Should my panworld pump be this loud?

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

i just plugged in my brand new pan world 100px pump. It seems pretty loud? Is this normal?

It is the pump itself that is making the noise, I have it on the vibration reducing pad that brs sells, oxo wine pad.

domination2580 · Nov 3, 2018

I do not think it should be that loud at all

Flippers4pups · Nov 3, 2018

No it's not right. Sounds like something is in the fan shroud. unscrew the fan shroud and check the fan.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
No it's not right. Sounds like something is in the fan shroud. unscrew the fan shroud and check the fan.

Took the fan shroud off, still the same noise even while running with the shroud off.

Flippers4pups · Nov 3, 2018

Flatlandreefer said:
Took the fan shroud off, still the same noise even while running with the shroud off.

Okay. That rules out that. Take the impeller face off and pull the impeller out and inspect it. Not ruling out a defective bearings yet. Pull on the fan back and forth. It shouldn't move much.

Last resort is it's cavitating. The 90° elbow is too close to the inlet. As the water is being sucked in, it is creating a vortex that causes the impeller to move back and forth. Could be the cause of the noise.

Straight run into the pump as far back as possible is best.

DFR · Nov 3, 2018

Yes, that definitely shouldn’t sound like that. Sounds like something is loose. I don’t see anything noticeable from the video so it could be something internal. Just one more thing I’m sure you tried though, but here goes it. Try firmly holding the the pvc connected to the intake and outlet. You should feel vibration, but is there a noticeable knock (or kind of out-of-sync vibration felt) that correlates with the sound? Is the sound any different if you hold the pipes or the pump?

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
Okay. That rules out that. Take the impeller face off and pull the impeller out and inspect it. Not ruling out a defective bearings yet. Pull on the fan back and forth. It shouldn't move much.

Last resort is it cavitating. The 90° elbow is too close to the inlet. As the water is being sucked in, it is creating a vortex that causes the impeller to move back and forth. Could be the cause of the noise.

Straight run into the pump as far back as possible is best.

Took the impeller housing off, all looks good. No Foreign objects, no damage to the impeller, impeller fit seems to be ok. I do have the plumbing entering the pump with an elbow but it is plumbed at 1 inch even though the inlet/outlet is threaded to 3/4.

I also included a pic of my plumbing, should have taken a pic before disconnecting the pump.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

DFR said:
Yes, that definitely shouldn’t sound like that. Sounds like something is loose. I don’t see anything noticeable from the video so it could be something internal. Just one more thing I’m sure you tried though, but here goes it. Try firmly holding the the pvc connected to the intake and outlet. You should feel vibration, but is there a noticeable knock (or kind of out-of-sync vibration felt) that correlates with the sound? Is the sound any different if you hold the pipes or the pump?

Holding the plumbing does not make any difference. I initially had this plumbed different, I had the output going directly into an elbow instead of the intake. I thought the noise was the force of the water hitting the elbow right off the bat so I immediately re plumbed, same noise as before.

Flippers4pups · Nov 3, 2018

Flatlandreefer said:
Took the impeller housing off, all looks good. No Foreign objects, no damage to the impeller, impeller fit seems to be ok. I do have the plumbing entering the pump with an elbow but it is plumbed at 1 inch even though the inlet/outlet is threaded to 3/4.

I also included a pic of my plumbing, should have taken a pic before disconnecting the pump.

Did the pump blow bubbles when running? Try plumbing more of a straight run from the the tub to the pump and see if it helps.

I've had this condition happen when plumbing these kind of pumps before. Straight runs corrected the noise.

The only thing that's different is your sound is more "metallic" sounding. The sounds I've had were more of the impeller rattle.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

The fan also has zero play to it

Johniejumbo · Nov 3, 2018

I have one of these pumps. It is way quiet. Cavitation is a possibility. Tho mine is hooked up in a similar manner. Does sound like a bearing rattle to me.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
Did the pump blow bubbles when running? Try plumbing more of a straight run from the the tub to the pump and see if it helps.

