Mesh Modding H&S A150-2001

[Maxx]

After talking with Skimmer Whisperer, Nah20, and Willy about mesh modding my H&S A150-2001, I finally did it.

H&S A150-2001 specs/detail

The skimmer is rated for a 220 gallon tank. I had been told by several people that H&S is pretty honest about their skimmer ratings, so I bought it with the idea of running it on my 170 gallon system, (120 display tank, 30 gallon sump, 20 gallon satellite display tank...doesnt account for displacement of water by rock, inhabitants etc).

It wasnt pulling out nasty funky stuff. Dont get me wrong, I wasnt gonna drink what it was pulling out, but what it was pulling out wasnt gonna make you retch either...One of the guys in my local reef club has a 1000 gallon system with a larger H&S re-circ skimmer, and the stuff his pulls is absolutely vile smelling. So I figured I wasnt skimming as much as I could.

Willy mesh modded Nah20's older ER 8-3 and she says its pulling out much much more stuff now. So on a recent trip to Indiana, I met up with Nah20 and Willy and learned what I needed to do to mesh mod my skimmer.

Nick

 

[Maxx]

First I ordered a new replacement pinwheel impellor from Fins Reef for the skimmer. I wanted a back up in case something went wrong.

Here is the stock impellor

I then used a pair of cutting pliers and a small razor/box cutter to remove the pins from the impellor.

 

[Maxx]

Then I cut small squares of Enkamat and tied them to the impellor. I used 3 layers of Enkamat, and I used the type of Enkamat that has a flat side. The top layer of Enkamat is rough side, (not flat) out/up. The annoying part of this whole thing was threading the fishing line through the holes in the impellor. I needed to drill 4 small holes in the impellor so I could have two points to tie the mesh down to per side. Its tied off on 4 points in a N S E W sort of orientation.

Then I trimmed the mesh down until it was same width/diameter as the impellor wheel. Willy cautioned me that not doing so would cause start up issues with the pump due to the mesh scraping on the inside.

Nick

 

[Maxx]

I then used Dwyer Airflow Meter to measure and compare the stock pinwheel impellor and the new mesh modded impellor for air intake.

Close up of the back side to show how I fit it together

This meter is freakin huge...and is actually much bigger than I needed...but I got it for a good price and didnt realize just what I really needed....even though Skimmer Whisperer told me earlier...

Here is a comparison pic between my size 12 foot and the Dwyer RMC 103-SSV airflow meter

Nick

 

[Maxx]

Now for the important part...

The stock impellor is rated by the manufacturer to pull 500 lph,(Liters Per Hour) which translates out to 17.65 scfh, (Standard Cubic Feet per Hour).

Using the Dwyer I found the stock impellor was pulling about 15 scfh since the ball barely moved at all.

The mesh mod impellor jumped up to 20 scfh.

So there is an increase in air pulled into my skimmer after the mesh mod.

I'm having trouble converting the scfh to lph....anyone help me out?

I'd like to convert it simply for sake of comparison between stock claimed manufacturers numbers and the meshmod numbers.

Nick

 

[Maxx]

I found a coversion table to help me out

http://www.generatorjoe.net/html/ValueConverter.html

The stock pinwheel impellor is pulling 424.8 lph
The mesh mod impellor is pulling 566.3 lph

Thats an increase of 141.5 lph or 25%.

Nick

 

[Willy]

Sounds like things went well for you on the mod! 25% is a nice little increase for next to nothing cost wise. Near the bottom of THIS page is an .xls conversion chart you can download and use offline. And HERE is a FREE office suite you can download if you don't have a program that will open excel spreadsheets.

 

[Maxx]

Thanks Scott, couldnt have done it without your help.

Only problem is that I'm greedy and I want to be able to pull more air through there...

SkimmerWhisperer said he was able to pull 720 lph out of the same pump on a Deltec skimmer....

Nick

 

[Adam Black]

Is there a certain test you are suppose to use(fishing wire)?

 

[Maxx]

I dont know...I used 30 lb test for mine and double knotted it.

Nick

 

[dhnguyen]

FYI fishing line will loosen after some time so you might have to re-tighten it.

That or use small zip/cable ties as they work much better IME.

 

[Willy]

Thanks Scott, couldnt have done it without your help.

