Tunze 6080 controllable?

[bheron]

Hi Roger,

I have two Tunze 6080's. I've never tried to use them with any sort of controller. My questions are:

1) could I use a controller like an apex to turn these on/off?

2) would using a simple lamp outlet timer to turn these on off periodically be detrimental to them? i thought i once read that powering some types of power heads on/off repeatedly is bad?

Love these pumps

Bryan

 

[rvitko]

1) Yes but only with long intervals, at least 30 minutes and preferably an hour.

2) This pump has a clutch mechanism that is engaged on start up to correct the direction, it wears just like a clutch on a car, it is a matter of how often it is called upon, once every 30-60 minutes, it can last at least a couple years. As long as you notice it spinning backwards or not spinning relatively soon, all that is needed is a new 6080.600 drive unit if the clutch wears out. If left unattended for a longer time, the motor could burn out (usually this takes at least a week).

 

[bheron]

great thanks roger. was looking at the Apex controller which talks about starting the pumps up slowly saying "power is slowly ramped on so that every motor is safely brought up to speed without the damaging torque."

does this help preserve the pumps I have?

 

[rvitko]

These soft start features don't generally work as advertised and in the case of our AC pumps would likely be problematic as they depend on a very specific voltage range to start properly. This feature really only does much for DC pumps, an AC pump spins only at one speed, in the US that is 3600RPM based on 60Hz, there is no real reliable way to ease up every brand of pump.

 

[bheron]

ah makes alot of sense. thanks for the heads up here. will take this into account.