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Thread: AFS drum removal without dumping the contents

  1. #1
    Regular Vistor
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    AFS drum removal without dumping the contents

    I have three AFS feeders ( one in for service right now) and I think they are great! The noise posts were in my opinion unreasonable. I don't find that they are noisy at all. In fact if I want to check the operation I have to have silence in the room to hear it.

    The USB and power location may be a problem. Be sure to have your unit raised well above the water line. Use a drip loop and reduce clutter by powering the unit with the USB bus. I have not tried it yet but the use of dielectric compound on the three openings in the back my reduce the possibility of corrosion.

    Dielectric compound is a non conductive paste that will help seal the openings. It is non conductive and looks very much like Vaseline. It's used in the automotive industry, for example it is used on spark plug boots to keep them from sticking to the plugs and preventing water from shorting out the circuit.


    Programming is a breeze and can be as simple or as complicated as you wish. In my opinion feeding your fish small amounts throughout the day will reduce food waste, nitrates, and phosphates. I have already noticed a drop in all three since the install. Selecting the amount to feed each time is accomplished by adjusting the amount of food dispensed each time with a slider in the drum. You can also program the unit to activate the drum more than once at each feeding. There is no limit to the many configurations on how much food and when the food is dispensed.

    When removing the feed drum to either refill it or adjust the amount dispensed with each rotation extreme caution must be used. When the drum is in the seated position removing the drum can be very tricky. The drum's cover is all the is exposed when the drum is seated. It is very easy to accidentally remove only the cover and not the drum. This courses the contents in the drum to spill into the tank.


    It is for this reason that I recommend that you remove the feeder from he tank each time you refill the drum. Maybe Neptune could create a command for the feeder the would extend the drum but not dispense, holding the drum out for easier removal.

    All in all, get one, it will be one of the best $100 you've spent in years

  2. #2
    Frequent Contributor iamchadster's Avatar
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    Great post. No wonder I can't get one. You have 3?
    Chad

  3. #3
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    Quote Originally Posted by thefirechief View Post
    Maybe Neptune could create a command for the feeder the would extend the drum but not dispense, holding the drum out for easier removal.
    Just initiate a manual feed cycle (say via the iPhone app), wait for the drum to get 50% of the way out, then grab it. Don't wait for it to get 100% of the way out, since grabbing then might strip the gears. By the time you refill the drum the feeder will be through it's cycle and retracted, so safe to reinsert without damaging anything.

  4. #4
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    I don't think grabbing it while in mid gear is a good idea. You may damage motor.

    Just a thought.


    Sent from my BlackBerry 9810 using Tapatalk

  5. #5
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    I haven't had any problem dumping the contents when I remove my drum. I just pull the drum out of the unit and the lid stays on


    The cure for anything is saltwater. Sweat, tears, or the sea. - Isak Dinesen

  6. #6
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    The issue of the cover coming off usually has to do with one of these two reasons:

    1. The cover was not snapped on tightly
    2. The feeder is mounted perpendicular to the user and instead of them pulling the food hopper straight our, they pull slightly toward them causing a bit more friction and making the hopper have enough resistance that the cover pops off before it is slid completely out. Make sure you are pulling the hopper straight out and it is not binding.

  7. #7
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    I have the same issue. I tried several ways, But I have alway the lid in my hand and not the complete container. Also the lid removes pretty easy, it requires less force than I need to remove the container.

    What to do?

  8. #8
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    I have to make sure that when filling drum with food, that non gets in the middle 'prong' area where the lid clips in. If food gets stuck in there, changes are that the lid won't clip on properly. But I still think poor design.

  9. #9
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    Mine is clean, but still removes too easy. I have 'tiny bits' in my AFS and I had a major issue when al ost everything fel into the water...

  10. #10
    Hoff
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    Has anyone come up with a good way to avoid this? I just dumped a bunch of food in my freshwater planted tank and spent an hour+ trying to vacuum out all the bits. Maybe some tape? It seems like it takes more force to pull the unit out than to remove the lid.

    As Terrance pointed out above, i do have the unit mounted perpendicular to the way I need to stand to remove the bin. But I don't have a better mounting location.

  11. #11
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    I remove mine or at least hold vertically before removing the cartridge. I'd say 30% of the time, the lids comes off vs the cartridge comes out, it's clearly not a brilliant design in that respect, but a little cadence helps prevent spillage incidents in the tank.

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