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- AEM Easy Drum Review
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Originally Posted by
goldengrahams91
this isn't the news i was hoping to hear back from you
do you know what the flashing red light means just had a quick look through the manual and nothing is jumping out at me.
have you now got it sorted? did you speak to AEM about it ?
there are two red plugs on the input side that can be removed so you can use it without it flowing through the drum until you work out what is wrong
the manual does actually mention about checking the nut with a torque wrench although didn't see this till after you mentioned it so guess they knew there would be some adjustments to be made.
i guess as it is a brand new product there will always be a couple of teething problems just a bit annoying when you have spent so much money but they are a reputable company so hopefully any issues you may get they would be able to help with quickly
It appears to be working OK since I pressed the red button but I've no idea what caused it or if/when it will happen again. I sent an email to AEM but no response as yet. It is a bigger problem because mine is pump fed, with a gravity system the pump would be starved of water but with mine the inlet side overflows. I'm considering converting it back to gravity at some point as that would solve another couple of problems I'm having at the same time.
As you say the manual doesn't tell you anything about the red button and why it lights up so I'll wait to hear what AEM have to say and keep you posted.
Forgot to add that the lid on my drum is starting to become distorted, I'll post some pics
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
It appears to be working OK since I pressed the red button but I've no idea what caused it or if/when it will happen again. I sent an email to AEM but no response as yet. It is a bigger problem because mine is pump fed, with a gravity system the pump would be starved of water but with mine the inlet side overflows. I'm considering converting it back to gravity at some point as that would solve another couple of problems I'm having at the same time.
As you say the manual doesn't tell you anything about the red button and why it lights up so I'll wait to hear what AEM have to say and keep you posted.
Forgot to add that the lid on my drum is starting to become distorted, I'll post some pics
Sorry to hear of your problems AP ... hope the company starts behaving better ...
What is the lid made from?
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
To be honest I'm a little disappointed. I had an initial problem with the drum not turning which was down to an improperly set slip clutch mechanism. Once I borrowed a torque wrench and set it to 65 N/m all was fine. I checked earlier today to be faced with a half empty pond and overflowing drum. It appears that for some reason the drum has not been working. There was a red light showing on the control panel and the mesh has simply clogged up and restricted the flow to the point where the drum filled up and overflowed. I am considering fitting an overflow to the drum to avoid losing so much water if this happens again but I'm now in the position where I don't trust the drum enough to go away and leave it.
Apbarr when i got my draco drum i had problems with the drum mesh. I high pressure washed it. And that did the trick. When i informed tony he told me some time the protection film is left on the mesh. When firms are sending it out as protection on the rolls of mesh. Just could be that mate. Good luck fred
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Originally Posted by
freddyboy
Apbarr when i got my draco drum i had problems with the drum mesh. I high pressure washed it. And that did the trick. When i informed tony he told me some time the protection film is left on the mesh. When firms are sending it out as protection on the rolls of mesh. Just could be that mate. Good luck fred
Not a bad suggestion easy and quick to do to see if it works.
Did you remove the mesh from the drum to clean it or just leave it on ?
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Originally Posted by
goldengrahams91
Not a bad suggestion easy and quick to do to see if it works.
Did you remove the mesh from the drum to clean it or just leave it on ?
Hi mate. I was scratching my napper for about 3 days. The jim hull suggested it to me to try. And bingo it worked.
I pressure washed it with the drum turning.and the mesh still on the drum still attatched. With the draco you can lift the drive motor and turn by hand or go to a manual button. And let it spin it over rides the sensor. I now pressure wash every
Month. A few on here with drums do this as the bio film builds up. Hope this heips mate
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Originally Posted by
Trace
Sorry to hear of your problems AP ... hope the company starts behaving better ...
What is the lid made from?
A fairly thick plastic, the same as the moulded body
I have now solved the problem, at least in the short term. The same nut that I had torqued up to 65N/m the first time had worked its way loose again. I will check it again in a weeks time and if it has slackened at all I will add loctite thread adhesive and tighten again.
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Glad to hear you havs sorted it bud.
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
A fairly thick plastic, the same as the moulded body
I have now solved the problem, at least in the short term. The same nut that I had torqued up to 65N/m the first time had worked its way loose again. I will check it again in a weeks time and if it has slackened at all I will add loctite thread adhesive and tighten again.
Sounds like a plan ... yup loctite will sort it ... or any sealant.
I was just going to add ... is it defo sitting on a completely flat, level base? ... just wondered as if the base was uneven at all that could cause warping of the lid and unusual things to happen with the drum ... just a thought ...
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Made the base myself Trace so you could be right but no it's level and flat. Hopefully you can see what I mean in thie attached pic, this is happening on all four corners.
Drum Lid.jpg
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
Made the base myself Trace so you could be right
but no it's level and flat. Hopefully you can see what I mean in thie attached pic, this is happening on all four corners.
Drum Lid.jpg
Hmmm ... what kind of plastic is it? ... and how thick is that lid? ...
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Originally Posted by
Trace
Hmmm ... what kind of plastic is it? ... and how thick is that lid? ...
