Warning Fire Hazard - Vortech MP40w

Brent Thomann · 09/22/2016, 12:51 AM

I wanted to share my experience since Ecotech didn't care to hear about it.

One of my MP40w's almost burnt my house down. My family and I woke in the middle of the night to the smell of electrical fire. I found smoke coming from under tank from one of my MP40w drivers. I quickly unplugged it and blew out the fire and unmounted it. As you could imagine this is very concerning and scary situation. If this happened hours later when kids were at school and we're work it could of burned our house down. I have both my MP40w drivers along with my ballasts for lights mounted underneath my 8ft tank on the back sides of 2x6's where it would be impossible for water to reach. So water wasn't a factor.

I thought for sure Ecotech would want to know about it so I emailed them along with photos of burnt driver. Alex (customer service manager) simply wrote back a generic email saying I can send in my Vortech for service/repair (on my dime that is) with instructions on how to get a RMA.

First of all its obvious from the photos that its not repairable. Even if he was able to some how repair it I would never trust it on my family's life to use it again or my other MP40w I bought at the same time years ago.

alton · 09/22/2016, 05:22 AM

Glad you were able to catch it before it burned your house down, but how old is that unit? I have never seen a controller that looked like that?

Realposition · 09/22/2016, 05:27 AM

Damn, scary stuff. That's pretty sad ecotech wasn't interested at all

MiddletoM · 09/22/2016, 05:28 AM

this is why I have a smoke detector right above my electrical cabinet.

kevin_e · 09/22/2016, 05:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realposition

Damn, scary stuff. That's pretty sad ecotech wasn't interested at all

To be fair, that unit is old and is no longer manufactured. It's at least 2-3 generations old. They offered to repair it, but outside that that, I'm not sure what more should be expected here. It was an unfortunate accident. I can't say I've come across another incident like this, so it's not as if it's a reoccurring problem.

Realposition · 09/22/2016, 06:01 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kevin_e

To be fair, that unit is old and is no longer manufactured. It's at least 2-3 generations old. They offered to repair it, but outside that that, I'm not sure what more should be expected here. It was an unfortunate accident. I can't say I've come across another incident like this, so it's not as if it's a reoccurring problem.

Maybe the slightest concern their controller caught fire?

kevin_e · 09/22/2016, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realposition

Maybe the slightest concern their controller caught fire?

Again, that controller may be 7-10 years old. They no longer manufacturer or supply those units. It's not a reoccurring issue, just a fluke accident. I'm sure they apologized, but beyond that, what are we expecting from them? To recall 1st and second generation units due to an outlying incident in a product well outside the warranty?

Their service and products have historically been superb.

ktownhero · 09/22/2016, 06:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realposition

Maybe the slightest concern their controller caught fire?

They offered to repair it, what else do you want? Sometimes crap happens. Glad you caught it. If you're really upset, pick up a phone and call them. A lot of intention is lost in email and you are reading into it too much ("they don't care"). If they didn't care, they would not have responded at all.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

Realposition · 09/22/2016, 06:12 AM

Please explain to me anywhere in OP's post where he claims they should recall the 1st and 2nd gen units. I'm glad you're sure they apologized because OP didn't mention it and I think that was mostly his point.

ktownhero · 09/22/2016, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realposition

Please explain to me anywhere in OP's post where he claims they should recall the 1st and 2nd gen units. I'm glad you're sure they apologized because OP didn't mention it and I think that was mostly his point.

If you want help, you email. If you want emotion, you call. Sounds like the OP really needs to vent his concerns to them and email and a forum post, without a phone call, just seems the wrong way to do it.

Sent from my XT1575 using Tapatalk

FullBoreReefer · 09/22/2016, 07:33 AM

Why are you guys even arguing about this. Do you work for ecotech? Do you own their stock?

Have some compassion, this guy could have lost everything including his family.

