Rio Just Gave Me A Jolt!

*j-cat* · 03/15/2004, 09:27 PM

Well,

Ive read about getting shocked, but come on. I am currently curing my live rock in my garage in a 50 gallon roughneck. I am using all of my extra pumps (power sweep, rio 2100 x2, and a Rio 3100). I noticed a couple of days ago that the coralline was bleaching out and all of the beautiful rock was turning white. I decided to do a large water change due to high alk. after dropping the pumps in to the newly added water I hooked all of the pumps to an old Red Sea Wavemaker Pro I had in a box for better circulation. Well I was adjusting the rocks to hold down one of the 2100's when ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ shazam the wavemaker kicked the RIO 3100 on and I got zapped. Id hate to say it but my arm kind of hurts now. Is that normal for pumps to go bad all of the sudden. Trash day is Wednesday and I am thinking of throwing all of the Rio's away now - just for safety sake. No matter if they are just being used for curing rock. I did not like that feeling AT ALL! Anyone ever been jolted by a defective pump. I am assuming that is what was bleaching all of the coralline - is that correct?

K9 · 03/15/2004, 09:33 PM

Sorry to hear J. I hope everything is allright with you. Rios are bad news, man. Almost anyone on here will tell you that. Unfortunately, you found that out first hand. Just be glad you're still alive. Good luck.

-K9

jdieck · 03/15/2004, 09:48 PM

You are a lucky guy. If the arm pain does not go away by the morning have a doctor take look just in case. Something to keep in mind for your installation is the use of GFCIs for all your electrical equipment.

*j-cat* · 03/15/2004, 09:57 PM

You are a lucky guy. If the arm pain does not go away by the morning have a doctor take look just in case. Something to keep in mind for your installation is the use of GFCIs for all your electrical equipment.

Thats what is weird. Both of the outlets that I am running the equipment on are GFCI. They are both individually wired to a 15 amp fuse in the box. Could the water have cased a problem with the GFCI kicking? Or maybe I didnt get enough amps running through me? I have no idea - I am no electrician. The Rio smelled aweful when I pulled it out though. Almost like burned hair or something.

Flipturn88 · 03/15/2004, 10:06 PM

Rio = crap

Seriously. I've had bad experiences with them too, and they're not worth a single cent IMO. Hope your arm feels better.

aqua_obs · 03/15/2004, 10:45 PM

Welcome to owning a true RIO pump. They are famous...

Shablin · 03/15/2004, 11:11 PM

I got jolted by a rio 2100 years ago; Ive had a replacement rio since which has worked fine - I just replaced the impeller. I use a grounding probe now (for what its worth.....)

acropora · 03/15/2004, 11:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by *j-cat*
You are a lucky guy. If the arm pain does not go away by the morning have a doctor take look just in case. Something to keep in mind for your installation is the use of GFCIs for all your electrical equipment.

Thats what is weird. Both of the outlets that I am running the equipment on are GFCI. They are both individually wired to a 15 amp fuse in the box. Could the water have cased a problem with the GFCI kicking? Or maybe I didnt get enough amps running through me? I have no idea - I am no electrician. The Rio smelled aweful when I pulled it out though. Almost like burned hair or something.

If in fact both outlets are GFIC,then either they are not wired properly or they are defective.A faulty pump would have kicked off the power immediately. Have your wiring checked out.

*j-cat* · 03/15/2004, 11:39 PM

If in fact both outlets are GFIC,then either they are not wired properly or they are defective.A faulty pump would have kicked off the power immediately. Have your wiring checked out.

