filter is dead

[LMOUTHBASS]

hey guys did a water change today unplugged my filter like always when i do it , but when i was done i went to plug it back in and the thing was completly dead - no noise no motion nothing! i tried it in other electrical outlets thinking this might be the problem - but nothing - this is weird what mightve cause this???

[Grassguy]

Did you check the impellar to make sure nothin fell in there to jam while you were cleaning it. Or it could have overloaded when you plugged it back in...sometimes you get a surge at that point.

[TKOS]

I find that I often have to kick start my impellor with a little wooden skewer to get it going.

[vaheelsfan]

I had an aquaclear filter that just turned of once. I took it apart and took the little motor/pump thing off and rinsed it out really well. Nothing noticable came out, but when I reassembled it and plugged it back in, it worked fine. Just remember that water and electricity don't mix ;)

[ewok]

try cleaning the impeller.

[dethjam316]

my AC200 has been doing this on and off for weeks. i'm extremely annoyed with it. when i came back from vacation, it was grating like hell...cleaned it out. it was fine for a couple hours, then stopped completely. cleaned it out. worked for a day or two. stopped. poked at it some. worked for a couple days. stopped. poked at it some more. it's been working for 4 days in a row now...the most since the first month i had it...and it's only a few months old. i'm annoyed. i'm not buying ACs anymore, as this is the second one i've had issues with.

[ewok]

dethjam....... did you try flushing the motor with water from a faucet or something? stick you finger in the hole and feel around for rough spots or anything else stuck to the magnet. wipe the film off the magnet with your finger. probably even examine the inside of the hole with a flashlight looking for foreign objects.

as for the impeller, same kind of thing. wipe it off, look for cracks or pieces missing, especially from the magnet. is it free on the metal shaft? is it too loose? if it isn't spinning freely on the metal shaft you can clean the shaft and use just a touch of 3 in 1 oil or vaseline to lubricate it. if it's too loose on the shaft it needs to be replaced.

another thing to watch for is assembly. did it go together wrong? is it too tight? sometimes they get like crooked in the holes and will bind up...... when in doubt, pull the tube up a bit and sort of feel for it. the motor assembly should work freely without the tube in place pretty much.....

just some random thoughts, i have rarely seen motors go bad so far, but i have seen alot of them get dirty and jam. i drove myself nuts working on a friends filter before i realized the whole thing had to spin on the "axle" before. :D

you should be able to hold it by the rubber ends and have the whole thing spin freely....... i'm assuming the aq impeller is the same as all the rest, i haven't had to disassemble any of mine yet.

the biggest complaint i have about aquaclear at the moment is priming during restarts.........

[Slappy*McFish]

They prime very easily if you turn the flow down to the lowest setting(slide the intake tube over to the right)

[ewok]

yeah, but i'm not always here to do that when the power *burps*. :D

it's sort of a "losing prime" thing or something. i've had the power shut off a couple times and have those filters be the only ones that fail to restart. :(

normally they work ok tho, and that problem is only occasional. :)

[dethjam316]

ewok, i've done all that. i'm very thorough in keeping things clean and in the right condition, etc. i've done that stuff multiple times, actually...

[LMOUTHBASS]

my problem is that when you plug the thing in there is nothing! usually it will make noise like the rumbling sound as it kicks back up n starts filtering water - there nothing going on it isn't even making a sound like it's getting electricity - shoul i just assume this thing is a gonner for no apparent reason?
thanks

[OrionGirl]

No, just give it a good cleaning. If it still doesn't work, give it a little tap, and see.

If it still doesn't work, there are a variety of pumps/powerheads out there that will easily replace the one in the AC.

[dethjam316]

i got mine to start by (after cleaning it repeatedly) just poking and prodding at the impeller. when all else fails, poke and prod, i guess.

[Slappy*McFish]

That's what I normally do...give the impeller a little 'push' with a toothpick or something.

[anonapersona]

All my whispers require a kick start. Yes, it is scary because we get short power failures from time to time. I have moved to canister filters on everything over 10 gallons for that reason. The Penguin did alwasy start though, too bad they dont' have sponges, that replaceable cartridge full or carbon was a waste of money.

[SayersWeb]

Sounds like this is a common problem.... How old are the filters with this problem? Is there rust on the impeller shaft, or is it worn at all? It may be worth ordering a new impeller to see if that takes care of the problem.

I've run canister filters for 8+ years with no problems but have recently added HOB filters on a bunch of the new tanks. I'm a bit concerned by all of these jump-start problems.