If some people had any compassion they would send their sympathy and that's it, not argue...

rvareef · 09/22/2016, 07:48 AM

glad youre ok brent

HuskerBioProf · 09/22/2016, 08:35 AM

Even when there is something that seems impossible to argue about, the internet finds a way.

CafeReef · 09/22/2016, 08:40 AM

First off, I'm glad you, your family and home are ok.

Secondly, thank you for the post, I know your complete intent is not to bash ecotech, but to let the community know about your experience as there is always a probability of it happening to anyone. Electrical components can always burn, I had a sprinkler controller catch on fire and it was low voltage...

Thirdly, I would take advice of those posted above and give Ecotech a call. I honestly would have gone the same avenue you did and send them the email. From experience in supporting platforms, applications and clients, I know all to well that ultimately you would be asked to send an email with pictures to "prove" or "show" what happened, so it's not like you did anything wrong. Since you received what appears to be a generic response for service to the unit. I would contact them by phone now to ensure they understood the seriousness of the situation. It's highly possible that it was simply a quick mistake on the part of the service tech and just sent a preformated response to you.

Again, sorry to hear about your troubles but ultimately glad everyone including your tank kids are safe.

solitude127 · 09/22/2016, 09:07 AM

Glad everything is ok. You mentioned that the controller was inside your stand away from water damage? Could it be possible that the humidity (assuming your sump is in your stand) could have caused this?

Becks · 09/22/2016, 09:19 AM

Lucky escape, but you should avoid having any electrical components in the sump. All I have is a ip65 rated led.

Brent Thomann · 09/22/2016, 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realposition

Maybe the slightest concern their controller caught fire?

Exactly. They showed ZERO concern and said NOTHING about the incident. They only mentioned that I can send it in for repair along with instructions on how to do so. No sorry our equipment caught fire and could of burned your house down with your family in it. So yes I am upset specially after investing thousands over the years on their pumps and LEDs and have to somehow talk my wife into thinking my reef system is safe.

Yes the equipment is older but I'm sure there are still thousands of people that still have mp40w's in use so it shouldn't be ignored.

BTW I do have smoke detectors in my fish room in my basement where most my equipment is and sump but no detector in the direct area in my living room where the tanks are. Installing one tonight though.

Also I can tell you how AquaMedic handled a similar situation years ago. At the time I had one of their 6ft Turboflotor T5000 Twin (2 x OR3700 pumps) and one of the pumps started smoking setting off my smoke detector in my fish room. I told them about it and they were very concerned and helpful. They overnighted 2 new pumps for the skimmer along with a return label for the bad pump so they could try and diagnose what happened. The skimmer was also 7+ years out of warranty at the time.

CafeReef · 09/22/2016, 10:53 AM

Because of this post, I am going to be buying a Nest smoke detector. That way if it goes off I will be able to be notified by my phone as well. I will be installing it to the ceiling of my sump.

thanks OP, this is a concept I never considered before. $100 to keep my family safe is worth it to me.

luvreefs23 · 09/22/2016, 01:25 PM

I have a nest detector 3 feet to the right of my tank and a drop cam in that room linked to notify me of any fire etc.

tanksfishtank · 09/22/2016, 01:34 PM

Thanks for the post Brent and letting others with this older gen MP know of your problem. Glad you and your family are OK. I will also install a new smoke detector in my fish room.

Bent · 09/22/2016, 02:09 PM

Put a smoke alarm in your stand.

No matter who wants to talk about "cheap Chinese crap", everything electrical has the ability to catastrophically fail.

Was this plugged into a GFCI receptacle?

kevin_e · 09/22/2016, 04:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Realposition

Please explain to me anywhere in OP's post where he claims they should recall the 1st and 2nd gen units. I'm glad you're sure they apologized because OP didn't mention it and I think that was mostly his point.

