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my (unprofessional) thoughts on the mag3

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jlin453

Member
Joined
Sep 18, 2002
Location
Austin, Texas
Well my mag3 just came in today. My thoughts: GEEZ it's huge! I've seen pictures of it but didn't think it was this big. I had a fun time sitting there and planning out how I'm going to fit everything. I have a generic case that unfortunately is not very big but I've managed to fit a watercooling setup in it :) (To give you an idea, the width of the case is only the width of the cd drive) I've had fun using my dremel :) I chose not to buy a new case because after a LOT of research, there wasn't really a case that had the looks and was functional. My choices came down to the dragon-type cases, but the looks to me are kinda bleh.

Below is also a res I made myself. The sillicon is in the process of drying, but it'll be sealed :). I had a hard time finding the correct shape since my case is so small, but I finally found it at the Container Store. (also, I'm too much of a cheap ******* to buy the bay-res's. I didn't want to pay that much for something that can be made) I had a T-line on my old setup. This time around I wanted the intake of the pump to get enough water so I've decided to fit a 1" ID tube over the intake of the drive and have it connected to the 1" barb on the res.

Anyways, here's a pic of the mag3 beside the maxijet 1000. The mag3 produces a lot more sound that I thought. Even with it in my hand, I could hear it. It's a lot louder than the maxijet. The flow is a bit more than the maxijet(291gph) , so I guess it's ok :)


mag.JPG
 
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yeah i thought the mag was tiny too. if you think the mag pumps are big, i think the eheim pumps are even bigger. my mag seems to act funny sometimes. i had it on all day yesterday and it was rattling a little all day (maybe off balance?) so i switched it off when i went to bed. thismorning i turned it on and its super silent. i can't hear it above my 7-volt modded panaflo.

that maxijet is super tiny.

edit: doesn't the mag have a higher head too?
 
Yeah, I can't hear mine either. Just make sure you use something for vibration dampening, like mousepad.

I'm going to be using a 1" ID tube straight to the inlet as well. I'll be putting that together in the next day or so, after I finish painting the inside of my case. I'll let you know how it goes, if you're interested.
 
ok, so my setup is leak-proofing right now :)

The mag3 still is making some noise. It's coming from the inside of the pump and it's not vibration. The best I can explain it as is a rattling sound? Sounds sorta like the impeller spinning? And when I turn it off and on again, the whole pump kinda rattles a bit. It doesn't turn on smoothly. Anyone else experience this?


p1010043.JPG

excuse the mess :)


notes:
-I'll need to get another metal hose clamp that'll fit the 1" tubing. A bit of water is leaking from the pump inlet. The cable tie isn't doing it's job.
-the pump outlet is leaking a bit of water(through bottom of the barb)

the resevoir I made isn't leaking at least :)
 
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Woot! Everyone says this pump is the bomb! Definitly the best bang for the buck.. congrates:)

It's a lot louder than the maxijet.

I would put it in the center a 3/4 gallon res. I bet you won't hear it then. Try it underwater then decide.
 
So how is the fit for the 1" tubing over the outlet? It it fairly snug? I've got a mag3 on the way and I was guessing that I'd need 3/4" tubing to fit over it...do you think 3/4" would fit over it if it was boiled? (my res has a 3/4" out, so 1" wouldn't fit on it)
 
1" inner diameter fit's over it just fine. You WILL need a metal hose clamp as I said. You could try a smaller diameter since 1" isn't EXACTLY tight enough.
 
Just to clear things up, when some of you guys say it's silent, you mean SILENT right? As in NO sound at all?

(Just checking because some people refer to silent as can't hear it over their case fans :D )

Back to the pump, should I disassemble it and see if anything's wrong? I actually did disassemble before once, just to take a look. I don't remember anything wrong.

Well, I'll be taking it apart again and sealing it with epoxy. I think I'm getting a leak outside the impeller housing (if that's what it's called).
 
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Yeah, I just finished about a 30 hour leak test with my system, and a 1" hose fit over the inlet with a snug (not REALLY tight) metal clamp worked just fine. I threw another clamp on it though, just because I felt safer, and it was laying around doing nothing.

My Mag 3 DOES make sound - it's just hardly noticible. A slight buzz, perhaps. I can't hear it over my quiet 7v'd Panaflos...in fact, I can't hear it when I turn the majority of my fans off. I'm using 3 layers of mousepad underneath it. Make sure that the tube isn't pulling on another component - just an hour or so ago I realized that I had one of the tubes from the pump pulling on the radiator. The pump's vibration was going through the tube and causing my radiator to rattle against the case...tightening the radiator fixed that. All I can hear is a slight buzz, pretty low frequency, very inobtrusive. Can't hear it unless you're in a quiet room or listening for it. Man, this would be a lot easier if sound wasn't so relative...:D

Mine also makes a bit of a grinding sound the instant it's turned on, but I don't worry about it, I don't think it's a problem.

Craneage - my radiator has 3/4" out too. I just used a copper 3/4" to 1" reducer to do that, and stretched 5/8" over the 3/4" end. That worked very well.
 
try opening the mag 3 and polish the impellor shaft with some high grit emery paper, and I'd avoid epoxy in case you need to open it again, silicon sealant will work just fine to seal it
 
ergh..yeah i meant silicon sealant. I've actually gone back to my maxijet 1000. It's smaller and fits my needs more. I simply don't have enough room to work with in my generic case if I used the mag3. I'll be putting it up for sale probably.
 
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