Proposed fix for leaking Kamoer pumpheads (including Mastertronic)

[sector9]

Hi everyone,

Many of us with Kamoer KXF or X1 style pumpheads have experienced leakages in the tubing inside the pumphead. These pumpheads are also used in the Focustronic Mastertonic. This is my attempt at a fix. You need to use a 3D printer to print two of these spacers or washers per pumphead. Here is the link to Thingiverse for the STL and please refer to this Youtube video for installation instructions

The picture attached shows the pumphead impacted by the leaking

 

[sector9]

If you end up trying this out, please post feedback here so we can follow up real world experiences to track if they help your pumps. I have been using these spacers since May and they have been working very well for me

 

[fsenneron]

I order the 3d print pieces and will install them this week. Thanks for your work on that

 

[sector9]

I order the 3d print pieces and will install them this week. Thanks for your work on that

Great, let us know how they work for you

 

[scotto]

This is awesome, but how did you manage to get Pump C off? I thought a little grease on the rollers would help as well, but I realised soon after this was a BAD idea since the motor shaft looses all friction to turn the rollers. Overall, their pump design is so bad!

Once my head pieces dry from a wash to de-grease, I'll try these pieces on Pumps A and B.

 

[sector9]

Agreed, I wouldn’t use grease on these pumpheads for the reason you mention

I will send you a PM about pumphead C.

 

[scotto]

I forgot to add, I’ve owned the unit for 2 weeks now, and I already observed what you’ve shown in your video. It’s quite remarkable how degraded the tubing already was.

 

[scottsweet]

Hi everyone,

Many of us with Kamoer KXF or X1 style pumpheads have experienced leakages in the tubing inside the pumphead. These pumpheads are also used in the Focustronic Mastertonic. This is my attempt at a fix. You need to use a 3D printer to print two of these spacers or washers per pumphead. Here is the link to Thingiverse for the STL and please refer to this Youtube video for installation instructions

The picture attached shows the pumphead impacted by the leaking

What are the units of the download on Thingiverse? I am going to get them printed, but they want the units of measure.

 

[sector9]

What are the units of the download on Thingiverse? I am going to get them printed, but they want the units of measure.

I have never heard of needing to know units of measure from a STL file. It looks like the default is mm from my searching so I would see if that works

 

[sector9]

Here is a 5+ month update from mine. The tubing still looks like it’s in amazing condition. I have had zero leaks from any of my pumpheads since installation of the spacers. I would have expected to see some damage by now. I have 17 scheduled tests per week on my Mastertronic. So far, it looks like this fix is very successful

 

[Joe31415]

My Mastertronic has ruptured hoses in Pump A and B. Focustronic is supposed to be sending me replacement tubes so while I'm waiting on that, I wanted to check Pump C since I'm assuming it's going to start leaking soon as well.
Does anyone know how to get Pump C off. There's not really enough space to get to the right side to unclip it and even if there was, I don't think there's enough space to clear the motor shaft.
I'm assuming the entire case has to (at least partially) come off. I can do that, I just want to make sure I'm not missing something. Plus, if I'm going to go through all that trouble, I'd like to replace the hose regardless of it's condition.

 

[Jon's Reef]

This was posted on the FB group.

 

[Joe31415]

Wow, that seems like quite the design flaw. That's a ton of work for something that's should be regular maintenance (the hoses are going to break at *some* point). I have to assume most people aren't going to replace that hose preventively. I wonder how many attempt to replace it after it breaks and just give up and let the machine collect dust.

I wonder if there's some reason they didn't make it more accessible? Even notching out the part of the plastic case that's in the way would have made this a 5 minute project instead of, what I'm guessing is, closer to an hour or two and with a lot of potential points of failure.

 

[Jon's Reef]

It is what it is. Does not take too long. I set it on a bucket so I could access the bottom screws without tipping it over. One thing to note is that for Step 6 is that you have to push the inner assembly up as you pull it out. There are several screw heads that poke down and can get caught on the base as it slides out.

