just saw this on marine depot

[scott711]

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_powerh...h_propeller.asp

 

pretty cool.

[Leishman]

They had them on display @ MACNA. They over heated and shut down! They said there were some mods coming to improve them before they hit the market. I wouldn't touch them 'till they have been out and running 24/7 for 12 months or more. For $350 get the tried and tested Tunze.

 

This is a sweet selling point though:

 

Battery Backup Accessory

 

An IceCap, Inc. battery backup powers the EcoTech Marine VorTech Propeller Pump for up to 24-hours during a power outage emergency.

 

 

-Rik

[BeltwayBandit]

And, if you notice that is only for pre-orders. No telling how long before they will actually be in stock. Looking at the description, they said that the micro controller will shut the pump down if it over heats. That is a good thing, however if it is shutting down with regularity...thats kinda bad.

[dhoch]

This is a good product idea, but one of the nice things about having the pump mechanism in the water is better cooling...

 

Still The backup is awesome...(I even volunteered for a beta tester, but never heard anything from them).

 

IceCAP is good with their products, they probably wouldn't release unless they felt confident in it.

 

Dave

[BeltwayBandit]

In the FWIW category, I plan on waiting at least a year to let all the "new gadget freaks" at RC play with these things and figure out if they are worth the money or not. Love it or hate it RC is definately a good place to get a wide array of opinions on the new "hot gadget"

[Caribbean Jake]

good idea Greg, I'll wait to see how it turns out.

[Leishman]

 

IceCAP is good with their products, they probably wouldn't release unless they felt confident in it.

 

Dave

 

It's only an IceCap battery back up that they use.

[Caribbean Jake]

Rik, while at MACNA, did they talked about warranty and performance?

[Leishman]

Rik, while at MACNA, did they talked about warranty and performance?

 

They kept saying it was the 'best powerhead ever' and that it was better than the Tunze' but 3 hours later one of the pumps was dead (over heated). The second one they had crapped out the next day. They did run hot (the 1/2 on the outside of the glass) too hot to hold your had up to for more than 5 or 6 seconds.

 

They were signing people up to be beta testers, but even if you were selected you had to pay for the test model!!! They wanted $250 to be a tester!!

 

Great idea, but if they didn't fix the problems they had @ MACNA they are as good Rios on a wave making powerstrip.

 

Just my opinion.

 

-Rik

[keeperofthefish]

My question is simply why someone isn't enterprising enough to reverse engineer a Tunze (nothing patented on there so far as I can tell) and take them to be manufactured in China, then sell them at Seio prices. A Seio is a genuine attempt to make a differentiated product, and as a result it is not anything like a Tunze. But ripping off a good design is capitalism. It's what has allowed the Japanese to command consumer electronics with very little innovation on their side. Tunzes are so expensive because of the remarkable overvaluation of the Euro and the unproductivity of European manufacturing. A box of plastic forks manufactured in Germany would be the best plastic forks you've ever eaten with, but it would cost $45. If anyone wants to go into business with me, let me know and let's write up a business plan to make Tunze-quality but Seio-priced powerheads.

[wolfman]

i agree that those powerheads may be cool but they will never have anything on tunze, just seeing mine work it is really kool how it can push that much water.

[keeperofthefish]

I take back anything bad I ever said about Tunze. I got a 6000 stream kit and I am simply blown away with its power and function. It is ACTUALLY worth the money.