Current USA eFlux DC Pump controller issues

[Sierra_Bravo]

I have two eFlux DC Flow 1900 gph pumps that are hitting the seven month mark. One is running the return for my DT and the other is used for my saltwater mixing station. They've been great the first six months, but I started noticing that if I turned up the dial to 100%, the pump would shut off and have to ramp back up again. This was happening on both pumps each with its own controller. I thought it was a cleaning issue, but when I broke it down to clean the impeller it had only a minimal film buildup. Since I generally never run the pump at 100% I didn't make it an immediate priority.

Lately this is now occuring anytime I turn the dial past 80% and if I wiggle the control knob or move the controller housing I can hear the pump changing speed by the sound its making. There seems to be something wrong with the controller itself and it's happening on both units. I've seen it reported that people have had circumstances where the controller was runnning hot, but that's not happening with me.

Has anyone else had this issue or have knowledge of a known problem? I'll be starting a warranty support ticket with Current USA this weekend when I have the time.

 

[MaiReef]

Following

 

[Grey Guy]

I couldn’t get mine to make good connections on the controller until I took the soft rubber cover off of the controller itself. Haven’t had any other problems for a while.

 

[Greybeard]

I have the same pump, 5 months old, running at 100% nearly all the time. Have _not_ seen this sort of issue.

I'd be interested in hearing the resolution...

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

I couldn’t get mine to make good connections on the controller until I took the soft rubber cover off of the controller itself. Haven’t had any other problems for a while.

There's a thought - I'll take the cover off one of them after work and see if it makes a difference.

 

[Lovemyreef2015]

I would just contact current. We have a eflux pump and our issue was after about a year we noticed that some of the bolts were getting rusty. They sent out a brand new pump within a week. We just had to send the old one back, of course no charge to us. We haven't had any issues with our new one.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

I couldn’t get mine to make good connections on the controller until I took the soft rubber cover off of the controller itself. Haven’t had any other problems for a while.

I tried the pump on the mixing station again this morning. Ramped it up to 100% and it restarted the pump. After taking the grey silicon cover off the controller the problem disappeared - could dial the pump up to 100% with no issues. Put the silicon cover back on and had the shut down start again. I took an exacto knife and cut out relief from around both the control dial and where the pump connects into the unit (the connector that is threaded). Now I can use the pump at full power with the silicon cover on without the pump restarting. Unfortunately now those two connections are more exposed to salt and moisture.

I'll try it on my DT pump controller when I do my next water change. I'll also send in a ticket with Current on what was done and see what they say.

 

[Grey Guy]

I tried the pump on the mixing station again this morning. Ramped it up to 100% and it restarted the pump. After taking the grey silicon cover off the controller the problem disappeared - could dial the pump up to 100% with no issues. Put the silicon cover back on and had the shut down start again. I took an exacto knife and cut out relief from around both the control dial and where the pump connects into the unit (the connector that is threaded). Now I can use the pump at full power with the silicon cover on without the pump restarting. Unfortunately now those two connections are more exposed to salt and moisture.

I'll try it on my DT pump controller when I do my next water change. I'll also send in a ticket with Current on what was done and see what they say.

Awesome!

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

So an update:

Now my controllers (both of them) are again having problems with the control knobs. If I turn them past 75% the pump shuts off and restarts. If I wiggle or even touch the control knob the speed changes. I cannot consider the pump reliable any longer.

In addition, on another tank I have the 600gph powerheads from Current USA. Now one of them only runs in reverse despite turning on/off, disconnecting from hub, switching ports or cleaning. Very frustrating.

I've submitted warranty tickets on all problems with CurrentUSA and will update again when I have a resolution.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Current USA support is sending two new manifold hubs for the speed control issue on the pumps.

As for the powerhead, they sent instructions to clean it. I'll see if it works or not.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

To wrap this up, taking the powerhead apart and cleaning the magnets did the trick and the pump is working properly now.

Current USA sent out the replacement manifolds and after changing them out, the eFlow return pumps worked at all speeds with no issues. I took apart hteold ones to see what the isssue was that caused the switch to go bad, expecting corrosion. The board was clean; I think the issue is that the stem on the rotary switch is just of a substandard quality and not heavy duty enough to support the use.

 

[Grey Guy]

The eflux pumps are not top of the line, but for the price, I think mine was worth it, and is still working after about 6 months. It’s probably due for a good cleaning.

 

[MaiReef]

I love my pumps. Dead quiet and work as advertised.

 

[MaiReef]

Still running as advertised

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

I had no issues since replacing the controller.

 

[Hemmdog]

This seems like a ton of work lol.

 

[huckjai]

Hey guys. If you have your knob dialed back to 0. And power up the pump. Does it always power on with 30% flow? Is that the lowest setting?

Also for the knob, should it change the flow per each mm of movement? I'm trying to fine tune the flow, but pump does not seem to ramp up as I rotate the knob clockwise until it gets to a certain point.

Right now if I move my knob from 0-40 on the scale, it doesn't change the flow. Does it take time to ramp up? I have to move it to past 50%, then it starts pumping more.

Think I have a dud controller? @Sierra_Bravo @MaiReef

Thanks for your help.

 

[Sierra_Bravo]

Hey guys. If you have your knob dialed back to 0. And power up the pump. Does it always power on with 30% flow? Is that the lowest setting?

Also for the knob, should it change the flow per each mm of movement? I'm trying to fine tune the flow, but pump does not seem to ramp up as I rotate the knob clockwise until it gets to a certain point.

Right now if I move my knob from 0-40 on the scale, it doesn't change the flow. Does it take time to ramp up? I have to move it to past 50%, then it starts pumping more.

Think I have a dud controller? @Sierra_Bravo @MaiReef

Thanks for your help.

Their controller leaves much to be desired as far as build quality. There is still flow at the bottom stop of the dial although I'm not sure the percentage. It should smoothly ramp up to full as you turn it clockwise.

I'm on my second controller and it is now starting to become unresponsive/quirky again. I think they just are not very robust.

Contact customer service and see if they'll send you another. Otherwise they are relatively inexpensive to replace.

Good luck.

 

[huckjai]

Their controller leaves much to be desired as far as build quality. There is still flow at the bottom stop of the dial although I'm not sure the percentage. It should smoothly ramp up to full as you turn it clockwise.

I'm on my second controller and it is now starting to become unresponsive/quirky again. I think they just are not very robust.

Contact customer service and see if they'll send you another. Otherwise they are relatively inexpensive to replace.

Good luck.

Thanks for the quick response. Will contact their support. Mine does not ramp up or do anything as I move from 0-50% on the knob. Starts ramping up hard as I get to 60%.