We received our skimmer Friday direct from Warner Marine. It was packed extremely well– really, it was one of the best packed packages we have received. (say that 10 times) RX 150 Basic Stats: 6″ Diameter x 24.5″ Tall External Design Recirculating Bubble Plate Powered by Sedra 7000 Needle Wheel The overall construction is [...]
We received our skimmer Friday direct from Warner Marine. It was packed extremely well– really, it was one of the best packed packages we have received. (say that 10 times)
RX 150 Basic Stats:
- 6″ Diameter x 24.5″ Tall
- External Design
- Recirculating Bubble Plate
- Powered by Sedra 7000 Needle Wheel
The overall construction is very solid. I would rate it higher than Deltec and on par, or above, H&S. All edges are polished and smooth; all seams appear to be well glued. The black acrylic used at the base plate is extremely thick and supports the entire unit. The cast acrylic is thick throughout the entire unit, and the Sch 80 plumbing and valves are strong and fluid.
As shown in the above photo, there is a silencer attached to the collection cup. One vent hole in the top of the cup is threaded to allow easy connection with a nylon screw. The silencer is much appreciated. Without it the Sedra 7000 is quite loud, but with it you can only hear a quiet muffle. As o now we are not worried about noise; For what it’s worth it will be less than 10ft away from the bed and only separated by a partial wall.
When first assembling the skimmer, I was a bit hesitant about the use of uniseals. I thought they would allow the plumbing to move and create the possibility of leaks, but with the recirculating design the pump attaches well and does not move. When turning the pump on I realized it does reduce vibration and noise. Less noise is a good thing and after playing around with the uniseals we no longer have worries about using this skimmer externally. With that said, I’d still prefer welds.
The two best design features of this skimmer are the neck and bubble plate. The neck is very gentle, and even when breaking in with vinegar the smooth transition has a noticeable effect. This in combination with the recirculating bubble plate eliminates turbulence and the foam head appears to be very calm and stable.
If you take a closer look at the bubble plate you will see that the pump recirculates within that chamber. The feed from our overflow will also flow directly into the bubble plate. This means there is no excess turbulence from the feed and all the water will interface with plenty of air.
The skimmer came with a nylon barb fitting for the feed connection. This may seem small, but it saves the headache known as Home Depot. The collection cup is adequate in size and can easily be removed with just a twist. Although the collection cup does come pre-drilled for a drain line, we will not use it and plug it.
The standpipe is a simple design, with a minimum height already set, but by using the gate valve we will be able to fine tune the level to our liking. Overall we are impressed and look forward to the performance of this skimmer.
We will be setting this up on our system and will follow this post with what hopefully will be some dirty, nausea inducing skimmate photos.
