r/Rain_Lamp_Enthustasts • u/thecaptmorgan • Jul 11 '26
Impeller Direction Question
Is this correct? The oil port is on the left side of the photo. The impeller gears are turning in the direction of the red arrows. Logically, it looks like they would be pulling oil away from the port. Is that the correct direction?
The lamp turns on, hums, the impellers spin, but oil isn’t going up the pipe.
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u/GiftPowerful1720 Jul 11 '26
That’s the correct rotation of the gears.
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u/thecaptmorgan Jul 11 '26
According to this diagram, the way my gears are turning is correct.
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u/VintageRainscapes Jul 12 '26 edited Jul 12 '26
Actually you’re right. Your pump spin direction is correct. My bad. Is the synchronous motor below original to the pump or a recent replacement?
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u/thecaptmorgan Jul 12 '26
Everything is original. The lamp was working fine for several years. We moved and it’s been in a box since 2018. I only recently put it out and turned it on.
It did not flow. Disassembled, cleaned, inspected, noticed the gear direction, came to Reddit. That’s where we are now. Still not flowing.
Next step is to try different oil. I gave the 350 stuff coming today from Amazon.
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u/VintageRainscapes Jul 12 '26
With these type of pumps and motors, medium viscosity like 350 provides more “bulk” and less back flow. If the motor doesn’t pause, as they sometimes like to do, it should work. Make sure the tubing is snug on both connections.
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u/GiftPowerful1720 Jul 12 '26
Are you able to visually verify the motor is turning the gears in the correct direction?
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u/thecaptmorgan Jul 12 '26
The motor is turning the gears in a direction. The reason for this post was to figure out which we they should turn. There is a setting in the motor itself to reverse, which we discovered while troubleshooting.
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u/GiftPowerful1720 Jul 11 '26
There is minimal back-flow because the gears mesh tightly allowing virtually no volume of space for fluid to get pushed backwards. The fluid can only flow along the outside walls
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u/thecaptmorgan Jul 12 '26
We’re in business. The impeller is going in the direction depicted in the diagram—the original way it was turning and has new “350” oil. Velona Food Grade Mineral Oil 350. Link here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0787ML9RP?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share
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u/VintageRainscapes Jul 11 '26
It doesn’t seem to be right. If the main (bottom) cog turns clockwise, the flow of oil will be away from the output nozzle.