EcoTech Vectra L1 after 1.5 years of use

[02tts]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I'm an engineer in R&D that looks at failures and improves upon them daily, so this has me intrigued. When I had my L1 external it didn't leak and it didn't require much tightening for it to be water tight.

I’m going to see if they sell the front cap and take the rest of it apart if it’s user serviceable and see if I can just buy a new front cap so I can have an emergency spare but I will personally never purchase another one of their products. Imagine being on vacation and a failure like this...500G of saltwater...the simple thought of it makes me cringe.

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by 02tts

A $450 pump should not break in 1.5 years of usage and should not fail like this, period.

It shouldn't but sometimes it does. If a bunch of people start coming in saying this is a thing then I'd start getting concerned. It may be that you just have a volute that came from a bad batch of plastic. Who knows. Have you contacted ecotech about this specific issue?

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by 02tts

Imagine being on vacation and a failure like this...500G of saltwater...the simple thought of it makes me cringe.

I just came back from Europe and a seal on a sequence pump had failed. 1/2" of standing water in the fish room. It happens, I put a fresh rebuilt one I had on standby. That's on 1000gal total volume so I get it. It sucks.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

It shouldn't but sometimes it does. If a bunch of people start coming in saying this is a thing then I'd start getting concerned. It may be that you just have a volute that came from a bad batch of plastic. Who knows. Have you contacted ecotech about this specific issue?

I have and like I said, they said it’s out of warranty, sorry.

A failure like this, if it was my product not only would have I have issued an overnight replacement but I would have asked for the failed pump so it can be analyzed to see what happened and ensure it doesn’t happen again or if it does be prepared to handle. I would also issue a bulletin notice informing people, yes it costs money, yes it would generate calls but in the long run you would earn the respect and brand loyalty from many for doing the right thing Or you can sweep it under the rug and keep pushing product. Anyway, that’s my .02 and the why after spending thousands with them I’ll take my business elsewhere, albeit it will cost me more.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I just came back from Europe and a seal on a sequence pump had failed. 1/2" of standing water in the fish room. It happens, I put a fresh rebuilt one I had on standby. That's on 1000gal total volume so I get it. It sucks.

Sorry to hear.! That’s terrible, hopefully you don’t have wood floors.

I’ve had sequence pumps too and I’ve had seals fail from them. That was always the biggest issue. But I ran sequence, reflow and blue something, I can’t recall right now for 8-10 years without issues, solid pumps. Minus the seal. After the first seal failure I would end up replacing it as part of preventive maintenance once a year. Those pumps I remember ran hot too.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by 02tts

I have and like I said, they said it’s out of warranty, sorry.

A failure like this, if it was my product not only would have I have issue dan overnight replacement but I would have asked for the failed pump so it can be analyzed to see what happened and ensure it doesn’t happen again or if it does be prepared to handle. I would also issue a bulletin notice informing people, yes it costs money, yes it would generate calls but in the long run you would earn the respect and brand loyalty from many for doing the right thing Or you can sweep it under the rug and keep pushing product. Anyway, that’s my .02 and the why after spending thousands with them I’ll take my business elsewhere, albeit it will cost me more.

Which by the way, I also bought an mp40. Just last week, before this whole ordeal and the wet side of the mp40 swing around inside the tank....what has ecotec done, not a thing. I called Marine Depot and told them about it and I said ok just send me he mp60 since it’s rated up to 1” glass...said can’t return, call ecotec - mind you, I’m was willing to pay the extra $ to jump to the mp60....stupid, careless handling of the situation on their part.

Called them and they’re not doing anything about it. I’ve even sent them pictures of the glass thickness, which is exactly 3/4” and a video of the damn thing...which shows the wet side spinning when at 80%+ throttle....so what do they say to me, lower the speed...blah...the more I talk about this company the more upset I get.

And yes, back of glass was cleaned where this was going, and yes I used the thin rubber and yes I tried in different places.

Have even other issues with other products, like reeflink for which after 2 years they still can’t figure out, Ive given up on that one and just shut it off.

Again, I digress from original post, sorry. It’s just so frustrating.

[02tts]

On a more lighter note, can you post a pic of your tank? I’d love to see it

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by 02tts

Sorry to hear.! That’s terrible, hopefully you don’t have wood floors.

