Sensor trouble shooting question on Osmolator

[Proxymoron]

Hi!

I just set up the osmolator (3155) in my sump (thanks Roger for the help with the wire connector .

I am having a problem with the sensor not detecting the water level and then the water level gets too high (covering the whole optical sensor in water) and the float switch sensor ends up turning on, setting off the alarm.

The optical sensor seems to work every time I take a bowl of water out of the sump and then the system refills, but if I let it refill on it's own is when the optical sensor doesn't detect the water level and then the float switch ends up sounding the alarm.

I have checked to make sure the sensor is not loose and not dirty. After the 4th time of this happening I looked and noticed a scratch on the clear plastic part of the optical sensor (there was a small gash in the bag containing the screws etc and some of the pieces were loose in the box, which is the only way I could think such a scratch could occur). Could this be causing the malfunctions or something else?

Any help or insight in how to fix this would be greatly appreciated. I've read great reviews on this product and hope mine starts to work just as well

Thanks!

Dixie

 

[rvitko]

I would first check that their are no kinks in the cable from the brain to the sensor. The wires- 4 of them- inside the cable are quite small and should be layed out straight or gently coiled. It is also important that the sensor be straight up and down and at least 1" below the float- it should continue to pump for about 8 seconds after the water touches the sensor. It could also be possible that a ballast or cleaning magnet or some source of magnetic field could cause this problem. In particular I have had trouble with flourescent style ballasts for PC's or VHO- excluding IceCap which never cause trouble. The small scratch is likely not the problem. I have had the sensor quite fouled and still operate. The only other possibility is a bad solder joint or bad connection that for some reason straightens out when you have it in a bowl. Light interference is also not a likely problem as even a 400w MH has been unable to interfere in our tests. If you still have trouble call me tomorrow and we will see if we can't walk you through it further.

 

[Proxymoron]

Thanks Roger for the fast reply!

I currently am just running coralife PC units on the tank. Would those cause a problem? The ballast are built into the light units. I do have a small cleaning magnet, but it is on the main tank and osmolator is in the sump below. Would this be causing a problem?

Unit seemed to be running fine with no alarm for about 2 1/2 hours this evening, but then went off again.

I just straightened the cord like you suggested and I gently coiled it using a loose twist tie to help keep the coil together. I also dropped the optical sensor down another notch from the float sensor. It was raising the water about 1" past the optical sensor fill point when the float switch would kick on, but I dropped the optical to see if that would help as well.

Thanks again for the fast reply and help! Hopefully these small changes will help If not I'll give you a call tomorrow like you offered.

Sorry I was a bit scattered with my description in the last post. When I wrote that I used a bowl, I meant I took water from the sump with a bowl to speed up the act of evaporation. When I just let the water level go down on its own that's when I seemed to have had the problem of the float switch getting set. Probably just coincidence like a watched pot never boils

Dixie

 

[rvitko]

Your lighting should cause no trouble- it is only with retrofits and ballasts situated near the osmlator that we have problems. You mentioned having it mounted on the sump though- please keep the brain unit somewhere away from salt creep and moisture- in the long run this can ruin it.
Let me know- I did think of one other possibility. Air bubbles and this is the most obvious one. Air bubbles in the sump will do this if they accumulate on the sensor. Also, new plastic pieces can have a film of air and this goes away quickly as they become less water repellent with time.

 

[Proxymoron]

Thanks again Roger!

I checked on it some more last night after posting and did notice a lot of air bubbles on the optical sensor. I ended up moving it to last chamber of the sump and it has been working GREAT since midnight last night (approx 12 hours)!

Thanks for the info on not placing the brain unit too close to the sump to avoid salt creep.

Thanks again for all of your help and fast responses I really appreciate your help figuring out the problem and not automatically thinking I did something wrong. That, to me, is excellent customer service!

Dixie