Air pump repairs

[Dave in Innisfil]

My deep water air pump is rapping big time now, and disassembly revealed a torn diaphram. Any idea's where I could get parts ? So far, my web searches and requests have been unsuccessful. I have another pump in duty now, but it doesn't produce near the volume at the depth I desire.

United Pump Inc.
Diaphragm Air Pump Model AP-0025B

[Jackie Ramo]

Dave I usually send an email to the manufacturer and they supply me with a retailer or sometimes sell the part.

[Dave in Innisfil]

When the pump originally started rapping months ago, I somehow found their site, and sent them the request. I then made a temporary diaphagm repair with rubber cement, which lasted until now. They never responded to my request, and I've been unable to relocate their web site. E-mails to various pond supply outlets have all been met with "sorry, but we'd be happy to sell you a new high volume, deep water air pump, what's your Pay-pal account #".

[Busy B]

Have you looked on Ebay?

[Busy B]

Any luck yet?

[Tom C]

Dave do you have a picture of the pump, that you can post?

Tom

[Dave in Innisfil]

I'm gonna get raised eyebrows from Tina when she see's pics of a broken air pump on the desktop, but......... LOL

One side is still working, and I had to plug the other side. Even at half volume, it pumps much more than my other pond-rated air pump, thus the efforts to repair it.

[Dave in Innisfil]

After Monday's terrible rain storm, I noticed all our bubblers not working and the GFI tripped. Investigation found my main pond air pump totally submersed in water within a sealed plastic tote, an almost impossible situation. Our smaller second air pump was higher in the tote, and bone dry. Eugene was kind enough to send me one of his pumps to use for spare parts, but upon disassembly I found it in great condition abeit the two torn diaphragms which I needed to make my original pump 100%. I found a company called Koilagoon who sells a similar pump, and I'm trying to secure the replacement diaphragms I need from them. Right now I'm relying on my back-up aquarium pump as Plan B in my pond venting efforts. Plan A is still my Bickal-inspired unit, now using more koi-friendly red bulbs.

I'm wondering if anyone has ever heard of an air pump acting as a vacuum and sucking in water when the power goes off ? Right now, it's the only plausible explanation as to the considerable quantity of water within the tote.

[Busy B]

Did you have a check valve on the line?

I found small ones at my pet store..air pumps are supposed to be above the water..you must of had some siphoning action going on. Are you using pretty small tubing?

[Jackie Ramo]

Dave unless the pond is frozen over you don't need to panic about venting as yet. We need to vent the ponds to get the gases past the ice. I haven't used bubblers so can't help with the rest.

[Ian]

Hi Dave, The black plastic housings at the sides and were the air lines come out are the diaphrams as you already know as you patched one already. Even the best air pumps suggest replacing the diaphrams every 6 months to a year! A very simple task and not expensive non the less but sucks if you don't have replacements. I do suggest that when aquiring an air pump stick with a known brand name and or it's accessability for replacement parts. A good air pump will last years and years while replacing a few diaphrams here and there. Some diaphrams seem to last forever and some quit within a year. They run hot and heat will kill a diaphram quickly, so keeping the unit cool is important to longevity as is keeping it above water level. Also knowing the specs on the unit you buy in regards to depths they will pump to is key as a pump that will max at 6 feet deep is running hard at 5 feet deep.

[Dave in Innisfil]

We're running two sizes of air lines, one 3/8" and the other 7/16", both without check valves because I didn't know I needed them. I did find several small inline charcoal filters in the pond barn, but last winter that they froze first so I didn't use them. Still no response back from Koilagoon on those replacement diaphragms yet, and I'm crossing my fingers either they or someone can help me before I just concede and buy a new, bigger pump. Our two sides become still-water zones once the lily pads reach the surface, something I plan to change next season by placing an air stone in each corner.

