Red Dragon return, thoughts a year later

[slief]

Hi Scott, A - OK in Big Sky Country?

Best move we ever could have done and the timing could not have been better! Absolutely love it out here. I do however miss my big reef tank but after 33 or so years of non stop salt water tanks, the break from the hobby (more like lifestyle) hasn’t been so bad. Once we are done with our remodel here I’ll revisit reef tanks.

 

[Snoopy 67]

Happy for "The Honeymooners".
Stay well.
Vinny

 

[BradB]

I finally had time to give the pump a good cleaning. I was skeptical because the pump looked almost new when I took it apart, there just wasn't much to clean. However it starts fine now, and I had to dial back the output 12 watts, so it definitely did something.

 

[BCSreef]

How many feet of head are you pumping against?

 

[BradB]

10

 

[BCSreef]

OK, I may have your answer. The reason I asked is that I had the same issue with a PanWorld 200PS. I have a basement sump (~14 ft head) and when the power would go out for short periods (< a few minutes), pump would not restart pumping. Instead it would hum and then overheat and shut down. What I finally figure out is that when power went out, the flow from tank would reverse siphon and spin the impeller slowly the opposite way. When power came back on, the pump could not overcome the inertia of the heavy magnet/impeller. The fan was no longer cooling and I assume the thermal protection kicked in and shut the pump down. I figured it out when I noticed during simulated outages, that the fan was spinning the wrong way with no power. I installed a check valve on the return line and that solved the issue. I have had 4-5 short outages and many simulated outages and the pump starts right up now.

Hope that helps, Bob

 

[BradB]

I am surprised this happened with a PanWorld 200PS - I actually had one long before the Red Dragon and it was the most reliable pump I owned, but a constant 290 watts on my electric bill makes the Red Dragon look cheap.

I have had similar issues with timing the restart (but I don't remember if it was with the Red Dragon) - if the power is out momentarily the pump might not be able to overcome the back flow. This is not a practical issue with a UPS, I suppose it is possible my UPS lasts exactly 64 minutes and a power outage lasts exactly 65 minutes, but it is unlikely to happen. As long as the water finishes draining, this isn't an issue. I haven't tried to simulate this with the Red Dragon, but am guessing it would start eventually even if it didn't start on first try.

I've considered a check value, but there is a lot of water in the pipe. If the pump stops for an extended period of time (which could be maintenance) that water just sits there without any movement or oxygen. I am not comfortable adding it back into my reef.

 

[BCSreef]

I too was surprised. So much so, I figured pump was bad and I replaced with it a new one. Same issue!

I didn't realize you had a UPS. I do have a DIY UPS which will run the 200PS for 6 hours, but the transfer switch isn't fast enough to prevent backflow. I would think a UPS for electronics switches over fast enough to prevent backflow.

I'm not familiar with Red Dragons, so I may be off base here, but thought I would share my experience.

I didn't think about the standing water in the return line. I agree, not good to add back to system. Although the check valve is only meant to cover the fraction of a second it takes for the transfer switch to flip.