Reefmat 1200 drive / motor fails.

[Aframereef]

I had to get a replacement motor. My fix only lasted a couple months.
I go through a roll on my 1200 about 1 per month but I do get some water bypass the unit.
Keep us updated on your fleece.

 

[YOYOYOReefer]

I went diy and use a bbq rotisserie motor that can turn a turkey. Maybe just find a stronger motor if there’s a way like that

 

[Ocean_View]

Well just got back from a 5 day trip and found my RM1200 was not rolling tryed to advance and no response from motor unit or on the app. Sent a tickit see what happens.

 

[spcpettit22]

Has anyone figured out if there is a way to replace the motor will one that is stronger? Or even what the current motor is so it can be purchased on digikey?

 

[fizz]

Hi could I get a list of others who have had issues with there reefmat 1200 drive unit failing. What did you do to fix it: change motor, change entire drive unit?

Not talking about a mechanical jam but the unit failing to advance when pressing the buttons.

 

[fizz]

Hi
Had to replace my unit as it would not advance automatically. Would not see and react to the chamber filling.Not the usual drive issue

 

[AstroMelly]

My 1200 motor seems to have failed about a week ago just before Christmas. I raised a ticket with RedSea and they are sending me a replacement motor on 2nd Jan. I’m getting fed up having to wind the roll by hand every few hours.

No issues with it up until now - I’ve had the unit about 18 months. I get through a roll about every month these days since starting carbon dosing - I used to get more like 10 weeks before that! Now I’m using over a metre a day now, it used to be less than 50cm.

 

[Real McCoy]

Red Sea just released the newer reefmat 250, it seem to have a smaller drive unit. I think Red Sea should release an updated drive unit for the 500 and 1200 that have a bigger better motor or just sell the replacement motor seperatly for something like $20.
I've been running some custom ordered fleece roll that I friend gave it to me, I think it's a 300 micron fleece. It last a lot longer than the red sea fleece roll, so less stress on the motor.

Where are you getting the fleece roll and price? Thanks

 

[AstroMelly]

I believe it has nothing to do with the weight of the roll.

Now that i removed the motor while waiting for the replacement, i manually rotate the roll during the day.
Two points i noticed that affect the "power" need for the motor.

One is how dirty is the fleece when you try to rotate it. The dirtier the fleece, the stickier it is to the inner sides of the filter. Also, when it is very dirty, the amount of water pressure is quite big inside the filter, especially if you have the filter mounted high enough in comparison with the sump water level.

The second thing is the dirty roll diameter. Less the diameter in the beginning is needing less torque to rotate. As it gets bigger in diameter, the torque needed increases dramatically.

They send me also instruction video of how to replace the gearmotor. When i saw the size of it, i literally start to laugh.
To tell you the truth, if i have seen this video before i buy the roller mat, most probably i would choose something else....

This ^^^

I too have been forced to rotate the roll manually since my motor failed on 23rd December - I am waiting for a new motor to be sent out (should be sent tomorrow…).

I notice the ‘stiction’ on initial move is very high. I believe this post identifies the multiple reasons for this. The pressure of the water on the loaded fleece pushes the fleece against the black grids. I think this is the major contributing factor. The weight of the wet dirty take up roll and the friction of the unlubricated clean roll spindle axle all combine to make the initial movement very hard.

I believe the difficulty for the motor to overcome the forces preventing this initial movement is the probable cause for motor failure in these units.

As far as I can see the only way the mitigate this is lube the clean mat spindle with either silicon grease or my preference would be Vaseline. I even think I did this previously but I will be reapplying once the new motor arrives. Hopefully this will be soon.

RedSea mats I think are 100 micron. I too would be interested in alternatives.

Edit: or are they 200 micron? I read somewhere else 100 micron - maybe they have changed the porosity since launch?

I don’t seem to be able to post the link but it is a reef builders article reviewing the ReefMat when it first came out (2022) and it states the fleece is 200 micron.

 

[AstroMelly]

Redsea sent me a replacement drive unit as they did not have the motors in stock. So far all good with the new drive unit. I did notice the motor came back to life after over a week of not working. I left it to see how long it would last but it was dead again with 48 hours.

 

[Brian1f1]

New 1200, installed last night. Immediate error 2s. It advances after I hit resume on the app then throws another error 2 and so on. Defective out of the box. I bought it at an authorized LFS Sunday but I don’t have a receipt handy so we will see how that goes. Disappointing for a $430 product after doing the install. I’m sure I’ll love it once it works though. Ugh.

 

[MartyM]

Most likely the mat isn’t installed correctly. It takes a few time to get the hang of it. There is a video by RedSea that explains the setup better than the instruction manual.