I’ve had sequence pumps too and I’ve had seals fail from them. That was always the biggest issue. But I ran sequence, reflow and blue something, I can’t recall right now for 8-10 years without issues, solid pumps. Minus the seal. After the first seal failure I would end up replacing it as part of preventive maintenance once a year. Those pumps I remember ran hot too.

I built the filtration room with leaks in mind, it's my MO. Can hold almost 2" before damaging stuffs . I've only had a few seal issues with them, I feel most of the time it's a bearing issue that causes the seals to fail. If you get runout it kills the seal. Switching to a US Seal mfg double silicon carbide seal is the way to go, it will last much longer than the factory seal. That along with new bearings makes for a reliable seal.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I built the filtration room with leaks in mind, it's my MO. Can hold almost 2" before damaging stuffs . I've only had a few seal issues with them, I feel most of the time it's a bearing issue that causes the seals to fail. If you get runout it kills the seal. Switching to a US Seal mfg double silicon carbide seal is the way to go, it will last much longer than the factory seal.

Smart design!

[tkeracer619]

Sorry you're having those issues, that's a bummer. Wish there was something I could do.


Here's the webcam. There is also a build thread in the large tank forum. Display is still fowlr but I have some fancy corals brewing in yhe basement.

https://youtu.be/q4vnQWjLjTg

[02tts]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

Sorry you're having those issues, that's a bummer. Wish there was something I could do.


Here's the webcam. There is also a build thread in the large tank forum. Display is still fowlr but I have some fancy corals brewing in yhe basement.

https://youtu.be/q4vnQWjLjTg

That’s beautiful. I see you have a queen angel...I thought hose guys pic at corals...

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by 02tts

That’s beautiful. I see you have a queen angel...I thought hose guys pic at corals...

Thanks! Will be going sps only. They typically only nip here and there on sps. I've had her for years so I really hope she behaves. She leaves frogspawn and hammer corals alone so I'm being hopeful. She gobbles up btas though so my sunbursts are stuck out of sight downstairs...

[Merv 49]

Originally Posted by 02tts

I strongly disagree with that statement. A $450 pump should not break in 1.5 years of usage and should not fail like this, period. 5,7 years later, sure I can live with that. Company not standing behind their clearly failed product because it’s 6 months out of warranty is not acceptable. This is not neglect or user error, etc.

Sad when people come here and bash a good product with nothing but their personal experience. Who is to say what might have been done to contribute to this failure. None of us reading have no clue about the experience of the user. I have two L1’s and both are flawless as far as I can tell. I also wonder about the use of pipe dope. It’s an I-ring seal and should have been put together as designed in the first place. I doubt many or any of us use pipe dope on our pipe unions.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by Merv 49

Sad when people come here and bash a good product with nothing but their personal experience. Who is to say what might have been done to contribute to this failure. None of us reading have no clue about the experience of the user. I have two L1’s and both are flawless as far as I can tell. I also wonder about the use of pipe dope. It’s an I-ring seal and should have been put together as designed in the first place. I doubt many or any of us use pipe dope on our pipe unions.

Yes it is sad especially when people speak outside of any personal experience with the product. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I speak only from my own experiences. Also, thank you for sharing the bit of information about no one using pipe dope in the hobby. What can I say, I must be the odd one out - which quite frankly I’m quite alright with it.

Thanks for your feedback on the pump.

[saveafish]

Originally Posted by 02tts

Yes it is sad especially when people speak outside of any personal experience with the product. Fortunately or unfortunately for me, I speak only from my own experiences. Also, thank you for sharing the bit of information about no one using pipe dope in the hobby. What can I say, I must be the odd one out - which quite frankly I’m quite alright with it.

Thanks for your feedback on the pump.

I use pipe dope. Funny thing. It's made for pips. 2yrs no post than this. Sounds like a employee.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by saveafish

I use pipe dope. Funny thing. It's made for pips. 2yrs no post than this. Sounds like a employee.

Meant to tell you earlier, I just recently had to get rid of my blue angel (my fault I know as they look similar but they were fine for months, then one day the Queen switched sides). She is very aggressive now towards other fish. I have an adult blue face that won’t come out of hiding because of the Queen. She rules the tank for now.

