Big Problem with 9010

[Jeff]

This is my second problem with this skimmer in 2 months. The first was my fault and handled by Roger rather quickly and professionaly

This problem is kind of new and I should have dealt with it last week when I noticed a problem. Last week I noticed that when the skimmer pump lost power for cleaning or whatever, it would not restart properly. By that I mean it would need to be taken apart and put back together to operate properly. Not sure what was wrong or why that was the case but it was. I should have asked for help last week when I first started noticing the problem.
I work a 24 hour shift and returned home this morning in the mioddle of a storm. My wife said that we lost power for a minute or two last night. When I walked over to the tank I smelled something like wires burning and looked under the tank to see that the skimmer was not running. I unplugged it and brought it to the kitchen and took it apart. The motor was hot and the impeller was broken. I think in time, if I had not caught this, the motor would have split or exploded. It was very hot.
The reason I run higher-end equipment and controllers is for safety. I work 24 hours every three days and dont want a disaster while away. I think I got kind of close to a disaster this time....
What do I need to do to fix this problem? I can take more pictures or go into a better explaination if needed.

Jeff

 

[Aquadepot]

Hi Jeff,


The power supply fluctuation may have contributed to the failure I am not sure, Roger may be able to shed some light I have not seen this before.

Best regards
Graeme

 

[Jeff]

The power supply fluctuation?

 

[Aquadepot]

Sorry Jeff,

That was very vague I visit this forum after hours no excuse
I was thinking maybe a power surge had caused an issue with the electrics but as you mentioned prior issues with the pump it my be a fault with the impellor. Please PM Roger for assistance regards warranty repair.

Best Regards
Graeme

 

[rvitko]

Jeff,

You don't need to worry about the safety if the pump gets critically overheated it shuts itself off. Does the pump still work? Will it spin the magnet if you insert it? Basically, do you need just an impeller or a complete pump. What I suspect happened is it turned off and on rapidly due to the power interruption, the brakes jammed and it torqued itself apart. The pump most likely is fine but the drive unit was destroyed.

 

[Jeff]

Graeme, no apology needed. I didnt understand what you asked but now I see what you meant. It seemed to be an ongoing problem with the skimmer. When I shut the skimmer down to do maintenance, I would need to take the motor out and reassemble it to get it to work properly. I know that I assembled it properly because it performed so well after I took it out of the sump and broke it down. I am thrilled with the performance and the tiny footprint but I am unable to hook it up to my controller feeding delay because of the problem I was having.

Roger, I just tested the motor out. it seems to work fine if I drop what left of the magnet into it. It will spin the magnet so it looks like just the impeller assembly is broken. It was kind of scary thoughcoming home to a faint smell of electrical fire and finding the skimmer pump broken and hot (look at my occupation )

Let me know what you want me to do for warrenty work. It is less then 6 months old.

Jeff

 

[rvitko]

I will just send out a new drive unit with propeller. Most likely the bearing bush had slid down and was dragging on the brakes, making start up difficult and the power flicker did it in. The motor turns off if the coil hits 100C and wont restart until it cools. It is also grounded, we try to make things as safe as possible.

 

[rvitko]

BTW, I need your address.

 

[Jeff]

Pm'ing now Roger. Thanks a ton for the help. I am so glad I bought a Tunze product again. Your customer service is untouchable

Jeff

 

[Jeff]

I received the part today and put the skimmer back in service. Thanks a lot for the help and the part

Jeff