Proposed fix for leaking Kamoer pumpheads (including Mastertronic)

[AJsReef]

Just throw that Kamoer garbage in the trashcan and pop on the cheapest Jebao heads. Have them on for a year now without any single issue.

Do you have a part number?

 

[Spartan76]

A little birdy told me that Kamoer redesigned their pumpheads so that the casing isn’t as sharp so hopefully this leaking issue stops happening

Any info on when units w those new heads hit the market? I’m on the verge of buying a Mastertronic but I d rather not deal with all this… kudos to you for the bushings solution!

 

[AJsReef]

Any info on when units w those new heads hit the market? I’m on the verge of buying a Mastertronic but I d rather not deal with all this… kudos to you for the bushings solution!

I wouldn’t let this be the single decision on MT or not. Plenty of other questionable design choices. Not to mention NO3 testing is still useless.

 

[Harold999]

And, for $1300, I'll return it before I have to resort to...

You could do it nice and also use the click-on base of the Jeboa, which fits perfectly on the Kamoer pump but needs some work with mounting the whole thing.

I didn't do this because i don't mind using a piece of duc tape. As a matter of fact, i don't use any duc tape but i said you could use it as an extra safety measure.

 

[Harold999]

Do you have a part number?

No, just the standard Jebao heads, afaik there is only one.

 

[Joe31415]

You could do it nice and also use the click-on base of the Jeboa, which fits perfectly on the Kamoer pump but needs some work with mounting the whole thing.

I didn't do this because i don't mind using a piece of duc tape. As a matter of fact, i don't use any duc tape but i said you could use it as an extra safety measure.

My point being that for $1300, I shouldn't have to replace the heads at all. In fact, I shouldn't have had to replace the tubes already either.

We paid a lot of money for these units. We shouldn't be beta testers.

 

[JimmyNg]

I did measure the tube again this morning and 2.5x4.5 seems correct. The stuff I ordered from Amazon (2x4) just showed up. I guessing it's not going to work, but I have it so I'll at least try.
In the mean time, does anyone know where to get the correct tubing? The only way I can find it, even on eBay, has it being shipped from China and I'd prefer not to wait that long.

I also want to swap the tubes in my Versa pumps, so I'll have to figure that out too.

Parkers reef did a video on this:

 

[Joe31415]

Already took care of that:

Ecotech Versa Replacement Tubing Alternative

Yes, the McMaster-Carr "Continuous-Flex Soft Tygon PVC Tubing for Food and Beverage, 3/16" ID, 5/16" OD" (item 5894K33), cut to 149mm, worked perfectly. The only thing I have to do is re-calibrate the pumps. Re-calibrate as in I calibrated them after replacing the lines and they don't appear...

www.reef2reef.com

 

[Harold999]

I guess that o-rings will work well too as spacers. Size you'll need is m25 x 1.5 (outside dia 28mm, inside dia 25mm).

 

[Harold999]

Pump head with for reference here is a brand new, unused pump.

A potential problem i already see here is that there is too few hose inside the head. Just insert a bit more hose so that the gap you see between the hose and the housing left below is gone.
I won't be surprised if this is the cause of hoses splitting. Too few hose inside causes more friction tension.

 

[Harold999]

Okay, got the o-rings and put them in, one on top and one under the hose. But most important - i think - is to make sure you insert as much hose as possible so it is fully rounded in the housing (picture 2) which causes less tension on the hose.

 

[zbryant91]

Okay, got the o-rings and put them in, one on top and one under the hose. But most important - i think - is to make sure you insert as much hose as possible so it is fully rounded in the housing (picture 2) which causes less tension on the hose.

Can you check the pump after running a few tests and see if the hose runs back out a bit? I don't have much trust in those green clips keeping the hose in place as well as a design like the versas where the barbs are dual purpose and keep the hose in place. FWIW, I've done some testing professionally on peristaltic pumps and had issues with that style of clip not keeping the length of hose consistent depending on the rate of product I was running through them.

I do like the o ring idea as I imagine it would be less likely to cause unwanted wear

 

[Harold999]

Can you check the pump after running a few tests and see if the hose runs back out a bit? I don't have much trust in those green clips keeping the hose in place as well as a design like the versas where the barbs are dual purpose and keep the hose in place. FWIW, I've done some testing professionally on peristaltic pumps and had issues with that style of clip not keeping the length of hose consistent depending on the rate of product I was running through them.

I do like the o ring idea as I imagine it would be less likely to cause unwanted wear

Will check surely.

 

[Harold999]

Can you check the pump after running a few tests and see if the hose runs back out a bit? I don't have much trust in those green clips keeping the hose in place as well as a design like the versas where the barbs are dual purpose and keep the hose in place. FWIW, I've done some testing professionally on peristaltic pumps and had issues with that style of clip not keeping the length of hose consistent depending on the rate of product I was running through them.

I do like the o ring idea as I imagine it would be less likely to cause unwanted wear

Did 6 tests and checked. The hose is slightly not fully rounded in the housing anymore, just a tad less.
The o-rings seem to do their job fine, the hose is perfectly centered and no friction towards the o-rings.

 

[Spartan76]

Does anyone or anywhere sell the o-rings? I don’t have a 3 d printer.

 

[Joe31415]

Does anyone or anywhere sell the o-rings? I don’t have a 3 d printer.

Any hardware or plumbing store would have them. Menards, Home Depot, Lowes etc will have them. True Value or Ace Hardware will have even more.

 

[prodbot7]

Trying out the solution with the 3-D printed rings… will update after some time but so far so good.

 

[kenchilada]

Anyone have long-term trip report on these bushings?

 

[Joe31415]

I haven't had any reason to pull the pump apart recently, but maybe that's a good thing. If I think of it, I'll have to take a look at them when I get home.

 

[Joe31415]

I don't remember when I added the bushings (I probably mentioned it here somewhere), but here's a picture of Pump A. Two things to note. First, that's not OEM tubing. For all I know it the tubing I used may be fine without the bushing (though I do see the tell tale black marks on it). Second, it's not a problem with all these pumps. They must have had a bad batch or changed something (on purpose or by accident).
I had Pump A, B and C all go bad. But my Kamoer pumps use the same heads and I don't think any of them have had the same problem and at least one of them runs a whole lot more than any pump in the focustronic.