7240.27 driver alarm -- how to disable it?

[CTaylor]

Hi,
I have 2 6100.10, and their alarms go off a few times a day lately. I have completely cleaned them and the impellers turn with nearly 0 friction by hand. For whatever reason they are stopping and causing the alarm to signal. This starting happening to both pumps the same day, and continues (for the past week). I've cleaned them a few more times, even though they are already clean. The only bit of tiny residue is at the very bottom of the hole they are housed in. But there has been significantly more residue down there before, and there has not been any issue at all.

Now when either pump stops, it seems to be a brief time, and it's back in operation often the next time it's signaled to go on by the Tunze controller.

I purchased the pumps in 2004, but they have had 8 years of service (which is a fair amount, but I think this should cause them to actually end of lifed (?)).

1) Do I need new pumps?
2) in the mean time, how do I disable the alarm, or locate the 'speaker' and pull it out or smash it while still wired to the driver? << I ask this because I'm nervous if I disconnect it, then I'll somehow mess the wiring up in the driver. I cant stand when it wakes me up.. Or when I'm away for a few days and it alarms the neighbors. It's not an emergency!

Thanks

 

[rvitko]

1) Yes, the fundamental problem is the life span of the capacitors and this applies to every DC pump. Thin film capacitors start to bleed current and don't reliably hold a charge at about 7-8 years in. If at any point the pump seized and overheated, this can add another potential problem, that the overheat caused the coils to swell and deflect the hall sensor, while they cooled and returned to position the damage is done and the hall sensor no longer lines up. If the drive units are original they are way overdue for replacement, that might be a fix to stop the alarm and get a bit more but realistically 10 years is about the longest you can expect any DC pump to last and that is if everything was made perfectly and the capacitors last as long as possible. I do rarely see them 12+ years old and still work but after 8 years you are definitely in the bonus round. With the Stream 3 we eliminated the hall sensors and instead use BEMF and we replaced the thin film capacitors with tantalum ceramic which typically last 40 years, the goal of this was a forever pump, but it has trade offs, mainly these components are much bigger and quite a bit more expensive.

2) The speaker is visible on the driver, it is round, black, has a small hole and is a typical Piezo speaker as you might buy at an electronics hobby shop, the easy fix is to just mute it with a heavy piece of tape over the hole in the speaker (think velcro or thick double sided foam tape). The alarm going off though means there is a problem and it should be resolved or the pump replaced. My hunch is the drive units are just worn beyond there useful life, they should generally be replaced every 5 years at least as the blades wear down and the magnets lose power and the bearings grind down over time. This is the main reason we went with magnetic levitation on the Stream 3, virtually no wear. If these pumps still have the drive unit from 2004, the new drive unit 6100.700 introduced in 2006 has no brake shoes and much fewer parts, that may be all you need but I wouldn't realistically expect more than a couple more years from these pumps.

 

[CTaylor]

Hi Roger.
Thanks so much for your helpful advice (again!).
To be clear on my understanding. The impeller is actually stopping (on occasion), causing the alarm to sound. It seems to be 'triggered to stop' when it is told to restart pumping action from the Tunze controller. Is the 1) answer you gave fitting that situation? The capacitors in the driver are causing the impeller to stop and then the alarm to then sound???

2) Thanks for that! it will be my bandaid for now.

And I'm really happy there is that new replacement for the capacitors.

**What do you recommend for a mixed reef, mainly SPS 180-220 gallon tank?
https://premiumaquatics.com/products/tunze-stream-6255-wide-flow-water-pump.html ?
Or are two of those (for alternating currents) too powerful? Can a lower power model be totally appropriate?

**Does this model have the new ceramic type of capacitors? That would probably mean a very very long life.
My tank now is too small for that a full power, a 65 gallon. But I'd just dial down whatever I get now to accommodate. As I do not want to get pumps now just replace them (hopefully soon to upgrade to the big tank).

THANKS

 

[rvitko]

Any of these could cause it, hall sensor out of alignment, leaking capacitors or worn out drive unit. The only way to know is to try a new drive unit and then it has to be one of the others which won't be repairable.

This is the model that has the ceramic capacitors, I would recommend it for a 120 or up. It can work in a 65 but is a large pump that would both be obtrusive most likely and have to be greatly turned down. In a bigger tank the rock work lets you hide it better. For a 65 I would use the 6055's or 6095's, while they have the same life span as what you have, that is still a long time to have a pump.

https://premiumaquatics.com/products/tunze-6150-stream-3-pump.html