I've had this condition happen when plumbing these kind of pumps before. Straight runs corrected the noise.

The only thing that's different is your sound is more "metallic" sounding. The sounds I've had were more of the impeller rattle.

Yep it really sounds more like a shot bearing than cavitation to me. I'm not sure what kind of bearing this pump has in it, i'm not entirely sure how magnetic drive pumps work. I was going to try a straight run but I don't have another way to adapt down to 3/4 inch and no way to get a hold of one until monday, #livinginthemiddleofnowhere.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

I think I can rule out cavitation, prior to this plumbing arrangement I had the pump plumbed straight from the 2" valve reduced down to the pump with no change of direction at all. I had an elbow coming out of the outlet but not the inlet. The pump was making the same noise as it is now.

Flippers4pups · Nov 3, 2018

Flatlandreefer said:
Yep it really sounds more like a shot bearing than cavitation to me. I'm not sure what kind of bearing this pump has in it, i'm not entirely sure how magnetic drive pumps work. I was going to try a straight run but I don't have another way to adapt down to 3/4 inch and no way to get a hold of one until monday, #livinginthemiddleofnowhere.

Just trying to eliminate possiblities.

Johniejumbo said:
I have one of these pumps. It is way quiet. Cavitation is a possibility. Tho mine is hooked up in a similar manner. Does sound like a bearing rattle to me.

Could be.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

Flippers4pups said:
Just trying to eliminate possiblities.

I appreciate the help Flipper, I didn't mean to sound defensive at all just thinking out loud. I think the only thing to do now is wait for BRS to get back with me, hopefully they will send me a replacement. I have to say, setting up a new system without a time frame to get things done makes for a much better experience. Patience really is a virtue in this hobby, it makes making the correct decision much easier when you aren't pressuring your self to get things done NOW! I'm glad that I'm not in a huge hurry for a working pump!

WVNed · Nov 3, 2018

Can he run it dry? That should prove it is a bearing.

ca1ore · Nov 3, 2018

Video sounds like the pump was already running dry? Assuming it actually wasn’t, may be a duff pump. My PW100 certainly isn’t silent, but it makes more of a fan hum sound not that rattle. One thing you could try is to pull out the entire black plastic impellar chamber to reveal the circular magnet. Run the pump this way for a bit and see if the noise remains. If it does, it’s defective.

These pumps are about as bulletproof as anything not named Iwaki gets, but they can be defective. I had a PW200 bad out of the box.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

ca1ore said:
Video sounds like the pump was already running dry? Assuming it actually wasn’t, may be a duff pump. My PW100 certainly isn’t silent, but it makes more of a fan hum sound not that rattle. One thing you could try is to pull out the entire black plastic impellar chamber to reveal the circular magnet. Run the pump this way for a bit and see if the noise remains. If it does, it’s defective.

These pumps are about as bulletproof as anything not named Iwaki gets, but they can be defective. I had a PW200 bad out of the box.

Thanks for the help. No it hasn't run dry, i flooded all of the plumbing for several min before plugging it in for the first time. I'm not going to mess with it any further until I hear back from BRS, hopefully they will be easy to deal with.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 3, 2018

ca1ore said:
Video sounds like the pump was already running dry? Assuming it actually wasn’t, may be a duff pump. My PW100 certainly isn’t silent, but it makes more of a fan hum sound not that rattle. One thing you could try is to pull out the entire black plastic impellar chamber to reveal the circular magnet. Run the pump this way for a bit and see if the noise remains. If it does, it’s defective.

These pumps are about as bulletproof as anything not named Iwaki gets, but they can be defective. I had a PW200 bad out of the box.

Thanks for the help. No it hasn't run dry, i flooded all of the plumbing for several min before plugging it in for the first time. I'm not going to mess with it any further until I hear back from BRS, hopefully they will be easy to deal with.

Flatlandreefer · Nov 12, 2018

Just an update. I sent the pump back to BRS. They confirmed that it had a bad bearing and are sending a replacement. The new pump should be here on wednesday. I am always impressed with BRS customer service, it really does make the difference.