Well I just went outside and checked the outlets to be sure. I noticed that the ground section of the 3 prong plug overlaps they GFCI "trip" button. I noticed that all of the 3 prong plugs overlap the top GFCI button. Now my question is whether or not that button has to come out all the way. I can not see how it can trip with it being covered by the ground on the plug. Thanks for all of the concern everyone who has responded. I think the Rio's will go in the trash tomorrow.

jdieck · 03/15/2004, 11:40 PM

Does the GFCIs trip when you push the test button, if not replace them.

jdieck · 03/16/2004, 12:17 AM

I think they will trip anyhow by try testing them without anything plugged to be sure they work and then plug something and try to test them again and see if they trip again.

sberman · 03/16/2004, 12:28 AM

read the tag on the rio cord not to be used on wavemakers they are not meant for that it demags them and ruins them

eric1194 · 03/16/2004, 12:46 AM

Had a rio and a thriving reef tank once...
Then one morning I awoke to this terrible smell throughout the house. Smelled like oil.
Went to my tank the whole thing was filled with gray cloudy water. The snails were falling of the sides as I watched.
Found that my rio had fried itself and my tank
That was the end of my fully stocked 265 and rio products

jdieck · 03/16/2004, 12:53 AM

sberman, I can understand that switching the pump constantly can burn it up but this shall not be cause for shorting up or cracking up the epoxi seal, if it does then because of the switching device then its a uper bad unsafe design as they may fail in that mode under normal long term use.

Frick-n-Frags · 03/16/2004, 04:50 AM

If you didn't create a path to ground, the GFI won't kick out.

Think about what GFI stands for "Ground fault" "interruptor"

not "in tank zap eliminator" those are ITZE's

sberman · 03/16/2004, 04:58 AM

even if the pump freezes up it cannot melt the epoxy i have had pumps lock up all night long and not melt the epoxy like i have said in a couple of other threads send the pump into rio expain what happened and let them learn from it

i am just tired of seeing so many people bash so many vendors why dont we try and get them to improve there products there is enough of us

acropora · 03/16/2004, 07:56 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by jdieck
Does the GFCIs trip when you push the test button, if not replace them.

Worth repeating.

*j-cat* · 03/16/2004, 08:22 AM

Does the GFCIs trip when you push the test button, if not replace them.

The GFCI does trip when I hit the test button and I guess the button does not need to come "all the way out" to trip the circuit". I thought that the overlapping ground portion of the plug would stop the GFCI from functioning properly. They again when I look at most plugs they all have this housing extension on them.

Here is a picture of what I am talking about. The GFCI does work when I hit the test button - what would have made it not trip?

harry1215 · 03/16/2004, 08:29 AM

that pic is what gfci's normally look, nothing strange there.

jdieck · 03/16/2004, 08:48 AM

Bash to whom bash deserve and shall the consumer not to be blamed.. I agree with that the consumer has to support the manufacturer improve their product but is the manufacturer the one who has to take the initiative.
I think there has been enough reports (and bashing) of rio pumps failures for them to start doing something about it and as far as I know they have not done anything at least noticeable to me to improve the design or their quality control.
Shall the consumer be their R&D? probably for beta testing and for beedback on features the consumer might be interested in including in the design but all this has to be initiated by the manufacturer led efforts and their marketing or sales department not by the consumer.
At the end, the manufacturer does it for profit and this profit comes from the consumer pockets so it is the consumer right to be picky and comunicate to other consumers when there are alternative suppliers that do a better job.

As far as I know this site is one of the world largest if not the largest consumer forum of salt aquarium equipment users and buyers and one of the best places to get consumer feed back.
In the last year alone there has been 2,875 threads that mention Rio. But where is Rio (or Taam)? Are they aware of this opportunity? If they know and are not here to recieve feedback it is on them. If they do not know, well it's their loss too.

acropora · 03/16/2004, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by *j-cat*
Does the GFCIs trip when you push the test button, if not replace them.

The GFCI does trip when I hit the test button and I guess the button does not need to come "all the way out" to trip the circuit". I thought that the overlapping ground portion of the plug would stop the GFCI from functioning properly. They again when I look at most plugs they all have this housing extension on them.

Here is a picture of what I am talking about. The GFCI does work when I hit the test button - what would have made it not trip?

