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    Thread: Blue eco drum upgrade

    1. #1
      Bryan_e_m is offline Member
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      Blue eco drum upgrade

      A couple weeks ago i had some issues with the push connect fittings not sealing causing the waste tray not to raise up. So I decieded to get rid of all of them. Since i was changing to stainless tubing I figured i would upsize it so I could get better pressure quicker and also install a larger check valve to help the piston come back faster.

      Everything but the check valve is 304 or 316ss. Check valve is brass as ss was too long lead time but I will probably change it out later.

      Don't like how the check valve line is bent but i ran out of time so I will have to get it next time. It rubs just slightly on the drum.

      Here are the pics.


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    2. #2
      kntry's Avatar
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      KOOOOLLLL! Ok, spill the beans.

      How did you get the drum out? Where did you get the quick connect and SS tubing? Did they screw into the existing holes in the RDF?

      I made up my mind tonight that I'm raising mine next week.
      Sandy
      CKK, KHA

    3. #3
      Bryan_e_m is offline Member
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      Its not too hard to do just time consuming. Everything is 10mm except the pop up waste lift plate and the drum drive bolt which are 13mm. Here is my steps as best I recall......... Remove uv light, undue and remove the wash bar, remove the pop up for the waste tray, undo the bolts UNDER the waste tray and remove (hard to see, just feel), remove overflow pipe, unbolt the bracket holding the pipe in place and that has the guide for the float, rotate out of the way of the piston, undue the piston bolt, disconnect the push fittings for piston, carefully remove piston, undue bottom support bracket for supply pipe and remove, remove the chicago coupler (brass part that has the twist lock) on the outside of the drum that connects to your water supply, undue push connectors from supply pipe, carefully remove supply pipe, undue bolt on drum drive, lift up (over where the drive end of the drum rides) and slide drum gear assembly into the drum, CAREFULLY remove drum as it is a tight fit.

      They are not push connect fittings they are tubing compression fittings 1/4 inch npt x 3/8 inch compression except the pop up which is 1/2 npt x 3/8 compression and the bulkhead fitting which was 3/8 compression x 3/8 compression. A friend had a bunch so they were free but you can check mcmasterr carr or grainger. They are NOT cheap. I would estimate this upgrade to cost 100-150 if you had to buy everything, $30-40 more if you have no tubing cutter or bender. I only paid for the 304 tubing ($25 amazon), the check valve ($8 lowes), and the bushings to connect the check, valve ($8 lowes). Took about 6 hrs worth of work but I suck at bending tubing.

      Yes they hooked to the existing ports except the bulkhead fitting that goes from the outside of the drum to the inside to get to the pop up for the waste tray. I had to enlarge the hole the old plastic tubing ran through which was a pain even with a right angle drill.

    4. #4
      kntry's Avatar
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      Thanks for the explanation. I think that might be a tad over my head so I guess I'll stick with the vinyl tubing and work around the drum.
      Sandy
      CKK, KHA

    5. #5
      hepho is offline Junior Member
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      Is it fixing drum stuck in cleaning circle some time ?
      Lately my BE stucked atleast one every other days and dumped almost 1/3 pond water until pump run dry and stop .
      Any experience with that ?

    6. #6
      kntry's Avatar
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      When it sticks, it's usually because the water level is too low in the pond or there isn't enough water getting into the drum.

      You should put a low water cut off so it doesn't run the pump dry. You can get a sump pump float that you plug your pump into and then plug the float into an outlet. They're about $20 at Lowes.
      Sandy
      CKK, KHA

    7. #7
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      Quote Originally Posted by kntry View Post
      When it sticks, it's usually because the water level is too low in the pond or there isn't enough water getting into the drum.

      You should put a low water cut off so it doesn't run the pump dry. You can get a sump pump float that you plug your pump into and then plug the float into an outlet. They're about $20 at Lowes.
      Got pics?

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    8. #8
      tbullard is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by hepho View Post
      Is it fixing drum stuck in cleaning circle some time ?
      Lately my BE stucked atleast one every other days and dumped almost 1/3 pond water until pump run dry and stop .
      Any experience with that ?
      That problem is related to the way that the drum turning mechanism works. The BE uses a piston which drives a rack and pinion to turn the drum. This system can only turn the drum a certain degree each cycle. You can speed up or slow down the rotation but you can't adjust how far that it is possible for the drum to turn. Water is used to extend this piston and once the cycle is finished a spring returns the piston as it pushes the water out of the piston. This process takes a certain amount of time. If another cycle is started before the piston has reset the drum may not be able to turn or won't be able to turn it full range of motion. If the amount it turns is not enough to clean the screen to the point that the cycle is reset it will cause the stuck on issue.

