SCWD.. feedback wanted please

Sometime in the near future I'll be transforming my tote built fuge to an AGA 29. I'll also be upgrading my return pump and changing the plumbing layout I currently have so I want to take the opportunity to get some PH's out of my display and use a flow diverter on the return. I'd really like to go with a 3/4" scwd for the no power usage fact but I've not read much good about them. On the other hand most of the reviews were written 6+ years ago and I haven't really seen any more recent. So I was hoping that maybe improvements have been made and some of the 'bugs' have been worked out.
What do you all think of this device? Is it worth the money? I can't afford any units along the lines of squirts.

 

I found mine to be troublesome and broke fairly quickly. A little bit of sand, etc will kill it quickly. They say to use a screen to filter an particulates out but I prefer no screen on my pump inlets. I also found the decrease in flow not to be a good thing.

 

Havent had a problem with mine yet, been about 4 months.

 

mine was fine until about month 6. I also ran my tank on the heavy side... IE. higher DKH and CA levels.

 

Read they have that problem. Don't want to have to take the thing off and soak it in vinegar.

 

The biggest drawback is the reduction in flow due to the power required to turn the turbine wheel and gears inside it. You will see a 25-30% reduction in flow so they require a larger pump to make up for this.
I ended up replacing mine with an Oceans Motions Squirt which does not restrict the pumps flow at all and requires very little maintenance and cleaning by comparison.
I think I still have a SCWD around i cut apart to see what was inside, they contain a bunch of exposed tiny plastic gears which can get dirty or damaged very easily. With my DSB and 35x turnover flow they quit working quickly.

 

I have used mine for almost a year now and havent had any problems with it. I use a mag12 return pump and everything has been good.(knock on wood) I turn my return pump off at least once a week and never had any start up issues with the scwd.

 

I used mine for well over a year with no issues. One thing that I can say is that the supreme mag drive pumps don't take too kindly to being used to power a SCWD. I had a mag9 that burnt out and was not fixable in like 6 months. The quiet one pumps (QO3000) work well, and even though the QO3000 is like 780 gph, and the mag9.5 is 950 gph, on the exact same manifold, the lower gph rated QO provided more flow than the mag9.

 

And I had a Quiet One 4000 literally go up in flames on a SCWD closed loop. I got home one afternoon and my chiller was running non stop. The tank temp was several degrees above normal and I got a shck when I reached in. I started unplugging stuff until Ii found the QO was the culprit. it was so hot the housing was melting and I had to use oven mitts to remove it. I can't believe it was still running and it had not popped the GFCI or breaker. Needless to say it went in the trash and was replaced by a Ocean Runner 3500. Figuring maybe it was a fluke I bought a QO 2200 to replace the Mag 2 on my calcium reactor since it was rattling like crazy even after a new impeller and was so hot i couldn't lay my hand on it.
In about 6 months time I came home one day and saw my tank level was low. I opened the stand and found wate rsquirting out the side of the 2200 motor housing, not the pump end but from the side of the motor. it was inches from squirting into the outlet strip mounted up high so it was out of the way.
Junk in my opinion. One is a fluke, two is a pattern. Plus they run hot, have documented restart problems and are not as efficient as they claim based on my testing with a Kill A Watt meter. Nothing but Ocean Runner or Eheim for me now and I have 4 OR pumps in operation today, two are over 7 years old and just like new.

 

Yes mag drive's definately don't like back pressure. I should be o.k. though because the return will be tee'd to supply the fuge as well. May look into a QuietOne pump as well cuz ya can never have to much equipment on hand lol.