ok here is one for the freaks out there like me who water cool.



simple question. i have a Hydor L40 pump ( ya i know it dumps alot of heat in the water @ 53 watts)



my problem is i turn my system off at night, including my pump. mainly becase i dont trust the pump as it will shut off if it hits a certian temp, and this baby runs hot inside my case. from time to time, when i hit the power switch on my power strip, the pump will not start up right away but i can feeling it humming along like it was pumping. there are no air bubbles or anything in the loop. last time i did this i had to crack the pump open to pull out the propeller and reset it. this is a brand new pump.. maybe 3 weeks old. i have no doubt in my mind that it is in working condition and nothing is wrong. but should i just keep the pumping continously? or is this a normal thing.



tonight it didnt start up right away, but i decided to leave it and see if it would start on its own. it warmed up some, not very hot tho and kicked in after being feed power for about 4 mins. no the computer wasnt turned on.



so anyone else who has dealt with this issue? i know it isnt just with hydor, as some other pumps do it as well, but i never left it on to let it work itself out.



thanks

first off, this is an odd problem, second off what kind of water are you using? are you using tap water? if so then you might have to clean out the entire system and use distilled water!

Quote: Originally Posted by stereomod first off, this is an odd problem, second off what kind of water are you using? are you using tap water? if so then you might have to clean out the entire system and use distilled water!

destilled water with a little bit of UV dye in it.
also liek i said, it doesnt seem like anythign bad is happening. IE. no grinding sounds, or smells of burning. its just when i start the pump up, i can feel a slight humm inside it, but its just not pumping water. almost like the impeller isnt moving. but it finally kicked in after a few minutes.

ill keep a eye on it to see how often it will do it. maybe ill get brave and let it run overnight or somethign. BTW i have a 80mm fan blowing on this pump to help with the heat as well

How do you know it isn't pumping?

Quote: Originally Posted by putwig How do you know it isn't pumping?

pinching the tubing to feel it. and you feel it with this pump. has alot of pressure

Much like a bad engine starter, it sounds like you may have a flat spot in the internal armature. I happens occasionally with even new motors. When the impeller comes to rest in a certain position there isn't enough power to start it up again. Move it just a bit and it starts up normally. Not much you can do about it but replace the pump. Leaving it running all the time would be an alternative solution as it can never come to rest in the "bad" spot.

Quote: Originally Posted by AntiM Much like a bad engine starter, it sounds like you may have a flat spot in the internal armature. I happens occasionally with even new motors. When the impeller comes to rest in a certain position there isn't enough power to start it up again. Move it just a bit and it starts up normally. Not much you can do about it but replace the pump. Leaving it running all the time would be an alternative solution as it can never come to rest in the "bad" spot.

this is what i am thinkign is happening, but i have noticecd it happened with 2 of my aquairium pumps as well. but with my hydor, i let it run and it everntually started pumping. think there could be any damage caused by this?

Hard to say, it's pretty much "pre damaged". But it can't be good for it to sit idle with juice running through it creating no work but heat. It's not like an open motor where you're going to really notice it getting hot and smelling funny.