That is a concern. I believe that the present GFIC you have is not working properly. I also would try a different brand. I also had one similar to the one you have and I always felt more comfortable with the Leviton standard.IMO I also like to use a power strip plugged into a GFIC,this way you can plug in the questionable item first,then flip the on/off button on the power strip. This way you will not be in direct contact when and if the item is faulty.

jdieck · 03/16/2004, 10:01 AM

If you were not touching the powerhead but only the water or the rocks the GFCI should have tripped so although it trips with the test button it may be tripping at higher current than it should.

If you were touching the 3100 and the GFCI is functioning at the current level it should then the leak ahve had to be from both the neutral and the hot wires for you to get shocked without triping the FCI.

I will agree with Acropora and IMO you shall replace the GFCI anyhow and Leviton has a background of reliable products.

discocarp · 03/16/2004, 12:26 PM

I had a RIO shock me on a GFCI. The GFCI was electrician installed. It didn't trip. I had the GFCI tested afterwards. No problems. I can't explain it, but it gives me an uneasy feeling.

Peter

the rock...beauty · 03/24/2004, 02:01 AM

I just had a Rio go out on me. It was my return pump. The power surged, and the pump did not go back on. I smelt a burning smell. When I finally pinpointed it, it was the good old Rio. It was smoking. Gosh, that is the last time I use one of those.

Frick-n-Frags · 03/24/2004, 06:33 AM

I suppose y'all were sleeping in "Electric Fields" class.

Let me repeat my earlier post: If you don't complete a circuit to ground the GFI WILL DO NOTHING!!!

Waste all your money and frustration by replacing GFI's until you're broke and blue in the face and you will still get zapped.

A ground probe is the only for-sure way to get the GFI to kill a leak, because then a leak will flow to ground and will trip the GFI.

Howabout an analogy: an electric eel can zap things in the water because it sets up an electric field. Your leaking RIO is a similar phenomena.

03/15/2004, 09:27 PM	#1
j-cat Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Yuba City, CA Posts: 191	Rio Just Gave Me A Jolt! Well, Ive read about getting shocked, but come on. I am currently curing my live rock in my garage in a 50 gallon roughneck. I am using all of my extra pumps (power sweep, rio 2100 x2, and a Rio 3100). I noticed a couple of days ago that the coralline was bleaching out and all of the beautiful rock was turning white. I decided to do a large water change due to high alk. after dropping the pumps in to the newly added water I hooked all of the pumps to an old Red Sea Wavemaker Pro I had in a box for better circulation. Well I was adjusting the rocks to hold down one of the 2100's when ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ shazam the wavemaker kicked the RIO 3100 on and I got zapped. Id hate to say it but my arm kind of hurts now. Is that normal for pumps to go bad all of the sudden. Trash day is Wednesday and I am thinking of throwing all of the Rio's away now - just for safety sake. No matter if they are just being used for curing rock. I did not like that feeling AT ALL! Anyone ever been jolted by a defective pump. I am assuming that is what was bleaching all of the coralline - is that correct? Last edited by Markk96; 02/08/2006 at 02:50 PM.

03/15/2004, 09:33 PM	#2
K9 Go ahead, hop the fence. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: North Carolina Posts: 3,450	Sorry to hear J. I hope everything is allright with you. Rios are bad news, man. Almost anyone on here will tell you that. Unfortunately, you found that out first hand. Just be glad you're still alive. Good luck. -K9 __________________ Planning a big tank comeback for the year 20xx.

03/15/2004, 09:48 PM	#3
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	You are a lucky guy. If the arm pain does not go away by the morning have a doctor take look just in case. Something to keep in mind for your installation is the use of GFCIs for all your electrical equipment. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

03/15/2004, 10:06 PM	#5
Flipturn88 Damsel in Finesse Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: San Diego Posts: 4,578	Rio = crap Seriously. I've had bad experiences with them too, and they're not worth a single cent IMO. Hope your arm feels better. __________________ . .:( Kayla ):. . Life is the art of drawing without an eraser.

