Extreme line skimmer update

[luke33]

Well, i've been running these guys since the get go and i have tested every meshmod, reducer and pw out there. And i've found another thing i'd like to share. PW vs MS. When you have one of these guys, we have all found out that meshwheel can be a major pain with restart, so after burning up two sicce's from overmeshing them to pull 50+ scfh :shock: I decided to use the pw. The pw has been pulling 24-32scfh hooked up to the skimmer depending on alot of different things. The latest things i've noticed with the pw. Run the skimmer in 10" for sure. On a swc/msx i've been getting 24scfh in 6", 28scfh in 8" and 30-32scfh in 10". I would imagine the 250 and 300 would do best in 10" water as well. Thats with the output submerged as well. You don't want to submerge it to much just an inch or two under the water is plenty, heck as long as its submerged a few mm's its fine. With the mini s cone i run i was getting 24scfh in 6", 28-30scfh in 8" and 33-32scfh in 10". Now the interesting thing. If you take the reducer which is flush with the outside of the input on the sicce and push it in a few mm the pump goes from 32scfh to 37-40scfh. Thats quite an improvement imo. So in 10" water i'm getting 22w at 37-40scfh with a pw, no start up issues at all. I would imagine if you shoved the reducer in a few mm with any of these extreme line skimmers you would get around 4-5scfh more. This would be huge with the 160 and 200 : ) Look how low the water level is on this guy now. The foam head starts about an inch below the neck connection. Just wanted to pass this along.

Here it is with reducer flush with outside of the pump input pulling 28scfh in 8" water. Notice the foam head starts above the neck connection or right on it.

Now notice the water level 1" below the neck connection in 10" water with the reducer pushed in a few mm's.

Hope this helps some people get that extra bump in skimmate production. I know 5-10 scfh's doesn't sound like a ton, but it really is quite a bit.

28scfh = 800lph
37scfh = 1050lph

 

[Myteemouse]

reducer in ??
How would one do this I have the 250 and am using the PW..
I would like to get the foam head a little better if possible..

 

[gotfish]

Same here, what reducer are you referring to? A pic would be great.

 

[fatboyt123]

same here!!

 

[luke33]

The pump's all have a reducer that looks like this. Its glued in the end. If you pop it out and push it in a few mm from where its at now it will give you 5-10scfh more with the pw only. Mesh is best flush with the outside. make sense?

 

[Myteemouse]

the thing in your hand in the pic?

 

[luke33]

Yep, you pop that out of the pump intake and push it in until your smaller diameter portion is under the air injection hole. Then you'll get more air.

 

[Crystalclear125]

mines already flush with outside?

 

[luke33]

mines already flush with outside?

Yep, they are all flush with the outside. If you run mesh thats fine. If you use the pinwheel you don't want it to be flush. You want it to be pushed in a few mm's until the smaller part of the reducer is underneath the air injection hole.

 

[Skimmy]

nice find luke! are you using the stock pinwheel to get the 40 scfh?


...you skimmer geek!!

 

[luke33]

Yea, i'm using stock everything. I tried the atb ppw but it wouldn't start up. It works for some sicce's and not for others. If i had to guess there are some batches that work, and some that don't. The sicce's are made in batches so there can be a mm or two difference in impeller size.

 

[Myteemouse]

will work on that this weekend.
Do have to "break" the glue loose or will it pop out
(not glued)

 

[luke33]

Its pry glued in. I took the rubber handle part of some plyers and popped it out, then pushed it in a few mm's.

 

[luke33]

I've also noticed that the less slack in your tubing the better off you are as well. I had a good extra 5" on my mini cone. I cut it off and gained about 4 more scfh, so i'm now pulling 42scfh hooked up with the stock pw and reducer. Pretty wild how low the water level has to be in this guy. Its a huge foam head!

 

[Skimmy]

so 42 scfh is with the stock pw, and venturi just pushed in a little, the excess trimmed of the air hose, and sitting in 10"...logged!

there's really not much that's "mini" about this cone, is there...lol
it's bigger than the 160 isnt it?

 

[luke33]

Yea, its all stock, just small mods and ther not really mods to me. I noticed with the long tube it made the air meter bounce a bit. With it shortened it doesn't do this. Its larger than the 160 but the footprint is nearly identical. The base of the cone is 9" diameter. I hooked up a air pump that does 40lpm and restricted it to 70scfh and it was nuts. It was pretty fun too. I am sure if you push in the restrictor on the 160 and cut the tube you can get 36-40scfh. The 200 pry 32-36 and the 250 pry 30-34scfh. Thats with the pw.

 

[braddo]

Okay, this thread has been pretty good about sticking to a single unit of measurement until that last post. For everyone else out there that get tripped up like me reading these skimmer threads where the numbers switch between metric and imperial here is a quick reference conversion chart.

 

[luke33]

Sorry....fellow Hoosier Randy Stacy Chart
http://www.randystacye.com/images/diyventuri/AirSCFHConversion.xls

 

[gotfish]

Luke, in order to cut the tubing, did you turn the pump to have the intake facing 9 o'clock? Meaning the tube is pointing straight up. If not, doesn't it put a sharp bend in the tube cutting off air?

 

[luke33]

Gotfish, the mini cone has the pump on it like the 160, so its under the body. The tubing has a sharp 90 degree in it then straight up. There is a bend, but the tubing doesn't kink. So pull it as tight as you can without kinking the tubing : )