Osmolator no longer drives pump

[bureau_13]

My Tunze Osmolator seems to no longer be able to drive the pump in the top-off reservoir. The pump was recently replaced. The proper lights light up indicating the low level however no pump action. I checked the voltage on the wires leading to the pump, and it's not getting anything...it was like 0.1V or something. Then, mysteriously, it started working for a few minutes, and the voltage was correct. However that stopped and now it never seems to work. I opened up the controller to take a peak, but there was nothing obvious that I could see. Any ideas?

 

[rvitko]

How old is the osmolator? It could be the PTC which is a dime sized blue disk on the circuit board, on an older osmolator this could only handle 800mA and a new double oring osmo pump needs more. The new pump will work on an old controller at 9V and with a clean connection and at least 3ft of head pressure. This will reduce the mA to the spec of the PTC. Otherwise you can send it in and we can upgrade the PTC for free but you will need the current model power supply as the old power supply only delivered 800mA and the new is 1600mA with a 1200mA PTC.

 

[bureau_13]

I definitely have the older model. FWIW, that blue PTC thing is HOT on mine. Not sure if that is expected or not.

I would like to send it in and get it upgraded, and get a new power supply. How do I go about doing that?


jds

How old is the osmolator? It could be the PTC which is a dime sized blue disk on the circuit board, on an older osmolator this could only handle 800mA and a new double oring osmo pump needs more. The new pump will work on an old controller at 9V and with a clean connection and at least 3ft of head pressure. This will reduce the mA to the spec of the PTC. Otherwise you can send it in and we can upgrade the PTC for free but you will need the current model power supply as the old power supply only delivered 800mA and the new is 1600mA with a 1200mA PTC.

 

[rvitko]

It is a thermal breaker for the most part so it gets hot and the contacts seperate. Send it to:

Tunze USA
305 Victor St
Austin, TX 78753

Be sure to include your return address, phone number and a note about the problem or a print of our posts here.

 

[bureau_13]

I don't suppose there's any way I can order the power supply and thermal breaker myself? I can desolder the old one and replace it, if it's just a part change. The fact that the water level sensor does not unplug from the board is making it extremely difficult for me to get it out of my tank. I keep staring at it and wondering if I should just cut the wire and worry about re-connecting it later...

It is a thermal breaker for the most part so it gets hot and the contacts seperate. Send it to:

Tunze USA
305 Victor St
Austin, TX 78753

Be sure to include your return address, phone number and a note about the problem or a print of our posts here.

 

[rvitko]

I would not cut the wire, the optic sensor has 4 very small wires and is not easy to repair or replace. It is really best to send it in. These connections are hard wired to minimize the risk of water damage to connectors. The oldest osmolators from the 90's had connectors and this was a leading cause of failure.

 

[bureau_13]

I actually got the optical sensor out without mishap...it's the overflow water level sensor that is killing me. Somehow I've got that wire wrapped around something else behind my tank and I haven't been able to get it loose. Ugh, and I'm going out of town in a few weeks and have no working top-off...

 

[rvitko]

A few weeks is plenty of time, I typically complete a repair within 48hrs of receipt and ship back by UPS ground, just get it sent in and we will be prompt on our end.

 

[bureau_13]

OK, I finally got it out, so I will be sending it out today.

Regarding the power supply, I found it on the tunze.com website, but it's not clear that I can order from that? Can I do so in some way such that it get's sent back with my controller?

 

[rvitko]

If you include a note that you need a power supply, I will just call to take your order, include a phone number. You can order on the website, you would just click the shopping cart icon near the part.