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by saveafish

I use pipe dope. Funny thing. It's made for pips.

Not all plastic is compatible with it. If it doesn't specify the particular plastic then it may not be safe. I'm not sure what the volute is made out of but I doubt it is pvc. Some of them are petroleum base and can cause certain plastics to swell or become brittle over time.

I showed this to my boss earlier who has been a materials engineer for longer than I've been alive. He said if he had to make a guess it would be incompatible pipe sealant. Said he ran across something very similar at one of the local pools about 15 years ago. Not that it helps but it's a reasonable theory.

[tkeracer619]

Originally Posted by 02tts

She rules the tank for now.

I don't havr to worry about her flipping, she's been at the top of the chain since day 1 . They all stay out of her way. Except the naso. She doesn't care.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

I don't havr to worry about her flipping, she's been at the top of the chain since day 1 . They all stay out of her way. Except the naso. She doesn't care.

Too funny.

[tkeracer619]

They're incredible fish so for me it's worth it the trouble. I just hope the tank is big enough... I can't go bigger without knocking down walls or seriously ****ing off the wife.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

They're incredible fish so for me it's worth it the trouble. I just hope the tank is big enough... I can't go bigger without knocking down walls or seriously ****ing off the wife.

I know the feeling. Originally my tank was going to be 1000G, until I showed the wife where I was putting it.

It’s now 500G - needless to say I lost that battle.

[ca1ore]

Which sealant did you use? Some of them (rectorseal 5, or something like that) are not to be used on ABS.

[02tts]

Originally Posted by ca1ore

Which sealant did you use? Some of them (rectorseal 5, or something like that) are not to be used on ABS.

Rectorseal T plus 2 - which if memory serves me right is ABS friendly but I could be wrong.

[EcoTech Marine]

Sorry for my late reply on all of this.

The issue in this case is pipe dope. Of the issues that have come through our CS for the Vectra pumps, plastics crumbling like this has never been one of them.

I spent some time to do some research on this yesterday and have determined that many pipe dopes are designed for use with PVC or metal only and contain petroleum additives. Our volute and quick couplings are made from ABS plastic, not PVC, and thus are not chemically resistant to the chemicals within pipe dope. It can or will cause material to degrade over time resulting in these brittle failure that you see or even the material crumbling like a powder.

We'd be happy to provide you replacement parts, just call in and mention my reply at the end of this thread. Mistakes happen on both sides of the equation and we're not in the business of making enemies of our customers. This time around please use teflon tape though, just to be safe.

O2tts-

I'm sorry about your issues on 3/4" glass. My official recommendation is to slow the pump down to a speed where it does not spin and leave it at that speed for 2-3 days. The wet side of the pump will nest into the glass during that time at which point you'll be able to up the speed.

T

[02tts]

Originally Posted by EcoTech Marine

Sorry for my late reply on all of this.

The issue in this case is pipe dope. Of the issues that have come through our CS for the Vectra pumps, plastics crumbling like this has never been one of them.

I spent some time to do some research on this yesterday and have determined that many pipe dopes are designed for use with PVC or metal only and contain petroleum additives. Our volute and quick couplings are made from ABS plastic, not PVC, and thus are not chemically resistant to the chemicals within pipe dope. It can or will cause material to degrade over time resulting in these brittle failure that you see or even the material crumbling like a powder.

We'd be happy to provide you replacement parts, just call in and mention my reply at the end of this thread. Mistakes happen on both sides of the equation and we're not in the business of making enemies of our customers. This time around please use teflon tape though, just to be safe.

O2tts-

I'm sorry about your issues on 3/4" glass. My official recommendation is to slow the pump down to a speed where it does not spin and leave it at that speed for 2-3 days. The wet side of the pump will nest into the glass during that time at which point you'll be able to up the speed.

T

Appreciate someone from ETM jumping in. Will contact CS again on this and mention this reply. Just FYI, looked up Rectorseal T 2 that I used and mentions it is safe and recommended for ABS - food for thought.

On the MP40, it’s been in the tank for several days now, still spins around if I approach 75-80%. I’ll let it sit another few days but I don’t see this stopping.