new pumps

[DJ88]

Two MAK4's all plumbed in now. [img]smile.gif[/img]

[Delphinus]

What are the advantages of MAK4 pumps over say, their equivalent Little Giant model? (Or is there an equivalent LG model?)

Noise, heat, maintenance, longevity, less power consumption, lower purchase price, higher head, more flow, any or all of the above?

Thanks ... just curious

[DJ88]

Tony,

The MAK pumps are very quiet. They are a low power consuming pump (110W) for a fairly high GPH pressure rated pump. 1,190 gph @ 4 feet. Also they are $20 more than the 4MDQX-SC.

I haven't run a 4MDQX but the ones I have heard are louder than the MAK. How much I can't say unless I was to run them side by side.

[ 21 July 2002, 16:44: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[Doug]

Hey Darren, I have a pair of Little Giants, I would swap you. :D

[reefburnaby]

Darren,

Do you think your mak-4 is as quiet as an Ampmaster ?

I am a bit puzzled, but are you running your Ampmaster and your mak-4 at the same time ? That's some serious water flow.

- Victor.

[canadawest]

Hey Victor, where have you been? LOL

Darren is chucking his Ampmaster because it was defective and leaking all over the place (bad seals). So back it is going for a full refund, and he has decided to go with two MAK pumps instead of the single Ampmaster. (One for circ and one for skimmer I believe?)

[reefburnaby]

Hi,

I was on holidays. I went back to my hometown in Kitimat (up in the pacific northwest of BC) to see some family and friends.

Leaky seals...I thought they had a fix for those pumps. Put in some new seals and you are set.

- Victor.

[DJ88]

Do you think your mak-4 is as quiet as an Ampmaster

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">If I were to guess how much of a noise difference there is I'd say maybe 1db. And concidering human hearing can't differentiate a 1db increase, I"d say it's pretty close. I have a possible explanation for this tho. I'll explain at the end of this. :D

are you running your Ampmaster and your mak-4 at the same time

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">No Ampmaster is gone. I have two MAK4's now. one for return and one for skimmer.

I thought they had a fix for those pumps. Put in some new seals and you are set

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">Mine had the new seals. :confused:

Oh well.

I do have some thoughts on all of this.

When I first bought this pump I did some power draw tests on it. and was gettign a much higher wattage than what the factory passed on. I have some ideas where this would come from. Especially now seeing the MAK's in action. And coupled with the information available online about other failures of this pumps seals and some time locking up.

One reason for a motor to draw more power than it is rated for it increased resistance. I have been thinking and I honestly believe that the seal for this pump was restricting the rotation of the shaft.

Just before tearing the AM3K out I diverted all of the water flow to my bullet 3 skimmer. Now fully keeping in mind that the pump isn't pressure rated I knew I would not get a high volume of water passing through my skimmer. I figured maybe double what I had before. When I ran the pump I had almost the same flow through the skimmer return into my sump as running the return as well. I estimate that was about 700 GPH give or take. When I threw a MAK4 on even with the beckett I was getting close to 1000 GPH out. A strong jet of water out of the 1" flex PVC where with the AM3K I had a good flow. Not a lot of pressure. WIth this I had to majorly open up the gate valve with the MAK4 so the skimmer was not constanly overflowing. It is a complete and utter white out in my skimmer now. Tons of bubbles.

with all of this I can see now I was not getting the rated flow out of my AM3K. Possible solutions were head pressure decreasing flow. In my return I didn't have much in the way of head pressure. 10' tops. I cna't run my MAK4 return fully open yet. I have to wait for the sand to settle again with the new cirulation pump.

Another supporting idea to this seal resisting the motion of the shaft is people who have had leaks talking about the pump not restarting after it shutting down. Yet when the seal is replaced it starts fine and in most cases it runs better. More flow etc.

All of these thoughts and stuff have me believing that it was the rear seal causing all of this.

Now my reasons for not just replacing the seal.

If this thing can fail after 1.5 months of use with a NEW seal how long will the next one last. I am not a professional at installing these. If I do it wrong or something breaks I will end up paying out of the nose to ship this pump to Florida to be fixed. If I replace the seal myself I am betting that my warranty will be partially voided as it was not a Dolphin repair.

With all that said I didn't have piece of mind. Not even close. I paid good money for this pump and expected to get what I paid for. I wasn't satisfied. I have piece of mind now. I know MAK's are reliable. So there I will stay.

Don't get me wrong.. AM3K's kick some serious a$$ for GPH. As a clsoed loop I would use one. Once I am 100% certain the seal issue is fixed.

[ 21 July 2002, 17:05: Message edited by: DJ88 ]

[reefburnaby]

DJ88,

Thanks for the info. I was going to pick up one of these AMP3Ks over the fall/winter, but I guess I will chose something else. Thanks.

- Victor.