He nor anyone else did, it was a rhetorical question. The true question was what are you expecting? If it's to vent, have at it. Sorry for your issue and glad you're safe.

n2585722 · 09/22/2016, 06:27 PM

Did you have a battery backup plugged into that jack that is burnt up?

bif24701 · 09/22/2016, 08:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by n2585722

Did you have a battery backup plugged into that jack that is burnt up?

OP, I am glad your family and you are ok. Also that it wasn't worse.

I have a lot of experience in electrical catastrophic failures.

Looks like there was something connected to this driver in the battery back up, 12VDC port.

OP, what was connected exactly?

This is a DC connection and something simple like moisture or a damaged plug could easily cause a problem.

OP, where you using the Echotech battery back up cable with fuse installed? Was it something DIY? There is a fuse on these cables to prevent exactly this type of failure. Once a DC short is created it will not stop unless the short is no longer there or power is removed. The fuse "should" have removed power before a melt down.

I think legally Echotech would have to use or not use certain language when it comes to things like this. I wouldn't take it personally. They did offer to repair it. I would take them up on that. Who knows, maybe they will discount a new driver for you if they can not repair it.

jason2459 · 09/22/2016, 09:31 PM

Glad everyone is safe.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bent

Put a smoke alarm in your stand.

No matter who wants to talk about "cheap Chinese crap", everything electrical has the ability to catastrophically fail.

Was this plugged into a GFCI receptacle?

Smoke detectors in the stand or where ever your equipement is is a great thing to do.

With this fault a GFCI probably wouldn't have tripped. A CAFCI would have. I highly recommend CAFCI/GFCI combo at the breaker, at the outlet, or combination between them (i.e. CAFCI breaker/GFCI receptacle).

GFCI will help protect you
CAFCI will help protect your house
Surge Protector will help protect your equipment.

09/22/2016, 12:51 AM	#1
Brent Thomann Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: T. Tonawanda, NY Posts: 1,825	Warning Fire Hazard - Vortech MP40w I wanted to share my experience since Ecotech didn't care to hear about it. One of my MP40w's almost burnt my house down. My family and I woke in the middle of the night to the smell of electrical fire. I found smoke coming from under tank from one of my MP40w drivers. I quickly unplugged it and blew out the fire and unmounted it. As you could imagine this is very concerning and scary situation. If this happened hours later when kids were at school and we're work it could of burned our house down. I have both my MP40w drivers along with my ballasts for lights mounted underneath my 8ft tank on the back sides of 2x6's where it would be impossible for water to reach. So water wasn't a factor. I thought for sure Ecotech would want to know about it so I emailed them along with photos of burnt driver. Alex (customer service manager) simply wrote back a generic email saying I can send in my Vortech for service/repair (on my dime that is) with instructions on how to get a RMA. First of all its obvious from the photos that its not repairable. Even if he was able to some how repair it I would never trust it on my family's life to use it again or my other MP40w I bought at the same time years ago.

09/22/2016, 05:27 AM	#3
Realposition Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Cheektowaga NY Posts: 320	Damn, scary stuff. That's pretty sad ecotech wasn't interested at all __________________ Larry

09/22/2016, 06:12 AM	#9
Realposition Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2011 Location: Cheektowaga NY Posts: 320	Please explain to me anywhere in OP's post where he claims they should recall the 1st and 2nd gen units. I'm glad you're sure they apologized because OP didn't mention it and I think that was mostly his point. __________________ Larry

09/22/2016, 07:33 AM	#11
FullBoreReefer Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Wooster, OH Posts: 1,862	Why are you guys even arguing about this. Do you work for ecotech? Do you own their stock? Have some compassion, this guy could have lost everything including his family. If some people had any compassion they would send their sympathy and that's it, not argue... __________________ 60x36x24 mixed reef. 40b sump. Regal 250int Varios. 4xHydra26HDs+t5s. 4xMp40wes. Apex2016.

