Jebao Dp4 Doser Review Please dont buy one

S

samchag

New member
2 nights ago my jebao dp4 doser failed and pump number one remained on dumping about 1 gallon of alkalinity into my 100 gallon reef tank. Used it for less than 2 months, ran fine in that time up until now. Did not change dosing schedule haven't touched it once since setting it up.

Results were devastating, 100% acropora lost, some softies hanging
most fish are dead, tank water is cloudy and smells of death

Was tempted by the jebao because of its cheap price tag, got it on ebay for less than $120
most dosers are selling for around $300+

Opened the unit up and dont see any visible issues. No water damage or sign of short. Right now pump 1 wont turn off and just continues to spin the other 3 work fine. Have contacted Jebao I dont expect a response

Anyways just dont want anyone else to suffer

Its not worth the savings, these things are cheap, flimsy and not built well. My previous GHL lasted 3 years before the screen burn out so I thought Id try this one. Wish I stuck with GHL but was trying to save some $. Ended up losing more than I could imagine in the end....
 
Did you have your dosing pump above or below the dosing vessels and the tank? I used to have my dosing containers located ontop of the doser which dripped down into my sump, and one day it lost pressure and created a siphon, which is what may have happened. I'd be surprised if this thing didn't burn out or at least cause some friction-related dust at the front of the pump if it actually ran for a gallon in one go.
 
Eastone said:
Did you have your dosing pump above or below the dosing vessels and the tank? I used to have my dosing containers located ontop of the doser which dripped down into my sump, and one day it lost pressure and created a siphon, which is what may have happened. I'd be surprised if this thing didn't burn out or at least cause some friction-related dust at the front of the pump if it actually ran for a gallon in one go.
Click to expand...

i was thinking that too but he said pump 1 won't go off. Having the pump higher wont cause the pump to stay on run mode and wont go off.

This is why i have my apex to shut off my Doser if my Ph reach a set limit. I'm not sure if it would help in this case though since it dumped so much so fast.
 
I have 2 of the Jebao dosing pump running. One for about 1 year now and another one just recently installed 1 month ago.
Hooked up to the 1 year old unit - Alk, Cal, Mag, Amino Acids
Hooked up to the 1 month old unit - Nitrate, Phosphate, Potassium, Strontium.

My units are sitting 5cm from the ground. The liquid tubes outlet is 30cm high and the dosing containers are the same as well.
No chance of it self siphoning, I have tested it thoroughly to make sure that doesn't happen.
These cheap units are not for pushing great heights or long distance.

Sorry to hear it something bad happen to your unit. If you could show us the photo of your unit location to your dosing container and your liquid tubing outlet location?
 
the tubes were set up properly , just swapped the doser in the same spot the GHL used to be , short tubes short distance

wasn't a siphon issue : ( if you plug in the doser pump 1 comes on and spins continuously

still no answer from jebao, the retailer I bought it from offered to give me a new dp4 which was unnecessary and very kind

might take a break from the hobby for alittle bit
 
samchag said:
the tubes were set up properly , just swapped the doser in the same spot the GHL used to be , short tubes short distance

wasn't a siphon issue : ( if you plug in the doser pump 1 comes on and spins continuously

still no answer from jebao, the retailer I bought it from offered to give me a new dp4 which was unnecessary and very kind

might take a break from the hobby for alittle bit
Click to expand...

Always sucks when the hobby goes south but its a lesson to be learned. Same thing can happen with ATO's etc. ALWAYS make sure there are fail safes.
 
Thank you for the post. was thinking of buying one in the next week or two so i can automate the dosing for my Christmas vacation. Guess I will be going for a better brand.
 
I had one that failed on the 3rd night I had it, luckily in the off position and I was only testing it. I immediately sent it back and spent the money on a good doser
 
yea I wish I had done more reading. After looking for similar issues I found many with the same problem. Mostly stuck on or stuck off. They are really not well built products

Even the retailer who sold it to me admitted he has had lots of issues with these. Told me that units cost him only $30 from China. There has to be something wrong with it at that price. I dont feel like you can make a quality doser for $30 anyways just my 2 cents

Please save up for a more expensive better brand doser if you are in the market. Your fish and coral will thank you
 
Could someone pleeease help. I've been dosing alk through Pump 1 on my Dp4 but I want to stop dosing it for a while. I can't work out how to stop that pump by itself.
 
IIRC these pumps get mixed reviews. Some work fine ,while other failed. I guess every products on the market sometimes have a few duds from time to time.
 
I have a brand new one that's only been tested once so far and one given to me... questioning them. I only wanted it operational for a year or so anyway (enough time to let the wife get out of school) before going to a GHL or DOS system, but if it kills everything in the meantime... Hmmm.
 
I'm not willing to put thousands of dollars of sps in the hands of a 100 dollar doser. Lol....just doesn't make sense.

But then again, I think dosing is inherently more risky than running a calrx - but that's just me
 
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