      The ultimate fix for this would be to remove the piston system and replace it with a continuously rotating motor. If you could use a water driven motor as Zak built for his prototype RDF the BE could still operate without the need for power. The more likely method is an electric motor which would also require sensors and a control system.

      Quote Originally Posted by kntry View Post
      When it sticks, it's usually because the water level is too low in the pond or there isn't enough water getting into the drum.

      You should put a low water cut off so it doesn't run the pump dry. You can get a sump pump float that you plug your pump into and then plug the float into an outlet. They're about $20 at Lowes.
      This would also be an issue and is one reason why it is a good idea to have an autofill on a pond fitted with a RDF
      Last edited by tbullard; 03-19-2017 at 11:44 AM.

    9. #9
      Bryan_e_m is offline Member
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      I have never had a "stuck on" issue with my drum that was not my fault. Knock on wood. My stuck on issues have been related to the piston being bound on either the inlet end or the bolt end.

      However this change should help that issue if your problem is due to it cycling a lot as it reduces the piston retract time to about 15 seconds.

      I have thought about the pump shutoff like Sandy mentioned but have not done it yet.

    10. #10
      kntry's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by Billy View Post
      Got pics?
      This is it before plugging it in.
      Attached Images Attached Images  
      Sandy
      CKK, KHA

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    11. #11
      kntry's Avatar
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      If you want the minimum water level to be 2' less than full, put the float and 2' of cord hanging in the pond. It will shut immediately.

      I wasn't used to the new setup I had with the new QT. Ya know how you have to get used to a new system? LOL

      I was doing a water change and all of sudden the pump quick working. I pulled the pump apart, check all the breakers, checked all the GFCI's. I couldn't find anything wrong. No joking, I wasted about 2 hours trying to figure out why the new pump wouldn't work. I finally remembered I had that float in the pond. Yep, all I had to do was put more water in the pond and it worked like a charm!
      Sandy
      CKK, KHA

    12. #12
      Billy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by kntry View Post
      This is it before plugging it in.
      Got it. https://www.lowes.com/pd/ProPlumber-...Switch/1017551

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      Vice President Oregon Koi and Watergarden Society


    13. #13
      icu2's Avatar
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    14. #14
      kevin32 is offline Inactivated
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      I have a float device just like that. I was told they can stick so I never used it. but seems to me not much to get stuck. I guess I shouldn't be believe everything I hear lol

    15. #15
      Billy's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by kevin32 View Post
      I have a float device just like that. I was told they can stick so I never used it. but seems to me not much to get stuck. I guess I shouldn't be believe everything I hear lol
      I have similar units in a 9000 gallon water tang, 1800 gallon water tank and a septic tank for over 22 years with no problems with them.

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    16. #16
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      Or Basement Watchdog BWC1. Which can be mount in tight space.

      https://www.amazon.com/Basement-Watc...f_rd_i=desktop

    17. #17
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      Quote Originally Posted by Bryan_e_m View Post
      However this change should help that issue if your problem is due to it cycling a lot as it reduces the piston retract time to about 15 seconds.

      I have thought about the pump shutoff like Sandy mentioned but have not done it yet.
      in the case of "stuck on" caused by too dirty water, would it be better to temporarily shut off the washing water to give the piston time to reset (assuming it is not reset by water).

    18. #18
      tbullard is offline Senior Member
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      Quote Originally Posted by friscoponder View Post
      in the case of "stuck on" caused by too dirty water, would it be better to temporarily shut off the washing water to give the piston time to reset (assuming it is not reset by water).
      You should be able to manually move the float sensor to stop the cycle and hold it till everything resets and then release it and repeat as necessary to resume normal operation.

    19. #19
      icu2's Avatar
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      Quote Originally Posted by friscoponder View Post
      in the case of "stuck on" caused by too dirty water, would it be better to temporarily shut off the washing water to give the piston time to reset (assuming it is not reset by water).
      Shutting off the water cleaning the drum won't really do anything positive. The drum needs to turn to be flowing through the cleaned part
      of the screen if it stops.
      So I just grab the drum and turn it about a 1/2 turn and the water starts to refill the rdf and the piston comes back up to stop the cycle.
      Since I've gotten the cycling time right I've not had it happen in over a year and not even something I think about any more.
      --Steve



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    20. #20
      friscoponder is offline Senior Member
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      I was thinking of a way to automatically fix the "stuck on" issue when I am not there.

      I have the drum drained into a HD bucket, which drain into a another bucket, at a lower rate, with a sump pump. In a "stuck on" scenario, the 1st bucket gets filled a lot quicker, so I thought would put a float valve there to shut off the booster pump for say 2 minutes to let the drum reset. during that time, the water in the upper bucket would drain completely to the 2nd bucket and return the float valve to normal position restarting the pump and trigger a cleaning cycle.

      would that work?

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