WARNING: be careful with magdrives

[motortrendz]

so i know ive been MIA for a looong time, and ill write a thread on that one day but long story short things are good!

now onto the warning, i was setting up a prop tank and was doing my freshwater equipment run through and wash down, about an hour into the run i noticed the pump stopped running i unplugged it and reached into the sump to puck it up to inspect it and noticed i smelled what seamed to motor oil from the sump, when i reached in it felt like there was a layer of oil on top of the water in the sump. when i looked closer i realized there was a thin layer of oil, yellow in color and the magdrive seized up, no noticeable damage to the impeller but oil around the cord port in the rear of the pump..

ive used mag drives for years had impellers go bad but never the housing itself, wow i was shocked, now 2 things, i wonder if i would gave myself a good zap if i didnt unplug it first, second if this was full of frags and coral it would have been a total wipe out im sure...

inspect your pumps..

 

[mheaven]

I thought that Danner Mag states no oil is used for these pumps....

 

[Imbarrie]

Mag drives are inefficient, noisy, and have startup issues.
I dont know any good reason to use them in a saltwater system.

 

[motortrendz]

I thought that Danner Mag states no oil is used for these pumps....

I dont know about that but i can tell you it was the only pump running, and it was only in the return chamber that had the oil which was where the pump was, the pump was also dead.. so it had to come from that..

i dont know if its bc its an older pump, but it is definitly what i found....

imbarre, i agree 100% but its what i had to put this tank together, ive been slowly switching to external pumps.. i have an eheim as well but it doesnt have the flow needed..

 

[mheaven]

Ive used Mag Drive pumps for a long time, besides the start up problem here and there no other issues.

I do keep up with the maint. on the pumps. Clean them every 2-3 months. But i was always considering replacing the pumps with other ones.
Currently im running a Mag 5 on my return and a mag 12 on my skimmer.

 

[dubs]

I been running a mag drive for more than ten years no issue ever don't know if it's been luck but those pump been good to me

 

[motortrendz]

ive never had issues other than an impeller here and there, this was a mag 12 that failed.. other than the power draw ive never really had any issues but this kinda makes me think twice before ever using another one..

 

[Dre]

I been running a mag drive for more than ten years no issue ever don't know if it's been luck but those pump been good to me

Me too!

 

[E.intheC]

Mag drives are inefficient, noisy, and have startup issues.
I dont know any good reason to use them in a saltwater system.

This. There are much better pumps out there.

 

[mheaven]

I think it depends on what the application is.
For instance: my skimmer requires about 800 - 900 gpm of water to work properly. It's a Beckett injected skimmer, so I need a pump with some what of a high head pressure rating and also a in sump pump. It can't be a needle wheel pump due to the fact that they can't achive the pressure need to overcome the Beckett.
So what could I replace my mag 12 with?

 

[jackson6745]

In the past I used mag drives for return pumps. They pump water obviously but they would seize up often (3 months or so) due to calcification. The comparable GPH Eheim is much more reliable. Actually, I don't think I ever had a 1262 seize up on me and I've been using them since 2006. Eheim is not an option if you need more than 900gph though.

 

[savagerican]

Did u buy the pump used from.some1? Maybe they oiled it up so it sound good when u bought it

 

[motortrendz]

nope ive had it for about 3-4 years .. it ran for about a few hours before it failed..

 

[ankgodawat]

tgtttg g t gtg