Who has had to replace the pump seal on their AM3K

[Mako]

Mark,
It has a 9 year factory service guarantee. I know I don't like the prospect of changing the seal on a regular basis, but what the heck, I have to open it up for cleaning every 6 months anyway just like all my other pumps. It is an easy task and Tom has given me two so far without so much as even the slightest hint of a problem. I think he is genuine in his concern to correct the problem and I am hopeful that this new one will do just that. Have to admit that it hasn't been much of an issue for me. I have put it on a UPS so it rarely gets interrupted, if ever.

Did you have a problem with Tom over the seals?

 

[mobert]

goldfish, I believe the warranty is "a free 10 year extended factory service guarantee". That's what is says on my paperwork & Tom said I have 9 more years....

 

[golfish]

Chuck, mobert
Tom told me flat out there would be no more free seals. We had a little discussion over at RL about this warranty. If you reread it you will see its has " a full one year warranty, and a free 10 year extended factory service guarantee" What ever that means.

It also says "If the pump is over one year old from date of purchase, or there is no receipt available, there will be a charge for repair or replacement"


Guys, I think we got screwed on this 9 year warranty thing.

I hope I'm wrong.

mark

 

[turtlespd]

How much did we pay for our pumps? 100? 200? nah closer to 300 is more like it..most pumps are about 200 i would say am i not correct..we did pay top dollar and what we are getting is junk IMO...if you just bought a new car with factory 10,000 mile warranty and your ignitor goes out..who reapairs it? the dealer, right..free of charge and parts and labor of course..but with cars they have a recalls when they know something like that is out there. They repair all of them without question and pay for evey penny, they wi ll even provide us with a car in the mean time, thats service! Good thing for them they are located all over the place and shipping isnt a issue With our pumps its a differnt story..we are the ones eating sh*T..We have to pay for shiping, our investment will suffer, down time, and what ever else that may happen..we are the ones who gets stuck...Dolphin knows that these pumps are made with some foreign part..and they yet still give some customers lip about seals..the hell with them. If i pay top dollor for a Premium pump, I expect the best! Dolphin on occation wont even send out a extra pump...giving people lip about that also..i dont see any justification in making the consumer have to pay 20 buks on shipping a year, so they can repair a pump which Dolphin messed up in the first place...I was once very happy with Dolphin pumps and i still happy for the time being..but now i cant sleep well because i also have one that was made last year..i sure hope i got a newer model. If i had a iwaki it would be freakn loud but alteast i can go on vacation and come back to a working pump. How many of you own a iwaki pump that has seized? its like 1 out of a million iwakis goes bad..i figure if we paid that much for a pump we should expect the quaility if an iwaki at the least..

Im just alittle angry now thats all , Venting..Next time i set up a tank i will have to make s tank room and use Iwaki pumps. Seizing pumps isnt something i want to happen when i got out on vacation. For some of use it might be our close loop..im sure that the feeling of going home to a tank full of dead corlas isnt that great.


Paul (Bitter)

 

[SPC]

Posted by Mako:
It has a 9 year factory service guarantee. I know I don't like the prospect of changing the seal on a regular basis, but what the heck, I have to open it up for cleaning every 6 months anyway just like all my other pumps.

-I remember when I recieved my Amp master last year and a friend of mine who has been into aquariums for 20 years had a look at it. The first thing he said was "that seal is going to leak". He went on to say that this type of design has always had problems with seals leaking and hoped that Dolphin had figured out a way to prevent this. If I knew this before I purchased this pump I would have made another choice. Yes Tom has been very nice about this, to me however that is beside the point. If all of our pumps are having seal problems why was this not discovered during the R&D of this pump? If my friend knew that seals on this type of design where always a problem, why did Dolphin not pay special attention to this area?
Ok, so they have a problem with the design, my question would be how are they going to fix it? Sadly I am affraid the answer is that they can't, I predict that this model (design) will be discontinued in the near future and that we will be left holding the bag.
Steve

 

[golfish]

Does anybody have a clue what this 10 year factory service guarantee consists of, or is just a false promis to fix our pumps at OUR cost

 

[Mako]

Mark - To be honest, no. I know what I want to believe it is, but it is probably time to give Tom a call and find out for sure.

I am kinda concerned to hear that he told you there would be no more free seals. I could see having to replace the seal every couple of years. That seems reasonable and if the cost is only $20, I can live with that. But, if it remains at the rate it is now then that is a problem.

Did you put the new seal in your pumps yet? I havent got around to doing mine yet, but will probably do so this weekend. It's time for the bi-annual cleaning as indicated by the small reduction in flow I have been noticing of late. I will let you know what Tom says.

Chuck

 

[DPidwerbecki]

WOW - what a thread.

I own a AM3K and it's seal went bad. Funny thing about it though, it leaked and then it stopped. Tom sent me out a new seal to replace it but and instructions, but forgot to tell me that the seal surface had to be *extremely* clean - ie not touched w/ a clean finger. One has to clean the seal w/ IPA in order to insure that it wouldn't leak, etc. Well, I assembled the bugger and it leaked initially and then stopped leaking (he also didn't tell me that the silicone had to be fully cured, although on this issue I feel that I failed the IQ test). Tom has sent me out a new wet end because my wet end was put on so tightly that I had to use vice grips on the motor shaft to get the impeller loosened up and my existing pump didn't have the dust cap, etc.

