Inspect that Mesh Mod!

[smcnally]

My skimmer has been noisy and not working well for the last month. I finally got around to pulling it apart and noticed one of my zipties let go and about 1/3 of my enkamat is gone. Don't forget to check those meshmods and be sure they are holding up. BTW...anyone near me have any extra enkamat?

 

[maurod]

I should have enough to cover that.

 

[BrianMac]

Same here. Thanks to Penman.

 

[chew*]

might want to try this stuff, I beleive its called gutter guard, found at home depot.......It is more durable but having never used enkamat I have no way to guage it's performance, I know it works well versus unmodded however...

 

[Jim Tansey]

I think the gutter guard looks thin to give optimum performance, but this is not the first time I have heard of the Enkamat breaking down, there must be a better material or method.

Jim

 

[Liam]

Royal-exclusiv,aka bubble- King is releasing a stainless steel mesh wheel in their red dragon pumps in the new year.
not for the faint of wallet though

 

[Greg Hiller]

Yup, the mesh mods seem to need to be 're-done' about once per 6 months or so.

 

[JayM]

one more thing to inspect.

I gotta say that the skimmer's output hasn't dropped off (it's been done about 9 months)

will post back after disassembly.....

 

[SaltCreep]

I vote gutter gaurd as well.


You can do double layers and it can be more securely fastened.

I am sure that Enkenmat will outperform gutter-gaurd.......but looks like Enkenmat needs to be re-done on a regular basis.

 

[Scott]

Is that tied on with heavy monofilament fishing line Brian?

If so, I bet those loose ends are helping quite a bit too.

 

[chew*]

yes it is fishing line and you can use multiple layers, that however is on a MJ 1200 impeller so there isn't as much clearance for alot of layers........the 400-900 models allow for more layers...

This was 2 layers.....I could likely get 4 layers on a 900/600

 

[Muscles]

I started my mod with 3 layers of enkamat and one layer of GG. I removed 1 layer of enkamat and put the GG on top and redid the zip ties. I inspect my impeller once a month for a quick cleaning and it still looks tha same as day one. I do agree that a 6 month tune-up would be a good idea for pennies and POM. I service my air intake more often than the mesh mod. I still have not drilled a hole in the skimmer lid to pull in more humid air though.

 

[delta]

Steve I some of the MOD material, LMK if you need any

 

[Arthur1]

What you want to measure though is which is pulling more air? The gutter guard or the enkamat mod? I'd say enk. do to its increased surface area but we'd have to measure for sure.

 

[chew*]

I would say a regular pump with any type of mesh mod over a needlewheel..........the ability to push more water increases the ability to pull more air.......... as far as I know however neither mod or unmodded is designed to pull more air................its designed to chop bubbles finer................

 

[Jim Tansey]

If you go over to RC you will find air flow test results from pumps with mods and without, the mod not only chops smaller bubbles but increases air flow.

Jim

 

[chew*]

hmm interesting.....

 

[Muscles]

The enkamat does cause the skimmer to pull more air. I found a very slight decrease in amount of air being pulled from changing one layer of enkamat to GG. The peice of mind of the GG holding down the enkamat is worth the 10% decrease in the amount of air being drawn. It doesn't even compare to a intake clogged with salt creep which is a bigger problem. I do put a meter on my air intake which tells me when I need to make adjustments.

 

[Jim Tansey]

Muscles,

Which meter are you using? I'm thinking of doing the same.

Jim

 

[Arthur1]

Thank you Jim and thank you Muscles. Jim after Christmas I may buy an air meter if want to use it let me know.