Evolution Aqua Answer Pump Replacement

Advice on Koi,Ponds and Equipment
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roselanekoi
Posts: 307
Joined: Thu Feb 14, 2008 7:38 pm

Evolution Aqua Answer Pump Replacement

Post by roselanekoi »

The Answer has not been sold for a few years now and EA no longer carry any spares. The most common failure is the pump giving up and that’s what’s happened to both my original Answer and an Answer 325 I purchased second hand. The pump in my original answer runs for a few seconds, overheats and then cuts out so obviously a new pump is called for.

After reading a post by Mark Williams on the Koi Carp forum it didn’t seem too much of a job and Mark kindly sent me some photos of his pump repair. The biggest problem was mounting a new pump, as the original arrangement just wouldn’t work with the spare pumps I have.

The next problem I found was that I couldn’t mount the pump, a Superfish 12000, tight to the underside of the answer as the body of the pump fouled the Answer outlet pipe, hence the extension piece. This is the rotating outlet piece often included with submersible pumps.

The third problem was the return pipework, this had to be made using the original plastic mounting piece, which was turned through 180o to avoid drilling the base plate of the Answer. I was surprised at how small this orifice was, presumably to suit the size of the spay bar on the inside of the Answer. This arrangement has unfortunately resulted in an undesirable U bend in the return pipework which could not be avoided.

Anyway you can see the result which was made utilising some spare fittings I had, the flexible rubber fittings are a godsend when bodging up connections. Starting from scratch then perhaps a more flow friendly design could be found. This is now set up in the settlement chamber of my small pond where it is working well, stopping the koi fry from passing through the filter to be mashed up in the pump.
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Fitting a new pump to the Answer 325 may be more of a problem as the pump and connection pieces were purpose made and the holes in the base much closer together. I think any repair will involve cutting and drilling the base plate for new fittings and this is something for another day.

Colin
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