The feedback of the "fix" with the bushings seems to be that the hose wear is completely remedied. Those pumps do not require high accuracy (A is for filling rinse water, B and C for waste pumping).

The hose wear was indicated to be a kamoer design issue.

 

[sector9]

Wow, that seems like quite the design flaw. That's a ton of work for something that's should be regular maintenance (the hoses are going to break at *some* point). I have to assume most people aren't going to replace that hose preventively. I wonder how many attempt to replace it after it breaks and just give up and let the machine collect dust.

I wonder if there's some reason they didn't make it more accessible? Even notching out the part of the plastic case that's in the way would have made this a 5 minute project instead of, what I'm guessing is, closer to an hour or two and with a lot of potential points of failure.

My belief is that Focustronic never expected the pumpheads or tubing to need replacing. They went with the upgraded Pharmed BPT tubing for these, which is expected to last 10,000 hours, and since each test only activates the pumpheads for a few minutes, I think they expected the pumps to last the machine’s lifetime. Unfortunately the pumpheads are a design flaw from Kamoer so now we are dealing with it.

I know some people have removed some of the casing so they can easily access pump C. I’m not sure what that would do to your warranty though. My feeling is to gather the supplies (new tubing or new pumpheads and the spacers) and take the machine apart and fix it hopefully for the last time. I did it and it took less than an hour

 

[Joe31415]

Focustronic is supposed to be sending me replacement tubes (two, I think). But I have no idea if they're going to show up tomorrow or in a month so I bought what I'm thinking is the right sized bulk tube on Amazon which I should have tomorrow.
I'll probably end up printing these bushings and installing them on Pump A and B as well as checking my other Kamoer X1 pumps to see if I should replace the tubes on any of them. Pump C, I think, I'll probably end up leaving until it leaks.

 

[sector9]

Focustronic is supposed to be sending me replacement tubes (two, I think). But I have no idea if they're going to show up tomorrow or in a month so I bought what I'm thinking is the right sized bulk tube on Amazon which I should have tomorrow.
I'll probably end up printing these bushings and installing them on Pump A and B as well as checking my other Kamoer X1 pumps to see if I should replace the tubes on any of them. Pump C, I think, I'll probably end up leaving until it leaks.

The stock tubing is 2.5mm ID x 4.5mm OD PharMed BPT for the MT pumps. Other Kamoer pumpheads may use different dimensions

 

[Joe31415]

Are you sure? I bought 2mm X 4mm. Everything I could find (which wasn't much) suggests the tube inside the head is 2mm X 4mm and it connects to a 3mm X 5mm tube.

Kamoer X1 Bluetooth Micropump Doser

Kamoer X1 Bluetooth Micropump Doser ships from Toronto, Canada

aquariumdepot.ca

• X1 pump head tubing size: ID*OD 2*4mm pharmed bpt tube
• Included PVC tubing size: ID*OD 3*5mm

 

[zbryant91]

Are you sure? I bought 2mm X 4mm. Everything I could find (which wasn't much) suggests the tube inside the head is 2mm X 4mm and it connects to a 3mm X 5mm tube.

Kamoer X1 Bluetooth Micropump Doser

Kamoer X1 Bluetooth Micropump Doser ships from Toronto, Canada

aquariumdepot.ca

I have a direct replacement tube from coralvue that I can measure later today. I did measure it when I got it as I was hoping to source bulk tubing and i'm pretty sure it's 2.5x4.5 but it was a couple months ago...

 

[Joe31415]

Luckily I got 20 feet for about ten bucks, so it's not the end of the world if it's wrong, plus, they're supposed to be sending me actual OEM ones at some point.

I did try measuring them with a caliper, but it's tough to measure a very flexible, very "squishy" tube that's split in half. I'll have to measure it again when I get home now that I have some actual numbers to compare it to.