High Tide Aquatics

Cleaning a MP40W wetside?

DurTBear

DurTBear

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What's the best way to clean a wetside? I'm going to soak it in vinegar but is it necessary to unscrew the screw that leads to the shaft/impellar?
 
I do. I find i need to brush away gunk around the ceramic bearing, wet frame and drive shaft. Otherwise it doesn't spin smoothly.
 
Be very careful. The plastic threaded nuts can easily be cross threaded or overtightened and cracked. Either way you will be cursing violently. I keep an extra wet side and rotate the 3 in my tank out every couple of months and it seems to keep things running smooth.
 
seminolecpa said:
Be very careful. The plastic threaded nuts can easily be cross threaded or overtightened and cracked. Either way you will be cursing violently. I keep an extra wet side and rotate the 3 in my tank out every couple of months and it seems to keep things running smooth.
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Yeah, I was worried about that. I'm only using one pump at the moment and have another one so I plan on rotating the two wetsides to make sure the buildup doesn't get too out of control.

Gomer said:
I sometimes clean pumps in small bucket of vinegar while they are powered. Works like a charm.
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Good idea. Might give that a shot. Hopefully if I'm vigilant about rotating the wet sides, there won't be a lot of buildup each time I clean.
 
Vortech had a parts dept on their website and a wet side rebuild kit costs $20. It includes two new plastic bolts, nylon washer, new prop and new plastic bushing the the ceramic bushing presses into. Once your plastic bushing wears, the rattling begins. Cleaning helps too but for $20 I'd simply perform the rebuild about once a year. I've only rebuilt the wet side of one of my Vortechs to date but have a couple of the kits handy for the next time I wake up hearing the tell tale signs of a worn bushing.
 
If the prop, bearing and bushing are good, you can probably get the bolt, nut and washer cheap at mcmaster and have enough for a long while. I've been tempted to even lathe up some back up bushings and bearings (pretty sure they use Macor)
 
My guess is that the bushing wears as a result of the build up of coraline algae acting as an abrasive on the contact area between the plastic bolt and the bushing. The prop gets out of balance because of the same build up. Add the two together and you have a logical failure mode as a result.
 
Durwin.......I just soak mine in a 50/50 water and vinegar water mix over night, remove the shroud that covers the prop, and just scrub the entire unit with a brush. I use to unscrew everything but no longer see the need to. I've been cleaning mine this way for the past year and a half with no problems.
 
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