[Casey]

Came home today to the smell of something electrical burning found my Mag 7 to my skimmer on my reeftank has died and turned black where it plugs into the gfi it was only 4 months old not a good track record .

 

[Doug1]

ouch, hope its covered by warrenty

 

[Reefer Addict]

Yikes...
I've had my Mag5 running 24/7 since I installed it for my sump return and have had nary a problem for the 5 months it's been in use... hopefully I'm not too overconfident with this pump.
Have you taken the housing off to see what the innards look like? Would be interesting to see if it's just a general failure of if something else self-destructed inside of it.

 

[Casey]

No I havent taken it apart dont want to void the warranty Premium Aquatics tells me i have to contact Danner direct what a pain.

 

[beach bum]

sucks! sorry. The only Mag Drive I have ever heard has problems is the Mag7, but that was with restart after power outages, etc...

good luck, hope you had no casualities.

 

[Casey]

No casualities as of yet luckily i had a backup mag7 on hand that I was gonna sell to Jay but will have to use now.

 

[thefatman]

sorry to hear about that casey..

no worries here on my end, i was on the extended payment plan anyway

from the looks of things though, the 7 may not have been the best choice for my cls, possibly for the skimmer, but it's not built yet.

yo ucan still count me in for the mag5 though.

 

[MontanaRocknReefer]

Well glad nothing serious happen to the tank casey! I was afraid to read on for a moment thinking the worst!

 

[JDVC]

I had a mag 9 go bad on me once... It was out of warranty so I TRIED to take it apart. I started from the back (where the chord goes in). After the epoxy, it's solid concrete. I managed to chip through some of it and found the windings are just set into the concrete. So much for that experiment!

-John

 

[Doug1]

Of all the MAg Drive pumps the Mag 7 seems to be the most griped about as far as failure. I have run several over the years and have had various results. Hell I have 125 gph walmart PH still working that are older than my grandkid.
HAving seen a fairly reputable pump(Sen900) go to hell do to lack of maint I strongly recommend backup pumps for critical apps, or at very least spare impellors, and monthly vinegar soak and flush , it only takes a small bit of carbonate build up to wear thru the epoxy shield

 

[tdwyatt]

If the plugin area was black/burnt, it was most likely not the pump, rather it was either the gfic or a combination of salt and moisture that caused a short at the outlet. I would venture to say that if you tested for continuity past the plug and got reasonable resistance readings, that you'll only need to replace the plug. Lots of folks have problems with outlets near the tank that are not protected from spray and salt from either the sump or the overflow or the skimmer, etc. Areas that have air and water mixed end up sending out a fine suspended mist of saltwater. The droplets land on items nearby, dry and leave the salt as a residue on the cord/plug, etc. After about a month of this occurring, there can be enough salt residue to conduct an electrical current, which may be experienced as a mild tingle when unplugging the item affected, ot touching an item grounded through such a plug. Multiple outlet service bars are quite prone to this, especially if they are mounted in the same cabinet that the sump is located in. If you have any open source of spray (and it may appear to be insignificant, like the return chamber for the return lines from the tank, or the skimmer air vents), either locate the electricals in a separate watertight cabinet or a sealed section of the sump cabinet, or place the electricals in another location altogether. Check your electrical supply bars for corrosion, and clean and inspect your electricals and cords once a month at least.

OK, I will stop now before you guys start calling me "DAD"...

 

[Casey]

Thanks Tom I think you are right I will clean and recheck it all

 

[tdwyatt]

I will clean and recheck it all

status???

Inquiring minds want to know...

 

[Casey]

status???

Inquiring minds want to know...

All cleaned and rechecked pump works but still smells like burnt wires,gfi is gone due to saltcreep like ya said Tom I am considering taking the pump apart to see what it looks like inside dont know if I trust it anymore.

 

[Minnreefer]

Don't bother taking it apart, I tried to take apart a mag 9 that kept tripping the GFI, I made no progress on the Mag except I was not able to send it in to get fixed

Jon