Tunze Stream 6205

[Navyblue]

I just bought a Stream 6205 today. I was expecting to get the new shock absorbing holder but it came with the old holder. Alas, it does hum up and down (vibration) when the pump is ramping up and down. I am in Singapore, how can I get the new holder? The LFS that I bought it from doesn't bring in those.

Another interesting phenomenon is the MH ballasts actually buzzes up and down too when the pump is ramping up and down. The are on different power strip though they are connected to the same power line. How can I mitigate this? Does it have to do with grounding? The 6205 power supply isn't grounded at the moment as I have yet to replace the plug to the appropriate one. I'd hate to get a power line filter just for this.

Thanks.

 

[rvitko]

I don't have an answer for the ballast issue, I have never heard of that happening before.

The silence clamp is brand new, we have only yet received 10 6205 in the US with this clamp, it has literally been available for at most 4 weeks. The dealer should be able to get you one but we don't yet have them as a spare part in the US, we should in 2 weeks.

 

[rwsunrx]

Hi Roger,

I'm looking for 2 of the 6105's with the new silence clamps. Do you know if they are available in the USA yet? And if so, who may have them in-stock?

 

[rvitko]

These just started coming in, we got the first ones this morning. Nobody would have them in stock just yet.

 

[rwsunrx]

Tunze Stream 6205

Thanks Roger, I'll check with vendors in a few weeks.

 

[tegee]

I have 1-6105 and 1-6205 and I do not have any issue with them humming and/or vibrating. What do these new clamps look like? Are they an outside mound i.e. mount to the magnet or do they mount internal to the pump? Is these something that is a "must" upgrade?

Thanks Roger

 

[rvitko]

They just absorb vibration noise, that is the only reason to upgrade, they fit on the same magnets, basically the clamp is split in too and the pump is isolated from the magnet by 4 silicon rubber dampners.

http://www.tunze.com/details.html?&L=1&C=US&user_tunzeprod_pi1[prodid]=6065.650

 

[tegee]

Thanks Roger......just curious as to why some pumps make the noise and others don't? My 6105 and 6205 run dead silent.

Thanks

 

[rvitko]

As a general rule the pumps have gotten progressively quieter through small changes so newer pumps make less noise than older pumps. Another factor is the thickness of the glass they are mounted on, if the pumps are mounted on thicker glass the magnets grab less tightly and less noise is transmitted through the glass. You also have to keep in mind some people can hear just about anything, they can tell the difference between a Bose and a McIntosh amp, to these people any little noise will make a difference where as the rest of us who have sub par hearing from so much exposure to loud noises couldn't hear it. Personally, I am partially deaf to the range of the female human voice and frankly look forward to being fully deaf in this range. From a technical stand point noise comes from two sources. The Stream 2 is very rigidly attached to the glass so any noise is transmitted and amplified by the glass. Second, there is variation by about 1mm up or down in the position of the electromagnetic field and the disk is essentially a shim to space the drive unit into the magnetic field, too high and it forces the drive unit down on the hard disk and makes a whirring noise from friction, too low and the pump clicks on start up from slapping down on the base when the coil energizes, if the disk is in just the right spot, the noise is very low but this is subject to some variation.

 

[rvitko]

I should point out that the new clamp, eliminates the transmission of noise to the glass and the drive units are evolving to be more quiet, by early next month we should have a new drive unit which will eliminate this noise.

 

[ostrow]

So, the noise issue is being handled with two modifications for these (my 6205 makes zero noise, and Roger can assure everyone that I have a low tolerance for pump noise!) -- a new clamp for the pump-to-magnet assembly and a new drive unit.

Presumably for my 6215, the only relevant change will be the drive unit? Or does this clamp have a place in the 6215 as well (by the way, bad link above in your post).

Thanks,
Joel

 

[rvitko]

6215 is only a drive unit, this is more complicated as it will have a sort of shock absorber to absorb the click. I will check on ETA tomorrow.

 

[tegee]

An update.....I physically put my ear directly against the exterior magnet and there is a noticeable hum on my 6105 and almost zero hum on my 6205. Neither hum is noticeable without getting right on top of the magnet.

I know this is a really dumb question.....but how does this hum affect the fish? I have never heard of any noise bothering fish, but I wouldn't want to listen to any noise if I were swimming around...lol.

I think I may simply upgrade the clamps for S & giggles to eliminate any issues going forward. Is this a good idea for ~$18/magnet?

Thanks Roger!

 

[rvitko]

I think fish are like any other animal, they habituate to there environment. Just as a person tunes out the usual noises around them, so do all other animals. Deer habituate to the sound of oil rigs, people to city traffic and fans, to the fish, the pump is a constant and something they have adapted to by now. The clamp isolates the noises of the pump from the glass, basically the vibrations aren't transmitted to where you can hear them, but the fish will still hear or feel them.

 

[tegee]

Great Roger and thanks for the clarification. So if the hum and/or vibration is not affecting me then I will leave the original clamps.

Should I be concerned about what drive units I have in my 6105 and 6205? I read you have updated them and just curious?

Thanks

 

[rvitko]

As in the past, drive units are constantly evolving, we find small tweaks that reduce noise or reduce the rate of calcium build up and they are implemented. The drive units have been upgraded 4 times since the pumps came out in late 2008. These upgrades were first, tighter specs and QC on the shaft diameter and hole diameter in the drive unit, increase of prop size from 42mm to 45mm on 6105 (this was accompanied by a drop in voltage from 24V to 18V at the power supply) and 45mm to 48mm on the 6205 (same voltage, flow was inadequate on earliest pumps), both of these changes were done by February 2009. In late 2009 we added a slot to the disk to increase cooling and reduce corrosion of the shaft and last month the propellers changed to a more flexible blue colored plastic. Next month the shafts will change from 316TI to Titanium grade 2 and a new noise reducing disk will be added.

 

[tegee]

Roger......

I believe I am running the 45mm prop in the 6105, however I think I have the 24v jumping installed on the power supply. I am damaging anything?

Also, I received the 6205 this April 2010, so I think I have most of the upgrades on that pump too (48mm prop and updated ps).

So if you could let me know if I need to get the updated drives on both of the pumps it would be helpful before I spend the $$$, etc.

Thanks a bunch for all your feedback and help!

 

[rvitko]

The 18V jumpers reduce a lot of the vibration, you are overdriving the pumps, you can check the prop size by the stamping on the center ring of the prop, it will say 42, 45, 48. Overdirving will generally shorten the life of the pumps, it isn't catastrophic immediate failure but if the pumps get dirty or lock up with calcium they will work even harder than they would already and this could cause a failure of the pump or power supply.

I would wait, the last major upgrade of the titanium shaft and click stop will come late next month and that should be it for a while and there is no urgency to it. In fact you could just wait until those wear out. The older 6100's went through 8 upgrades during the 6 years they were on the market and we already had 2 years experience with the same basic motor. This is pretty typical of how German companies work, they make something new and tweak it to as close to perfect as they can get for 6-10 years. That is exactly how Mercedes and VW do it, the original Beetle is a perfect example, it was made for over 60 years it had over 4000 parts and if I recall from the fact sheet I read less than a dozen were the same from the first one to the last one.