Switching Current Water Director (SCWD)

[AcePuck35]

Does anyone have a "Switching Current Water Director (SCWD)"? What are your opinions? Do they work well for your tanks and do they last? Is there any maintenance? Important question: there are two sizes 3/4" an 1" the cost is double from one to the other. would anyone recomend running a 1" pipe from the return pump and decrease it down to 3/4" to the SCWD and then run the 3/4" out of the SCWD and increase the pipes back up to 1" going to the tank, to save money by buying the 3/4" unit?

[Big Country]

Never used a SCWD, I hooked up a WAV unit that bruce "bbyatv" here on WAMAS builds, liked the concept and it worked well but I made a mistake and plumbed it under my 180g tank and it's magnets could not handle the backpressure and started to skip, totally my fault, the unit worked great otherwise, just need to find time to replumb the returns on my tank to raise the WAV unit up to tank water level so it doesn't have any backpressure, this is going to be my winter project. Check it out, the website is http://mysite.verizon.net/vzezka94/wav/

[Swimboy123]

Forget about the SCWD and go with a WAV from Bruce. I have two on my 150 and they freakin' rock!!!!

[DaveS]

I think SCWDs are cool but would not say they are for every situation. Basically the SCWD relies upon water pressure instead of electricity to provide the back-and-forth water movement. Instead of an electrical motor, a series of gears are used. The water flow causes them to spin and rotate.

 

Energy is energy so in this case, instead of electrical energy, you are exchanging water pressure (energy) for the mechanical movement. The resulting loss of water pressure is the main complaint with these. But if you know this going in and are ok with it, this shouldn't be a problem. In the end, one can argue that you are still consuming electricity as you end up using more power in the pump to get the same flow. But I really like the idea of not having to plug a bunch of stuff in to get the switching motion.

 

The 3/4" and 1" versions are pretty different animals, hence their different prices. The 3/4" one is good to use just before your tank returns. Unless you are pushing a LOT of water through each return, the 1" will be too big for it. The 1" is better designed to be used right after the return pump or CL pump where you are more likely to have 1" plumbing. Also the 1" can be taken apart and cleaned of any scaling or other stuff that tends to build up over time. The 3/4" can't be taken apart and can only be soaked in vinegar as a whole.

 

Hope this helps.

[Supernova26]

Unfortunately due to circumstances out of Bruce's hands the WAV is not getting build for the moment

Edited September 23, 2011 by Supernova26

[bankyf]

Unfortunately due to circumstances out of Bruce's hands the WAV is not getting build for the moment

 

I can't officially offer one for sale in this thread, but...

[Coral Hind]

After some use my SCWD started to jam up and needed routine cleanings to keep it working. I haven't used the WAV but have heard this is not as big an issue, if one at all.

 

 

I can't officially offer one for sale in this thread, but...

You could post it in the "for sale" section and link to here, just an idea.

[AcePuck35]

OK, so no one is really a big fan of the SCWD?

[Ryan S]

OK, so no one is really a big fan of the SCWD?

 

I've heard they can jam up and get clogged easily. Never used one myself.

[Steve G]

I've been running my return (from Eheim 1262) through a SCWD for about 5 years. never cleaned it. Works fine.