After 3 years of development Klaus of Royal Exclusiv has released their new Red Dragon II DC Brushless Titanium Pumps. As shown at InterZoo, they are now available to the masses. Some features on these new controllable motors include:
No 50/60hz hum, like normal AC Pumps
Available models from 16,000l/h (4,200 GPH) to 50,000l/h (13,208 GPH)
100% Controlled Drives [...]
After 3 years of development Klaus of Royal Exclusiv has released their new Red Dragon II DC Brushless Titanium Pumps. As shown at InterZoo, they are now available to the masses. Some features on these new controllable motors include:
- No 50/60hz hum, like normal AC Pumps
- Available models from 16,000l/h (4,200 GPH) to 50,000l/h (13,208 GPH)
- 100% Controlled Drives with either external or integrated controller
- Adjustable from 10-100%
- “The most energy efficient pumps on the market”
- Unbreakable Titanium axles with Silicon Carbide (SiC) Bearings
- Integrated Soft Start
RE states they are quieter than the previous Red Dragon pumps, but with any moving parts there is a faint noise. Because of this, for noise sensitive areas they suggest using them submerged for even quieter operation.
The larger model RD2 controllers have timer ability. For example you can set a day speed and night speed. Unfortunately this is not available for the smaller 16 and 20m3 models. Currently the “smallest” model, the 16m3, pushes 16,000l/h or 4,226 GPH. Supposedly even smaller skimmer models will be released soon, including Mini’s.
Overall we are not completely certain on the differentiation between the application of these pumps for flow or skimmers. Klaus has stated at InterZoo and online that a smaller 170 model pump would be for skimmer use with an adjustable air intake of 1000-2500 lph with a max flow of 15,000 l/h. In his release of the information for the RD2 Ti’s there has been no specifications on the 170 model, just posts like this. New DC Mini pumps are said to be released later this year as well.
(Originally the Supermarin 300 was to come with DC pumps, but now they are coming with 2 RD1 pumps, that can later be upgraded when the RD2 170 skimmer pumps become available.)
Here you can see the new pumps, with either external or internal controllers. Also shown lower are the external DeLuxe and Basic DC Controllers.
Out with the old, in with the new.
This shows the titanium and SiC axle, magnet and taking notes from fluid mixers, the object to the right is the actual RD2 impeller.
Shown below is the 25,000 model which pushes, yes 25,000 l/h or 6,600 GPH at no head. At 8m head it is still able to push 8,000 l/h or 2,100 GPH. The measured max energy consumption of this model is 400w when running at 100% and zero head. You can also see the DeLuxe DC controller which has 7 timer functions, a keypad, blue backlit LED screen, and a child proof like lock to prevent any accidental changes.
Here’s the 20,000 model. At 280w it can push 20,000 l/h or 5,300 GPH. It has a max head pressure of 6m with a noise level of only 48 decibels, as measured from 1m away. The controller shown is the Basic DC controller being offered by RE that lacks the timer ability of the DeLuxe model.
These pumps appear to be well made and designed, however, we do not expect to see them become that popular. The flow rates and controllability are very impressive, but as of now there is nothing even close to the 1,000 gph range that so many use. A step in the right direction for the hobby, and they ought to prove quite useful for large 500g+ systems, but we’re still waiting to see the smaller flow and skimmer models such as the 170 model that has been mentioned.
