Vortech Magnet wear

[Chichas01]

So I was doing a little maintenance on the tank today and decided to remove the wet side assembly's of my MP20's and clean off the algae and gunk that were building up on the propellers and intake screens. I let them soak in some hot water and vinegar, scrubbed them with a tooth brush, rinsed them and put them back in the tank. They started up and then began to squeak and the props would stop and start-stop and start.
So I took the wet side back out and found that the magnets are scraping on the cover over the back of the wet-side assembly. The coating on the magnets is worn off in a section and the cover is all scraped up. What gives? They worked fine before I took them out. I have no idea what changed. I made no adjustments to the drive shaft nut and I know the wear was not there beforehand because I had looked at the magnets before I cleaned up up the wet-sides.
I've thought of every possible thing that could have affected them and all i can come up with is that the back sides of the wet-sides stuck together in the bucket I soaked them in and that buck was sitting in a steel sink. Not sure if that could be the cause of making things go wrong, but I'm at a total loss as to what could cause this.

 

[treehugger]

it's about 75 to replace the wet assemblies...the first two generation wet assemblies wear out after about a year. They rust and bubble. I've been replacing them for the last two weeks on most of my client's tanks. I was disappointed at the amount and speed at which these rust out. The newer ones have a bit of a better seal but I imagine they will meet the same fate at about the same rate :/

 

[trido]

You could always trying to replace the bearing assembly for $20 first.

 

[tamarindthai]

too bad for how much you pay for it didn't last too long.

 

[roscoe]

How old is your wet side? They just replaced all thier WS about 3-4 months ago. I had one where the screw that holds the bearings and impellar together melt through the magnet. They had tons of defective ones. If you contact Ecotech they will take care of you asap. I have had 2 WS break on me and both were replaced free and they also sent me a 3rd as a spare for free.

 

[treehugger]

They are definitely quick to replace them. Just make sure to have the serial number on hand when you call them. The new ones appear to be of a "better" quality. They should be for the price. I believe I talked to Jeff both times I called and he was very helpful.

 

[Chichas01]

How old is your wet side? They just replaced all thier WS about 3-4 months ago. I had one where the screw that holds the bearings and impellar together melt through the magnet. They had tons of defective ones. If you contact Ecotech they will take care of you asap. I have had 2 WS break on me and both were replaced free and they also sent me a 3rd as a spare for free.

Yep, this turns out to be the case. Spoke with their support guy Jeff today and he has already sent out 2 new replacements. They don't even want the other ones back so at some point I'll get the rebuild kit for them and that way I'll have a couple of spares on hand. Super customer support. Makes me glad I went with Vortech even with this inconvenience.

 

[apollothesun]

yeah, Jeff at ecotech took care of me too with the old assembly last year. makes you wonder how many phone calls he gets a day trying to make everyone happy?

 

[roscoe]

sigh:razz:...................... Came home today with one of my VTs light flashing at me. Upon inspecting the stem melted through the danm magnet again and broke off!!!! This is the 4th!!!! I don't know how long ecotech will keep on replaceing my WS?! They have to be losing money left and right having to replace them all the time!!! This was supposed to be thier new and improved WS! Gotta call Jeff or Steve AGAIN!!!!!

 

[treehugger]

you have to send back the impeller assembly in order not to get charged so hang on to it...they will include a return package and instructions. They look at the parts to see what the cause is on all damaged/defective products (so as to improve upon design)

 

[Chichas01]

Dang Sarang! What bad timing
What mode are you running yours in? My new ones showed up today and are up and running now. They seem to run a bit quieter than that last ones. They did request I send back the bearing and another piece so they could look at it.

 

[roscoe]

Yeah this sucks!! This time it was running on lagoon. The other times I had them running on reef crest. Jeff I still have all the parts from the other 3. I havn't sent them back yet. They never charged me. Good thing I have a spare.

 

[treehugger]

it seems like if they're not set on constant that they wear out much faster. We set off of our clients on whatever that pulse mode is (blue..haha) and they seemed to really take its toll on them. The new ones definitely run better though I will say that. Aside from size, I've been using the Koralias a whole lot more these days...the largest one moves more then a vortech and is half the price

 

[roscoe]

Just got off the phone with Jeff at Echotech. Replacement is on the way. I guess the one they sent me before was not the newer version. As much as I love these pumps. If it wasn't for their great CS. I would have already ditched these.

 

[alireza]

Mine is giving the same problems. Wonder if I can get mine switched too...

 

[dragoneggs]

I am about to buy a couple of new ones for the first time but I am nervous about them now.

 

[roscoe]

We'll see how the new WS do. They have great customer support. If it wasn't for that I would no longer use them.

 

[dragoneggs]

It does sound like the support is top notch and the way it should be with a quality product that you pay good money for. Still heading in that direction.

 

[moto826]

seams like a mess to deal with ill wait to get one till they last for over a year

 

[JIvePhotography]

The issues are all related to the MP20 right? I have an MP40 and it seems to work fine. Does customer service work after a year for replacing defective product? Mine will be a year old next month. I always use mine on the pulse mode (blue light).