Important Notice for Electronic Pump Users

rvitko

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Today I recieved back a set TS48 which had been destroyed by a power surge. While this one was covered as I had never expected or imagined such a thing was possible. Such damage is not warranty and will not be covered in the future. Please use a surge surpressor. The Electronic pumps have delicate electronics that need the same care and treatment you would give a computer. In this scenario the power failure destroyed some components of the circuitry on all 4 pumps that in turn caused damage to the pumps themselves which also contain electronic components.

I am addressing this for a few reasons. First, I take pride in our reputation and while we do make mistakes they are quite rare as every single product is tested twice before it leaves. Second, I wanted to forewarn everyone of the potential problem, while I suspect it is extremely rare and a freak occurence, if a $20 surge supressor could prevent the damage to a $300 pump it seems money well spent. Third, warranty only covers factory defects, we are not responsible for damage caused by any other factor or normal wear and tear. I try to be as generous and understanding as possible but I cannot and will not cover damage that is not our fault in the future.
 
I have my streams hooked up to a UPS. Since the power consumption is so low they ran for 11 hours with no power except for the battery back up. UPS also says they will reimburse up to $25000 in damages b/c of a power surge.
 
Thnx. for the heads-up Roger, --I'll add the surge protector. Probably would be a good idea to notify your distributors of same,Bob
 
No. A GFI only ensures that the same amount of power coming in on the hot lead is leaving through the neutral lead. It just detects if power is going some where it shouldn't. A Surge Protector contains transistors that smooth out the power coming in, it cushions drops in power and absorbs surges in power. Up to this point I have never seen this happen. Austin tends to have it's share of storms and power failures and I have never seen it. In this case it sounds like some electrical work was being done in the neighborhood, also the customer had a generator that kicked on in case of failure. According to Tunze something over 300v would be required to do this damage but it would only need occur for a fraction of a second. This is a highly unlikely scenario. For the most part I rule this out as a freak occurence. All the same, if it could have been prevented with a $20-$20 surge strip it seems worth while. The same sorts of things that could ruin a computer will ruin the Turbelle Electronic driver and pump.
 
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