burned up mag 7

[Guest BrentRowley]

Just when things were going well my 55 gallon reef lost power. My wife called and told me about it at work and described the sound that it makes when it backflows. A few hours later I came home and got to work on it. I could get everything to fire back up but within a matter of 5 minutes or less my GFI would trip. Thinking I had stray current somewhere I began the process of plugging things in one at a time to see where my problems was. I was able to isolate it to the Mag 7 return pump. I am not an electrition so if anybody can explain to me why an overheating pump would trip a GFI I would love to listen. This pump works fine when plugged directly into the wall in another room minus the GFI. I tested it in my 32 gallon rubbermaid water mixer. No problem(water was cold). I am now using the Mag 350 on my 55 gallon reef and not happy about the flow it makes. I am asuming the Mag7 overheated since it smells funny and the Mag350 is not having any trouble. Before I invest in another return pump I am interested if anybody else has had a simular experience. Please ignore all typos in this post. After 4 hours of reef tank first aid I have consumed a little gin and tonic.

[jamesbuf]

At least it happened now and not while you were out of town. Always gotta look on the bright side. There are plenty of knowledgeable people on the site. I'm sure someone will reply with help. Best of luck.

 

 

By the way, is that a Queen Trigger you have as your picture?? If so, make sure you post some pictures of it.

[HowardofNOVA]

Brent,

Sounds like a short in the system, especially with GFI tripping OR could be the GFI shorting out which happened to me last Spring. Try plugging something into GFI and wiggling around to see if it pops. If not, good chance you eliminated it. Then checking wiring for ANY type of loose piece or wires. Nothing there then and system is running fine without, then culprit I say is the MAG7.

I see your in Germantown MD, I'm is Falls Church, so not close enough to lend you a MAG7 for the night, but as long as you have flow with smaller MAG, you will be ok until you get a replacement.

Problem COULD BE that the pump simply needs cleaned! Take it apart and scrub off all you can. Then place in a 5g bucket 1/2g of vinegar and a couple gallons of water, place pump in bucket and put on lid and turn it on for about 30min. Will be good as new.

IF burnt out, then motor will be trash and need a replacement.

Look at this as a chance for a change! :wink:

I like a MAG9.5 or 7 for your setup using either a SCWD or SeaSwirl for the returns.

After seeing what the MaxiJet1200 was doing with it's Mod, I would highly recommend one of these too!

Not as expensive and worked great!!

Let us know if there is anything else we can do?

[dandy7200]

How would a dirty pump cause a GFCI to trip?

[HowardofNOVA]

The last place I lived I re-wired the basement and had to replace about 3 or 4 GFI boxes, not sure why but I've come to not trust them so much!

...of course had nothing to do with my electrical skills!

 

As far as the cleaning, couldn't hurt and if the unit had a heavy build up, could have added in it breaking down. If your running them longer than 6mo with out doing this, better plan now on adding it to your to do list! After, you will fill like you bought a new pump!!

[ErikS]

How would a dirty pump cause a GFCI to trip?

GFI measures inbound & outbound current (the current on both the hot & neutral legs) - a faulty pump could easily cause a mis-match in the current = trip.

 

Running a tank w/o GFCI is a bad idea, they are one of the best safety measures around.

 

Case #1 - they tell you the pump has problems before a fire or pump hurts the tank.

 

Case #2 - the constant tripping tells you there's a problem with the wiring.

[tygger]

I feel your pain, but at least you have a backup pump circulating the water.

 

Thx for mentioning the GFCI. Now, can anyone explain to me how to install one of these???

[BeltwayBandit]

Plug-n-play..

 

 

I found this site that sells them online with a quick search. Never used them before, I'd check mcmaster.com if you want to mail order. Otherwise you can get them at HD or Lowes.

 

http://www.waralon.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=SB-30338062

[tygger]

I was thinking more of the wall replacement...

 

http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_ind...age_id=35720244

 

Looks pretty easy. I'm just a little nervous working about electricity... Think I'm goint ot get one and try to install it. Gotta make sure i turn off the circuit. I even have one of those circuit testers, but haven't used it before.

[dandy7200]

I still don't understand how a dirty pump is going to cause a trip, faulty I understand.

