Can someone tell me what is going on with my 6100?

[jherrin215]

I just recently bought a tunze 6100 from a member here. He had it mixing salt before the sale. I got it in, plugged it in and all I got was the dreaded squeal. I tried 2 more times before contacting him then when I went to video it it ran like a charm. I let it run in vinegar water for about 4 days then switched to RO water while I was waiting for the mounting bracket to come in. I put it into my tank about a week ago. Love the random flow and this thing is strong but today I noticed something is it doing. It will be running fine then I hear a real quick beep, then nothing then a few minutes later another beep. It has done this several times and three times it has stopped running and went into the long beep. The first time I unplugged it and plugged it back up and it took off, the next 2 times it restarted on it's on. Any suggestions? I surely wouldn't think it was dirty since it's only been in the tank for a week or so.

 

[rvitko]

A lot depends on the age of the pump and drive unit installed, the older 6100.600 or 6080.600 drive units had many small parts and without a full break down may have trapped debris and salt crust which could cause this. The newer 6100.700 is much simpler but the upper bearing can fuse to the drive magnet and need to be mechanically removed (pried apart). The stickied thread on driver alarms has pictures of both that may help. The 6080.600 and 6100.600 were retired for this model pump in 2006 so at this point they have done there duty and should be upgraded to 6100.700 as the magnets have weakened and you will likely see a boost from a new drive unit just due to the age and wear.

 

[jherrin215]

Would you suggest unhooking it until I can upgrade?

 

[rvitko]

I would start with the disassembly and cleaning. I would not run a pump that is alarming intermittently until it is repaired, the thorough cleaning may get it going for the time being.

 

[jherrin215]

Thanks again Roger. My 50 dollar steal on a killer powerhead is turning into a headache. $30 dollar magnet mount, 7 dollar mounting arm, now 40 dollar impeller. Guess that's what you get when you buy used, even if you do buy the caddy!