6100 Stopped Working

[davem511]

Hi Roger, This morning when I got up, my 6100 was no longer running. I immediately unplugged it and did my regular cleaning maintenance on it to see if it was just crudded up....still nothing. The transformer (I believe that's the heavy black hockey puck looking piece) seems very hot to the touch...hotter than I remember. Any ideas? The pump is about 6-8 months old.

Thanks for your help,
Dave

[rvitko]

Do you just have one pump? Do you have a friend with a pump? Was there any alarm noise? Did you have a power failure or surge? It is getting late here so i won't be up much longer. If we can narrow down the piece and the cause I will have it sent to you. Check the drive unit thoroughly for cracks. Let the transformer cool for an hour- a huge block of copper like that takes for ever to cool and the thermostat won't let it come on again until it cools.

[davem511]

I just have the one pump. I do have a friend with one. Should I have him bring over his transformer? The socket below where the pump was plugged in had a timer that was plugged in go bad so a surge or something like that is not out of the question. I left the unit unplugged for several hours this afternoon and when I plugged it back in, it still did not work and the transformer heated up again very quickly. Within a few minutes it was almost too hot to touch again. I will check the drive unit over again.

Thanks,
Dave

[davem511]

Roger, I took a closer look at the drive unit and did not see any cracks or visible damage to it.

Thanks,
Dave

[davem511]

Sorry, missed another question. No, there was no alarm.

Thanks,
Dave

[rvitko]

OK, it sounds like we are dealing with a power surge issue or some failure of this sort. The thing to do is try your friends driver- blue box- pump unplugs from inside- swap pumps and transformers. Try transformers too. If this doesn't do it a surge fried the pump and the transformer. Surges are not warranty- I will cover it this time but understand this is out of my pocket, not the factories and it will not happen again, get a surge supressor if this is a problem in your area as essentially this is a computer.

[rvitko]

Sorry, pump and driver- the transformer is pretty hard to ruin

[davem511]

Roger, thanks for the response and I appreciate the offer to take care of it this time. I don't usually have many surge issues but if it's like a computer, I will put a suppressor on there. I have a friend on his way over with his transformer, I'll call him and tell him to bring his driver also. Thanks again for your help, and I'll let you know as soon as we figure out which piece it is.

Thanks,
Dave

[davem511]

Hi Roger, My friend forgot to bring the driver with him so I sent my driver home with him. He said when he put it on his system, his pump did not work so it is bad for sure. The only thing I don't know is if my pump is bad too?? Is there a pretty good chance it got fried as well or is it most likely ok?

Thanks,
Dave

[rvitko]

Connect your pump to his driver and find out, it is a 25% chance in my experience that it was damaged too.

[Flame*Angel]

What part of a Stream is the driver?

[rvitko]

The Electronic pumps like the 6100 run on low voltage and a special computer in line referred to as the driver controls the pump speed and functions. It is a blue anodized aluminum box.

davem511- I am out of here and will likely not be in an area with internet until next Monday. I will be at Interzoo in Nuremberg and we always stay at a small inn that I don't think even has phones much less computers so if you figure this out call Bruce, he is president and manager of AquaTek in Austin and can be reached and 512-450-0182. Aaron and Nolan are also really knowledgeable. It may take a couple days to send a part as Bruce is doing me a favor helping me out and has his hands full with the shop and his family.

[Flame*Angel]

Oh ok. If I just buy a pair of 6100 pumps without the multicontroller do I still need the driver? I just want them for circulation in a 300g FOWLR tank.

[davem511]

Yes, each pump has a driver. The driver controls the pump. You can also adjust the speed of the pump manually from the driver. The optional controlers then plug into the drivers for more control.

[davem511]

Hi Roger, I have not been able to catch up with my friend again to test my pump. He is out of town now and won't be back for a little over a week. Is there any other way I can test the pump to see if it got fried?

Thanks,
Dave

[rvitko]

Well, why don't you PM me an address and name and I will have the driver sent to you. Then you can try it and if not we know you will need a pump too. I need to have the email by 9am tomorrow- 2am your time as I leave for the alps tomorrow and after that head home on Sunday.

[davem511]

To Roger, Thank you for sending out the new driver for my 6100. Apparently, the pump did not get fried because once I hooked up to the new driver, it worked fine. I appreciate all your help.

To all tagging along, Roger is the man, if you are on this board wondering if the Tunze pumps are really worth all the hype and money, let me just say, YES! A couple months after buying my Tunze pump I came home to a loud buzzing/screeching noise coming from my tank. After some investigation, I realized that it was coming from my Tunze pump driver. After cleaning the pump thoroughly, the pump fired right up. I was then convinced of the excellent engineering behind these pumps. That taught me to clean my pump monthly. Now, after my most rescent problem (which was no fault of the pump itself) The service I received from Roger has convinced me even further that the Tunze pumps are worth every dollar and every word of hype. Not that they needed my stamp of approval but if anyone is on the fence about investing in these pumps, rest assured that it is a good choice. Thank you again, Roger.

Dave