Powerheads are running in reverse. Why?

[Jan]

So the lights went off this morning and I've been running the generator all day. Jeff unplugged the generator and turned power on to the house and my 2-Hydor Koralia Evolution Circulation Powerheads are running in reverse!?!?.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Jans Natural Reef Foods

[DaveS]

Unplug and wait for impeller to stop, then plug in again.

[YHSublime]

Maybe they think they are in Australia? Sorry, not helpful, I know

[Jan]

I've done this several times. I even opened them and cleaned them out. I'm baffled.

 

Unplug and wait for impeller to stop, then plug in again.

[Jan]

LOL!!! You always make me laugh. I love to laugh. Thank you for that.

 

 

Maybe they think they are in Australia? Sorry, not helpful, I know

[YHSublime]

LOL!!! You always make me laugh. I love to laugh. Thank you for that.

 

Haha, you're welcome! It's just the way this mind works.

[smallreef]

Mine usually reset themselves after another power flip...are they old ?

[Jan]

They came with the tank. Not sure how old they are.

Mine usually reset themselves after another power flip...are they old ?

[swimmatte]

That's odd. This is very common after power outages when dealing with 3 phase motors but I don't think it should happen with residential stuff. This occurs when the technicians put the main three wires (3 phase) back in a different order. The thing is, our powerheads are single phase motors, and should not be affected. Go check a fan in a bathroom, is it sucking or blowing?

[Jan]

Yeah, ABC gum. LOL!!!

Haha, you're welcome! It's just the way this mind works.

[L8 2 RISE]

You can try sticking a fork or something in the impeller and sort of pushing it in the right direction. That often works. Are they running in reverse smoothly or are they making a lot of noise?

[RJT]

My Tunze does it sometimes after I turn it off for cleaning. I have to remove the impeller, wipe off the impeller thoroughly and when I restart it, it usually works.

[smallreef]

Swimmate...this happens a lot with the koralia powerheads as the get older....

[Jan]

My two other powerheads, Tunze, are working fine. Everything else in the house is wroking fine.

That's odd. This is very common after power outages when dealing with 3 phase motors but I don't think it should happen with residential stuff. This occurs when the technicians put the main three wires (3 phase) back in a different order. The thing is, our powerheads are single phase motors, and should not be affected. Go check a fan in a bathroom, is it sucking or blowing?

[monkiboy]

yeah this happens with my koralia power heads after a while. i dont bother doing anything other than unplugging and plugging in until they decide to go the correct way. usually it takes two or three times and it spins correct. happens with my koralias about once out of five times. never had the issue with any other pump. this is why i only use these value-based pumps for salt mixing. i couldn't deal with them in a display. it would be frustrating. give it a go a few times and i'm sure they'll work fine again!

[epleeds]

this happens to tunze's all the time. all you need to do is place your hand against the front of the power head and it will reverse itself. Not sure why tunze does that, but that is the easiest way to make them reverse

[swimmatte]

Per Koralia:

 

 

ATTENTION KORALIA EVOLUTION OWNERS

Hydor has discovered a slight modification is necessary to ensure the proper functioning of some Koralia Evo Pumps.

The issue is that some pumps can run backwards over time when used with certain timers and wavemaker devices.

The problem can usually be corrected by a simple cleaning of the impeller bushing, bushing o-ring and bushing housing with any safe solvent such as rubbing alcohol.

Hydor has a modified bushing and bushing housing available to the consumer at no charge.

Please contact Hydor USA at any time for assistance at hydorusa.office@hydor.com.

[L8 2 RISE]

Maxijets run in reverse all the time too, as do rios, quiet ones, mags, and a few others I'm sure I haven't experienced- all value pumps. With most of those though, when they run in reverse they make a lot of noise and hop around. Do Koralia's just run fully in reverse?

[swimmatte]

I also found this on their website......

 

http://www.hydor.com/faq#faq49

[monkiboy]

Do Koralia's just run fully in reverse?

mine do, like normal but reverse flow. you wouldn't know really unless paying attention to the force of water being made or had your hand in the water.

[Jan]

Wow! Thanks everyone. I gave up and took a break. I'll deal with them now.

[kjamaya]

This happens to us as well and my husband normally unplugs them and plugs them half way in. He does this about 3-4 times in a row some what fast and BAM! they go back to normal.

Edited March 20, 2013 by kjamaya

[gwweber]

i had this problem turned out the bushings in the powerheads were causing this. Talked to the manufacturer and they sent me new bushings

[Integral9]

Alright. They are an AC motor. So if the magnet is slightly in the wrong direction when the AC is supplied to the electro-magnet, the magnet turns the wrong way. The bushing that is referred to is simply a bump-stop that holds the propeller (aka screw) in place and prevents it from turn the wrong way (as the wrong way unscrews the propeller from the housing). When the prop starts to turn the correct way, it tends to screw itself back into the housing, holding it in place.

 

Easy fix: Take the cover off the power head. Put your finger on the tip of the propeller to hold it in place in the housing and turn it on. Let go of it slightly so that it can start turning and it will probably bump against your finger and then go back into place, turning the correct direction. Then replace the cover. Problem solved.

 

fwiw: Over time the bump stops (aka bushings) on the covers wear out. It happens faster if you use the powerheads on a wave maker, because the props chew into the bump-stop almost every time it starts up and wave makers increase the number of starts dramatically.

 

iirc, The older series of koralia powerheads (non-evolution) lack the bump stop.

Edited March 20, 2013 by Integral9