Noisy Stream 6100

[BraenDead]

My stream 6100 is quite noisy when it operates at any of the speeds I set the controller to. This is a new pump received last week and so far I have only run it in RODI water in my tank. I have checked to see if I can clean it at all but it is fully clean inside - no debris or anything. Going over some other threads I notice mention of taking the impellar apart but mine seems to be one solid piece - no screw or anything. I also see mention of a red o-ring and this is something I also do not have (I have the large red o-ring that goes between the drive unit and the housing but not the smaller one mentioned in the manual). The noise is really unacceptable, louder than the noise of my skimmer, Seio 1500 and 2xSequence Darts running.

Any help is appreciated - also, I did buy this pump new from Premium Aquatics with the single controller - this isn't a used pump.

Bob

 

[rvitko]

The new one is solid. It consists of 4 parts, the magnet with molded shaft and hydraulicly pressed prop. The bush bearing (collar around the hole that the magnet/prop sits in), the upper bearing (at the bottom of the hole) and a red oring that sits under the upper bearing.

What I would suspect is the part known as the bush bearing slipped out a bit in shipping, this is fairlly common. You just need to push it in. It is also sometimes useful to pry it out and rotate it 180 degrees and reinsert it. It can only be installed in two positions and sometimes one way is slightly quieter than the other. The pump should be quieter than the others. Two other things that may make it noisier are- it is noisier in the first couple weeks of use but not unbearably noisier. It is noisier in very cold water.

 

[BraenDead]

Roger,

Thanks for the description and for getting back to me. I didn't realize that the bush bearing was something that comes out like it does. The bush bearing is indeed tight in the shaft but I removed it and reinserted it to make sure - it still is making some noise though (mostly a lot of rattle noises). I still can not find any red oring in this shaft even with the bush bearing removed - is it missing or am I looking in the wrong place?

I don't have a digital camera here but if needed I can go home at lunch and get it to get some pictures.

Bob

 

[rvitko]

There no longer is an oring on the shaft. It would be under the upper bearing, which is a circular track at the bottom of the hole. You should have recieved a single paper that explained the new drive unit. It was about the size of the manual but just one page and they had been placing them at the top of the box when you first opened it. The other thing to try is inserting the drive unit under water, just to get out any air. Letting it run a while will also fix that.

 

[BraenDead]

I didn't see any piece of paper but I may have thrown it out on accident (opening this for me resemmbled a kid opening his favorite christmas present). I haven't run the pump much yet because I thought maybe something was bad and didn't want to damage anything. I will let it run for a while and see if it improves at all.

Thanks,

Bob

 

[rvitko]

It really couldn't damage anything that isn't replaceable or would need to be replaced anyway if the noise persists.

 

[BraenDead]

I moved the pump from the new tank I am currently setting up (RODI water, about 71 degrees) to my current reef (saltwater, 80.5 degrees) and the noise is much less. There is still a rattle on high speed and you can hear the pump from about 8 ft. away when it kicks into high speed but it is not as bad.

Is it normal to have a rattle at high speed like this that you can hear from around 8 feet? If this is I think I'm going to have to keep the max speed at about 60% or so

Bob

 

[rvitko]

That isn't normal. But let it run a while, and really give that bush bearing a good push, it should be flush with the surface. It doesn't hurt to push the magnet assembly in firmly either, just to be sure it is seated. I don't think even with good hearing you should be able to hear them past a foot away from the tank.

 

[BraenDead]

Sounds like a plan - I'll follow up on this after a few days. On the hearing comment, I've actually got partial hearing loss

Bob

 

[rvitko]

Good, we probably hear at about the same level :lol:

 

[BraenDead]

After re-seating the bush bearing and pushing down quite firmly on the bush bearing and the magnet/shaft/propeller assembly the noise has nearly disappeared. About the only noise I get now is a low hum if the pump is on the lowest setting but it is nearly silent on the fastest setting. For the lowest setting I will stick with about 30%.

Thanks for helping me through this Roger, I'm really excited to have this working really well for me!

Bob

 

[rvitko]

That sounds like the norm. They do hum at low speed a bit.