The Waveline WavePuck is completely new type of DC propeller pump from Reef Life Support Systems. Like so many other propeller pumps, the WavePuck moves water with a propeller, but the motor assembly is unlike anything we’ve seen before, and it allows for a radically new pump form factor.
A typical motor assembly consists of a ‘stator’, the part that stays still, with an internal spinning ‘rotor’, the part that actually rotates. So all your Korallias, NanoStreams and Maxijets have a large stator, the actual motor block, with a small spinning rotor, also known as an impeller, to which centrifugal blades or propeller blades are attached. The WaveLine WavePuck is essentially the reversal of this convention.
In the WavePuck the stator is a small internal cylinder which is mated up with a large rotor that spins on the outside of the stator. You don’t have to understand how the Wavepuck is actually engineered to appreciate that the resulting design is roughly the size and shape of a hockey puck, meaning it has a very low profile that protrudes very little into the actual aquarium space.
Another neat aspect to the Waveline WavePuck is the magnetic mount to the tank wall. The backside of the WavePuck has a convex rounded shape which fits neatly into a concave mounting magnet, allowing the entire Wavepuck pump assembly to be cleanly seated while pointing in any direction, with about 30 to 40 degrees of pointing freedom.
We got a sneak peek at the forthcoming WavePuck by Reef Life Support Systems and we have to say we were impressed by the amount of water flow that was produced by this relatively thin disc-shaped propeller pump. The prototype WavePuck we got our hands on had a slight deformity in the backside of its intake strainer, and we didn’t get to see the front side of the safety cage, but we are told that this part has a counter-spiraled strainer design that helps to straighten the flow to create a very desirable plume of laminar water movement.
Details on the forthcoming Waveline WavePuck are scant, but being a DC Motor from RLSS we can tell you that the ‘Puck will have the same kind of motor driver as the Gen 2 Waveline centrifugal pumps, fully controllable, Apex-Ready and the whole works. RLSS is aiming to produce the Waveline WavePuck in three sizes, with the middle size pricing out about $120 but actual measurement of real world flow rates will have to wait until the WavePuck goes into full production.
The WavePuck is the most radical new design for a propeller water pump since the introduction of the MaxSpect Gyre pump. RLSS has really outdone themselves again since their new DBi protein skimmers are also going to be a huge shake up for their feature-packed list of specifications and their democratic pricing for all. Stay tuned for any news of this exciting new water pump design as we’ll be sure to keep an eye out for any further details on the status-quo busting WavePuck from RLSS.
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