Noisy Vortech DrySide FIX!!
 

THIS WILL VOID YOUR WARRANTY!!

I am not responsible for your or my actions :hmm4: and can not guarantee any ones outcomes.

Well, because i am a college student and my pocket book always reflects this..... and i own a 240gal tank with not enough flow. i decided to invest in a USED Ecotech Vortech..

I purchased an "Original" Vortech from a reefer. when i purchased it, i didnt realize that the "Original" ones had no modes or programing.... just a speed control.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...7.jpg~original

I purchased it in a non working state. i was told that the pump need a powersupply. SO, i purchased a powersupply from Ecotech. Plugged my pump in and heard it come to life for about 5sec... the a nasty red light of death. so, i purchased a ES driver upgraded from a guy. Then, it works great. it just makes a lot of noise......

I pulled the wetside off and held the dry side and could still hear the noise. So, i pulled the magnet off the pump. just incase there was a piece of metal that got pulled to the magnet and would cause the noise.... NO such luck...

Now, i decide to take it to the MAX. I decide to FIX it my self!!! (seriously, who buys a 400$ pump and tears it apart :spin2::spin2::spin2: ) THIS GUY DOES!! plus, i couldnt afford a 220$ DrySide.


HERE we go, hold on and get ready to see how to fix this problem!!!!!!

Well, its time to tear this baby apart!

First, pull the adjuster off the bottom of the pump
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...4.jpg~original

Now, its time to take the magnet off the pump.. (just take the center SS screw off and thats it)
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...7.jpg~original

Now, flip it over, and grab a Razor blade and begin the removal of the sticker
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...3.jpg~original

Once your done with that, remove the 3 screws that hold the pump motor into the housing
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...8.jpg~original

once that is done, you will have to push the motor and cord out of the housing (it should look like this now)
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...9.jpg~original

Now, there are 3 long screws that hold the motor housing apart.
then, pull housing off, and pull the inner mag/bearing assy out
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...0.jpg~original

This is what you will need to get out.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...1.jpg~original

you will need to get your bearings off the shaft without breaking or chipping your black magnet outer cover. you can not buy this part if anything happens or you break it.
i used 2 screw drivers and i was able to pop off the bearings.
i also got a cheap Bearing press off E b a y and it will work just as good. (harbor Freight didnt have a small one in my area....)

Now, you will need the bearings!!!!!!!!
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...6.jpg~original

With the new bearings, press them on the shaft.
your mag assy should look like this now.
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...2.jpg~original

NOW, its time to put this baby back together!!

re-install your mag assy in the housing.
(make sure your spring washer is on the wireside/magnet side of the housing)
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...0.jpg~original

Before you put the pump all the way back together, i plugged mine in after i had the inner housing screwed together. (i wanted to test it and make sure everything is good. just in case i needed to take things back apart)
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...5.jpg~original

Guess what!! This baby is rocking and is Dead Silent!!
i let my driver ramp up and down a few times before turning it off and finishing the assy
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...4.jpg~original

Now, put the motor back in the housing
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...7.jpg~original

re-install the sticker!! and make sure its straight. no need in cutting corners now!
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...6.jpg~original

Now, the real test!!!
http://i938.photobucket.com/albums/a...0.jpg~original


This pump is rocking, and is silent again....
and i didnt have to spend 220$ on a new DrySide!!! :inlove::inlove::inlove::inlove:

Lastly, the bearings that i used were

607Z (7 X 19 X 6)

and

698ZZ (8 X 19 X 6)

What kind of bearing did you replace it with? Do you have the specs on those?

I know the original ones are NMB-1980. I thought both were the same size.

This is awesome stuff. :beer:

The 1980 converts to the 698. Different brand.
and the bearings are different internal bore.
The other is a 607. The Z and ZZ explains the difference seals or sheilds.

The bearings Are standard roller bearings. Not flanged bearings

I asked because I think there is room for improvement over the stock NMB ones. But i'm no expert in bearings.

My vortechs are perfectly fine. They aren't dead silent, but maybe there is a compatible bearing out there that's better? less noise, less resistants and last longer? Maybe someone that knows bearing can help.

Thanks.

Nice job. (Dang not even a mention for technical support) J/Jing. I plan to get my bearings on Monday. Can you PM the flea bay link to the seperator plate?

This is mainly for people with 1+ year old Vortecs when the bearings get LOUD. Not a stock upgrade.

