Jebao vs Tunze

[Paaty]

I have been seeing a lot of posts where people are comparing Jebao to vortechs and people saying the better comparison is with Tunze. Well I decided to give my experience with the 2 pumps.

I'll start with a little background, I have a 325g DT with about 550g Total volume. I have been a loyal tunze guy for over 10 years. I recently had 2 more of my tunze die on me so I have been getting annoyed lately with Tunze. I currently own 10 tunze pumps, but only 5 still work. I have nothing but good things to say about the older 6100 models as 4/5 still working are that model and they are all between 8-10 years old. The newer models is where I have an issue especially the 6101 which was a piece of crap as I have 4 that all lasted less than 2-3 years. The 6105 are better but still not as reliable as the 6100 in my opinion.

Because of my issues with Tunze I decided to give Vortech's a try but unfortunately the fact that the wire is outside does not work for me because my DT is viewable from 3 sides and built in the wall and I do not have clearance for the dryside on the remaining side. So I decided to go with 2 rw-20 and so far I am pretty impressed, they are better than I expected them to be.

I was running 6 tunze pumps and now I have 4 tunze pumps and the 2 rw-20. I am using the rw-20 in w1 mode at level 2 and I get a nice wave. I find my over all flow is much better now than before. Only time will tell if my rw-20 will last long term but at the current price point it was worth giving them a try.

I find the Tunze pumps are not as reliable as they once were and the price of a power supply replacement is crazy. Also in Canada Tunze support is no where as good as the support you get from Roger (I think that is his name), but that is a post for another day.

Sorry for the long Post, and this is just my opinion and experience.

Pat

 

[phillrodrigo]

That's crazy. Tunze is known for everlasting power heads. If they start slipping up like that why would anyone want to buy them over a jaebo. If tunze are only gonna last 2 years why would you pay the price. Hopefully they get there act together unless you just have very bad luck with them. My jaebo is over a year old and is still running no issues.

 

[slief]

I've got 4-5 years on my 6105's and 6205's and they are still going strong. The key to keeping them reliable is regular vinegar baths. If calcium builds up in the inside of the block by the impeller magnet, the friction will result in a failed block or failed power supply due to increased loads. Sadly, I tempt fate with poor mainenance intervals. My Tunzes are covered in coraline and get a serious beating with my continual on/off profiles that pulse them every fraction of a second all day long. Even so, they keep on ticking. I do however keep a spare pump on hand just in case but they can be found used for very decent prices in the classified section. Fortunately I haven't needed that spare.

As for the Jebao's... To each his own. They are inexpensive and put out great flow, especially for their price but I've got too much invested in my reef to buy cheap pumps with cheap power supplies. I don't like failures regardless of cost nor do I like stray voltage due to shoddy assembly. I won't even get into my contention with their original copied Tunze design.

 

[Mason760]

I have had nothing but good luck with Jebao. Cant beat the price. IMO the current rw are better then the tunze as far as performance. Longevity is still up in the air. But even if they fail, which anything mechanical will do. It is not a multi hundred dollar investment to replace one pump. If it fails I got my money out of it and I just get a new one without breaking the amex card out. Some of this stuff is just ridiculously over priced. Jebao has made aquarium pumps for years. Most of it doesnt have Jebao brand name. Waveline, Speedwave, Diablo and many many others are all Jebao pumps. It makes me laugh when I see post on how crappy a Jebao pump is and the same guy has a Diablo and he thinks the Diablo is the best pump on the market. ^^ what that guy said regular vinegar baths and cleaning greatly increase the life of any pump. I do it every 3 or 4 months.

 

[slief]

Jebao has made aquarium pumps for years. Most of it doesnt have Jebao brand name. Waveline, Speedwave, Diablo and many many others are all Jebao pumps.

That certainly isn't saying much.. Not with all the issues the above mentioned DC pumps have had ranging from rust issues within the volute to the controller/power supplies failing at a very high rate due to overheating.. Sorry but that isn't going to instill any confidence in the Jebao brand. :lolspin:

 

[Mason760]

That certainly isn't saying much.. Not with all the issues the above mentioned DC pumps :lolspin:

Just saying a lot of people that jump on the Jebao bashwagon probably have Jebao pumps already and dont even know it.

