repairing a pump cord

D

Delta_zeta

In Memoriam
I just bought this pump from someone here on RC and they didn't bother to tell me that the cord is completely sliced through in 2 different places.

the 2nd cut is behind the red arrow in the picture
cutwire.jpg


So, is there any way to fix this at all? The cuts are only a maybe 12" away from the pump itself. Needless to say I'm not happy but I'd rather try to repair it at the moment since I am in need of a pump asap.
 
you can cut the bad section of wire out, then solder the ends of each wire together and put heat shrink tubing over each wire, then put heat shrink tubing over all of it. This will repair the wiring and should make it waterproof as well.
 
this is probably going to sound like a silly question, but how to do I pick the appropriate size tubing for it? Also, it looks like Radio Shack carries it here...that should suffice correct? Or do I need to buy it from someplace else?
 
The radio shack stuff is what you need. Get the pack that has 3 colors in it. Use red for the individual wires and then cover all 3 of the red splices with one of the yellow. Let the yellow overlap the good ends of the cord insulation by an inch or so. I would smear a lil silicon around the ends of the yellow heat shrink and let dry. I am kinda paranoid about electricity and saltwater though.
If the splice is going to be under water I would just get a different pump.
 
I think I may be able to manipulate it so that the cord is hanging above the water. Originally it was intended to be used as an insump pump. It's a Mag 18, but if need be I can make it an external pump.

I just basically want to know that it's going to function correctly after I soder the wires back together. I would have just assumed that the guy selling it to me would have mentioned that there were cuts in the cord to begin with.
 
It just needs to be large enough to fit over each single wire & solder and then a larger size to fit over all the wires. Don't buy too large or they wouldn't shrink enough. Also make sure you slide them on the wires before you solder.

Will the wire splice be in the water?

If so, I don't think shrink tube is the best at waterproofing! It is fine for insulating wires from each other in dry aplications only.

You will need to seal the entire splice with self-adhering waterproof Tape or some other waterproofing.
 
There is the self-adhering waterproof Tape, I posted earlier ( it is use for submersible well pump wiring.) May someone has a better suggestion.

Was the pump advertised as submersible?

My very best advise is this: I'd send it back! Safety first is more important than a good deal on a pump!
 
i had some power-leakage in my tank for a while, never got any worse than a short little tinkle in the fingers. Today i wanted to target-feed some corals and was buzzed by 220Volts! (europe). Besides from the usual side-effects like foaming mouth and talking backwards, m'i yako...
the 150 watt MH i slammed onto the ceiling while pulling my hand out of the tank started lighting up after an hour.

My point is: Don't use this pump unless you are absolutely certain you can fix it properly. even then it would most likely fail one day.
 
The description of "leaking current" in the original for sale listing would be a big time understatement of what you have in that picture.

If it arrived in the condition in your picture I would politely ask to return the pump.
 
no no, the mag 12 was stated as leaking current. I bought the mag 18 from him. There is no mention of the mag 18 having any problems at all
 
I would not use it. Externally Mag Drives tend to leak and internally although there might be ways to make the wire water proof I do not think it will worth the risk.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10582592#post10582592 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Delta_zeta
no no, the mag 12 was stated as leaking current. I bought the mag 18 from him. There is no mention of the mag 18 having any problems at all
Click to expand...

Oops! My bad.

In this case I really would ask to return the pump for a refund.

I am totally with jdieck on this one. You might be able to get away with using it to move RO/DI water but even that would be "iffy."

There is no way I would trust submerging it in saltwater.

Paul
 
is it possible to just replace the entire cord on the pump? I've never gutted a mag to do anything like that before but by the time I ship it back (this thing is heavy) and get a refund and spend money on another one, I would could have probably bought another power cord a lot cheaper.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10582937#post10582937 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Delta_zeta
is it possible to just replace the entire cord on the pump? I've never gutted a mag to do anything like that before but by the time I ship it back (this thing is heavy) and get a refund and spend money on another one, I would could have probably bought another power cord a lot cheaper.
Click to expand...
No, the end of the cord is ebbeded in epoxy together with the windings.
 
well, I think I'm going to *attempt* to fix it, since I get the feeling I'm not going to get much in the way of a response from the seller. Since my husband is deployed right now I'm living with family and my father, luckily, used to work as a plumber and electrician in the past and he said we can figure something out. With the cord as-is right now I have 12" from the pump. After it's soldered I should at least be left w/ 9" and so I can probably prop the pump up on a stand in the sump and just tape the cord securely to the side of the sump so it doesn't fall in the water. This just isn't my week :rolleyes: I got scammed by another seller who took my money and still hasn't sent anything and someone else who sent an obviously shattered piece of equipment. Live and learn I guess.
 
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