dchild July 8, 2005 July 8, 2005 I bought a Mag 7 from Kannan and plumbed it as a closed loop (I used 3/4" plumbing although the pump intake/outlets are only 1/2"). Runs well, not nearly as noisy as I had feared since many people have low opinions of non-submerged Mags. My question is that after it had run for an hour or two, the pump is too hot to touch for more than a few seconds. Is that normal for a Mag running externally? Would it help if I set it in a bucket of water (not circulated, just to help keep it cool)? I'm gonna turn it off for tonight so I won't burn it out if that's not right...
flowerseller July 8, 2005 July 8, 2005 the pump is too hot to touch for more than a few seconds So stop touching it, it won't feel hot anymore.
fishface July 8, 2005 July 8, 2005 Hi Dchild: I met you at Krish's. I can't speak for other brands, but I've got a custom sealife pump and they are also known for running hot. I look at it as my heater is probably coming on less.... I wouldn't doubt that there are more efficient pumps out there that would use less electricity but I'm not ready to sit down and compare the two costs and extrapolate the heat/energy savings. Too geeky. But I did have some temperature spikes and I have to have the Air Conditioner set to 75 during the day. Any higher to conserve there and the tank gets to 82-84, something I'm not comfortable regaredless of those who maintain theirs at higher temps. And I removed the canopy. But then MI pendants followed shortly. FF
DEEPBLUE July 8, 2005 July 8, 2005 I have a Mag 12 in a seal loop out side the tank and it doesn't get hot at all, it been running for over 6 months with no problems, I've cleaned it and nothing, that doesn't sound right to me, I have 3 Mags running and not a problem. Eric
Grav July 8, 2005 July 8, 2005 So stop touching it, it won't feel hot anymore. 34308[/snapback] So I went to the doctor and said doc, I hurt everywhere! Look when I touch my Nose... OUCH it hurts!! When I touch my Knee... OUCH it hurts!! When I touch my Foot... OUCH it hurts!! When I touch my Arm... OUCH it hurts!! The doc said to me.... you have a broken finger. Sorry, had to do it. Too hot to touch seems wrong to me too.
Lee Stearns July 8, 2005 July 8, 2005 I run a couple of Mags - If it is getting hot look at getting the impellar replaced as it is dragging on you. The MAG 7 is a bit more notorious than the 5,12 or 18 for wearing thier impellars out.
HowardofNOVA July 8, 2005 July 8, 2005 I agree with Lee that the Impellar might need replacing. The cooler a motor runs the longer life it will have. I would drop the pump into a small container in the mean time until you get a replacement. Couldn't hurt?
dchild July 9, 2005 Author July 9, 2005 Thank you all for your advice! I have taken the pump apart and looked for surfaces that might be causing friction - I found a small scratch inside the pump portion (female side) of the shaft - smoothed it out with a small peice of fine sandpaper. Found a plastic bump on the pump surface the impeller rides against (the flat part right outside the shaft) - sanded that off too. Saw some pitting on one of the rubber pieces on the impellar, though they are concave and don't stick out. I put it back together and it is still heating up. Question is, is it worth running the pump until I can get a new impeller? What is the failure mode of the pump - i.e. will it just stop working, will it ruin the pump, or will it start a fire? I'm hoping Marine Scene or TRT has an impeller in stock, otherwise it'll probably have to be online (unless someone has a Mag 7 impeller they'd like to sell).
