Speedseal Life impeller cover plate problem!

[micknor51]

Hi All,
I have been using a Speedseal impeller plate cover on my Johnson water pump for a number of years very successfully.
I decided to upgrade to the Speedseal Life plate that includes a PTFE disc allowing the pump to run dry for several minutes without destroying the impeller.
On installing this new impeller plate the pump failed to pump water. I note that the PTFE disc is several mm too small in diameter creating a gap (see photo and excuse my rubbish diagram but it clearly shows the problem) hence stopping the pump from working. ie the PTFE disc supplied was the wrong size. Easy fix contact supplier to get the correct size disc.
However the supplier has just gone out of business citing continued ill health. I do hope his health improves.

If you have a Speedseal product and need any other parts then unfortunately like myself you are out of luck. I tried to email but it bounced back.
If anyone knows where I may be able to purchase the correct sized PTFE disc and internal cover I would be most grateful.

I was England recently I called into the home address of the Speedseal suppliers in Bookham, Surrey on Friday 4th May. The gentleman I spoke to said they were closed at the time however he took my order then rang me back later to confirm and pay the £69 and the new Speedseal Life plate arrived at my brothers UK address the next morning. Very efficient I thought not realising the incorrect sized PTFE disc and inner plate had been supplied.
Going out of business without some backup support for customers makes life a bit awkward. However it was a one man show so you ‘pays your money and take the risk’.
Fair winds
Michael

[daletournier]

Hmmm, that's a bummer. I also have a speedster cover and will need another Teflon disk in the future. Please keep us informed if you find away to purchase a some.

[Pete7]

We have gone back to using the ordinary Volvo cover and the speed seal is in the spares bin on board. Works just as well and doesn't take any longer to remove in the big scheme of things.

[HeinSdL]

I also use this cover thinking it was nice you could run the pump dry for whatever reason, for a few minutes. But then something pretty obvious was pointed out to me that on the opposite side of the impeller there is no rotating disk, it's the same set-up, so the impeller will be damaged on that (internal) side anyway, as before. Hhmmm.... But I do like that the cover is relatively easy to remove.

A pity they went out of business, I guess in the end not that much value was added, and I will eventually just put the old cover back on.

[micknor51]

A couple of weeks or so ago, big surprise, the correct sized PTFE and Brass Discs arrived in the post. I fitted them the next day and just like ‘magic’ water pumped as it should from the impeller pump. Happy Now!
On the strength of this success I returned the two under size PTFE and Brass Discs, slipped in £15 for postage etc and asked if it was possible to aquire another set of Discs as spares. I am delighted to report that the post just arrived with 2 more replacement disc sets. Even Happier Now!
Cheers Mr True Marine. A Gentleman.
Michael

[micknor51]

Originally Posted by daletournier

Hmmm, that's a bummer. I also have a speedster cover and will need another Teflon disk in the future. Please keep us informed if you find away to purchase a some.

Hi Daletournier,
You could try as I did writing direct to the address in UK as I did with the size Discs you need. They are £10.80 per set. (You get a PTFE & Brass Disc pair).
The address is:
True Marine, 30A Merrylands Road, Bookham, Surrey, KT23 3HW, UK

Good luck
Michael

[Time2Go]

Old Thread but some insight
I recently spoke with the gentleman owner
of Speedseal about possibly taking over the product
This fellow values the company and its one
product at over 100,000 British Pounds
So I would not expect to see it again

[micknor51]

Originally Posted by Time2Go

Old Thread but some insight
I recently spoke with the gentleman owner
of Speedseal about possibly taking over the product
This fellow values the company and its one
product at over 100,000 British Pounds
So I would not expect to see it again

Hi Time2Go,
£100,000 sounds like a lot of money for what is essentially a rinky dink one man operation run from a suburban London house. When I turned up at the property in April 2018 I was expecting to arrive at a small factory in an industrial estate so was rather surprised at the business location.
The gentleman owner obviously values his intellectual property rights on the Speedseal far too highly to the point where it is bugger any previous customers!!
A sad state of affairs.
I agree mate nobody is likely to take up the Speedseal at that price so it’s not likely we will see it again! A shame really. Oh well what can you do?
Michael

[Jim Cate]

Anyone know what the state of any patents on the product might be?

Jim

[daletournier]

Seems a exorbitant price particularly since he's stopped trading.

It's a pity it's not going to continue, it's a good product.

[micknor51]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

Anyone know what the state of any patents on the product might be?

Jim

Hi Jim,
Since the gentleman thinks his business is worth £100,000 I would think the patent resides with him. It has not been around that long to no longer be under patent I guess. What a pity!
Michael

[Jim Cate]

Originally Posted by micknor51

Hi Jim,
Since the gentleman thinks his business is worth £100,000 I would think the patent resides with him. It has not been around that long to no longer be under patent I guess. What a pity!
Michael

Reason I asked is that I bought one over 10 years ago, and it was far from a new product at the time. If the patent (if any... IDK if there is one) has expired, it would be pretty easy to replicate the design (and even improve upon it) and set up a new biiz. In particular, the use of the tiny cross section o-ring seal on ours is troublesome.

At any rate, you can get some of the benefits using a standard cover plate with thumb screws rather than the tiny slot head buggers that Johnson et al use, and which are bloody hard to get at in many installations.

Jim

[Nicholson58]

Originally Posted by Pete7

We have gone back to using the ordinary Volvo cover and the speed seal is in the spares bin on board. Works just as well and doesn't take any longer to remove in the big scheme of things.

I replaced the bolts with SS socket head screws so spinning on/off the fasteners is easy

[chemist]

Originally Posted by micknor51

Hi Jim,
Since the gentleman thinks his business is worth £100,000 I would think the patent resides with him. It has not been around that long to no longer be under patent I guess. What a pity!
Michael

Here you go.
The GB2302137 (B) one expired in 2016 after the full 20 years of protection was reached.


Maybe he has other patents as well.

[micknor51]

Originally Posted by chemist

Here you go.
The GB2302137 (B) one expired in 2016 after the full 20 years of protection was reached.


Maybe he has other patents as well.

Hi Chemist,
The Speedseal Life (with the PTFE disc) is a much newer product than the original Speedseal plate and thumbscrews hence it is likely this one is still patent protected 😢 unlike the original whose patent has expired😃.

Jim Cate,
I fully agree those tiny O rings are a bugger and the only way I get them to stay in place when replacing is by coating with lubricant used on the impeller.
The thumb screws certainly make life easier.👍
I can see you are looking at taking on a slight re-design of the product and then the next step production of “Implate Seal”, (feel free to use the name)🤣😎
That should keep you Busy for a time!🤭😂
Michael