Vortec keeps falling off?!?!?!?

[Sikryd]

I am so burnt out on having to deal with my vortec.
First I had the issue with the wetside and all that - which they took care of no problem (albeit it took a while though)
Now it consistently fall off the glass, and the wetside is at the bottom of my tank. Only one side does it, and it happens pretty frequently.
I had a magnet close by it, and figured that might be causing problems, so I moved it.
I also tried making the magnet connection stronger, by switching it to a thicker glass setting thinking it will "pull" better and not let the wetside fall off. That didn't work either.
It ends up working for ~a day, then I find it in the bottom of the tank and the dry side hanging from the cord.

Does anybody have any ideas to keep it from falling off?!?!

 

[roshi719]

Are you going through the whole aligning process? Could the driveshaft be catching slightly in the bearing causing a vibration? When was the last time you gave the wetside a vinegar soak?

 

[roshi719]

worst case I guess you could attach the wet and dry sides with a small length of fishing line over the top of the tank edge. That would keep it from falling down onto the sandbed at least.

 

[oceanparadise1]

I was thinking of getting two mp40s for my 180,but i have heard nothing but bad things about them! Hope you find out how to fix this!

 

[eggie]

Have you spoke with Vortechs reps about it
I have 2 of them with no problems

 

[Viva'sReef]

Make sure the glass is really clean on the inside where the wetside goes. Also found that if you scrub the foam backing on the wetside with a scouring pad and rough it up a bit it helps. Mine never fell off but used to spin on the glass, wasnt a big deal but I wanted the solid void in the grill on the wetside to face up, and it would always spin and face down instead(not sure if any of that last sentence makes any sense LOL)

 

[roscoe]

How thick is your glass? I also noticed that if you rough up the wetside foam a bit it sticks better to the glass.

 

[dieselab]

This is the reason why I sold my mp40w and got some 6105 tunze and a controller.
Vortechs are great when they work.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I love Tunze and Vortechs to be honest. I have had them both, and never had an issue with the vortechs. When did you all start having problems?

 

[aquafrags]

set it to 1/2 glass thickness.

make sure when you install foam and dryside it's completely clean and dry

 

[Blackhawk Fan]

I love and use both Vortech and Tunze. They compliment each other very well in my tank.

 

[AlexStinson]

call them, its probably something wrong with the dry side motor. It's listed on their repair form as an issue so I assume its something they have had to fix before

Also, call them, they were able to send me a UPS label so I didnt have to pay shipping.

 

[MikeB]

As long as you follow directions, before using the VOrtechs you will have no problems. I have yet to have problems with my Vortechs (2 x MP40W's)

Also if you do have problems the customer service is top notch.

 

[Ian]

I just had the same problem w/ my VT. I soaked it and cleaned it, put it in the tank and noticed the WHOLE wetside spinning. When I took it out, the screw had melted the back cover to the point that there was just foam left...

I emailed them Sunday and yesterday morning and have yet to hear from them. I understand most everything in our tanks need maintenance but for 400+ and 3 months of use, this is a little frustrating to say the least...

 

[roscoe]

I love and use both Vortech and Tunze. They compliment each other very well in my tank.

Very true. I have 3 in the 270 along with 3 Tunze 6100,6101 and 6060. I have major flow.

 

[nivram]

I had the same issue. After soaking it in vinegar and cleaning it good. The issue went away. I have since added a second pump in case it were to separate on me while away.

 

[Sikryd]

I just had the same problem w/ my VT. I soaked it and cleaned it, put it in the tank and noticed the WHOLE wetside spinning. When I took it out, the screw had melted the back cover to the point that there was just foam left...

I emailed them Sunday and yesterday morning and have yet to hear from them. I understand most everything in our tanks need maintenance but for 400+ and 3 months of use, this is a little frustrating to say the least...

Ian - Call Steve - 800-785-0338

I was about to throw this thing out the window I was so ticked.
I tried rebuilding it with another wetside he sent out to me a while ago and it melted everything together.

SO - I called Steve and was going to unleash on him. I took it easy and explained my frustration since this one hasn't worked since day 1 - and my other one works great.

It seems that they had a batch of 1000 driveshafts that are .004 oversized which is causing the problems. When he fixed it before, he had the same driveshafts in his repair bin (they didn't know about the problem at the time) so it did it about a week after I got it back a month ago.

I just sent him pics from my cell phone and he is going to send the parts to fix it. That or a whole new wetside, which is what I am going to tell him I want. I am not a Vortec repairman

So it looks like I FINALLY figured out the problem.
I'll post an update after I get the parts and it is running for a couple weeks without a problem.

Service from them has been nothing but great, so I will continue to give them the benefit of the doubt. Sometimes things are out of their control too, and just need time to figure out.

 

[TwistedTiger]

It seems that they had a batch of 1000 driveshafts that are .004 oversized which is causing the problems. When he fixed it before, he had the same driveshafts in his repair bin (they didn't know about the problem at the time) so it did it about a week after I got it back a month ago.

I think it is more than one batch but the drive shaft freezing on the bearing is indeed the culprit. He had to send me a pair also. However don't throw your old shaft and bearing out, you can sand the shaft down and use them as spares. I did some lite sanding until the bearing slide easily on and off the shaft and put them back in. Been going for a couple of months smooth, quiet and no problems.

 

[Sikryd]

Update -

I got my parts in last week and it has been working like a charm ever since.