Osmolator Pump Not Working?

[supercon71]

Roger,

It seems as if the pump from my unit is no longer working.

The controller itself seems to work....I get a "pump on" when I initially plug it in, I get the "too low" and "pump on" when water drops below their levels, but the pump itself does not pump out any water.

I investigated it a bit more and brought the pump up to my ear while plugging it in and definitely heard "sound" as if power was making it to the pump, it just seemed as if nothing was happening.

Putting it back down into the water and it still is unable to pump any water out.

I did check the lines, and there are no obstructions.

Thanks for your help!

 

[rvitko]

It is possible the motor turns on but the impeller has stripped and no longer spins, it just slips on the shaft. However, the more likely scenario is that the pump is air locked, just turning it upside down under water will release the air bubble and should get it to prime and pump water.

 

[supercon71]

Hmmm, will definitely give it a try when I get home and let you know. Thanks Roger.

 

[supercon71]

Gave it a try......initially got the hum sound, put my finger to feel if the impeller was spinning....initially it was, but no water was coming out. Eventually after trying this several times, the impeller stopped turning completely.

What's my next step? Manually filling this sump up and keeping my salinity right is for the birds I'm lost without my Osmolator......

 

[rvitko]

The pumps are a commonly available spare part, they are about $22, most dealers stock them and you can order them on tunze.com. If it is less than 2 years old the pump would still be under warranty. In general these pumps last 2-3 years.

 

[disenchantedone]

air lock

air lock

Hey Roger,

Is it normal for the pump to get air locked? I've had my osmolator for one day and think i isolated the current problem to the pump. Originally, the tank was getting filled with replacement water, but cleaning the sensor several times seemed to have fixed that issue.

Now, I'm getting the red tank low when the reservoir jug is full. I tested the pump in the main tank and got it to work after releasing the air inside. It took me awhile to get the air out of the pump once i returned it inside the 5gallon jug. any suggestions? will i have to keep doing that?

Thanks for the info, Roger.

Charles

 

[rvitko]

If the pump runs dry, it may need to be reprimed, but if you refill the bucket before it is totally empty, you will be able to avoid this.

 

[disenchantedone]

Thanks, Roger. Hey, I noticed that the osmolator goes in crazy fill mode when my tunze nano wavemaker is in feed mode or turns off for the night. I have a 55 gallon with an overflow into an 10 gallon sump. The osmolator sensor is in the return chamber of that sump. I'm assuming its operating normally, right?

 

[scarface70706]

ok so i have my ATO eye set in the third chamber in my sump on the black divider where the water over flows from the fuge into that chamber. now the fuge water is flowing over the eye to push the bubbles away. then i tested the ato by taking a few cups of water out to simulate evaporation... pump turned on... RODI pumped in... pump turned off when suppose to. SWEET. now im wondering is it ok to have the fuge water flowing over the eye like this. i tired posting pics but the site keeps reading error. ugh RC is sooo slow. ill keep trying to give you guys a better understanding.

 

[scarface70706]

ok here are some pics. sorry for the blurry side view of the sump but i figured it would help to show you guys what black divider im talking about. keep in mind i did test it by taking water out and it did turn on and turned off like suppose to.

also tunze if your seeing this can you chime in here and let me know if this is ok to have water flowing over the eye like so and to have the back magnet submerged completely.

 

[rvitko]

scarface-The sensor is sealed so this is fine in that regard but my experience is that it will interpret the water flowing over it as being submerged so it won't be as accurate and may not fill when needed.

disenchantedone- likely the surge of the wave results in a higher sump level and this drops when the nano wavebox is off. So long as it is operating normally in the sense that it fills to the sensor and stops within 10 seconds of the green "level" LED coming on it is working correctly.