03/15/2004, 10:45 PM	#6
aqua_obs Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Near Boulder, Colorado, usa Posts: 1,302	Welcome to owning a true RIO pump. They are famous... __________________ Warning From the Sturgeon General: I'm just guessing. How did I grow those? I used Aiptasia heaven! Current Tank Info: 2 sw another in the wings

03/15/2004, 09:57 PM	#4
j-cat Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Yuba City, CA Posts: 191	You are a lucky guy. If the arm pain does not go away by the morning have a doctor take look just in case. Something to keep in mind for your installation is the use of GFCIs for all your electrical equipment. Thats what is weird. Both of the outlets that I am running the equipment on are GFCI. They are both individually wired to a 15 amp fuse in the box. Could the water have cased a problem with the GFCI kicking? Or maybe I didnt get enough amps running through me? I have no idea - I am no electrician. The Rio smelled aweful when I pulled it out though. Almost like burned hair or something.

03/15/2004, 11:11 PM	#7
Shablin Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: Fogelsville, PA Posts: 493	I got jolted by a rio 2100 years ago; Ive had a replacement rio since which has worked fine - I just replaced the impeller. I use a grounding probe now (for what its worth.....)

03/15/2004, 11:39 PM	#9
j-cat Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Yuba City, CA Posts: 191	If in fact both outlets are GFIC,then either they are not wired properly or they are defective.A faulty pump would have kicked off the power immediately. Have your wiring checked out. Well I just went outside and checked the outlets to be sure. I noticed that the ground section of the 3 prong plug overlaps they GFCI "trip" button. I noticed that all of the 3 prong plugs overlap the top GFCI button. Now my question is whether or not that button has to come out all the way. I can not see how it can trip with it being covered by the ground on the plug. Thanks for all of the concern everyone who has responded. I think the Rio's will go in the trash tomorrow.

03/15/2004, 11:40 PM	#10
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	Does the GFCIs trip when you push the test button, if not replace them. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

03/16/2004, 12:17 AM	#11
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	I think they will trip anyhow by try testing them without anything plugged to be sure they work and then plug something and try to test them again and see if they trip again. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

03/16/2004, 12:28 AM	#12
sberman Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: thousand oaks,ca Posts: 4,264	read the tag on the rio cord not to be used on wavemakers they are not meant for that it demags them and ruins them __________________ it gets easier each time you do it !!!!! Current Tank Info: 45gallon jbj aio

03/16/2004, 12:46 AM	#13
eric1194 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Manorville(long Island),NY Posts: 71	Had a rio and a thriving reef tank once... Then one morning I awoke to this terrible smell throughout the house. Smelled like oil. Went to my tank the whole thing was filled with gray cloudy water. The snails were falling of the sides as I watched. Found that my rio had fried itself and my tank That was the end of my fully stocked 265 and rio products

03/16/2004, 12:53 AM	#14
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	sberman, I can understand that switching the pump constantly can burn it up but this shall not be cause for shorting up or cracking up the epoxi seal, if it does then because of the switching device then its a uper bad unsafe design as they may fail in that mode under normal long term use. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

03/16/2004, 04:50 AM	#15
Frick-n-Frags Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: north central OH Posts: 10,740	If you didn't create a path to ground, the GFI won't kick out. Think about what GFI stands for "Ground fault" "interruptor" not "in tank zap eliminator" those are ITZE's __________________ Only Dead fish swim with the current. Current Tank Info: 2 50 gal tanks, sump, still BB

03/16/2004, 04:58 AM	#16
sberman Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: thousand oaks,ca Posts: 4,264	even if the pump freezes up it cannot melt the epoxy i have had pumps lock up all night long and not melt the epoxy like i have said in a couple of other threads send the pump into rio expain what happened and let them learn from it i am just tired of seeing so many people bash so many vendors why dont we try and get them to improve there products there is enough of us __________________ it gets easier each time you do it !!!!! Current Tank Info: 45gallon jbj aio

03/16/2004, 08:22 AM	#18
j-cat Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Yuba City, CA Posts: 191	Does the GFCIs trip when you push the test button, if not replace them. The GFCI does trip when I hit the test button and I guess the button does not need to come "all the way out" to trip the circuit". I thought that the overlapping ground portion of the plug would stop the GFCI from functioning properly. They again when I look at most plugs they all have this housing extension on them. Here is a picture of what I am talking about. The GFCI does work when I hit the test button - what would have made it not trip?

