I've got a pump off ebay & it doesn't work!

[Moonrs]

As you can guess, I bought a pump off of ebay (little giant) that didn't work. I got it from someone who said it worked when they disconnected it a week ago. In the process of trying to change out my old, dying pump that's running my water from the refugium back to the tank, I did and impromptu 10ga "water change" right onto the floor. I got the new pump all hooked up and watched in amazement while nothing happened. I am thourougly disappointed. I don't know what to do now. I don't have money to buy another. Sigh.

[alexwolf]

Man that sucks. Hate to hear Ebay horror stories. My boss has one that will make you cringe though. Maybe you can talk to the seller?

[matt]

You could try taking the impeller out and cleaning. Sometimes when the pumps dry out, if there's some salt in there in might keep it from starting up. If that doesn't work I would think there's some way of dealing with the situation through ebay. At the least you can leave feedback which would make it more difficult for the guy to sell bad equipment again. Probably, though, it did work when he said it did; maybe I'm an optimist, but it seems like a lot of trouble to go through just to rip someone off.

[brewercm]

Definately check it out first, and contact the seller if it is bad and won't work. Not a lot to these pumps other than a little motor and magnet with impeller added on.

[Moonrs]

Problem is, I'm not sure how to disconnect the pump without flooding the floor again. I don't have any thing that I can plug the whole with. I may go to home depot this morning and try. I think I'll also look on the for sale forum and see if anyone is selling a pump.

[brewercm]

Matt still had pumps available yesterday when I was over at his place. You may want to PM him and see what he still has.

[Moonrs]

Thanks, Josh, I hadn't even thought of that. I went to Alamo aquatics and bought a pump from them. It was more than I wanted to spend, but at least I know it's going to work, it has a warranty, and I can take it back if it breaks.

[Ram_Puppy]

are you going to try and salvage the other pump?

[Moonrs]

I am going to try to salvage the other pump, although I'm not quite sure how to. The little giant brand of pump is a good brand and I would love to be able to use it on my closed loop. Here's a question; what effect does plugging in a pump for a few seconds when it's not hooked up to water? I know you're obviously never supposed to run one of these pumps without water running through it. When I got the Little Giant pump home, I hooked it up as fast as I could. After it was all ready, I plugged it in and nothing happened. I shook it and banged it with my hand and it had no effect. I then disconnected the little giant pump and proceeded to inspect it. I took out the screws and took off the cover. All I could see was the impeller. I carefully took it out and the shaft that goes through the center and cleaned everything. I put it back together and then, just to see what would happen, plugged it in by the sink. The impeller VERY slowly turned while I was watching it for about 10 seconds. I then unplugged it. Even if the pump was not hooked up, it should've run, right? It did not heat up in that short time. Does that tell you anything? BTW, I accidently plugged in the new pump under my tank before it was hooked up to water, and it started working right away (motor/impeller spinning). I think the LG pump should've run if it was going to, even without water. Is that right?

[R.Allard]

this is just my opinion but it sounds like the brushes need to be replaced in the motor.
sometimes if a brush spring breaks then only one side is contacted
to the motor and even though the other side isnt contacted some of the current will still pass through the broken part of the spring
allowing it to spin slowly . other case is someone let it heat up to much and burnt the windings and in that case your S^$##$ outta luck..
i say take it to a electrical place and let them take a look at it .
a couple of brushes cant be that much and that way youll know
if they guy really screwed ya...
the other thing is does it smell like burnt electrical wire??
if it does then.....
i think theres a big electrical place over by A.W. cant remember the name of the street but i remember the people being real helpfull.
HTH
Robert

[brewercm]

There's an altex electronics there along with another one that is just off of a side street further down the road. I used to buy most of my cable and other networking accesories from them when I was doing network stuff. You can also try Graybar electric off of Hackberry, they can probably get brushes in for about anything if they are bad.

[Ram_Puppy]

altex is on 281 now, and does more computer stuff, the electronics store over by Aquatic Warehouse that your thinking of, is called ATEX electronics now (same people I think) they sell everything under the sun as far as DIY stuff. I would give it a try, but at this point, I would say you got screwed and leave some heavy negative feedback.

[Moonrs]

Does Altex also diagnose/fix what's wrong, or are they just a parts store? I'm a little nervous trying to take apart the pump. Isn't the part with the bushings "sealed"?

[StephenA]

Does Altex also diagnose/fix what's wrong

Not really, they do repair PC's but I doubt they have a clue on a motor.

[SBreef]

If you want it checked out by some pro's try, Massengale Armature Works or San Antonio Armature Works.

[StephenA]

Bring it to the meeting, we can crack it open there.

[Moonrs]

hmmm, I hadn't thought about that, Stephan. That's a good idea. I'll also look up the Armature works. Thanks.

[Moonrs]

Unfortunately, I am out of luck; the auction has it listed "as is". They said it worked when they disconnected it. The good thing is I'm only out of $44. If I can get it fixed, I'll be at least one pump ahead. Lastly, I ended up buying this pump after the auction was over, more or less outside of Ebay. This means I can't leave negative feedback.