mce600 doesn't pull any water in???

[eaglesrx]

Okay, I'm at a loss. The first time I turned on my mce600, it worked great for 5 minutes. I then had to shut it off for a little bit, then turn it back on. However, when I turned it back on, the pump was humming or it sounded like it was running, but it wasn't pulling any water into the skimmer.

I tried blowing the air line to no avail.

I then blew air into the intake pipe. Seemed clear. I also took out the pump and ran it under water to make sure it still worked. The pump worked fine.

I put it back into the skimmer, then it worked fine again.

Second time I turned it off, and turned it on, it did the same thing, pump was humming, but wasn't pulling any water in.

What's going on with this skimmer???

Please help!

[sidd129]

Shut off the air when turning it on. Whats the distance from the horizontal part of the inlet tube to the water? If you blew air into it, it could fill the pump with air and cause it to cavitate and not pump water. The pump can't move air as good as water.

[eaglesrx]

Okay, thanks. I pulled out the pump, ran it a bucket of water with the tap closed and it worked. It appeard to blow out a bunch of bubbles at first. Put the pump back in the skimmer and turned on with the tap closed. Then the foam returned.

Thanks. Now, the question is, the next time I shut off the skimmer, will it get air into the pump again??

What do you guys do to prevent this? Do you always turn off your skimmer with your air intake line closed or open? I'm assuming it makes more sense to close it before turning it off to keep the air out. Then, if the skimmer's off for a while, turn the air valve open againi to allow any salt deposits to desolove. what do you guys think?

thanks,

[sct2525]

I shut off my skimmer daily when I feed the fish. I don't have a problem with the pump priming after that. When I take the pump out to clean it, about every three months, then I have to shut off the air to the skimmer when reinstalling, by closing the air intake nozzle- on the black hose, for about 45 seconds. You'll hear the pump get quit after it primes.

[GSMguy]

i turn min off daily also, always restarts air open or not...

[Harry_Fish]

Maybe your intake pipe was just a little loose
and let the syphon break.

[GSMguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12467550#post12467550 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Harry_Fish
Maybe your intake pipe was just a little loose
and let the syphon break.

that is what i suggested last night in PM

[eaglesrx]

thanks for everyone's help!!

Not sure if it was my intake pipe. What's odd is that once I get the pump running properly, then turn it off, then turn it back on, it should re-start properly. However, last night it didn't re-start. The connections looked good at least they seemed to fit correctly.

"i turn min off daily also, always restarts air open or not..." See, this is the way this skimmer should run. There's gotta be something off either about the intake pipe as you guys mentioned or something with my pump maybe. Not sure. We'll see the next time I turn it off and turn it back on. For now, I'm not 100% sure what it is.

Thanks though!!

[sidd129]

How far down is your water level?

[Harry_Fish]

When I lived south I had a friend get one with a bad pump

I think the flapper was stuck.

If he unplugged it and plugged it in a few times it would work

You may want to test that.

[eaglesrx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12476517#post12476517 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Harry_Fish
When I lived south I had a friend get one with a bad pump

I think the flapper was stuck.

If he unplugged it and plugged it in a few times it would work

You may want to test that.

I was thinking it could be this, too. Haven't truly tested it yet though.

So, far, just getting a lot of foam:D

[eaglesrx]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12472308#post12472308 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sidd129
How far down is your water level?

input side: 4" from top
output side: 4.5" from top