Iwaki Pump Help

next time you take it apart, take pictures of the inside of the inner housing and back side of the impeller. i had a blueline (which is the same as a iwaki) and the inside of the impeller was wore. it causes the noise on my pump.
 
dahenley said:
next time you take it apart, take pictures of the inside of the inner housing and back side of the impeller. i had a blueline (which is the same as a iwaki) and the inside of the impeller was wore. it causes the noise on my pump.
Click to expand...

I will do that tonight. Do you have a problem with getting your blueline to start up.
 
i have the same problem with my iwaki. it will start up but there will be no suction. i usually have to unplug it, wait a few minutes and try again. is this the similar to your issue?
 
the blue line came with a used tank i purchased. i really didn't run it, but the impeller replacement was almost 100$ and i figured that i would need to buy the inner housing. (just in case, while i was in there why not.) for the price of the impeller and inner and outer housings..... there wasnt much of a difference in that and buying a new pump.

i purchased a Reeflo Dart as a replacement. it doesn't have the pressure. (if you need that) but it does have tons of volume, and there is NO vibrations or noise. (none!!!!!)

mine was a BlueLine 70HD (if you were wondering.)


Snowmass80, does the pump start up backwards which will prevent suction? that is unusual for a external pump, but not imposable.
 
Snowmass80 said:
i have the same problem with my iwaki. it will start up but there will be no suction. i usually have to unplug it, wait a few minutes and try again. is this the similar to your issue?
Click to expand...

I have to shut off the valves to the pump, drain the return section in my sump, open the valves and plug in the pump. Sometimes I have to do this a dozen times before the pump will start up. A couple of times the pump overheats and cuts out so I have to wait half a day before I can start the whole process again.
 
dahenley said:
the blue line came with a used tank i purchased. i really didn't run it, but the impeller replacement was almost 100$ and i figured that i would need to buy the inner housing. (just in case, while i was in there why not.) for the price of the impeller and inner and outer housings..... there wasnt much of a difference in that and buying a new pump.

i purchased a Reeflo Dart as a replacement. it doesn't have the pressure. (if you need that) but it does have tons of volume, and there is NO vibrations or noise. (none!!!!!)

mine was a BlueLine 70HD (if you were wondering.)


Snowmass80, does the pump start up backwards which will prevent suction? that is unusual for a external pump, but not imposable.
Click to expand...

In the planning stage for my tank, I did think about a Dart, but it has too much flow for my setup. I also looked into the Snapper, but it still has too much flow.
 
you can reduce the flow. use a valve or put a tee with a valve and run the extra water back to the sump or a refugium.

what size tank do you have?
 
why not look into the little giant pumps? i have no experience with them, but many people use them and they are cheap. (im not trying to make you buy a new pump, but jsut throwing out options)

i would wait till you pull it apart and go from there. that way you dont have to worry too much or have people like me get off track and make assumptions.
 
FWIW, I have no such issues with my Iwaki pumps, including an MD55RLT. All are nearly 15 years old. Maybe the impeller and the housing it fits in in yours have deformed in a way that makes then rub against each other too much.
 
Randy Holmes-Farley said:
FWIW, I have no such issues with my Iwaki pumps, including an MD55RLT. All are nearly 15 years old. Maybe the impeller and the housing it fits in in yours have deformed in a way that makes then rub against each other too much.
Click to expand...

Do your pumps have any start up issues. I will post a pic tonight when I take apart the pump.
 
That's what I meant: I have never had any such start up issues (unless the pump is so clogged with CaCO3 that it cannot turn easily). :)

I have occassionally blown some WD-40 into the motor area to reduce a screaching noise. :)
 
Same thing here but letting water siphon from the display always fixes it for me.

I’ve been running my Iwaki for over seven years and I have no problems. In fact it requires less maintenance then any other pump I have ever owned.
 
My Iwaki MD-40 (non pressure rated) ran for 2 years with no problem. It then sat in a closet for about 3 years... it's now been running for another year+ with no problems. I clean the insides about once every 4 or 5 months, and I make sure to spray the dust from the back frequently (that fan just sucks salty dust like a magnet).

Never had any startup problems. Never heard any funny noises.

Are you restricting the intake to the pump at all?

-Scott
 
I have the same experience as Randy, my iwaki makes a loud whining noise every now and then but I just have to lube it up and it quiets down. I've love the iwaki and feel that it was definitely a great purchase.
the way that the pump sits in the picture looks like it should have no problem pulling water from the sump. I too would like to see a picture of the insides.
 
scbauer said:
My Iwaki MD-40 (non pressure rated) ran for 2 years with no problem. It then sat in a closet for about 3 years... it's now been running for another year+ with no problems. I clean the insides about once every 4 or 5 months, and I make sure to spray the dust from the back frequently (that fan just sucks salty dust like a magnet).

Never had any startup problems. Never heard any funny noises.

Are you restricting the intake to the pump at all?

-Scott
Click to expand...

There is no restriction to the intake of the pump unless you count the elbow before it.
 
Sounds to me like an air block of some sort. If the feed to the Iwaki is too small, this will be a recurrent problem. At least one inch diameter unobstructed feed line is needed for a pump that size. Complicated plumbing, with all sorts of angles and shut off valves, has the potential to create problems with any pump. If the pump is slightly higher than the bottom of the sump there may be a problem. Iwakis are superb pumps. I've had several run trouble free for up to 10 years, virtually untouched, only shut down for system maintenance. If the feedlines are properly set up, they are reasonably quiet.
 
Your intake does look unrestricted, but it's possible the True Union Ball Valve you have just before the pump is reducing the size of the intake to something closer to 3/4" instead of 1". One possible solution would be to buy a 1.5" TUBV that is reduced to 1" just before it goes into the pump and have a 1.5" intake.

My closed loop actually has two 1" bulkheads for inputs. They both connect to a 1"x1"x1.5" 'Y' just before they go into the pump, this way even if one of the bulkheads gets clogged, there is an extra inlet.

-Scott
 
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