poor output

[createdlight]

Ok i need some help, as i am at a lost,as to what the problem could be.
I have the reeflo snapper external return pump, which has been running since Dec, it has always had very good return flow out of the two returns. Just recently the output has been very weak. I took the pump apart, thinking something was clogging the impeller, i found nothing wrong, but changed out the impeller anyhow, i did find the pump shaft seal leaking today, i didn't have a new seal on hand, so i just cleaned up everything. So far it is not leaking!
i will have to order a seal kit for it. Anyhow i have a pipe teed off the main output pipe coming out of the pump, the tee off goes to the sink, to drain water out for w/c. Well the pressure/flow seems very good, when bypassing output to sink. So it does not seem to be the pump. So i am at a lost, as to where the problem could be. any help would be appreciated

thanks gary

[createdlight]

bump

[greech]

So is the "T" closed off except when you do a water change or are you doing continual water changes with a top off of some sort? Assume there is a valve or something along with the "T"? If the pump is ok, it must be something in the return piping.

[createdlight]

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y73/createdlight/PLUMBING.jpg


as you can see from plumbing photo, if i turn off valve going to returns and open valve going to sink, and run pump i have very good pressure/flow. But in normal mode, sink valve closed and returns valve open, the pressure coming out of the turns don't seem to equal the same pressure/flow that i have coming out of sink piping. I used to have good pressure/flow coming out of these returns, now it acts like something is restricting it.

[greech]

If you used to have good flow then it really can only be 2 things. (1) The pump is going out or (2) there is something in your return line(s) that is slowing the flow. If you hadn't had previous success with this pump I might say the difference you are seeing between the sink outlet and the return nozzles is due to head loss since the returns are higher than the sink and the pump has to work harder to reach that height. You also have a few twists and turns which will also add to the head loss.

Not sure how long of a pipe is running from the "t" to the sink but maybe move the valve just to the right of the "t" to prent the flow of water all the way to sink?

What kind of pump are you running, what size system is this and how high does the pump need to go before it reaches the returns?

[Reverend Reefer]

man i hate plumbing, gets so confusing. i guess the only thing to my eyes is that the vertical distance, at least in the diagram, going to the sink is less than the vertical distance returning to your display. the other thing is that there are 2 outputs and 3 additional 90 degree turns in the piping going to the return (not to mention that some of the water will go up to where the sink valve is before its stopped. so the pressure going to the sink will be very strong compared to the 2 return outputs. that being said, i know little about your return pump, other than its an awesome and expensive pump that you would think, should handle what you're trying to accomplish. maybe something is clogging the many 90 degree angles as it goes to the return route.

[createdlight]

If you used to have good flow then it really can only be 2 things. (1) The pump is going out or (2) there is something in your return line(s) that is slowing the flow. If you hadn't had previous success with this pump I might say the difference you are seeing between the sink outlet and the return nozzles is due to head loss since the returns are higher than the sink and the pump has to work harder to reach that height. You also have a few twists and turns which will also add to the head loss.

Not sure how long of a pipe is running from the "t" to the sink but maybe move the valve just to the right of the "t" to prent the flow of water all the way to sink?

What kind of pump are you running, what size system is this and how high does the pump need to go before it reaches the returns?

I did have previous success with this pump, As for the pipe run to the sink, the sink sit right next to the tank. the height of the tank is not an issue, if it were i would not have had previous success with this pump. I do believe as you are stating that something is restricting in the return piping, but what could get past the pump an clog up the returns and or nozzles, is there an easy way to check them?

[createdlight]

man i hate plumbing, gets so confusing. i guess the only thing to my eyes is that the vertical distance, at least in the diagram, going to the sink is less than the vertical distance returning to your display. the other thing is that there are 2 outputs and 3 additional 90 degree turns in the piping going to the return (not to mention that some of the water will go up to where the sink valve is before its stopped. so the pressure going to the sink will be very strong compared to the 2 return outputs. that being said, i know little about your return pump, other than its an awesome and expensive pump that you would think, should handle what you're trying to accomplish. maybe something is clogging the many 90 degree angles as it goes to the return route.

We had very good flow with the returns, so good we had to throttle it back some. which the pump manufacture suggests it good for the seal life, or helps for longer seal life. so i would not say that height is an issue.
anyhow for a measurement from the bottom of the tank stand where the sump and pump are , to the top of the returns is 5'2". But as i stated earlier never was an issue until about 2/3 weeks ago

[Reverend Reefer]

without dismantling the whole thing to see if there's something clogging one of the return pipes, i'm not sure what else you could do. maybe there's a "snake" like thing like a rotorouter with bristles on it that you could snake through the return pipes to see if there's a clog. if there is none, then it definitely the pump. i read once of someone taking off their pumps and running it backwards but i'm not sure what that would accomplish since you have gravity on your side running it backwards but maybe that might give you some insight?

[greech]

Not sure how long the tank has been running but some pretty nasty stuff can grown inside a return pipe over time. I would see if you can find someone to loan you another pump before I started to cut any pumbing. Disconnecting the pump and trying to blow water down is a good idea too. I would think if there was somthing in there, the reverse flow might blow it out.

[createdlight]

Hate to say it , but i still have very poor return flow! :( . I did buy another return pump, for two reasons... first is my return pump seal was leaking, which i took apart, and not having a seal kit, just cleaned it up and tried it out, I found nothing plugging old pump, seal did not leak after a clean up, but i still had poor return flow. Wanting to have a back up pump on hand, i bought a reeflo super dart gold 4300 gph, still poor return flow, So that only leads to a plug in main return piping. The question now is can i drain the returns in the tank without drainning the whole tank, to disconnect the piping?

thanks gary