Powerhead from wavemaker problems. Need help.

[elweshomayor]

Hey guys, so a while ago I had purchased 2 wavemakers. Jebao WP40 I believe it was. 1 of them stopped working within a month of being in the tank. The other still working properly.

I tried cleaning the powerhead ( vinegar dip for hours). Right now, when I plug it in, 70% of the time it turns on outside of the water. I unplug it and put it in the water and it no longer works when i turn it on. I have to disassemble it and try again outside of the water for it to work.

This tells me it kinda works..( as a fan anyway lol) but what can I do to it so it works as a water pump?
Is it a goner? or..

 

[elweshomayor]

UPDATE: So i took it out of the water and then turned it on outside and quickly placed it back into the tank and it stayed on.
Im afraid to turn it back off because it probably wont turn back on inside the water. So the machine works.. whats making it do what its doing though?

 

[flooddc]

I had 2 like that! I personally think they are defective. Maybe there is a short/intermittent somewhere in the cord or circuit. I'd toss it out or use it for mixing water. Not worth to risk it in your tank. Also, you can replace the motor for $25 (I recalled).

 

[mcgyvr]

Yep.. The WP series were shown to be pretty unreliable..
The PP/RW seem to be much "better"

Chuck it in the trash..

 

[elweshomayor]

Yep.. The WP series were shown to be pretty unreliable..
The PP/RW seem to be much "better"

Chuck it in the trash..

But... that's $100 dollar trash that still turns on!:sad2: I turned it on outside and pushed it in the water and it's been on at full power for a day. Not sure why it did that.
Is there danger of it being like that? I have no problem with just keeping it where it is if there is no danger to the fish ( voltage leaking or something somehow).
I figured there would be some kind of fix since the motor still works, it just kinda sensitive in a way.

 

[Dr. Reef]

voltage leak wont hurt the fish but will hurt humans that are grounded. i had one that was short like that and one day i went to siphon the water and as soon as the water came down the pipe and hit my lips i got a zap.

 

[mcgyvr]

Its low voltage (24vdc).. There is no shock risk with these..

Have you taken it apart and cleaned the impeller/shaft and ensured the rubber bushing are seated properly?

 

[elweshomayor]

Its low voltage (24vdc).. There is no shock risk with these..

Have you taken it apart and cleaned the impeller/shaft and ensured the rubber bushing are seated properly?

yeah. That much I've done. I thought it didnt work anymore because i tried cleaning it and everything. Vinegar, and scrubs and what not.

Monday night I cleaned my tank (150G) and I thought it really needed more flow so I thought Id give it another shot. It wasnt turning on inside the tank, but when I took it apart and reassembled it, it would turn on outside of the water. Id unplug and try inside and it didnt even start.

Then I thought to try to turn it on outside after reassembling it and it turned on so I threw it in the water and it stayed on. (at full power).
Its been there ever sense. However, If i need to take it out for something I just know it will not turn back on unless I go through the same procedure. Which i find so weird lol Thats why I thought maybe someone had been through a similar thing and knew how to fix it. After all, the machine still works, it's just acting up.

If it there was a danger of shock or something then I'll take it out, however it seems like there isn't. I've been aquascaping and all of that and nothing? unless its one of those time bombs... I spent 100 bucks on it, id hate for it to be thrown away with so little use. ( only had it working for about 2 months).