Problems with ATO

[MJAnderson]

Hey there,

My ATO is acting up. I've had it for about 2 years. Sometimes (not always) it will not turn on the pump when the water level drops. The lights will reflect that it recognizes that it's low. If I unplug it and plug it back it back in it will not start the pump up like it usually does. But if I pull up the sensor so that the "level too high" sensor goes off and then let it drop it will turn the pump on and start working again.

Any thoughts on this quirky behavior?

 

[shawnz28]

My thoughts are the pump is going out or the connections are corroded and need cleaned or redone between the head unit and the pump. The pump usually lasts about two years or so.

 

[saltydog1]

Re: Problems with ATO

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15066927#post15066927 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MJAnderson
Hey there,

My ATO is acting up. I've had it for about 2 years. Sometimes (not always) it will not turn on the pump when the water level drops. The lights will reflect that it recognizes that it's low. If I unplug it and plug it back it back in it will not start the pump up like it usually does. But if I pull up the sensor so that the "level too high" sensor goes off and then let it drop it will turn the pump on and start working again.

Any thoughts on this quirky behavior?

I am having the same problem My connections are good and clean. The unit will say the pump is on when it is actually not. I can unplug it for a while and it will sometimes run for a bit after plugging back in, then the pump slows way down then shuts off before it should.

 

[MJAnderson]

Hey Shawn!

I actually had a backup pump and tried that. It's doing the same thing. I can try and clean the contacts.

 

[rvitko]

The most likely issue is the PTC, this is a blue disk on the 5017 controller board. It acts like a circuit breaker, if the pump draws more power than 800mA where the board could be starved of power and have a failure that could defeat the safeties, it shuts off the pump, it slows to a stop. The PTC can fail due to age, corroded or oxidized wiring can cause excessive power draw as can very short hose runs (the pump uses less power with higher head pressure). It can also happen that an older controller/ power supply cannot run the new pumps, almost 2 years ago we added a double seal to the pump so that it would last longer, this increased the power draw to where any marginal issue, such as a short hose run to sump will trip the PTC. We now use a 1200mA PTC as a result, but this only works with the new 1600mA power supply, the older brick style 9/12V 800mA power supply will work but it must be at 9V. The older 9V 1000mA power supply will also work, because it can handle 1200mA peaks and the amp draw is lower at 9V, but you can't use the 12V setting on the older switchable power supply with the new pumps, you would have to upgrade the power supply to avoid this issue.

 

[MJAnderson]

lol...Roger, was there a solution in there? =)

I have 4 of the nanostreams as well. Might one of those powersupplies work better? It's possible that when doing some cleaning I plugged the wrong one in...they all have the same plug. Might that be screwing it up? What should I look for?

 

[rvitko]

The Nano Stream power supply puts out too much power and could fry the osmolator and the osmolator power supply would barely run the Nano Stream. The solution would be to send it in, I will change the PTC and this would solve the problem, if you have an older switchable power supply it has to be run on 9V, the new power supply that looks like a cell phone charger is fixed at 11V and has enough capacity at 11V to run the unit. The only thing you could do is check that your wiring and terminals are not corroded and make sure you don't have a very short hose run, the more head pressure the lower the pumps current draw.

Tunze USA
305 Victor St
Austin, TX 78753

 

[MJAnderson]

Roger,

I probably plugged in the wrong one once while cleaning it up. The streams and the osmolator are all in one area. The correct one is on now but I never really paid attention.

If you can't fix it can you just replace the controller unit? Do you sell those seperately?

 

[rvitko]

Yes.

 

[MJAnderson]

Thank you Roger. Service above and beyond as usual. I put a piece of tape around the power supply to the topoff so I don't make the same mistake!