MAG2 on my kalk reactor chatters like crazy! Any ideas?

[NeveSSL]

Hi all!

I have a MAG2 pump for circulating my kalk reactor. Its done a great job so far... but I've noticed lately that it just wants to chatter a lot. Not sure if thats a technical term for it or not, but it has a hard time starting up for about 30 seconds and chattering is a good descriptive term of what it sounds like.

While its doing this it sounds like the impeller is getting stuck or something.

I thought it may have been dirty as I've had it on here without cleaning since January... but when I took it apart, it was very clean. Just a tiny bit of kalk on the inside.

One peculiar thing I did notice is that this impeller only has 4 blades on it. On all of the pictures I've seen of replacement impeller assemblies, the impeller has 6 I believe on it. I know its more than mine at any rate. :)

Any thoughts on this? Should I just get a new impeller assembly? Or maybe a new MAG2? I'm not really sure whats causing this as the pump was cleaned and still does it.

Thanks much!

Brandon

[crumbletop]

Hi, Brandon.

When you cleaned the pump, did you pull out the full impeller? Calcium can cake around the magnet or at the end of the magnet and can cause problems. This can either be on the magnet itself, or in the well that the magnet fits into. You might want to try a good vinegar soak of the impeller + pump (taken apart).

Kalk reactors are hard on pumps. The more so when slurry is pumped through them (as it grinds things like sand). Some reactor designs have the pump intake low enough on the reactor that it pulls in too much slurry. This is also an issue if the intake is higher up, but your mix cycle has the pump on too long.

RE the mag 2. I have not used one so I don't know what your impeller used to look like or should look like. If the vinegar soak doesn't fix the issue, then you might just try a new impeller in there. If the issue is the slurry acting like sandpaper, then the well for the impeller in the pump may have been ground out to where a new impeller will not help much.

Hope that helps.

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the reply, Jack.

I did clean the whole impeller assembly as well as cleaning the pump where the magnet goes into.

I may try a vinegar soak and see how that does. But I've got a feeling you may be correct about the pump being ground out. I may just have to buy a new pump every once in a while! I guess I could just add it to my annual expenses. :lol:

Thanks again!

Brandon

[JRaquatics]

Did you take out the shaft from the magnet and clean it? sometimes I have to sand down the shaft to get the calcium buildup off.

[Lutefisk]

Something else you might consider. My kalk-stirring Mag 2 went through a number of good cleanings and kept on ticking. Eventually, however, it reached a point where it was making a lot of chattering noise when it did start and was unreliable about starting period.

I ended up buying a replacement impeller and it ran like new.

Punchline: clean the dickens out of it every so often, just like the other posts say, and eventually just replace it (I was able to run it for years before replacing an impeller).

Paul

[NeveSSL]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

I did not take the magnet off of the impeller. I didn't realize I could! I will try that.

Mine is to the point now to where it is unreliable. I may get a new impeller as they're only about $10 shipped on eBay and if that works, get a magnetic stirrer this summer and sell the MAG2. I think a magnetic stirrer would be a great solution and they're relatively easy to find on eBay for not too much $. :)

Thanks again for all the replies!

Branon

[Lutefisk]

My first kalk reactor had a magnetic stirrer. I won't do another. They don't have enough torque to stir a good load of kalk. They'd be alright if you just load a day or two's worth of kalk at a time but I drop in about 2 cups at a time and there is no way the standard lab stirer would handle that.


Paul

[NeveSSL]

Really? Hmmm... thats not so good. Maybe I should now start a new thread on how many people use them and how many have had problems.

Thanks for the reply.

Brandon

[rrcg50]

my mag 2 only had 4 blades on it