Anyone have experience with Active Aqua pumps?

[chuey316]

I've been running an Ecoplus 265, and after only 3-4 weeks it stopped working. The impeller won't stay down in place on the shaft. Just rises when the pump is on, and makes allot of chatter. Water temps are in the upper 70's now. Turned my lights down to 150w, opened the cab doors, have a fan blowing on the grow site, and have a few frozen bottles in there for the time being.

 

[cemchris]

I've been running an Ecoplus 265, and after only 3-4 weeks it stopped working. The impeller won't stay down in place on the shaft. Just rises when the pump is on, and makes allot of chatter. Water temps are in the upper 70's now. Turned my lights down to 150w, opened the cab doors, have a fan blowing on the grow site, and have a few frozen bottles in there for the time being.

My experience with them is always have a back up. I have something like 15 or so downstairs in the 500-1100 gph range. Best suggestion I can give you is the bottom draw eco pluses. They are 5x better then the old style ones.

EcoPlus® Convertible Bottom Draw Submersible Only Water Pumps | Eco Plus

The EcoPlus® Convertible Bottom Draw Pump is the first hydroponic pump of its kind. With an interchangeable outlet fitting, this line of pumps fits almost all hydroponic applications. The bottom draw inlet allows the pump to operate in less than 1/2 inch of water. The convertible outlet offers...

www.ecoplususa.com

That sometimes happens if you ran the pump dry. I have also had some DOA. Why I order the pumps from amazon. Can get 5 to 6 at a time and free returns up to a month after you get it with free shipping to and from.

 

[chuey316]

The pump I have is one of the convertible bottom draw pumps. Never been ran dry. I always prime them before plugging them in.

 

[Dan789]

The pump I have is one of the convertible bottom draw pumps. Never been ran dry. I always prime them before plugging them in.

I've got an Ecoplus 265, agree that it needs priming before use, but I've only been using it for manifold watering of my soil grows...Nothing continuous. Nothing to lose, pull it apart, maybe it's just some debris that got in the wrong spot... Though having a backup for hydro seems like a great idea.

 

[chuey316]

Nothing to lose, pull it apart, maybe it's just some debris that got in the wrong spot...

That was my 1st thought because it's been making noise for a week or so, but pumping fine. When I got home last night and seen it wasn't pumping, I pulled it apart thinking that a small piece of hydroton may have made it's way in there, but it was clean.

 

[cemchris]

they have a 1 year warranty if it isnt that old.

 

[chuey316]

It's less than a month old. Can't find the receipt though. I found the problem. I was unaware that the impeller and the shaft coming off of the magnet are 1 piece. They are no longer connected. I called my local shop and all they have is more ecoplus. Going to have to go with another one, and hopefully it doesn't break within two to three weeks. I'll try a little epoxy on this one and see if I can't get it working as a backup.

 

[chuey316]

I got another one today. Same model since it was the only thing they had in stock with enough of a flow rate.

First one I had was quiet of of the box, then after about two weeks it started to make a light chattering sound, as if there was a small piece of debris being tossed around by the impeller, and got louder over the next week and a half or so before the impeller broke. I didn't realize it because I thought it was louder because it was vibrating on the side of the rez, because when I would pull it over i bit it would quiet down.

Hooked up the new one, and it sounds like the previous pump did after a the first two weeks. The local shop said that he is going to order some impellers since it's a common complaint he gets about the ecoplus pumps. Said the build quality is hit and miss, and that they can last a year, or last a day. Doesn't know how much the new impellers will be, but shouldn't be much. The ecoplus site has them listed at like $5-6. Told him to get me two of them. One to fix my pump, and one as a backup. Guess I should have gotten more.

Looking at the manual, I did find out how to go about the warranty, so I may just take the pump to a retailer to get a replacement.