Vectra M1 startup issues

[Grayhead]

I have searched for a possible solution to my problem. About a month ago my pump started shutting down and restarting for no reason. It started in the middle of the night.
It will start up and shut down several times before locking in. I do not have it connected to ecotech wireless service. I purchased it thru BRS, called them and they said it was an obstruction. Took it apart today and cleaned it. No such luck. Took it apart several times and still does the same thing. Seems that after a while it finally stays. I also feed several times a day and it shuts off then. It doesn't do this Everytime, but when it does, it takes a while to settle down. Even the pump makes alot of noise, which I assume is the air cavitation. I have a sweep 90 on the intake side and it runs straight to the tank on the discharge side. To be honest, I am growing concerned with the stability of this pump. If it shuts down completely then my tank is wiped out. I purchased this pump because of the name. My first ecotech product and I'm having major issues. If I haven't heard from one of the reps in this forum by Monday, then I'll call them. I'll post the results either way.

 

[Broadfield]

Simply contact Ecotech directly. They will probably have you try a couple of things first. But yours sounds like it's having the same issue my old M1 had. Mine ended up being a bad power brick... the pump most likely wasn't always getting the proper voltage to run consistently. If it's under warranty, Ecotech will get you taken care of right away... I had an amazing experience with them when mine went bad.

 

[Grayhead]

That is my hopes. Did they require you to send the old one in before they would send the new out? It is working fine now, but I haven't shut it off since it quit cycling.

 

[Broadfield]

That is my hopes. Did they require you to send the old one in before they would send the new out? It is working fine now, but I haven't shut it off since it quit cycling.

Nope, Ecotech will make it as easy as possible for you. They sent me an entire new kit in the box. They take your credit card info just in case you do not send the old kit back within a specified amount of time... I think it's either 2 weeks or 4 weeks. I got the new kit and never had an issue. I since sold the M1 and now have an L1. I have not had any issues with the L1 either. I'm pretty sure this issue isn't very common. Because I have heard of only a handful of people have the issue.

 

[Grayhead]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. Could the power brick lead to reduced output of the pump as well. This M1 replaced a 1750gph ac pump. I have never been able to even come close to that amount of flow with the M1. Even though it's rated higher

 

[Broadfield]

Thanks. That makes me feel better. Could the power brick lead to reduced output of the pump as well. This M1 replaced a 1750gph ac pump. I have never been able to even come close to that amount of flow with the M1. Even though it's rated higher

Did you calibrate the pump?

 

[Grayhead]

Yes. Just as soon as I got it out the box.

Also, it ran like a champ since its last episode.

 

[Grayhead]

Well, it went crazy again. Finally called ecotech. They are replacing the pump and the power pack.

 

[jubjub47]

I've seen this same scenario and in that case it was actually an obstruction that had cleared the pump and actually made its wall all the way to the return nozzle in the tank. Once cleared the pump ran normally. I would check for this as the openings on the pump allow for pretty large items to pass through.

 

[Grayhead]

Ecotech sent a brand new unit to me to replace. So far so good. Hopefully this unit will hold up. Thanks to ecotech for awesome customer service.

Now on a side note, I told the tech that I wasn't getting the same gph out of my unit than what my original ac powered unit did. The vectra is rated higher gph than the AC unit. He explained that basically these units are built to sense back pressure and adjust for maximum efficiency when you calibrate the flow to your system. He told me not to calibrate it and I would have the max flow out of the unit with my set up. When I plugged the new unit in, I did adjust my siphon drain some for increased flow. It's still not as strong as the AC pump was, but it's well within what I need. If I had it to do over, I would have purchased the L1 so I could dial the pump back and not have to run it a max capacity all the time. Anyhow, these pumps are steady pumps. I'll post to this thread if anymore issues come up

 

[RegalAngel]

Great to hear about excellent CS.

I have an L1 coming next week to place on my Closed Loop system for my 300g FO.
Really wanted to drop flow from my Pan World 200PS and auto flow nightly/daily.
Hope the software works well as I will be needing to use the reeflink with the app.