Are Sicce pumps fixable?

[JPagliai]

I fired up my "new" protein skimmer over the weekend. The Sicce was making quite a bit of noise, but after some coaxing, it started running smoothly. I came home the next day and the pump was dead. The darn thing ran for less than a day.

I bought it from another reefer in January as new/unused, but just got around to hooking it up. I sent an email to the company that made the skimmer hoping there's something they can do. Just not sure they'd be willing to do anything since I wasn't the one that bought from them.

If the company can't offer any assistance, I'm wondering are these pumps fixable? Or will I need to buy a whole new pump?

 

[ppurcell]

Jane, I would say that has to do with whether the problem is with the housing or impeller. Is so, maybe. If it's the pump windings or relating to power you probably will need a new pump.

 

[ostrow]

How sure are you that the pump is dead and just not spinning? Is it a meshwheel-modded impeller? If so, odds are overwhelming that the pump is fine but the mesh needs to be trimmed. Can you take a picture of it?

Who made the skimmer? What are the specs -- diameter, height, how many pumps on it?

 

[JPagliai]

I guess I don't really know what is wrong. The skimmer is from Orca Systems and it looks similar to the Sicce1 in the online gallery. I think Todd (Poppy) bought this skimmer at your recommendation, Joel. When he exited the hobby to go off biking, I bought it from him unused.

My knucklehead teenage son said it was making an unbearable rattling noise, but instead of calling me to ask what to do, he waited for me to come home to complain about the noise. By the time I got home, all the noise stopped and no water was pumping. I felt the pump and it had no vibration whatsoever. I just unplugged it.

 

[ppurcell]

it might just be a broken impeller shaft. Take it apart and let us know what you see. I'd offer to look at it for you, but it's a bit too far away. So, pics would work too.

 

[ostrow]

Ok, I know the skimmer. I presume you plugged it in again?

Odds are greater than 95% that the pump is fine. It rattled as it was struggling and eventually it stopped trying to spin. When that happens, with these pumps, the hand on the pump will not necessarily tell you anything.

Open the volute and check the mesh. Most likely it needs a trim. Be careful hwen removing the impeller not to lose the red cap that goes on the bottom of the shaft -- it is easy to lose. If the shaft pulls out of the impeller without the cap, it is likely resting there at the bottom of the impeller well. Again, don't lose it!

Examine the mesh. If it looks even around the sides and on the top (no strangs obviously sticking up or out), put the cover back on and plug the pump back in and odds are it will spin. Then reconnect to the skimmer.

If you find wayward mesh strands, trim them off and make sure it is round, even around the yellow impeller disk. Then reassemble and plug it in, and reconnect to the skimmer.

If it rattles as you begin to submerge/attach the pump, blow into the air tubing. Once it runs it will run fine.

 

[JPagliai]

I ran through that whole procedure on Sunday to get it running. Hubby got a few chuckles watching me on my knees blowing into an airline, but it did start up and run smoothly. When I left for work on Monday morning, it was still running smoothly. By the time I got home, it stopped.

I'll run through that whole procedure again tonight when I get home. Maybe I can get it done before hubby gets home I hope you're right about it starting up again. I know these pumps are a bit pricey.

 

[ostrow]

When you do, shoot some photos of the mesh.

Also, shoot some photos of the piece at the top of the shaft, that slides into the volute. There are two kinds, one long and one short. You want to have the shorter one but I suspect you may have the longer one.

 

[JPagliai]

Will do! Thanks for the help!

 

[broke1]

I don't know much about the Sicce pumps, but I do know the MSX/Octopus Extreme owners are modding the crap out of the. You may want to check out:
MSX

I can't find the other one right now, but these pumps seem to have start up issues when they start pushing the modifying to get better air pull. Do you have the stock needle/pinwheel?

I don't know which skimmer you have, this may or may not help.

 

[badazztealcobra]

If you still cant get it running and youre ever in my area, I can take a look at it for you...

Even re-do the mesh for ya with some flatback enkamat if it needs it.

 

[JPagliai]

Thanks everyone! We pulled the pump out tonight, disassembled it, and trimmed the mesh and any stray threads that seemed to be rubbing. It seems to be working again. Whew!

 

[ostrow]

Jane:

Good to hear.

Is your volute extremely difficult to remove? If so, you can go to a good Ace Hardware and find a thinner o-ring to make that easier, and it also eases the compression of the volute on the impeller, giving it more room to spin and less likelihood the mesh will rum on the bottom.

 

[JPagliai]

My husband needed pliers to separate the housing and expose the mesh mod. What we couldn't figure out is what kept the mesh from rubbing on the inside of that housing. We expected to see something on top of the mesh wheel to allow it to spin freely inside the housing, but nothing was there. The mesh was mounted on its base with zip ties, but there was nothing on top of the mesh in the center.

Hubby put it back together before I could take pics, but here's a drawing of what I see. I see the mesh mod on the top image, but expected to see some type of cushioning like the bottom image.

 

[ostrow]

The little knob that the impeller shaft slides into does the trick on the top.

Take that o-ring to Ace -- a good ace that has an o-ring display -- and swap it for a thinner one. Try 2 or 3 different ones. You (not just hubby) should be able to spin it on your own.

 

[JPagliai]

Okay, we'll look for a thinner O-ring. I'm just relieved that the pump isn't burned out. Thanks again!

 

[my2girls]

Good thread. I don't mean to barge into your club, but I found this thread on a search. I'm sure many others are having this same Sicce problem.

I actually just received my custom Orca Systems skimmer and the Sicce pump is making tons of noise. I re-meshed it a few times. The last time I used fishing line instead of zip ties and is quieter (no zip tie to rub on the back of the pump when over compressed by volute).

Joel- great info of the volute o-ring. I think I'll be going to the hardware store tomorrow.

FWIW- I have had both the ATI Sicce and now the Marine Solutions Sicce, and by far the ATI is superior.

 

[BlakDuc]

Jane, if you want to redo the mesh with some fishing line, I have some extra enkamat you can have. IMO, the zip ties are terrible, I used fishing line and threaded it through at least 4 times all the way around. Let me know, I can even do it for you if you need me to.

 

[whiirly]

I ended up ordering pin wheels for my sicces pumps and no more mesh mods
they run better and no more shutting down

 

[Jeff]

I run a Sicce pump on my Bubble Master and found that turning the pump over under water to release the bubbles trapped inside before plugging in relieved all of the noise problems. I have re-meshed mine twice now with no problems but have read that trimming it properly fixes pump failure problems most of the time like Joel said.