Osmolator Problem--Need new power supply?

[schneijt]

Hopefully someone else has had this problem and/or can explain what's going on. I think my power supply might be going bad...

Earlier today I noticed that the red light was flashing, and my sump was low. I unplugged the power supply and then plugged it back in. The pump turned on with a strong stream of water coming out of the end of the tubing. However, over the course of roughly 30 seconds, the flow of water decreased to a trickle until the pump stopped running entirely. (This is a brand new replacement pump, by the way, so the pump is only a month old.)

If I unplug the power supply and plug it back in, I get the same exact result--the pump runs for a little bit and then slowly dies.

The Osmolator unit is roughly 2.5 years old. Has anyone else had a power supply go bad? If so, what were the symptoms?

I would appreciate any advice that anyone can give me. If I need a new power supply, then it's a simple $20 fix. But, if this sounds like a problem with the Osmolator unit itself, then I need to know what to do and where to go from here...

Thanks for your time and help,
Joe

 

[schneijt]

Another question: is this the appropriate replacement power supply, if that's what I need?

http://www.tunze.com/details.html?&L=1&C=US&user_tunzeprod_pi1[prodid]=5012.010

Thanks,
Joe

 

[schneijt]

Since my last posting, I've completely cleaned the pump and sensors, tested the power supply with a voltmeter and confirmed that it's perfectly fine, and rechecked my wiring. When I last plugged it in, I pulled the optical sensor out of the water to make it run continuously. It ran for a good 45sec just fine that time, but I noticed that the pump isn't as powerful as it recall it being when I first bought my Osmolator a couple years back. So, I'm beginning to wonder if the pump isn't maybe getting as much power as it should for some reason...??

For now, I'll keep an eye on it and monitor its performance closely for the next few days and go from there. Hopefully I'll still get some responses on this thread during the process, and I'll keep this thread updated with what's going on.

-Joe

 

[samw]

I have a similar problem with mine. When I apply pressure and push the barrel connector of the power supply into the controller, it works well. As soon as I let go of the connector, the controller light fades and the pump slows down and sometimes to the point where all controller lights turn off.

 

[rvitko]

These are two very different problems.

Joe, first off, the new power supply alone won't fix this. If you have the old power supply that has a 9V/12V switch keep it at 9V. The real fix for this is to send it in, get the new power supply and have the controller upgraded. The problem you are having is due to a safety in the controller, the controller kills the pump if it draws more than 800mA on your unit. The new pumps have a double oring seal and draw more current than the old ones, at 12V they use about 1000mA, at 9V it should be just under 800mA. This safety is for two reasons, the power supply you have is likely an 800mA power supply and if the pump used all the power the board doesn't have enough to run its safety functions. We now use a 1600mA power supply and we can double up the safety switch to 1600mA. The only charge would be for the power supply, but likely if you stick to 9V the pump will run fine.

 

[rvitko]

samw, your osmolator problem is due to a loose or corroded connection at the socket. This can usually be solved if it is just loose by opening the controller and gently bending the contact spring to make a stronger contact, you will need a small slotted screwdriver to due this. If the contact is corroded, it should be replaced.

 

[schneijt]

Thanks, Roger. I'll keep an eye on it and as long as it's getting the water to my sump reliably, I won't worry about sending it in. Sounds like the upgrades that could be done would be nice, though. I'll let you know if I ever want it upgraded to work better with the new pumps.

Thanks for your time and help,
Joe

 

[samw]

samw, your osmolator problem is due to a loose or corroded connection at the socket. This can usually be solved if it is just loose by opening the controller and gently bending the contact spring to make a stronger contact, you will need a small slotted screwdriver to due this. If the contact is corroded, it should be replaced.

Thanks for the tip Roger. I'll give it a try.