I have my AM3K driving everything - skimmer, return, chiller sparger, and calcium reactor. In addition to my first AM3K, I just bought a refurbished pump from Dolphin to have a emergency replacement. I figure that if I were to purchase the big Iwaki and had to have an emergency back up pump, I'd probably spend the same dollars.

I think that Tom is sincere and want's to do what is right. I'm also sure that they are still smarting from the titanium SST1200/800 issue (I understand that they were taken by a crooked salesman). I sure hope that this new seal runs forever, but I wouldn't be too upset if I had to replace it every two years of operation or so. I'm a little concerned that if they (Dolphin) are really dealing with another major design flaw and that they will be having to change seals forever, that they won't be in business and then I'll (we'll) be stuck with some very expensive pumps and have no support. I feel that we need to be fair in the accessment of the warrentee for this pump seal. We all know that moving parts don't last forever and I'll be very satisfied w/ a 2 year life on a seal.

Dave

 

[golfish]

Chuck,
Yes, the seal has been running for a few weeks now. Its very easy to install. I took Tom's advice and didn't touch the seal. I don't know what that has to do with anything. I used to repair\rebuild pumps like these (except a LOT BIGGER) all the time and touching a carbon seal was not an issue. Maybe these are made different.

Me thinks nobody wants to call Tom and find out what a "10 year factory service guarantee" is ....

 

[golfish]

WOW - what a thread.

We all know that moving parts don't last forever and I'll be very satisfied w/ a 2 year life on a seal.

Dave

Dave, I can agree with that, Unfortunately nobody has gotten 2 years out of their seal. Mine went for only 12 months before it wore out and wouldn't restart when the power was cut. Most people here got a lot less out of their seals.

 

[Reefraff]

Well, as Tom promised the replacement pump just arrived yesterday. I had to send a check for $210 as a deposit, but the check will not be cashed unless I fail to return the replacement pump. So, I will swap out pumps and let Tom fix the one I have--so far so good.

Mark

I will look at the date on the motor when I swap the pumps, but Tom was saying that its how old the seal was, not necessarily when the pump was built. He thinks some old seals were still in inventory and made their way onto some newer pumps.

Just curious, does anyone have any experience with Sequence or RK2 pumps? Just wondering how quiet those pumps are versus say an Iwaki or a Dolphin.

 

[Ironreef]

Dave, I can agree with that, Unfortunately nobody has gotten 2 years out of their seal. Mine went for only 12 months before it wore out and wouldn't restart when the power was cut. Most people here got a lot less out of their seals.

I agree I have pumps of less caliber= Iwaki, mak4 which maynot equal the quietness,power ect...my point is I've had them awhile(well over 2 yrs) and they don't leak and have no problems. Except when i'm lazy and clean them only once ayear. If they can do it Dolphin should be able to also??

 

[myron]

Yep, mine lasted 1.5 years. Power back on, impeller won't turn. Replaced the seal yesterday. Works great. It is pretty easy.

 

[golfish]

myron, the whole pump is pretty easy to work on once you dig right in.

I guess nobody wants to tackel the 64,000 dollar question And that is: what excatly is a "10 year factory service guarantee"

 

[myron]

Hi Goldfish,

They told me that they will service any of the ampmaster for free under the 10 year service warrenty. But you need to mail the pump to florida. that means time and postage. It is cheaper and faster to just replace the seal yourself. just need a screw driver and wrench and some silicon sealant after recieving the new seal.

 

[golfish]

Hi Goldfish,

They told me that they will service any of the ampmaster for free under the 10 year service warrenty. But you need to mail the pump to florida. that means time and postage. It is cheaper and faster to just replace the seal yourself. just need a screw driver and wrench and some silicon sealant after recieving the new seal.

myron,
Here lies the problem. Tom told me in his last e-mail that there would be "NO MORE FREE SEALS" The first one was free and they were 20.00 after that. What you said about the them servicing the pumps for free. Does that mean they replace the part needed for free or they just service it and we pay for the parts? Theres a gray area there

I would e-mail him but because of my natural ***$hollioism I don't think Tom likes me

BTW, who's goldfish?


Mark

 

[golfish]

Anybody find out what "10 year service warrenty" is yet? I think myron was off to a start but it still didn't answer the question.

 

[organicreefer]

warranty info......

warranty info......

you pay shipping and factory list on parts and they will fix it.
the seals are 20 dollars under the "extended warranty".

 

[kevinpo]

I don't have the Ampmaster pump but I do have a Dolphin Aqua Sea 4500 and the pump seal just went bad after 11 months. I also run a Iwaki MD100RLT and a Iwaki MD55RLT. All the pumps were started the same day. The Iwaki's so far so good.
I called Dolphin and talked to Chris. He was very polite and said he would send out the seal the same day. No hassle or extra documentation was required.
I will repost when I receive the seal and get it replaced.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[Mescalito]

just to throw in my experience. I'm currently leak-testing my set-up and I'm noticing a small leak right at the impeller, I can actually see the water as the impeller rotates. I just purchased this pump new in May from Premium Aquatics and have only run it 24 hrs. Hopefully the new seal will do the trick. On the upside I must say I am very pleased with the amount of water its moving and the lack of noise.