 

[slief]

Just saying a lot of people that jump on the Jebao bashwagon probably have Jebao pumps already and dont even know it.

Good point. On the flip side, there has been a lot of debate about whether Jebao is actually the one making all those DC pumps or whether Jebao is just copying the other companies designs which is something they are known for. Some have said they all come from the same factory while some have stated otherwise. Case is point is the new Waveline DC pump which uses a completely different controller/power supply that is said to address the overheating power supply issue of the previous gen pump. If Jebao was actually making that pump, I'd expect Jebao to be offering that same controller as well. As far as I'm aware, they aren't. It could be that the motor block manufacturer is common among all of them while the controllers are made by a couple different companies and rebranded. Nobody knows for certain because Jebao doen't talk to customers nor do they support their customers with Jebao products when they fail.

Either way, the failure rate on all these DC pumps is extremely high regardless of brand. There are a number of forum members that have had multiple DC pumps replaced under warranty.. Failure after failure and only only a few that can claim no failures over the couse of a year or more. Hopefully these new RW Jebao's prove to be more reliable than the WP's let alone the Jebao DC pumps.

 

[James77]

But even if they fail, which anything mechanical will do. It is not a multi hundred dollar investment to replace one pump. If it fails I got my money out of it and I just get a new one without breaking the amex card out.

So, rather than a one time large expense, you are OK with multiple replacements? I have yet to have a failed Tunze pump.

Would you also not be getting your money out of a Tunze that many people have had last 8-10 years with no issues whatsoever?

Some of this stuff is just ridiculously over priced.

Some of the stuff in our hobby sure is. But as far as something like a Tunze, when you way the product quality and support over the cheaper pumps, the price is not all that out of whack. Where these pumps are manufactured also greatly influences their price. Material quality plays a good part to....but labor costs, taxes, and currency play a large role as well.

Jebao has made aquarium pumps for years. Most of it doesnt have Jebao brand name.

Tunze has made pumps for over 50 years.

Waveline, Speedwave, Diablo and many many others are all Jebao pumps. It makes me laugh when I see post on how crappy a Jebao pump is and the same guy has a Diablo and he thinks the Diablo is the best pump on the market.

I agree.....that is common in this hobby as well. But does Jebao even manufacture the pumps themselves? Or are they no different than SpeedWave or Diablo(COralvue) in just slapping their name on it?

Please don't take my post as "picking on you" just putting it out there

 

[Paaty]

From what i was told is tunze used to source their power supplies in china, but i think that may have changed in recent years.

I am not saying that tunze pumps are bad just maybe not as good as they used to be and i feel they are relaying on their past reputation. It just bothers me that my newer tunze pumps are the ones that failed. If i still had confidence that tunze pumps were going to last 5 plus years without issue i would not have tried the Jebao pumps.

Only time will tell if the $220 i spent on the 2 rw-20 will be worth it. I am only one month in, but so far they have exceeded my expectations.

 

[tkeracer619]

I built my own dc pump years ago from scratch. It isn't hard if you have the means and the patience. I stopped talking about it after everyone and their mom wanted me to build them one. I did it for fun and it never failed. DC pumps are old school. Boggles my mind they fail so much these days. This pump still works and it was made from epoxy and Popsicle sticks :lol:.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9JiFR-H3Sw

 

[tlp]

Dragging up old thread here... but I'm wondering what views people have now with a few more months running these Jebaos.

I have the same dilema - always have been Tunze stream user but recently when my 6305s failed I cannot ignore that replacing one motor block is worth 2-3 new Jebao RW-20.

As Roger has posted in the Tunze's forum - even Tunze's DC motor blocks have life expectancy of 5-7 years. Even if Jebao lasts 2 years we are still better off buying them like disposable pumps.

 

[ksed]

Love my Tunze 6105 . Its going on 8 years without a glitch.