The venting air stones are between 12 and 18 inches below the normal water level so as to not overwork the pumps and provide maximum top water turbulance. I was told to be concerned about the pumps drawing in cold air, thus enclosed and insulated them. The idea being the heat from the pump would also heat the air being drawn in and dispersed to the stones. There's enough small holes in the tote to still draw in fresh air. but I placed a piece of liner over the top to eliminate the chance of water coming in the hinges.

[Busy B]

Do you have the pump sitting on blocks or something in the tote?

I could find the small check valves at my LFS but no luck in finding a T fitting.

Spendy little buggers for the job that they do tho..but when they run 24/7 you want something reliable.

Your turning yours off for the winter, or keeping it running?

[Dave in Innisfil]

My main pump, the one that crapped out, was inside a plastic box, surrounded with foam. That box was within the weather-tight plastic tote. My second smaller pump was sitting above the first pump, separated by some high density foam. The tote interlocks closed, and above that was an over-sized piece of styrophoam, and a plastic roof vent made it look like a little grey house amongst our plants. I've almost worn a bare spot on my scalp from trying to figure out how the water got in.

Our plan this year is to keep one hole open in the ice with our pond vent light, and attempt to keep another open with the three air stones and two pumps. Last year we tried to vent with just one pump and stone, and several times the hole froze solidly and completely over. If the vent light works well this winter, we won't be as concerned about using aeration to vent next year. I'm a firm believer in having back-up/redundancy where possible. Last year our air lines also froze forcing us to run conduit above the ice surface to our vent hole. This year, if one line freezes, we have two others waiting to be put into service. We're within a couple hundred yards of Lake Simcoe, thus our temperatures in winter seem to be much colder than further inland, leading to thicker ice and more problems venting. Or so I was told by another local pond owner.

Yesterday I added a peep-hole window to the pond light so I can check its effectiveness without overly disturbing the fish. It also allows me to from a distance verify there is still power to the vent and the lights are working. We've now completely surrounded the pond with plastic security fencing after reading that we should minimizing traffic on the ice which could disturb the dormant fish below. In addition, I've suspended four plastic bottles in various locations to help absorb the pressures of expanding ice, and am also floating large pieces of styrophoam to provide cover and protection from flying preditors still hanging around until a solid ice surface develops.

In the immortal words of my fairer-half with respect to our wintering measures, "Are you done yet ?". My standard rely, as to most things that raises her eyebrows....."I'd rather be lookin' at it, than lookin' for it".

[Busy B]

I know I would have a hard time trying to run air lines outside...any condensation would be ice before you knew it. I still see some inside in the ghouse but with the check valves and the pump high, I've got my fingers crossed that all will be well if the power goes.

Soon, you too will be able to put your feet up, and wait for spring..just like the rest of us :grin:

[Dave in Innisfil]

Often we/I am so absorbed in finding a solution to a problem, the cause is overlooked, and thus the problem either surfaces again, or our remedy fixes it.
While my air pumps may be rated for depths over 4 feet, the manufacturer considers the diaphragms a user-replaceable consumable to be changed frequently. A rebuild kit, including the diaphragms, costs half as much as the pump itself. At the maximum rated depth, I should expect twice a year to have to replace the diaphragms. Or I can spend a few hundred and get a pump rated for greater depths, and work it at half capacity/depth. My airstones are now only 12" below the surface, so less stress on the smaller temporary air pump until next spring when I lower the stones to the bottom.

Thanks to Ian, Eugene and Werner for their assistance in both finding potential parts suppliers and reason for my reoccuring air pump failures. I'm still at a loss as to how the water got in the tub, but I'm writing it off to some kind of vacuum action caused by pump failure sucking up pond water from the air stones, back thru the lines and into the pump. Hopefully, a check valve will eliminate that headache and worry.

[Busy B]

I've only had aquarium air pumps before so before I bought one for my inside set up, I checked to make sure replacement diaphrams were readily available. So your heartache with yours will help someone (like me :wink:) when considering what to buy for the future.

Glad you found a supplier...PITA but necessary.