osmolator issues

[Joel A]

So i bought a used Tunze Osmolator here on the reefcentral forums a little while back... it was the older style with the mounting bracket and not the magnet... i thought the magnet was an easier and more well thought out set-up, so i purchased the magnet from permiumaquatics and set up the unit today.

I ran into an issue while setting it up right away, one of the wire contacts that connects to the provided pump and been pulled out.. took me a while to find a small enough screw driver to unscrew, re-insert, and then screw back down the wire contact, but i was able to achieve it.

Then i had another issue.. with the pump itself this time... it would run for about 2 seconds, then stop, and the controller unit would start flasing it's lights like some sort of error code... it would correct itself, start again, run for two seconds, and the stop working again.. it kept on repeating itself, then eventually the pump just stopped turning on all together. I pulled it out of the top off tank.. and played with it a little bit.. got it to start running, but it wasn't running right.. very loud, very whiney, and not actually moving any water..

so i guess my question is what do i do to fix this.. do i need a new pump, or is it a problem with the wire contacts that i described earlier?

 

[psykokid]

iirc i remember reading another thread where roger had someone test just the pump by itself by connecting the wires for it to a 9V battery/power supply. If the pump functions right, ie pumps without making wierd noises then its somewhere else. Try cleaning the optical sensors as well, i have seen that suggested.

 

[rvitko]

As psykokid said, the 9V battery test is a good start. The pump is not silent, so don't expect it to be, we just need to see if it pumps water or not. There are a few possibilities and I will outline them below.

The pump could be bad, the pumps typically only last 2-3 years tops. They are not expensive to replace and most dealers stock them, they can also be ordered on Tunze.com.

The wiring could be bad, if the connector or wiring is corroded or oxidized this high resistance will trip a circuit breaker in the controller. The connector is a European connector and can be bought at radio shack, if it has any rust, replace it. The wires can be cut back to clean shiny copper, the ends should then be recoated with fresh solder.

The circuit breaker could be bad or the unit could be old. Roughly 2 years ago the osmo pump got an upgrade, we went from a single seal between the shaft and motor to a double seal, this increased the pump power draw which necessitated a new breaker with a higher current limit. This gets complicated so you will have to follow close and pay attention. -

Osmolators made more than 2 years ago had an 800mA PTC, this is a type of circuit breaker and it gets hot and the contacts seperate and the pump is cut off. This is a safety so the pump cannot draw so much power that the board does not have enough power to carry out the safety functions. These osmolators also had either a 9V 1000mA power supply or a switchable 9V-12V 800mA power supply. So long as you stick to 9V, have at least 3ft of head pressure and the wiring and contacts is clean the osmo can run a new double seal pump without issue.

New osmolators have an 11V power supply that delivers 1600mA, the PTC is 1200mA and the new pump running at 11-12V uses about 900-1100mA depending on head pressure. The higher the head pressure the less power it draws. If it is the PTC, we can upgrade it for free but you will need the new power supply to safely work with the bigger PTC. The old power supply was a typical bulky wall pack, the newer one looks like the cell phone chargers that come with gimme phones that are free or nearly free with a contract, particularly from Samsung.

 

[Joel A]

As psykokid said, the 9V battery test is a good start. The pump is not silent, so don't expect it to be, we just need to see if it pumps water or not. There are a few possibilities and I will outline them below.

The pump could be bad, the pumps typically only last 2-3 years tops. They are not expensive to replace and most dealers stock them, they can also be ordered on Tunze.com.

The wiring could be bad, if the connector or wiring is corroded or oxidized this high resistance will trip a circuit breaker in the controller. The connector is a European connector and can be bought at radio shack, if it has any rust, replace it. The wires can be cut back to clean shiny copper, the ends should then be recoated with fresh solder.

The circuit breaker could be bad or the unit could be old. Roughly 2 years ago the osmo pump got an upgrade, we went from a single seal between the shaft and motor to a double seal, this increased the pump power draw which necessitated a new breaker with a higher current limit. This gets complicated so you will have to follow close and pay attention. -

Osmolators made more than 2 years ago had an 800mA PTC, this is a type of circuit breaker and it gets hot and the contacts seperate and the pump is cut off. This is a safety so the pump cannot draw so much power that the board does not have enough power to carry out the safety functions. These osmolators also had either a 9V 1000mA power supply or a switchable 9V-12V 800mA power supply. So long as you stick to 9V, have at least 3ft of head pressure and the wiring and contacts is clean the osmo can run a new double seal pump without issue.

New osmolators have an 11V power supply that delivers 1600mA, the PTC is 1200mA and the new pump running at 11-12V uses about 900-1100mA depending on head pressure. The higher the head pressure the less power it draws. If it is the PTC, we can upgrade it for free but you will need the new power supply to safely work with the bigger PTC. The old power supply was a typical bulky wall pack, the newer one looks like the cell phone chargers that come with gimme phones that are free or nearly free with a contract, particularly from Samsung.

ok, well i'll look into testing with the 9v battery, and then i'll look into rewiring it if need be... you lost be a bit with the technicalities at the bottom of your response.. but what i can tell you is that the unit has a "cell phone" like power supply... does that mean the unit is less than 2 years old?

 

[rvitko]

Yes, you have a newer one most likely. It isn't impossible that someone bought a newer replacement power supply but most likely you can narrow it done to a bad pump or bad connection.

 

[Joel A]

I'm thinking bad pump... 9 volt battery test should confirm this, correct?

 

[rvitko]

Yes, if the pump runs from touching the wires to a 9V battery it is not the pump. Note that the pump draws a lot of power for such a small battery so this test is only safe for a half minute or so, the battery will get warm and drain quickly but it allows a quick easy test.

 

[Joel A]

Yes, if the pump runs from touching the wires to a 9V battery it is not the pump. Note that the pump draws a lot of power for such a small battery so this test is only safe for a half minute or so, the battery will get warm and drain quickly but it allows a quick easy test.

yup, pump wouldn't start up... thanks guys.