 

[Gill the 3rd]

New 1200, installed last night. Immediate error 2s. It advances after I hit resume on the app then throws another error 2 and so on. Defective out of the box. I bought it at an authorized LFS Sunday but I don’t have a receipt handy so we will see how that goes. Disappointing for a $430 product after doing the install. I’m sure I’ll love it once it works though. Ugh.

Triple check your installation, especially that the rollers are correctly seated. I was having the same thing happen to mine after having it for a 6 months. I was convinced I installed everything correctly when I replaced the roll. It would advance when I would hit resume then I would get error 2 again. I was convinced there was an issue with the unit, until I realized the one end of my clean roller wasnt correctly seated in the case. I fixed that and it worked again.

 

[AstroMelly]

I have done the same thing - with my first roll. The motor advances and the spindle with the full clean roll on it also turned - but - make sure the clean roll spindle is sitting down properly so it engages the non-drive cog on the drive unit. When this non driving cog turns it tells the controller that the mat is actually advancing. Also check the clamps on the take-up spindle but if that is turning when the motor advances then it is probably fully engaged.

Good luck! I hope you get it sorted. They are great when they are working. I will never go back to cleaning socks every few days!

 

[karsa]

Where are you getting the fleece roll and price? Thanks

You can find more about it in this thread here. I bought some from Precision Converting. I had to 3D print an adapter as their roll tube are 2” as opposed to red seas being 1.5” but others have also used grommets or other things you could purchase. So far these are working great for less than half the price.

 

[Tomik]

after six months my unit failed. about two weeks ago my new roll went through over half of fleece . so i took it out of auto and start doing manually to avoid waisting more fleece, after week of doing that i felt a pressure on motor and then quite working. did a hard reboot now it won't even connect to app. total waist of time and to the point that i want to install the old suck and call it good. open a ticket now RS want pictures of the sensor.seems like RS pushing their products to consumers without any long term testing and let consumers do the testing. my both return pop and skimmer pump quit working in three months of use,. (reefer 350 G2 owner).

 

[Brian1f1]

after six months my unit failed. about two weeks ago my new roll went through over half of fleece . so i took it out of auto and start doing manually to avoid waisting more fleece, after week of doing that i felt a pressure on motor and then quite working. did a hard reboot now it won't even connect to app. total waist of time and to the point that i want to install the old suck and call it good. open a ticket now RS want pictures of the sensor.seems like RS pushing their products to consumers without any long term testing and let consumers do the testing. my both return pop and skimmer pump quit working in three months of use,. (reefer 350 G2 owner).

Yes. Seems QC is an issue. I live in fear of my G1 525 as well… I like my roller. A lot. I would keep replacing the motor every six months if I had to, but I shouldn’t have to.

 

[Tomik]

I really like Red Sea, Im not a person to wright reviews but since I got this whole system in May of 2023 ive been struggling with equipments one after another , two return pumps/ one skimmer pump /one control unit/one power supply /one led light fan(overheating issue ) now reefMat unit. its been three weeks that open a ticket still waiting for RS approve to send a driver unit. they sell their equipments on premium cost, which I don't mind to pay for it but you think these equipments should last you for long time, I have a brand new dose unit which I'm scared to even try it . I haven't been able to enjoy my tank. I don't know what to say at this time. I'm a small business owner and I'll go behind my customers expectations . if this stuff was available in LFS I would have just buy it myself and forget about all this back and forth game to solve the problems. Im very disappoint it with RS and the way they handling their warranty issues.

 

[Brian1f1]

I really like Red Sea, Im not a person to wright reviews but since I got this whole system in May of 2023 ive been struggling with equipments one after another , two return pumps/ one skimmer pump /one control unit/one power supply /one led light fan(overheating issue ) now reefMat unit. its been three weeks that open a ticket still waiting for RS approve to send a driver unit. they sell their equipments on premium cost, which I don't mind to pay for it but you think these equipments should last you for long time, I have a brand new dose unit which I'm scared to even try it . I haven't been able to enjoy my tank. I don't know what to say at this time. I'm a small business owner and I'll go behind my customers expectations . if this stuff was available in LFS I would have just buy it myself and forget about all this back and forth game to solve the problems. Im very disappoint it with RS and the way they handling their warranty issues.

Yes, they are slow and require photo after photo and then video. It took me nearly two weeks to get a replacement for my unit and the whole thing was like 24 hours old when I filed for it....

 

[DHollis26]

Great. I want to know if they are just sending a new replacement unit or have they fixed the issue.
Will be interested to know if anyone ever has a replacement unit go bad.

My replacement went bad today.