wet side falling off

[adtravels]

I have had my vortech now a month, The wet side has fallen off three times during this period but not in the first two weeks, each time it has fallen off I have noticed that a small build up of hard material has formed on one or both of the propellor blades, could this be causing the unit to become unbalanced and so fall off, it is pretty dissapointing this is happening so soon.

Also I purchaced a spare wetside, The back plate did not fit directly on to the wet side and kept popping off, I sanded each plastic raised bump on the wetside backplate and now it fits snugly without popping off, could this be causing the wetside falling off on the origional?
I bought the vortech in the us from aquarium speciality, but live in thailand so warrenty becomes a problem.

 

[jgillard]

Hmm. I have never had my pumps fall off ever. (I have two of them) Generally I think this behavior occurs with something building up on the pump causing the propeller to jam. My pumps seem to have a pretty string attraction so I do not see them falling off any time soon. I hope someone else can offer you better advice to help.

 

[MrSandman]

When you pull the wet side off does the propeller spin freely? Or does it have some resistance? If you spin the magnet with your finger, it should spin about 2-4 revolutions. Give it a good spin and it should go more than that. If it doesn't then it has buildup and needs to be cleaned. Soak it in vinegar (hot vinegar if possible for a couple hours and every once in a while during that time give the prop a spin to loosen things up. That should fix it.

I had the same problem with the back plate as you and would only go on in a specific angle. Regardless once i did get it on, the magnetic strength from the dry side and wet side kept it on. Mine runs perfectly fine.

 

[adtravels]

Thanks very helpful guys, I will test it tonight. Do I give the magnet a good hard spin or just gently.

 

[adtravels]

what about sdjusting the pin spacer, at the moment it is perfect for my glass?

 

[MrSandman]

Give it a gentle but firm spin. It should spin pretty good without any resistance.

I wouldn't adjust the pin spacer just yet.

 

[adtravels]

I put on my spare wetside that spins freely and ok for two weeks then a fall off again. This time the whole propellor shaft was somewhat wobbly from the base. I am loosing a bit of faith here.

I may order one more wetside but I am not really 100 percent happy.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

The problem may have nothing to do with the wet side, do you have another dry side that you can use to exchange it? Otherwise I recommend you go through service@ecotechmarine-asia.com and they'll work to get your problem solved.

-Tim

 

[adtravels]

No I dont have another dry side.
One thing I do notice is that since I cranked the flow to maximum the dry side is hot to touch.
I do think it is a wetside problem, having two they both have different qualities, which cant be right can it.
one is very easy to spin but the shaft wobbles alittle from side to side, the other does not wobble at all but is tighter and spins less easily, I realise this may be to do with hoe tight the nut is on the shaft screw, yet even when slightly over tightened the wobbly wetside is still a little wobbly. The problems were apparent straight out of the box before btw.

I really dont fancy sending it to the service depot if at all possible, its a new product that I bought spares for and followed th instructions properly. I feel it should just work.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

adtravels-

I am with you on your feelings that the pump should work. However, sometimes things do happen so that is why we have our service channels in place. In order to solve this problem you will have to go through our Asian service center and work with them for the best solution.

-Tim

 

[neelix]

Have the same problem here, I will switch wet sides today and see if it follows the wet side, the pin spacers are set up identical on both MP40 yet 1 feels much weaker than the other when attaching to the tank.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

neelix-

After swapping parts to evaluate the problem, please email service@ecotechmarine.com and we'll go through the steps to get you running.

-Tim

 

[adtravels]

There was corrosion of the magnet underneath where the screw head sits I believe this was causing the wobble on one of the wetsides. I have just ordered two new gen 2 magnets so hoping this will solve the problem

btw how hot is the dry side supposed to get when ran on full power in any of the modes? It feels pretty hot to me, glad its on the outside.

 

[EcoTech Marine]

The dry side usually operates around 50deg C.

-Tim

 

[adtravels]

To update, I have 7mm glass and was between two pinspacer sizes I went to the next thickest and the wetside stopped falling off, I then installed two gen2 mag kits and have had a month or so of trouble free vortechs, until today when the wetside fell off the older of my two vortechs.

I am hoping this was to do with coraline and calcium depostis as I had not cleaned it for a month.
I swapped in my spare wetside and will update if the problem reoccurs.