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Re: [APD] Vortex HELP! -- or - Don't get hot -- get another
Thanks for the feedback.
> This is a the way it's supposed to work. Although the motor
> will get hot to the touch when it's runnng, It should be
> able to run nonstop day after day without generating enough
> heat to trip the thermal overload n the motor.
The motor gets more then hot to the touch, it's untouchable, and invariably
shuts itself off. I have read in many places on their site, in the
instructions, etc, that these things can be run continously on larger tanks
(mines 90g), if not 4-6hrs at a time. 10 minutes? BAH
> This is a centrifugal pump so even if you totally blocked
> the output, it shouldn't cause the motor to trip.
>
> And it's not a matter of oiling the motor -- at a couple of
> drops every few months, you can guess that it doesn't use
> much.
I figured that as well, but also wanted to give it the benefit of the doubt.
I thought perhaps the motor would get hot, sure it's got a lot of volts
running through it, but the oil might keep it just cool enough to
operate...tried, failed :-(
> The way a vortex is designed, you can plug up the intake
> too and the machine will kepp on going -- it just won't
> produce much outflow. That's one way to tell that it's
> time to change the diatoms.
Also, considering it's centrifugal, it shouldn't need a flow of water to
continue to operate. Afterall it's a shaft with the impeller attached.
Running without anything attached, just the motor itself also gets extremely
hot, but I didn't wait for it to shut itself off, it was burning me.
> I'd go back to the vendor for a quick replacement or
> contact the factory: they have a website at
> www.diatomfilter.com
I contacted Innerspace (manufacturer) to see if they have suggestions. I'd
much rather a suggested tip of something that would fix it then having to
ship it back and forth again, waiting weeks for it to turn around,
especially with the holiday season.
> Vortex's are like farm horses -- Not necessarily
> attractive, but strong and reliable and built to take it.
> But even the best have failures -- and this sounds like
> one.
>
> It's brand new -- it's not right -- take it back. If you
> exchange, your next one should last about a decade or 2 or
> so.
Well, I certainly hope so, and my wife is right behind me there. She gets
quite upset when she gets me something and it just doesn't work. This is
the second time we've bought something from thatpetplace.com that was
damaged somehow. The first was a PC light that was dented, with the bulb
shattered, now this. I hope returning this will be easier then the light
itself. Of course, it could easily just be defective somehow and not the
blame of anyone in paticular, it's beginning to look like a pattern, though
(of my luck)
-Dave
> Scott H.
> --- David Terrell <dave at terrellclan_com> wrote:
> > Tonight my wife and I decided to do Xmas, I knew what I
> > was getting, and so did she. Pretty boring, but we knew
> > what we wanted and got it for each other. So, Xmas
> > Saturday night so I could play with my new toy over the
> > weekend, a new Vorted Diatom filter. I got everything
> > put together, diatom charged and everything...first run
> > was, well, scary. Despite reading the instructions quite
> > carefully after charging the bag and letting the clamp on
> > the exhaust pipe go a whole cloud of diatom powder went
> > into the aquarium. Fine, I read the book, it said that
> > was no harm to the fish and eventually would just get
> > charged back in the filter. Cool! It's working!
> >
> > Uh, lots of air going down the intake, there's a
> > leak...alright, they didn't glue it enough? So I sqeeze
> > the intake a bit to check that and the air stops, tubes
> > aren't really snug, not a big deal I get a nylon tie and
> > clamp that on there, problem solved.
> >
> > Uh, it's starting to smell? WHOA, the pump is too hot to
> > touch! :-( I look into the jar and it's perfectly
> > clear, water is coming out the exhaust pipe pretty well,
> > and the thing is humming along...so I guess the motor
> > might get a little hot...
> >
> > Uh, it shut off! DOH, what happened to my new toy? I
> > figured maybe the WHOLE bag of diatom powder that ships
> > with the unit (despite the instructions) isn't supposed
> > to go in there, so I take the whole setup into the
> > kitchen where I proceed to make a large mess trying to
> > get it to flush, which I did eventually. Now I've got it
> > running with no diatom powder, thinking there was so much
> > in there it cloged it up. Motor is still getting hot,
> > warmish, but I can touch it without burning myself...back
> > to the book, it says 3 cups for the XL model (which I
> > have) so I put in 3 cups into the bucket I'm working in.
> > The water clears quickly and it's humming away, I'm
> > happy. So I grab the whole setup, put the tubes into a
> > pitcher and bring it over to my tank. Set everything up
> > and run it in the pitcher again like the instructions say
> > so for recharging, this takes care of the cloud...now the
> > pitcher is clear, cool. I take the pitcher out and watch
> > as my tank REALLY begins to clear before my eyes, I can
> > see deeper and deeper in by millimeters..centimeters...
> >
> > Uh, it shut off again! Wow, the motor is REALLY hot
> > again, I can't touch it. So, here it stands, the Vortex
> > is on my tank right now, cooling off. I'm glad it has
> > this auto shut-down feature probably to avoid fire, but
> > why is it getting so hot? I read the book again for the
> > fifth time or so. Yea, oil the pump every 3 months or
> > so, on the pump it says anually but whatever you do, "DO
> > NOT OVER OIL!"
> >
> > SO! After my long story, what the hell should I do? Are
> > the motors supposed to get _that_ hot (no way!)? Are
> > they shipped without oil? What if it has oil and I over
> > oil? It seems to me there's just no oil in there, but
> > I'm not about to oil the thing after about 10 minutes use
> > and have something go wrong...perhaps over oiling by 3
> > drops isn't a big deal?
> >
> > I hope someone has an answer, my wife gets all upset when
> > she buys me something I'm all excited about and it
> > doesn't work as I expected. I'm a little upset, but I
> > figure it's something that can be solved with just _3_
> > drops of oil.
> >
> > Thanks guys,
> >
> > -Dave
> > _______________________________________________
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> > Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
> > http://www.actwin.com/mailman/listinfo.cgi/aquatic-plants
>
>
> =====
> S. Hieber
>
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