Pump runs, but doesn't actually pump any water

Z

Zamt

Weaksauce
Joined
Aug 30, 2005
Messages
109
So I have the Swiftech Apex kit with the Storm block. It worked great until I had to add the mounting plate because I went from Socket A to 939. I managed to get the Storm off without spilling very much water, and after I hooked it up, I refilled the res and got the bubbles out of the block. I ran the pump for a while to make sure there weren't any leaks, and then started my box up. I noticed rather quickly that my CPU temp was rising fast. When it went above 60 I shut down. After a lot of troubleshooting (I thought that maybe I had the Storm put together wrong) I've discovered that while the pump runs (it spins up when taken apart, and makes the normal noise when together, so I suppose it's running) it doesn't actually move any water. I have no idea what is going on. It seems to run, no blockages, yet, no pumping. Any ideas?
 
SGSeeker said:
Is it near the bottom of the loop? Make sure the intake is flooded with water.
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That was my inclination, you probably have an air pocket stuck in the pump.
 
I took the pump out of the system totally. I filled the intake line with water until it was coming out the outlet line. No air in the lines at all. When I turn the pump on, nothing. It runs, but no movement of water.
 
Zamt said:
I took the pump out of the system totally. I filled the intake line with water until it was coming out the outlet line. No air in the lines at all. When I turn the pump on, nothing. It runs, but no movement of water.
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After working with aquariums frequently this sounds fairly familiar. I don't know what specifically, but there could be something going on with the pump's impellar assembly...sometimes a pump needs to be taken apart and put back together to get it actually pumping...sounds stupid, but I've seen in WAY too many times in the last year and a half selling/working with aquarium pumps and filters for a year and a half.
 
I did take it apart. Nothing seems to be wrong. I couldn't see any obstructions, and the pump seems to run fine. That's why I'm so clueless. There doesn't seem to be a reason for the pump to not work correctly.
 
It's a mag drive pump I assume? It's been thrown off balance and is broken. RMA it. Happened with my first Panworld PI-Z-D pump I had and it's happened with my dannger mag pumps I used for my aquariums.
 
EnJoY120 said:
It's a mag drive pump I assume? It's been thrown off balance and is broken. RMA it. Happened with my first Panworld PI-Z-D pump I had and it's happened with my dannger mag pumps I used for my aquariums.
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Always good to have someone handy with more first hand experience in a more specific form like that.
 
Off balance eh. Seemed to run ok but I'll take your word for it since it doesn't work.
 
to be clear, when you say that you have confirmed that the pump is spinning, but not pumping water.....

this is the laing D5 that comes with the apex kit, correct?

have you tried poping it out of your loop and seeing if it can pump water out of some sort of basin, where you can visually verify if the thing is able to pump seperately from the loop?

have you just triedblowing throughthe loop to see if there might be blockage elsewhere.

the thing that come into my mind when the pump is spinning, and nothing is moving through the loop is blockage elsewhere.
 
Zamt said:
Off balance eh. Seemed to run ok but I'll take your word for it since it doesn't work.
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My pump sounded like it was running ok, a lot quieter than normal, but still running. But it wasn't, magnets were thrown off balance during shipping. Happens to mag drive pumps from time to time.
 
I hope my eheim 1250 isn't prone to this problem. Crazy vibration is enough already...

Btw, enjoy, what brings you to this forum?
 
DFI Daishi said:
to be clear, when you say that you have confirmed that the pump is spinning, but not pumping water.....

this is the laing D5 that comes with the apex kit, correct?

have you tried poping it out of your loop and seeing if it can pump water out of some sort of basin, where you can visually verify if the thing is able to pump seperately from the loop?

have you just triedblowing throughthe loop to see if there might be blockage elsewhere.

the thing that come into my mind when the pump is spinning, and nothing is moving through the loop is blockage elsewhere.
Click to expand...

I did all that. I took it out and tried with a couple of inches of water in the sink. There was no blockage, air and water move through it fine. It just doesn't pump. I've emailed Swiftech to get an RMA. It's only three months old.

BTW, thanks for the help everybody, not knowing why the pump was acting wierd was driving me nuts. The crappy thing is I have a block for my 7800 GT arriving tomorrow. Sigh.
 
ouch that blows
yea i hated when my 2 pumps died within a week of each other i went from air-water-air-water-air and then back to water when i got my D5
 
.xXLucidXx. said:
ouch that blows
yea i hated when my 2 pumps died within a week of each other i went from air-water-air-water-air and then back to water when i got my D5
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My god, I can't even imagine how much of a pain that would have been. :eek:
 
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