Not sure of the type of plastic, the drum is injection moulded as far as I know. The lid is 8/10mm thick so quite heavy, I'm surprised it is warping so quickly
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
Not sure of the type of plastic, the drum is injection moulded as far as I know. The lid is 8/10mm thick so quite heavy, I'm surprised it is warping so quickly
Yes that seems unusual without heat or weight on top of it involved ... you'd maybe expect some warping after a few years but not so quickly.
Did you work out what was causing the nut to come loose yet ... that seems unusual too without excessive vibration or some other obvious cause ...
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Originally Posted by
Trace
Yes that seems unusual without heat or weight on top of it involved ... you'd maybe expect some warping after a few years but not so quickly.
Did you work out what was causing the nut to come loose yet ... that seems unusual too without excessive vibration or some other obvious cause ...
Yes, quite disappointing after a couple of months use. I've no idea why the nut is coming loose, there's no noticeable vibration when the drum is operating and it is a lock nut with the plastic insert.
I'm also not happy that my dealer, Belgian Koi Farm haven't replied to the emails I sent them explaining that the manufacturer wants them to deal with the problem.
A real shame as the drum, when working, does a great job.
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
Yes, quite disappointing after a couple of months use. I've no idea why the nut is coming loose, there's no noticeable vibration when the drum is operating and it is a lock nut with the plastic insert.
I'm also not happy that my dealer, Belgian Koi Farm haven't replied to the emails I sent them explaining that the manufacturer wants them to deal with the problem.
A real shame as the drum, when working, does a great job.
Wow! that's really unusual if it s a nyloc nut!!! ...
Manufacturer and dealer both sound like a waste of time .... I'm sure the drum can be made reliable.
Can I see some pics of where the nut is? ...
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Originally Posted by
Trace
Wow! that's
really unusual if it s a nyloc nut!!! ...
Manufacturer and dealer both sound like a waste of time .... I'm sure the drum can be made reliable.
Can I see some pics of where the nut is? ...
I'm sure it can, if the worst comes to the worst I'll torque it up then drill through and insert a split pin. The nut is hidden but basically it sits on the end of the main drum shaft. The torque setting keeps the slip clutch from slipping unless there is something physically jamming the drum. If the drum jams the slip clutch does its job and slips preventing the motor from burning out. Both times I've torqued it back up the drum moves quite happily so I don't think its jamming
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
I'm sure it can, if the worst comes to the worst I'll torque it up then drill through and insert a split pin. The nut is hidden but basically it sits on the end of the main drum shaft. The torque setting keeps the slip clutch from slipping unless there is something physically jamming the drum. If the drum jams the slip clutch does its job and slips preventing the motor from burning out. Both times I've torqued it back up the drum moves quite happily so I don't think its jamming
Yes I understand how it works ...
Could it be some other part of the clutch or the drum shaft moving position instead giving the appearance of the nut loosening but not actually being the nut? ... it's just so unusual for a nyloc to come loose.
Hubby uses all manner of locking nuts here and we've never seen a nyloc come loose unless there was a lot of heat involved.
Another "half nut" locking nut before or after it should sort it without drilling: A2 STAINLESS STEEL HEXAGON HALF LOCK THIN NUT NUTS METRIC COARSE PITCH THREADS
Love to know what's actually causing it ...
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at a girl trace respect
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Trace Thanked / Liked this Post
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Originally Posted by
Trace
Yes I understand how it works ...
Could it be some other part of the clutch or the drum shaft moving position instead giving the appearance of the nut loosening but not actually being the nut? ... it's just so unusual for a nyloc to come loose.
Hubby uses all manner of locking nuts here and we've never seen a nyloc come loose unless there was a lot of heat involved.
Another "half nut" locking nut before or after it should sort it without drilling:
A2 STAINLESS STEEL HEXAGON HALF LOCK THIN NUT NUTS METRIC COARSE PITCH THREADS
Love to know what's actually causing it ...
I have been in contact with the manufacturer and it appears that there is a problem with the positioning of the float switch. My drum was modified by the dealer to allow it to be pump fed and it appears that the float switch is too high. This allows too much weight of water to sit in the drum before the cleaning process starts, causing the slip clutch to operate which in turn gradually loosens the lock nut. I'm waiting on parts being sent to allow me to hopefully correct the problem.
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Originally Posted by
apbarr
This allows too much weight of water to sit in the drum before the cleaning process starts, causing the slip clutch to operate which in turn gradually loosens the lock nut.
Still sounds really dodgy ... the clutch should operate without loosening the locknut ... hope the new parts fix it ... let us know how it goes or if there were any parts missing causing the problem.
Did they say anything about the lid warping? ...
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Originally Posted by
Trace
Still sounds really dodgy ... the clutch should operate without loosening the locknut ... hope the new parts fix it ... let us know how it goes or if there were any parts missing causing the problem.
Did they say anything about the lid warping? ...
Ithinkthatthe
I think that the dealer hadn't modified the drum properly and hadn't fitted the bar that allows height adjustment. The manufacturer also offered to replace the lid.
I will update again after the parts have arrived
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