Koralia Evolutions spinning backwards.

[HomerJ]

Hi all:

I have 3 koralia Evolution powerheads in my tank, and am getting quite fed up with them.  They spin in reverse 1 out of 3 times.  Whenever I stop them and power them back on, (which I do everytime I feed the fish), it's russian roulette wether they'll spin properly or reverse.

I noticed it a while ago, contacted Hydor and they sent me 3 new impellers, that were supposed to fix the problem.

Last night I noticed my shrimp had molted, and guess where the "skin" was?  Right on the powerhead, where the water should come out.  It was being sucked in!

Thinking back, it's been happening a lot recently, I have noticed quite a few times that my GSP and Xenia were not moving in the right direction.

Has anyone else noticed that?  It is not too reliable if you never know which way they'll spin when stopped and powered back on.

Pat

[Saltcreep]

You know, I really think I understand why or how they do that, and I think I understand the reason they replaced the impellers, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to explain it in print. I've started a reply three times now, but I keep wandering off into babble-land soon after I start. I'll try it again in the morning after a couple of coffees, rather than now after .....

I'll bet the turntable in your microwave behaves the same way.

[Rybren]

Mine were like that when I first got them.  Once I replaced the impeller holder, they haven't started in reverse again.

I can't find it now, but there was a thread on RC showing which pieces to crazy glue together to fix the issue.

[Wooki]

Having the same problem with mine as well.  Didn't do this new, but they are now doing it about 1 in 3 as yours.  Annoying when I put them on standby for feeding daily.

Wooki

[jon1985]

same issue here except I have them on a wave maker so it happens fairly regularly.

Any ideas to fix it would be great.

[HomerJ]

You know, I really think I understand why or how they do that, and I think I understand the reason they replaced the impellers, but I'll be darned if I can figure out how to explain it in print.

If it has to do with AC power and the fact that the powerhead might be started either on the rising or on the falling side of the wave, I think I understand why too.  :-)

What I don't get is why it still happens after installing the parts that supposedly fix this. 

Maybe I should just get DC powerheads...

[Rybren]

I have mine on a wavemaker as well.  Perhaps they sent you the wrong parts.

[Saltcreep]

If it has to do with AC power and the fact that the powerhead might be started either on the rising or on the falling side of the wave, I think I understand why too.  :-)

What I don't get is why it still happens after installing the parts that supposedly fix this. 

Maybe I should just get DC powerheads...

Yep, that's exactly what I thought. I was thinking that the impeller might be constructed in some way so that when the coil is not powered, the impeller would not rest on-center, but 'leaning' to one side or the other so that it always starts in the same direction.

[dan2x38]

I have 2 x 1400 they are fine but the 1040 starts in reverse almost every time I restart it. I got the parts they sent and added it but no luck. I start and restart and then after many tries it goes properly. I got the same idea about the A/C current since it is just megnetic field they are creating so flipped the plug so prongs went into the power bar opposite then they were and it starts properly - for now. It is aggravating. Great power head but hate that they say they fixed it - NOT.

[Wooki]

Yes, flipping the prongs around is what I do, but this is  pain in the but for daily feeding since I have them on a 10 minute timer for feeding and I'm not always around to check them when they restart.

I noticed these Sicce power heads
http://www.petsandponds.com/en/aquarium-supplies/c7024/p17621189.html

Does anyone have experience with them?  They are almost as cheap as the Hydors but their propeller design is definitely neutral to which direction they are spinning.

Tom

[salvini55]

vortecs dont have that problem  just buggin ya.

Do the controllable evo pumps have the same problem? That would be such a pain to monitor

[HomerJ]

vortecs dont have that problem  just buggin ya.

Do the controllable evo pumps have the same problem? That would be such a pain to monitor

I know vortecs would be fine... but I don't have 500$ to blow on a powerhead right now ;-)

I think the controlable koralias would be ok as they run on DC (as far as I know anyway).  I might buy one to try it out, I wanted to try and rig up a cheap wavemaker with an Arduino processor.

Again tonight, I noticed my GSP blowing the wrong way...  Grrr.  At least now I have explained to my wife what to look for after she feeds the fish in the morning.

Anyone has a spare MP40 to donate? ;-b