a lid on it and mix kalk and use my osmo to top off..Thanks Dave

[rvitko]

The problem is mainly one of the caustic alkali attacking the seal. The pump is a simple DC hobby motor waterproofed and the shaft comes through a rubber seal. It is two rings of EPDM. The high pH slowly destroys the rubber, I am not sure cleaning would have much effect. Once wet the motor is toast.

[ralphie16]

can we replace the pump with another brand not tunze? or are there some kind of components in it that communicate with the osmolator control panel that make it a necessary component of this ATO system?

[ralphie16]

also roger, if we use the tunze kalk dispenser, the life of the pump will NOT be effected because it never comes in contact with the limewater right? versus just putting the pump in a container with limewater directly....

[rvitko]

Right, it doesn't touch the kalk if you use the dispenser. The main problem is the pump has to run on 9VDC 800ma. There aren't many options. We do offer a switched socket 3150.11, this piece lets you run any pump you wish off of 115V up to 150W.

[ecojoe]

I've used an osmolator with kalk for over 2 years and the pump still works great.

[ralphie16]

DID YOU USE THE KALK REACTOR OR HAVE IT SIT IN THE CONTAINER DIRECTLY WITH THE LIMEWATER ECOJOE?

[ecojoe]

I just use an old salt bucket with kalk, the pump sits right in the kalkwasser. I try to have it so the pump doesn't sit directly on the bottom where any powder collects, but it is submersed in the limewater continuously.