Vertex Calcium Reactor Pump Replacement Build

[chill903]

A couple of months ago, my nearly new Vertex calcium reactor pump bit the dust. At the time I had no idea Vertex had gone belly up, so imagine my frustration when I couldn't find a replacement for the OEM pump. Apparently, Vertex sourced Sicce Syncra 1.5's as the pump, and outfitted it with custom metric fittings.

I was able to source (from China) matches for the PVC fittings, and I modified some Home Depot PVC connections to make a near exact clone of the Vertex OEM pump. I hit a bunch of snags in trying to reengineer the pump. Here's the process:

1. Source the PVC union from Chinese manufacturer (and wait nearly 2 months for arrival. Fingers crossed it's a match for the Vertex union...).
2. Trim down Home Depot PVC riser to correct length to mate with 1/2" pump threads and metric union (slip)
3. Realize the PVC riser is 0.83"/21.3mm OD (imperial PVC) when you need 20 mm (metric PVC) OD slip fitting
4. Use drill press as a lathe to shave PVC to fit the metric slip fitting
5. Test fit and glue it all back together
6. Reassemble the pump and hope for no leaks!

It's working great so far. If anyone else is interested, it is doable to make a replacement pump. It would be better if there were a "conversion kit" of sorts that would only require you to supply your own Sicce pump.

In the attached photo of both pumps, the pump on the left is the new one. The pump on the right is the broken OEM Vertex pump.

 

[Ron Reefman]

Nice job of a DIY repair and thanks for sharing.

 

[ShadowR55]

Anyway I can buy the parts from you?

 

[chill903]

Anyway I can buy the parts from you?

Which part(s) do you need? The union is the only thing I had to get from China.

 

[preerecord]

Do u have a link to everything u bought?
I would love to do this as well as I have 3 Vertex skimmers. But to be safe build what u did. Would u mine sharing where u sourced the fittings from?
Thanks

 

[preerecord]

D

Which part(s) do you need? The union is the only thing I had to get from China.

Do u have a link to everything u bought?
I would love to do this as well as I have 3 Vertex skimmers. But to be safe build what u did. Would u mine sharing where u sourced the fittings from? There is hope because of you.
Thanks

 

[chill903]

Do u have a link to everything u bought?
I would love to do this as well as I have 3 Vertex skimmers. But to be safe build what u did. Would u mine sharing where u sourced the fittings from? There is hope because of you.

The PVC riser came from Home Depot. The UPC code is listed on the photo above. Here's a link:

Home Depot 4 inch PVC Riser

The 20mm union came from AliExpress. Here’s a link:

Sanking 20mm Union

The pump is a standard Sicce Syncra 1.5. I glued all the parts together once I was sure everything was dimensioned properly and fit well.

 

[preerecord]

The PVC riser came from Home Depot. The UPC code is listed on the photo above. Here's a link:

Home Depot 4 inch PVC Riser

The 20mm union came from AliExpress. Here’s a link:

Sanking 20mm Union

The pump is a standard Sicce Syncra 1.5. I glued all the parts together once I was sure everything was dimensioned properly and fit well.

U said u used a drill press. What was the reasoning behind that if u don’t mind. Because I will have to get one.
I appreciate this. what did the drill press do to the fitting?

 

[chill903]

The drill press only acted as a lathe to spin the riser. As the riser was spinning, I just used the sandpaper to “slim” down the riser outer diameter to fit the 20mm union inner diameter.

It wouldn’t be hard to rig up something to a normal drill to chuck up the riser. I have a drill press, but I couldn’t justify buying a lathe just to trim down the riser.

 

[preerecord]

The drill press only acted as a lathe to spin the riser. As the riser was spinning, I just used the sandpaper to “slim” down the riser outer diameter to fit the 20mm union inner diameter.

It wouldn’t be hard to rig up something to a normal drill to chuck up the riser. I have a drill press, but I couldn’t justify buying a lathe just to trim down the riser.

Ok so u was just making the piece fit inside, but the threads were fine?
im sorry if I’m asking so many questions as I do appreciate your help. I just ordered the unions. I will probably have to look at your diagram again now that u explained that part.

 

[preerecord]

I see I have to just remove the face off the syncra
Just ordered one

 

[chill903]

Once you collect all the pieces, it will become obvious what needs to happen. The only true difficulty is trimming down the half inch PVC riser to fit the 20 mm union

 

[preerecord]

Once you collect all the pieces, it will become obvious what needs to happen. The only true difficulty is trimming down the half inch PVC riser to fit the 20 mm union

Ok got u. Once I get the pieces, may I contact u again if I have any problems?

 

[chill903]

Of course you may

 

[zie2695]

Ok so I ordered the union from your link and got confirmation of payment from my bank but no confirmation from aliexpress. Is that norrmal?

 

[preerecord]

Ok so I ordered the union from your link and got confirmation of payment from my bank but no confirmation from aliexpress. Is that norrmal?

I made an account and got confirmation thru my iPhone app.

 

[chill903]

I’ve never ordered anything from AliExpress that didn’t show up. It may take a few months, but eventually it gets here.

 

[preerecord]

I had to get the 6” cuz they didn’t have anymore.
So from your pic I see that one side is threaded into the pump and the other is glued to fitting, is that correct?

 

[chill903]

6 inch is fine. You'll be trimming it WAY down.

Yes the threaded end will go to the pump, and the other side will be a slip fit for the union.

Here's the rub: the riser you (and I) bought are Imperial and the union is metric. The threads fit perfectly with the 1/2" Syncra pump outlet. You'll have to shave/mill off about 1.3mm from the outside diameter of the riser to make it fit the union. Once it's milled down smooth to the proper diameter, it will glue into the union just fine.

I'm not sure how/why Vertex made the original pump assembly the way they did. I suspect they got Sicce to give them a pump with a 20mm outlet--or they had special adapters molded. Mixing Imperial and metric fittings in a tight space is a nightmare.

 

[Smarkow]

Not an expert on plastic polymer vs pvc, but this would seem like a project ripe for 3D printing. Anybody know if this is possible?