Guest Keyoke July 9, 2005 July 9, 2005 How do they fail? They start to shake, rattle.. they'll pull the PVC right out of the bulkheads on a CL, then it starts to smoke and spit, next thing you know the plastic is melting, running down the sides of whatever it's sitting on. The epoxy enclosing the coil starts to smoke, which releases clouds of toxic fumes that seem to gravitate towards skimmer air intakes... soon the raw, wire wound core is exposed to the air, and the water pouring out of your bulkhead holes where the PVC used to be.. A circuit is made, and the GFCI (if your lucky enough to have one) trips.. the tank goes dark. Meanwhile, water is still pouring all over your floor from the compromised bulkheads and pump. The water seeps through the drywall nearest the pump. Water runs down the electrical wiring in the walls and into the Mains, which shorts out and thunder rocks the house.. the basement fills with the smell of Ozone. The house -- the block goes dark. The floor, softening under the deluge of hundreds of gallons of water starts to creak. The minor spills that have seeped thru the towels and plastic thru the life of the tank has weakened the joist supports and nails holding the floor to the load bearing wall that was nearby. Another crack, and the whole house shudders.. There's an 8 foot drop, and a loud CRASH as the floor suddenly gives way under the weight of your now mostly dry live rock, and a 50 gallon sump.. The sudden impact of the tank hitting the basement floor causes the glass to explode. It's a beautiful sight in a tragic sort of way, as millions of peices of glass fly out in every direction, seeming to glitter as they tumble through the air, lit by the light pollution that seeps in from a nearby basement window -- some of them still have snails attached, hanging on for dear life. The crash launches your prized 90 pound peice of live rock right at your TV, which implodes. Charges built up in the capacitors of the TV cause a spark, and a nearby couch starts to smoulder. It bursts into flame... Meanwhile, the sudden decrease in demand for electricity when the mains shorted and the power requirements for 9 pumps, 4 1000W MH bulbs, heaters, chillers, and normal household current causes a sort of electrical backwash which travels through the power grid. Witnesses say that you could actually SEE the arc of electricity travelling down the tension wires overhead. Generators at the power station go offline, other systems on the grid try to compensate, but can't cope. The eastern seaboard goes dark. Extremists - Crazy Americans for the most part living in the hills of west virginia, notice they can suddenly see the stars again. Thinking it's a terrorist attack, they grab their moonshine and shotguns, wives, cousins and sisters (It's not uncommon for those to all be 1 person) - and load up their pickup trucks. They decend on Virginia, the 30 minute drive has given them plenty of time to get drunk on their home-made hooch, and they start shooting everything in sight, hootin and hollerin. A startled Mr. Bush, being evacuated onto AirForce One, trips - the so called impregnable case carying the 'Football' dents. Out in the midwest - Nebraska, South Dakota and Oklahoma, 300 silos belch flame as they release their deadly missiles... The world ends.
Guest alex wlazlak July 9, 2005 July 9, 2005 thats just too funny!!their wives, cousins, and sisters was too much for me:)
dchild July 9, 2005 Author July 9, 2005 The world ends. DOH I was afraid of that. I'll be taking donations to help keep my pump turned off so this doesn't happen... TOO FUNNY Jeff. Let me know next time you're up in Fairfax, I'll buy you a drink B)
dbartco July 9, 2005 July 9, 2005 You weren't allowed to watch TV when you were little were you Jeff? Or was it the funny postage stamps you found, lacking any real dollar value.
unninair July 10, 2005 July 10, 2005 Jeff, You should seriously consider a writing career..... probably the next "Best Seller". Unni
JC Pollman July 10, 2005 July 10, 2005 Mags should not be used external - I do not care what Mag says. I have used a Mag 5 internal for many years without a problem so I am not anti-Mag, but I have had a Mag 7 and 2 Mag 9.5s fail on CLS in less than a year. When they get hot the pump's main body starts deforming and they die. One good thing: Mag has always replaced my pumps. I have sinced switched my CLS pumps to Eheim - they run so cool that I can not even tell if they are on by touch - really room temp. Although more expensive, if you shop around you can get pretty good deals: I got a 1262 for $125 plus shipping. Considering I have a 1250 that has been running without fail for 10 years, I would say they are worth it. For what it is worth, Superfish store has the 1260 for $113 - maybe twice the price of the mag, but the security of knowing it is unlikely to break down any time soon is worth it. http://superfishstore.com The only drawback to Eheims is their non-standard connections - I use tubing and clamps to connect to them - which I do not like - but works ok. JC
Lee Stearns July 11, 2005 July 11, 2005 Jeff, you asked whether I had read the thread when you were at the house last night- I just got around to opening it here at work- what a pleasure- and almost had to pick myself off the floor- I bet you scare your kids with bedtime stories that just don't end. Regards, Lee
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