Tunze osmolator pump not working

[jshawkeye]

Hi all, went on vacation and came home and my reservoir was empty. Turned on my ro unit and filled it up woke up next day to bubbles in the tank. The osmolator controller has an orange light lit next to pump on but the pump itself isn’t responding. No impeller movement no humm from the motor. Did I fry the pump letting it run dry?

 

[BAMatter]

Hi all, went on vacation and came home and my reservoir was empty. Turned on my ro unit and filled it up woke up next day to bubbles in the tank. The osmolator controller has an orange light lit next to pump on but the pump itself isn’t responding. No impeller movement no humm from the motor. Did I fry the pump letting it run dry?

I don’t believe it’s fried, as they shut themselves off if run time is too long- I think 10 mins. But, if it was running that long, could it have fried? Possibly…

Does it make noise if you turn it off and back on like it wants to pump, but just isn’t? Usually when I need to refill my ATO and the level is low it takes a bit of manipulating to get the pump primed again. I have to kind of move the pump around back and forth and up and down while it’s trying to pump water to get things flowing.

 

[Aquajamin]

Does it smell burnt? They usually overheat running dry and smell burnt. If you can get the impeller out you might be able to tell.

 

[jshawkeye]

I don’t believe it’s fried, as they shut themselves off if run time is too long- I think 10 mins. But, if it was running that long, could it have fried? Possibly…

Does it make noise if you turn it off and back on like it wants to pump, but just isn’t? Usually when I need to refill my ATO and the level is low it takes a bit of manipulating to get the pump primed again. I have to kind of move the pump around back and forth and up and down while it’s trying to pump water to get things flowing.

It makes no noise. No clicks no hums nothing. Just the orange light next to “pump on”

 

[Joe31415]

It makes no noise. No clicks no hums nothing. Just the orange light next to “pump on”

Did you power cycle it? As noted above, they shut down if they run for a certain length of time without the optical or float sensor tripping.

 

[jshawkeye]

Did you power cycle it? As noted above, they shut down if they run for a certain length of time without the optical or float sensor tripping.

It’s on my apex so I turned that outlet off and then back on but did not wait more than ten seconds

 

[EricR]

Is it the "Nano" Osmolator?
Just curious because that's the one I have (Xmas gift) and was surprised it didn't come with any type of "low level" float/sensor or dry run auto shut-off.

 

[jshawkeye]

Is it the "Nano" Osmolator?
Just curious because that's the one I have (Xmas gift) and was surprised it didn't come with any type of "low level" float/sensor or dry run auto shut-off.

No it’s not the nano. It has a low level shutoff.

 

[Joe31415]

Is it the "Nano" Osmolator?
Just curious because that's the one I have (Xmas gift) and was surprised it didn't come with any type of "low level" float/sensor or dry run auto shut-off.

The nano will shut off if it runs for 2.45 minutes (yes, 2.45 minutes) without the sensor being tripped. After that it needs to be power cycled to start running normally again. The 3155 has to run for 10 minutes before it'll shut down.

It's not so much of a low-level sensor as it is a way to attempt to keep itself from burning out, but at least it's something.

 

[EricR]

The nano will shut off if it runs for 2.45 minutes (yes, 2.45 minutes) without the sensor being tripped. After that it needs to be power cycled to start running normally again. The 3155 has to run for 10 minutes before it'll shut down.

It's not so much of a low-level sensor as it is a way to attempt to keep itself from burning out, but at least it's something.

Yeah, I have the jumper in mine set on 2.45 minutes in case the DT float gets stuck down (or the urchin keeps it pulled down) so it won't overfill the DT. (Can also set to 1.4 minutes).

I still wouldn't want it running dry for that long -- don't expect the container to go dry and could always add a separate float switch to cut power,,, but was just surprised it didn't come with one.

Anyway, I guess the OP's low level sensor/float/whatever on the better/larger Osmolator failed anyway???

 

[Pistondog]

Hi all, went on vacation and came home and my reservoir was empty. Turned on my ro unit and filled it up woke up next day to bubbles in the tank. The osmolator controller has an orange light lit next to pump on but the pump itself isn’t responding. No impeller movement no humm from the motor. Did I fry the pump letting it run dry?

Give the float switch a shake, sometimes they get salt on them and stick up or down.
Then cycle power.

 

[ReefRondo]

The pump has probably died. You can replace them super easy. I’ve replaced every pump I’ve owned at least once over time. Always have a spare on hand now.