noise comparison

[MrSandman]

I just bought 2 of these and hooked one of them up and i have to say that they are much quieter than i thought they would be. If you've ever played with a Playstation 2 and have one of those dual shock controllers which vibrate you'll know how loud (or silent) these are. They sound exactly like those controllers. Its a very low frequency hum and when everything else is running on my tank, these things can't be heard at all. The flow they create is amazing. I'm very happy with my purchase.

 

[nottheone]

Glad you got 2 really good ones! Mine is def. louder than PS2 shock controller.

 

[Sparkss]

Our tank is much quieter in general than it sounds like yours may be. But even with that aside, 2 of ours are maybe as loud as a dual shock controller, but the other 2 are definitely much louder. Tim mentioned in another thread that they are specced out @ 50 DB. I guess once you add our 4 together you end up with 200+ DB of noise *eek*. But again, for those with smaller tanks, running @ less than full speed, w/ fewer VTs would probably not even notice the noise levels. I have not yet given up on ours. I keep trying to find ways to make them work (which equates to making them quieter ). I keep hoping that ETM will come out with a "Professional" series wet end to overcome this noise issue

I also wondered if it was maybe our motor making the noise, but I honestly can't hear them that much from the tank side of our inwall, only from the viewing pane. But maybe they are vibrating the glass sides and resonating into the tank? That thought scares the bejeesus out of me though thinking that the motors are possibly vibrating that much and putting that much added stress on our seams and glass. But at this time I don't really have reason to suspect the motors. Our tank is 1/2" glass, so I considered picking up some mouse pads, removing the pin spacer and using the mouse pads to make up that 1/4" "gap. That would put alot more cushion between the tank and motors, but I would need to find just the right mouse pad to ensure that we don't over stress the motors (but having too small or too large of a gap between the motor and wet end magnets). But it might allievate (sp?) the noise issues we are experiencing.

Any thoughts on that ?

Tim, any issues or concerns, aside from ensuring the proper gap spacing between the motor and wet end ?

 

[EcoTech Marine]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11712579#post11712579 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sparkss

Any thoughts on that ?

Tim, any issues or concerns, aside from ensuring the proper gap spacing between the motor and wet end ?

Regarding improved wet side noise, this is definitely something that we've identified and are looking into. As for dry sides, dry sides don't vibrate enough to make knocking type sounds. The noise associated with the dry side is usually more of a white noise a constant frequency (or changing if the pump is in pulse mode).

You could try different materials to dampen vibration in place of the pin spacer so long as the gap is maintained. However, there are a variety of factors that must be considered such the materials max working temperature and that the material doesn't rub against the rotating magnet. Basically, we've gone through a lot of these types of tests and have found that the pin spacer really does the job best.

-Tim

 

[Sparkss]

mouse pads probably would compress too much and potentially run teh motor magnet. Our noise is probably on the wet side(s) anyways.. but I just wanted to completely rule out the motors. Thanks

 

[nanoguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11637041#post11637041 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sparkss
glad to hear it's on it's way back to your tank (by way of you ). Let us know how the noise compares once you get it back, and what modes and speeds you run it at.. thanks

Of course you may need to let it run for a couple of days or more to re-seat everything before it quiets down to whatever it's "operating noise level" will be. .

I got the pump back from repair and the problem that I sent it out for appears to be fixed with the exception that the wet side is now making some noise.......it was dead quiet before in all the modes. Right now, it's causing a slight "vibration" sound in pulse mode. The sound also resonates into my stand and I can occasionally hear it from my bed room which is located directly above the family room (where the tank sits). It's not so loud that would cause any real concerns so I'll just let it break in for awhile to see what happens. So far it's been running for 5 days.

 

[nottheone]

Tim, I am certainly not being argumentative here cuz goodness knows there is a enough of that, but my dry side literally does make a rattling or knocking noise in addition to the constant frequency/normal white noise.

I have the constant whir along with a "peck peck peck peck" type of sound. This is one reason why my pump is louder than my friends.

I've had this problem since I started using it, but I am now wondering if even though it has functioned ok, I am headed for a pump failure in the future.

Should I address this issue or not worry about it?

I know I would have to pay for repairs since my pump is more than a year old. I am just asking for some feedback since you hear these pumps in your dreams as much as you have listened to them, LOL.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

Hi nottheone,

The old driver used to make minute speed changes which resulted in a slight knock, something which could be felt much more easily than it could be heard. These knocks were a result in changes in momentum from the minute corrections in speed and are normal for the old driver. The new driver is just a bit smoother in this regard.

A bad motor unit can be identified by high pitched mechanical squealing or grinding type noises, just like a bad bearing on a car.

-Tim