Thanks for this, it has taken away any fear of purchasing an old gen1 :)

first of all thanks for sharing, i am also thinking to do this, are this bearings above , can i use 607Z (7x19x6) on each end of the shaft? or oposite end of the shaft takes 698ZZ (7x19x6)? thanks

the inside diameter is different on the bearings. so you will use the 607Z for one side and a 698ZZ on the other. you cant mess it up. they will only fit on one side. also, because the bearings are not flanged, there is no front or back side to the bearing. if that helps

thanks , could you post the link where you got your bearings please,

How noisy was the dry side before you made your fixes? By dead silent now do you really mean dead silent as in you cannot hear it at all??

funny that so many of them fail in this way ,you would think that for the money they would work forever but they dont and its quite disappointing to me as my $50 tunzies and korallia's work for years trouble free .
just my 2 pennies

A brand new out of the box Vortech isn't quiet to begin with. So if there is an improvement that can be made, simply by changing the bearing, to reduce the noise, make it run smoother with less resistance and last longer. Then why not?

I has a year warranty. If its that bad send it back. I wouldn't mess with any $200+ part still under warranty but YMMV.


Most remote control hobby shops will have the 607 bearing. Its a HPI1421. Its a crankcase bearing to them, but still fairly common.

My tank was in the Den, and i could hear it 1-2 rooms away.. it was noisy!!
and your right about "Dead" silent. if i am right next to it, i can hear it. (with in a 1-2feet) after that, the noise is gone for me.

my recliner is 8-10 feet from the corner of my tank where the Vortech is, and i cant hear it. (if that helps??)

i can tell that some of the noise that i can hear on mine, is from the actual magnet on the DrySide. it isnt 100% round. you can see it if you hold the DrySide and look at it as you turn it on. but, its not that far out of round, and because its SSOOOOOO much more quiet now, im not worrying about it. (plus they dont sell the DrySide magnet so there is nothing i can do)

50$ Tunzies, that's a DEAL!!
and you have to think, your getting one heck of a pump. (its taken me 2 years to save up enough money and find a deal on one of these and be able to buy it.) the flow is great. Its about the Equivalent of a MJ1200 with the White impeller mod. the only difference is the Vortech doesn't make a humming noise when on like the MJ. Its flow is about the same distance, but the Vortech has about 2-3 times the width of flow verses the MJ. and the Vortech is controllable.

as for the working for years, there is never any problem with it working, its just the bearings get wore, and need replacing. (just like brakes on a car. every one is different and some can go years with out maintenance and others less then a year. on the same make and model of vehicle. its just life)
plus the bearings are TOTALLY different on the Vortech. it uses roller bearings verses a bushing and ceramic shaft. Ecotech could invest in Ceramic roller bearings, but then the price of the pump would go up 100$ or so.... for some, it might be worth it, and others like me, its not.


My .02

My local bearing house had them on the shelf. its not a weird bearing..

I also ordered mine off Sneeze Bay because they were only 1-4$ verses 15$ each locally........ (as far as ordering over the internet, go ahead and find a reputable bearing brand. its not worth the 1-2$ difference in a cheap verses quality bearing. plus you will get better precession and less noise. just a fact)

but RC shops keep them as well. just make a few calls and you will be surprised at where you can get them. (i seriously thought they would be hard to find.... man, was i mistaken.
The hard part was crossing the bearing numbers over.... after a while, i had to get out my Digital Calipers and guess what..... its a local bearings.

the bearings on the Original shaft were a funky brand and thats what caused the hard cross over...

$50 Tunze? Which model would that be? The closest equivalent model is a 6105. This forum is also chock full of people with Koralia problems. Nothing works forever and worn dryside bearings on a Vortech are extremely rare. This is actually the first one I've seen posted. I ran Tunzes for years and liked them. They didn't last "forever" either. The impeller assembly wore and had to be replaced every year or so. Once the body housing gets worn eough, you have to replace the whole pump, but that is also many years down the road.

dahenly

Nice DIY write up on the bearing replacement. :thumbsup:

wow... when I had a dry side make horrid noise I tried to see if something was "stuck" as well, unfortunately I couldn't get the magnet off as I couldn't get the magnet to hold still while I dried to unscrew the screw.

Either way its quite disappointing to see that this is a 100% fixable thing yet Ecotech is charging massive bucks for a replacement, and then probably just rebuilding the ones you mail in hoping they'll fix (yet end up telling you it needs to be completely replaced)

If you use a Razor and take the sticker off the back of the DrySide, you can see a Flat Head area to put a screwdriver. this is the shaft that goes through the motor and to the magnet. so you can use a Flathead to hold the shaft from turning, and a fillips on the other side to unscrew the screw that holds the magnet on. i was able to just push on the magnet and give a quick turn on the screw and mine broke loose. but i can see where some could be hard to unscrew.

just another tip if needed.


as far as being expensive, some people have said that if you mail in your dryside for a new one, they will sell you the new one for 160$ish but that is just hearsay. (im just too broke to afford that. )