 

As far as installing a GFCI it is extremely simple. Turn off the breaker, remove old outlet, install new GFCI. The only issue is to determine which set of wires is the "LINE" and which is the "LOAD". They can only be wired one way so it needs to be done right. By far the easiest way to do this is to buy a GFCI that has a little pilot light on it that turns green when wired right and just hook it up one way and turn the circuit on. If it is correct the light will be green and everything is good, if you got it backwards the GFCI will not energize and the light will be yellow, all you need to do is reverse your wiring, and try again. There are other ways to do it but for an extra buck for the lighted outlets it is totally worth it.

[fab]

Overheating can cause a short in the motor that isn't there when the motor cools. Hot wires expand. Cold wires contract. That can set up conditions to make a circuit when the wire expands (hot) and to break the circuit when the wire contracts (cold).

 

You could try experiments with hot and cold water, somewhere other than in your aquarium or sump to test it for hot/cold failure.

 

fab

[jason the filter freak]

I was thinking more of the wall replacement...

 

http://www.easy2diy.com/cm/easy/diy_ht_ind...age_id=35720244

 

Looks pretty easy. I'm just a little nervous working about electricity... Think I'm goint ot get one and try to install it. Gotta make sure i turn off the circuit. I even have one of those circuit testers, but haven't used it before.

 

Shut downt the power to your house seems like a good start, then a multimeter is always nice

[Guest BrentRowley]

Brent,

Sounds like a short in the system, especially with GFI tripping OR could be the GFI shorting out which happened to me last Spring. Try plugging something into GFI and wiggling around to see if it pops. If not, good chance you eliminated it. Then checking wiring for ANY type of loose piece or wires. Nothing there then and system is running fine without, then culprit I say is the MAG7.

I see your in Germantown MD, I'm is Falls Church, so not close enough to lend you a MAG7 for the night, but as long as you have flow with smaller MAG, you will be ok until you get a replacement.

Problem COULD BE that the pump simply needs cleaned! Take it apart and scrub off all you can. Then place in a 5g bucket 1/2g of vinegar and a couple gallons of water, place pump in bucket and put on lid and turn it on for about 30min. Will be good as new.

IF burnt out, then motor will be trash and need a replacement.

Look at this as a chance for a change! :wink:

I like a MAG9.5 or 7 for your setup using either a SCWD or SeaSwirl for the returns.

After seeing what the MaxiJet1200 was doing with it's Mod, I would highly recommend one of these too!

Not as expensive and worked great!!

Let us know if there is anything else we can do?

 

 

Well the Mag 7 is toast. I am sure that it was the pump and not my system for 2 reasons. The Mag 350 is working perfectly for the past few days and I am able to duplicate the mag 7 switching off in my 32 gallon garbage can/water mixer. It goes for about 5 minutes and then overheats. I guess I can still use it for small water changes. I am reluctant to buy another Mag drive pump. I am considering the Ehiem 1260. I have read good things about it. I would like to hear from anybody who uses an Ehiem inside their sump. I am also interested in the pro's/con's of SCWD or the SeaSwirl. I have been slowly gathering pieces to make a spray bar but may give up on that if these devices are better/easier.

[EricBrian]

Plug-n-play..

 

 

I found this site that sells them online with a quick search. Never used them before, I'd check mcmaster.com if you want to mail order. Otherwise you can get them at HD or Lowes.

 

http://www.waralon.com/detail.asp?PRODUCT_ID=SB-30338062

 

This seems to be the same thing but a lot cheaper:

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=TW38085

[Guest BrentRowley]

This seems to be the same thing but a lot cheaper:

 

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=TW38085

 

 

I ordered from this place http://www.northcoastmarines.com/products_fish.htm

I bought 2 diferent types but they both plug into the wall. Probably saved me from a housefire by now. you still have to use a powere surge device in conjuntion with these.

[Guest BrentRowley]

Well I ended up buying a sedra 7000. WOW is it quiet. I hooked it up over the weekend and all seems well. I am a little concerned that I may have too much linear flow. What size seaswirl would work well with a sedra 7000 on a 55 gallon tank? Everything has closed up since I have installed the new pump. I have done a little rearanging but my pagoda cup ,star polyps, and plate coral are still a little irritated.