03/16/2004, 08:29 AM	#19
harry1215 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2001 Location: Old Bridge, NJ Posts: 192	that pic is what gfci's normally look, nothing strange there. __________________ Let the rabbits wear glasses. "Maynard James" Current Tank Info: 75 gallon, 30 gallon sump 2 175 MH 4 55 watt PC's

03/16/2004, 08:48 AM	#20
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	Bash to whom bash deserve and shall the consumer not to be blamed.. I agree with that the consumer has to support the manufacturer improve their product but is the manufacturer the one who has to take the initiative. I think there has been enough reports (and bashing) of rio pumps failures for them to start doing something about it and as far as I know they have not done anything at least noticeable to me to improve the design or their quality control. Shall the consumer be their R&D? probably for beta testing and for beedback on features the consumer might be interested in including in the design but all this has to be initiated by the manufacturer led efforts and their marketing or sales department not by the consumer. At the end, the manufacturer does it for profit and this profit comes from the consumer pockets so it is the consumer right to be picky and comunicate to other consumers when there are alternative suppliers that do a better job. As far as I know this site is one of the world largest if not the largest consumer forum of salt aquarium equipment users and buyers and one of the best places to get consumer feed back. In the last year alone there has been 2,875 threads that mention Rio. But where is Rio (or Taam)? Are they aware of this opportunity? If they know and are not here to recieve feedback it is on them. If they do not know, well it's their loss too. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

03/16/2004, 10:01 AM	#22
jdieck Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Maumee, OH Posts: 15,673	If you were not touching the powerhead but only the water or the rocks the GFCI should have tripped so although it trips with the test button it may be tripping at higher current than it should. If you were touching the 3100 and the GFCI is functioning at the current level it should then the leak ahve had to be from both the neutral and the hot wires for you to get shocked without triping the FCI. I will agree with Acropora and IMO you shall replace the GFCI anyhow and Leviton has a background of reliable products. __________________ Did I write what I wrote? What the heck am I talking about! Well..... Nevermind. Current Tank Info: 225 gal reef, DSB, 40 g sump w/ LRT100 return, 37 g pre-sump, 3 MH 250 W 15K, 4 96 W PC dual actinic,ETS 1500 Skim.w/LRT70, 20 lb Ca R., 40 W UV, 1/3 HP chiller, two 350 W Htrs, Neptune II Cont., 330 P LR/ 330 P LS. 55 gal Refugium

03/16/2004, 12:26 PM	#23
discocarp Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: Winter Park, FL Posts: 2,707	I had a RIO shock me on a GFCI. The GFCI was electrician installed. It didn't trip. I had the GFCI tested afterwards. No problems. I can't explain it, but it gives me an uneasy feeling. Peter

03/24/2004, 02:01 AM	#24
the rock...beauty Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Pleasant Hill, ca Posts: 85	I just had a Rio go out on me. It was my return pump. The power surged, and the pump did not go back on. I smelt a burning smell. When I finally pinpointed it, it was the good old Rio. It was smoking. Gosh, that is the last time I use one of those.

03/24/2004, 06:33 AM	#25
Frick-n-Frags Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: north central OH Posts: 10,740	I suppose y'all were sleeping in "Electric Fields" class. Let me repeat my earlier post: If you don't complete a circuit to ground the GFI WILL DO NOTHING!!! Waste all your money and frustration by replacing GFI's until you're broke and blue in the face and you will still get zapped. A ground probe is the only for-sure way to get the GFI to kill a leak, because then a leak will flow to ground and will trip the GFI. Howabout an analogy: an electric eel can zap things in the water because it sets up an electric field. Your leaking RIO is a similar phenomena. __________________ Only Dead fish swim with the current. Current Tank Info: 2 50 gal tanks, sump, still BB