? on coralife super skimmer

[robertm5]

i was doing a routine cleaning on my super skimmer and broke the ceramic shaft in the pump, where can i find and purchase a new one? i emailed esuweb.com i haven't received a responce it's been two weeks. :help:

 

[sly]

Are you talking about this skimmer?

Is it the gray piece that broke? It looks like a PVC pipe from Home Depot or whoever would work as a replacement.

 

[robertm5]

thats the skimmer i have but the piece i broke is the ceramic shaft that is inside the needle wheel pump. where the heck can i find one? it's been broke for awhile now i cant locate one anywhere.

 

[sly]

What brand is the pump? Most manufactures offer replacement shafts and impellers for every pump they sell. You should be able to contact the manufacturer and get them to sell you a complete pump rebuild kit.

 

[robertm5]

i just talked to them and they are going to send me one for $42 dollars. (ouch) thank you for you help

 

[cgrant]

Yup, I had one snap on me but luckily it was only a couple of days old and they replaced it.
42 bucks seems kinda steep just for that ceramic shaft! :scared:

 

[chipmaker]

Call coralife and ask to talk to Roland, he is the tech that handles the coral life products. There is no way in he double ell that a ceramic impeller shaft is gonna cost that kind of money. 3 or 4 maybe 5 bucks tops is about what it would run. Odds are whoever you talked to is gonna sell you an entire pump.

 

[tx reef]

That's what I am thinking. $42 would have to be for a new pump. You don't need a whole new pump, just the shaft.

 

[robertm5]

good news, i called them back and talked to a different person and they told me to fax a copy of the receipt, address and a description of the part and they would send me a new one for free and it's shipping out today.

 

[fbm]

Good news, you don't find to many customer satified stories anymore.

 

[rbrockm1]

don't you love it when it works out like that. New free part. not have to buy a new, good luck with the new part

 

[chipmaker]

When ever calling Coral life always ask to talk to Roland. He is perhaps the most fair easy to get along with tech support guy their is at any company. Coralife is excellent at providing customer service and do their best to keep a customer happy.

 

[chipmaker]

Just a heads up for use in emergencies etc. Lots of pumps today use ceramic shafts, and they are fragile. Most times yu can get a replacement shaft, but sometimes it may take awhile. This time frame may not be too mujch of an issue with say a skimmer but on a main pump it could get to be an issue. The ceramic shaft can easily be replaced with a stainless steel rod on a temporary basis. Its not gong to corrode up that quick and will not hurt a thing. Stainless is what wsa used prior to them going to ceramic shafts. It matters not what alloy welding rod is used, as even the worst monst unsuitbale stainless steel rod will tanke many months until it becomes corroded. I have pulled lots of pumps and power heads apart and find that either the 3/32 or 1/8" or 5/32 rods will cover most all pumps used out there thats commonly found in use. Odds are a welding shop or supplier will give you one for free. They are normally 36 inches long. Some places will even have titanium rods and then there is always carbide electrodes as well. So there really is no need to get behind the 8 ball from a simple pump shaft getting broken. SImply cut it to length and install just like it wa a genuine replacement shaft. Even if that temporary stainless steel shaft is slightly undersize in diameter the pump will still work, just fine.
I have the capability to grind ceramic myself so making a replacement shaft is not a big deal. YOu can buy all sort os shapes ands sizes of preformed ceramics to machine grind what yu need, but snipping off a piiece of stainless steel welding rod is certianly much quicker and easier until I get time to make a proper ceramic one. I have done it for myself as well as others quite a few times and the local LFS here sometimes gets kind of heavy handed when they clean their pumps, so now they too keep a few stainless steel rods around for those emergency uses.

 

[robertm5]

thank you guys/gals for your help, and always keep your receipts.

:joy: