Are there better prices overseas?

[gamecock]

Take a look at this:

http://www.thecoralgarden.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=271">http://www.thecoralgarden.co.uk/product_info.php?cPath=40&products_id=271</a>

I know there is shipping $$$ but this retails here for $814. The currency conversion comes out to about $474. There is also listed an installation kit for 75 pounds. Not sure what that is.

Is this an option for some of the European skimmers or am I missing something? :unsure:

Andy

 

[gamecock]

Oh well, I emailed them and got this reply:

"Sorry we are unable to supply Deltec to the USA as it breaches our
Authorised Agent status in the UK.
Also, regardless of that, our skimmers will NOT work in the usa, different
voltage etc.
Sorry"

Guess that answers my question.

 

[gamecock]

However, I do have a friend in England that could buy it there and ship it to me. :yes: Thoughts?

 

[wolfie]

Their pump will not work here in the US.

 

[roland jacques]

yeap, those are 50 HZ, 220? voltage so those pumps dont work in US.

My question is why even bother with that skimmer? You can Mod a Octopus NW-200 to far out perform that skimmer. With all the extra $$$ buy some corals. or you can even get a ATI BM 200 that will even give you better performance and still save $$$$.

 

[mufret]

I happen to have a few Deltecs (along with a number of other brands) and like them for their simplicity and efficiency. They are pretty much a set it and go skimmer that needs little to no "tweaking" once set and the pumps use a minimal amount of energy to produce a tremendous amount of bubbles. There is no need to mod them and they just need to be cleaned regularly as the collection cup will fill up, religiously, every two days. They are however on the expensive side and, as Roland mentioned, there are other skimmers available that are capable of doing a similar job. It's really more a question of how comfortable you are with your abilities to properly mod a skimmer. I've only found a very select few skimmers (haven't had the pleasure of running an ATI yet but I'm looking) that will do as good of a job, right out of the box, and then continue to do it for years and years (as long as they are properly maintained). As with many items, there's also the resale value to consider. Even used Deltecs, which don't come up for sale very often, sell for significantly more than many skimmers new.

 

[flipturn88]

I know in the case of livestock, prices can be dramatically different between countries/regions of the world. For example, when I was in Australia, I saw yellow tangs selling for $150+, but acan lords with amazing colors were sold at the equivalent of a brown mushroom rock here. This is because of availability; CITES regulations and other laws set up by the Australian government make it illegal (or at least very</em> difficult) to import/export marine life, and the same is true for other countries as well. But, you are talking about equipment, so this post may be totally irrelevant.

 

[matttvi]

Can you buy an adapter..? i know you can to get a 110v working on a 220v outlet, but maybe they sell adapters that get 220v working on a 110v outlet?

 

[gamecock]

I have seen voltage adapters that will allow you to use European appliances here and vice versa.

 

[matttvi]

this is completely off topic, GC, but did you really get your jetta to run on veggie oil?

 

[mufret]

gamecock;28869 wrote: I have seen voltage adapters that will allow you to use European appliances here and vice versa.

It will work for a while but, eventually, the pump will fail. There are also additional modifications made to the pumps and impellers to optimize them to the 60 Hz we have here.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

MattTVI;28870 wrote: this is completely off topic, GC, but did you really get your jetta to run on veggie oil?

Can Be done, it is called "Bio-Diesel". I modded my mom's old Mercades to run on Bio-diesel. She now gets 52 MPG of veggi oil and loves it. Granted her car smells lick McDonald's Fries when you drive behind her but it is well worth it. Seriously, if I had a Diesel car here, I would mod it in a hearbeat!

Best part is, if you run out of oil, you can use diesel till you can find a frier!

Andy, do you have the reactors and everything to clearify your own oil or do you use fresh?!?

 

[matttvi]

Xyzpdq0121;28890 wrote: Can Be done, it is called "Bio-Diesel". I modded my mom's old Mercades to run on Bio-diesel. She now gets 52 MPG of veggi oil and loves it. Granted her car smells lick McDonald's Fries when you drive behind her but it is well worth it. Seriously, if I had a Diesel car here, I would mod it in a hearbeat!

Best part is, if you run out of oil, you can use diesel till you can find a frier!

Andy, do you have the reactors and everything to clearify your own oil or do you use fresh?!?

sounds pretty cool, but is the cost of the oil prohibitive?

 

[kwl1763]

You can buy 110V 60hz to 220 50 hz converters. I know lots of people who have them who have moved across the pond. They are several hundred dollars though so not worth it. The ones I know have had thousands invested in TVs and audio equipment so it made sense.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

MattTVI;28898 wrote: sounds pretty cool, but is the cost of the oil prohibitive?

No the oil is free if you get it from a restaurant. You purify the old fry oil. Cost to purify works out to like $.40 a gallon or less. I have not ran the numbers lately but it was cheap. Now you have to buy the reactor if you want to purify your own which is about $2000-$3000. You save that in your first year easy. Even for just one car it is well worth it. Then you take a orchard like my parents have in Colorado that is 500 Acres and run all your farm equipment off bio-diesel. one or two local restaurants is all you need to have more fuel then you can imagine. You get the oil for free because normally the restaurants have to pay to have it disposed, if you take it you save them money.

 

[matttvi]

Xyzpdq0121;28906 wrote: No the oil is free if you get it from a restaurant. You purify the old fry oil. Cost to purify works out to like $.40 a gallon or less. I have not ran the numbers lately but it was cheap. Now you have to buy the reactor if you want to purify your own which is about $2000-$3000. You save that in your first year easy. Even for just one car it is well worth it. Then you take a orchard like my parents have in Colorado that is 500 Acres and run all your farm equipment off bio-diesel. one or two local restaurants is all you need to have more fuel then you can imagine. You get the oil for free because normally the restaurants have to pay to have it disposed, if you take it you save them money.

now that's pretty darn cool...

 

[frewl]

I pm'ed him about it and he uses the conversion on the car. From what I understand it filters and heats the oil for the car to use. He has a small reserve tank of diesel to start the car and to purge the engine of vegie oil so its easier to start up. He looked into both but decided on the car conversion citing the presents of children and the dangers of the chemicals.

 

[xyzpdq0121]

Ya car conversion works too. I do not know if you can use restaurant "dirty" oil that way though.

The at home refinery can get pretty messy but the chemicals are not dangerous (to my knowledge) and take just a bit of know how of science to work. The show "Dirty Jobs" on Discovery channel did a great episode on it. It is a bit of a dirty job but with gas $2.50 again, I would do it if I could!

 

[george]

MattTVI;28867 wrote: Can you buy an adapter..? i know you can to get a 110v working on a 220v outlet, but maybe they sell adapters that get 220v working on a 110v outlet?

Bumping 110 to 220 and vice versa is easy. You can do it with about $20 worth of stuff from Home Depot and a couple capacitors. A cheaper version can be made with lamp cord and a few large size metal washers. This is also how you make a Tesla coil, but that's a dangerous experiment for another time.

However, the killer is the conversion from 60Hz to 50Hz. For that you usually rectify and then re-oscillate the power at the desired frequency. For anyone with an electronic ballast (all of you, I hope) on their VHO, T5, or PC lights, you're already doing this step to get the voltage to oscillate at 10K+ Hz. And you know how much a high-current ballast costs. :yuk:

 

[matttvi]

lol george... stop giving me a headache... ;o)