09/22/2016, 08:35 AM	#13
HuskerBioProf Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Location: Omaha, Nebraska Posts: 332	Even when there is something that seems impossible to argue about, the internet finds a way. __________________ 150G SPS Peninsula tank Build Thread: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2627600p=24706573#post24706573 ------Go Big Red!-----------------------------------------------------------------

09/22/2016, 05:22 AM	#2
alton Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Zuehl, Texas Posts: 4,460	Glad you were able to catch it before it burned your house down, but how old is that unit? I have never seen a controller that looked like that?

09/22/2016, 05:28 AM	#4
MiddletoM Registered Member Join Date: May 2015 Posts: 147	this is why I have a smoke detector right above my electrical cabinet.

09/22/2016, 07:48 AM	#12
rvareef In Memoriam Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 664	glad youre ok brent

09/22/2016, 08:40 AM	#14
CafeReef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Elkhorn, NE Posts: 1,405	First off, I'm glad you, your family and home are ok. Secondly, thank you for the post, I know your complete intent is not to bash ecotech, but to let the community know about your experience as there is always a probability of it happening to anyone. Electrical components can always burn, I had a sprinkler controller catch on fire and it was low voltage... Thirdly, I would take advice of those posted above and give Ecotech a call. I honestly would have gone the same avenue you did and send them the email. From experience in supporting platforms, applications and clients, I know all to well that ultimately you would be asked to send an email with pictures to "prove" or "show" what happened, so it's not like you did anything wrong. Since you received what appears to be a generic response for service to the unit. I would contact them by phone now to ensure they understood the seriousness of the situation. It's highly possible that it was simply a quick mistake on the part of the service tech and just sent a preformated response to you. Again, sorry to hear about your troubles but ultimately glad everyone including your tank kids are safe. __________________ 50 Gallon cube

09/22/2016, 09:07 AM	#15
solitude127 Proud user of IO Salt! Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Torrance, CA Posts: 9,136	Glad everything is ok. You mentioned that the controller was inside your stand away from water damage? Could it be possible that the humidity (assuming your sump is in your stand) could have caused this? __________________ Mike <)))>{ <)))>{ <)))>{ <)))>{ ReefKeeping.com TOTM Nov 2012 Socalireefs Featured Reef Oct 2011 Current Tank Info: 603020, 8x54 ATI Powermodule, ReefBrite XHO, ATB Elegance 200, Aquamaxx CTech CaRx, Ecotech Vortechs, Apex Controls, WM Ecobak powered. RedSea Reefer 170, MP10, Apex Jr, Ecotech Radion XR15, Aquamaxx WS-1

09/22/2016, 09:19 AM	#16
Becks Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2016 Posts: 151	Lucky escape, but you should avoid having any electrical components in the sump. All I have is a ip65 rated led.

09/22/2016, 10:53 AM	#18
CafeReef Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2015 Location: Elkhorn, NE Posts: 1,405	Because of this post, I am going to be buying a Nest smoke detector. That way if it goes off I will be able to be notified by my phone as well. I will be installing it to the ceiling of my sump. thanks OP, this is a concept I never considered before. $100 to keep my family safe is worth it to me. __________________ 50 Gallon cube

09/22/2016, 01:25 PM	#19
luvreefs23 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 758	I have a nest detector 3 feet to the right of my tank and a drop cam in that room linked to notify me of any fire etc.

09/22/2016, 01:34 PM	#20
tanksfishtank Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2012 Location: Bettendorf, IA Posts: 335	Thanks for the post Brent and letting others with this older gen MP know of your problem. Glad you and your family are OK. I will also install a new smoke detector in my fish room.

09/22/2016, 02:09 PM	#21
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	Put a smoke alarm in your stand. No matter who wants to talk about "cheap Chinese crap", everything electrical has the ability to catastrophically fail. Was this plugged into a GFCI receptacle? __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump

09/22/2016, 06:27 PM	#23
n2585722 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Cedar Park, Tx Posts: 1,072	Did you have a battery backup plugged into that jack that is burnt up?