Only problem is that I'm greedy and I want to be able to pull more air through there...

SkimmerWhisperer said he was able to pull 720 lph out of the same pump on a Deltec skimmer....

Nick

I am just a mere apprentice, I will have to let the masters take you the rest of the way :lol::lol:

 

[Willy]

FYI fishing line will loosen after some time so you might have to re-tighten it.

That or use small zip/cable ties as they work much better IME.

I believe Nick used a small drop of super glue on the knots. I have done the same thing with my mesh mods, after talking to Nick about securing the material.

 

[DonW]

Take the meter readings with a grain of salt. They are great for comparison only, the rmc is calibrated at 20psi and the more popular rma at 14 psi we are measuring at 0 psi so atmospheric pressure is all the pressure we have. The rma at slp reads alomost 4 scfh to high.

Don

 

[Skimmy]

mkay, well, first off i noticed that you put the knots for the mesh underneath the impellar, i would cut them off and redo the knots on the top and trim down, they might be causing drag on the impellar, and besides they will break easier with the knots rubbing against the impellar well.
also, i seem to remember using 2 layers of mesh for that pump, so i would experiment with the readings between 2 and 3 layers.
also, make the flat side of the mesh the top, not bottom of the mesh layers, that way it wont interfear with the volute as much.
hopefully these tricks will get you closer to 700lph

 

[Skimmy]

also, dhnguyen made me hip to the trick of slightly melting the mesh with a heat gun, then smashing with a heavy book, etc. to flatten the layers, an excellent idea!!!
if you look at an impellar from an ATI bubble master, the innovators of the mesh tech, they use only 2 layers of a thinner, smaller mesh layer on their impellars, so there is more room for the mixing of the air and water in the volute/impellar well, then there is mesh:idea:
this is why pumps with a larger impellar well work better for mesh.

 

[Maxx]

FYI fishing line will loosen after some time so you might have to re-tighten it.

That or use small zip/cable ties as they work much better IME.

Gotcha, will try to find some small zip ties.

Take the meter readings with a grain of salt. They are great for comparison only, the rmc is calibrated at 20psi and the more popular rma at 14 psi we are measuring at 0 psi so atmospheric pressure is all the pressure we have. The rma at slp reads alomost 4 scfh to high.

Good to know Don, thanks. I knew this wasnt going to be the most accurate, but I didnt realize this was going to be so far off, thats about 113 lph off!

Don

mkay, well, first off i noticed that you put the knots for the mesh underneath the impellar, i would cut them off and redo the knots on the top and trim down, they might be causing drag on the impellar, and besides they will break easier with the knots rubbing against the impellar well.
also, i seem to remember using 2 layers of mesh for that pump, so i would experiment with the readings between 2 and 3 layers.
also, make the flat side of the mesh the top, not bottom of the mesh layers, that way it wont interfear with the volute as much.
hopefully these tricks will get you closer to 700lph

I made sure the knots werent touching the sides of the impellor well before I put it together, but I will change things. I'll give the small zip ties a shot, and if that doesnt work, I'll go back to the fishing line. Either way, I'll move the knots or zip locks to the top of the impellor. I'll also test the difference between 2 and three layers of mesh to see if that increases effectiveness.

also, dhnguyen made me hip to the trick of slightly melting the mesh with a heat gun, then smashing with a heavy book, etc. to flatten the layers, an excellent idea!!!
if you look at an impellar from an ATI bubble master, the innovators of the mesh tech, they use only 2 layers of a thinner, smaller mesh layer on their impellars, so there is more room for the mixing of the air and water in the volute/impellar well, then there is mesh:idea:
this is why pumps with a larger impellar well work better for mesh.

I dont have a heat gun, but could use my wife's hair dryer for a bit, see if that helps....

Also, anyone got a place where I could buy a Dwyer RMA-22 SSV? Theya re smaller and from what Don W says, more accurate for this stuff anyway....

Nick

 

[luke33]

You can use a lighter to do the same thing.

Do you have a killawatt by chance to see what wattages your getting now. I'd bet the mesh is pulling around 20w if the pw was pulling 13.

 

[Maxx]

Nope, dont have a killawatt....want one though...

Why would it be pulling more electricity?

Nick

 

[luke33]

Mesh weighs the impeller down a bit imo. Always pulls more than a pw.