Vortech separated overnight

[SDguy]

I woke up this morning to find the wet side of my vortech sitting on the floor of my tank, and the pump still running.

A couple questions:

1. Will it damage the pump in any way for it to run without being attached to the wet side?

2. Did I do something wrong to cause this?

I've only had it for a month. It's been running flawlessly (no noise, no spinning of wet side/"walking" of wet side). Then poof, this. Wet side has some microalgae growth, no coraline..certainly doesn't appear to need cleaning yet, but does it anyways?

It was on the yellow program, and has a battery backup, in case these things matter.

TIA for any info, or links to where this is already talked about.

 

[IceCap Service]

To do this one time there is no real way to say exactly what happened. Give it another try and first double check the pin spacer boot for the correct setting and make sure it is on flush with no bent pins. When attaching the wet side to the motor check to see if there is strong magnetic attraction. If it feels slightly weak you may want to adjust the spacer setting up one notch. Also make sure the glass and foam coating of the frame cover is clean.

 

[SDguy]

Yeah, I know one time is not a huge deal, but as I just returned from an almost 2 week vacation, of course, the first thing that went through my head was "what if this happened while I am gone?" Anything falling to the floor of my 31" tall tank is going to be a PITA

Anyways, I'll remount as recommended and see what happens.

Regarding the spacer, are you suggesting if it feels "weak", I should change the spacer, even though my glass is 1/2" by measure?

 

[reefsafe]

if you havent hooked up the cord mount on the tank, i'd recommend doing that.

 

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11566184#post11566184 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by mdrumm
if you havent hooked up the cord mount on the tank, i'd recommend doing that.

Thank goodness I did that when I first intalled it, otherwise that would be quite a drop to the hardwood floor

 

[SDguy]

And it's on the floor again this morning.....

Suggestions?

 

[IceCap Service]

Send it in for inspection and repair. Send to Icecap 9B South Gold Dr Hamilton NJ 08691. Make sure to include description of problem.

 

[SDguy]

Hmmm. OK, not what I was hoping for, but will do.

 

[SDguy]

What exactly do you need me to send? Dry and wet side? Cables? Receipt?

I tried putting it back on, and it immediately fell off, so there's clearly a problem...

Edit: It appears that something has frozen the wet side. When I try to turn the prop with my finger, it turns VERY hard. I doubt that is normal...I would think it should spin freely. This last time I tried to connect it, I saw it turn SLOWLY, then just move right off. I see nothing, however, on the wet end, to indicate what could be making it stiff.

 

[IceCap Service]

Send everything so we have the entire unit and can be sure the faulty component is included. We need to check it as an entire unit instead of just pieces.

 

[SDguy]

Alright, I sent it out today. I referenced this thread in the letter just in case. Besides just getting it fixed, I hope to know what the exact problem is, and how it happened, if possible. Thanks for the help.

 

[IceCap Service]

Received the pump today.
Send me a PM as there is a bit of confusion on who to send this to. The return address on the box has one name, the letter a different name, and the invoice copy a third different name.

 

[SDguy]

Sorry about that. PM sent

 

[SDguy]

To EcoTech - Just out of curiosity, what exactly is the drive shaft made out of, and what could possibly cause it to swell? I would prefer to not have it happen again

Thanks for your time.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

Hi SDguy-

It's made from an engineering grade polymer material and the swelling is just part of its material properties. All plastics will absorb some water, some more than others. This one absorbs very little but when you have such tight tolerances as we have in the pump, this kind of thing can happen (about 1% or less of pumps).

-Tim

 

[SDguy]

OK, thanks for the info Tim. :thumbsup:

 

[IPT]

I think I am having the problem. It is like the prop is getting locked up. I also usually just find the wet side on the tank bottom but this time I was around when it happened. All was fine and then I heard a sound that got my attention and saw the enritre wet side rotate, lock up , rotate, and then fall off. Prop was locked up when I inspected it. It's happened a few times already and I just thought there was some crud in there so just used a screwdriver in the screw to get the prop moving/free again. I emailed tech support so I will await a reply.

 

[IPT]

Looks like I'll be sending my wet side in for a rebuild..at least the response was prompt.

 

[SDguy]

OK, so it happened again I'm pretty disappointed at this point. I really want to blame myself for doing something wrong, since I can't believe this much bad luck, but I'm at a loss. What do you guys suggest? I guess I have to send it in again

 

[SDguy]

Anyon else with this issue? Am I doing something wrong?