Back from RAP today, long trip back. What greets me at my door? A brand new Aquabee pump courtesy of Phil Gilbert with PolypLabs who sent it out to me last week and who I had the pleasure to meet and chat with this weekend at RAP in Orlando.
That was the good news.
The first thing I did when I got home is go downstairs to the Fish Cave, new pump in hand, excited to finally get the Deltec PF601S Calcium Reactor back on line. I took it downstairs, found the two fittings that screw into the pump and proceeded to screw them in. The top one is straight and the bottom one has an elbow and a 1/4" volute pipe for the recirculating CO2. The top one went fine. I spun the bottom one on, slightly snugged it up to the o-ring and I heard the sound that we all know is never good - cracking plastic. It seems the thin, cheap hard plastic of the male fitting simply spiral cracked. I took it apart and you could see that this pump, and this fitting is of a quality that should not be on a piece of equipment that costs this much. Nice. OK, no worries, I have lots of plumbing parts so I figure I will just DIY a replacement with a matching bulkhead and my own little 1/4" fitting. NOPE. Guess what, all metric! dang! More days or weeks without a calcium reactor ahead of me.
At this point I have to tell you my opinion. After all, that is what these forums are for and specifically build threads like this. They are a place where people can get ideas, recommendations, and in this case HUGE cautions. I acquired this calcium reactor because of the fine Deltec reputation. And, I knew going in that there were some issues with the CR pumps, but was assured by Doug that they were dealt with already. Until it failed, I liked it a lot. But it seems I got a lemon, then could not get a single response from a company representative for weeks, and ultimately a rep from another country had to help me. Even then, when I had an issue I could fix with many other calcium reactors, due to the metric fittings, I was out of luck without going online, buying a bunch of metric PVC pieces, or simply waiting for Phil to send me a replacement. How depressing.
So, here is my reasoning why to avoid Deltec equipment at all costs if you live in the United States:
- Products that are shipped with known design issues for many years.
- No easy way to swap out the pump
- No reliable local representative to get support or parts
- Metric parts and pieces that make repairs near impossible in the USA without ordering online from specialty outfits.
I have sunk cost in this CR so short term I will see if Phil can send me a replacement fitting. Long term I will buy the metric parts and try and adapt it to use a more reliable and economical pump with more easily available fittings.
If you are in Canada or Europe some of the sting out of the above is lessened as there is better dealer support, and of course more easily available metric fittings.
