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Air Pump Issues - Probable Common Problem..seeking Advice


Highlander

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In my DWC grow, going well for a few years now, I use several big air pumps.  They cost about $120 each and perform pretty well.  But I've had a couple that got really noisy.  This seems to be the death rattle for some, as after a few weeks of being noisy, they shut down.  I had one a couple of months ago that got the death rattle for a few days and then quit altogether.  It kinda sounds like a car about to throw a rod.  I plugged it in a few days ago, and it worked great - for awhile - then it succumbed to the death rattle again.  Imagine getting awakened in the night to the sound of what seems to be someone clanging a hammer rhythmically inside a big stew pot.  The clatter comes and goes, while the pump just keeps pumping.  I've always been a DIY sorta guy but don't know much about air pumps.  If anyone could give me a clue as to why these pumps get noisy, I'd appreciate it.  I'd guess that there is an easy fix, but I hesitate to open up a unit.  Might be time to send it to the scrap yard.  I dunno.  Anyone else have a similar problem and learned to to fix it?  Thanks in advance for your wisdom.

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              You should start with checking if there is to much back pressure on the pump.  Do you use airstones? If so they can clog making the pump work harder.  This is a very common problem with aquarium air pumps.  What type of pump is it? piston/ diaphragm?   Check all airline to be sure they are not pinched off any place in the run this can cause the pump to work harder and lead to early failure.  How long are the airline runs, shorter runs =less work for the pump.

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Thanks everyone for the feedback.  It gives me a few ideas.   I keep trying to balance practicality against DIY.  It might just be easier to scrap the pump, but the geek in me wants to know how to fix it. Thanks again.  I do have a couple of old pumps I could cannibalize parts from if needed. 

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               What type of pump is it? piston/ diaphragm?  

 

If you knew me, you'd assume I'd know already know if this was a piston or diaphragm pump - but I don't.  I've pretty much fixed all of my own car problems, appliances, etc. for 25+ years, so i should know better...but I don't.  It kinda embarrasses me.  I suppose I'll just take it apart and try to find the issue.  But I have a bad habit of spending $200+ worth of effort to fix a problem that can be addressed by investing $100 in a new unit.  The older I get, the less time I'm willing to spend trying to fix things.

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I have some totes, buckets, lids and pumps to any one for free, I dont remember you telling my you did dwc, I have all the baskets that fit the holes and than some, you can take one of my working pumps that is smaller and see whats up, or just use the ones I have.

 

I can look around and see what else I have, when I first ordered all of my equip for my first grow in this house I was doing dwc, it soon wore on my brain lol, I dont want all the hassle, I would love to find a good home for this stuff, im sure some one can use a small one for clones, and 5 gal bucket lids with net in them, a 10 gal 3 hole tote, I have alot of hoses, splitters stones,ect, come on up and get them lol!

 

Peace

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You hit it just right actually it's like an old car, i assume you're talkinh about the large piston driven metal models. The springs occasionally break, but more than likely its cylinder wall or piston wear. You can swap a few parts around and get more time out of one usually, but they do just die. The pond master types have a rebuild able diaphragm and will last you longer.

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You hit it just right actually it's like an old car, i assume you're talkinh about the large piston driven metal models. The springs occasionally break, but more than likely its cylinder wall or piston wear. You can swap a few parts around and get more time out of one usually, but they do just die. The pond master types have a rebuild able diaphragm and will last you longer.

 

 

Thanks for the input.  I have a couple of dead pumps, so tonight I'm gonna take this one apart and maybe figure out what went wrong and hopefully be able to cannibalize parts from other failed pumps to get it going again. 

 

Some Phaquer (Thanks, Phaque) gave me a couple of smaller air pumps today, so I can swap them in and then dissect the bad pump. 

 

I got about two hours of sleep last night.  Imagine a Chevy V-8 with a rod knock running in the basement. 

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I met with a good phaquing friend of mine earlier today, and he gave me a couple of pumps (Thanks Phaq!). 

 

This gives me some time to diagnose the problem with my current pump, rather than spend $100 on a new pump.  I also have a couple of dead ones in the barn in my scrap pile, so I'll probably cannibalize them if needed. 

 

If I find anything helpful, I'll post some pics and explanations so others can learn from this.

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