danner mad NOISE!

[SteenkyBastage]

hey, i've read several complaints about the danner mag pumps and how they leak, how they are noisy, etc...

i wanted to share my experience, and hopefully it'll help out some of you who have them or are looking to get one.

first off...when i got my danner mag 7 (700 gph), i tested it as an inline system outside of the computer to check for leaks. i had already intended to use a reservoir, but hadn't purchased the box for the reservoir yet. well, after a short period of time i noted that FOUR connections were leaking (the two connections to the pump itself, as well as the two that i had connected to my shutoff valve). well, myself not being a plumber, i had no idea you were supposed to use that white tape stuff (forgive me, i'm completely clueless as to what it's called) on the threads, which was where the leaks were happening.

so, my friend comes over, tapes up the fittings, screws it all back together and presto, no more leaks! problem solved.

next came the noise. at first i thought it was vibrating and making noise from sittin on top of my hard computer case, so i didn't bother with that. when i finally got the pump and put it inside my reservoir, i still heard a slightly loud (still not obnoxious, but defenitely noticeable) vibrating noise. well...off to the hardware store where i picked up some rubberish padding and covered the bottom and sides of my reservoir with it. hmm...less noise, but it's still there! at this point i actually lifted the pump off the base of the reservoir and held it in my hand underwater, but the noise was still there. well...sounds like i got a noisy pump!

then i began my searches on the forums here and found several people complaining about the same things, leaks and noise. all the while i began to feel more and more like i had bought an inferior product. altho tempted, i refrained from immediately flameing the product and doing everything in my power to proclaim the woes of the danner mag pumps.

insted i called petwarehouse.com (where i bought the pump from) explained the situation to them and they were happy to send me a replacement impeller (the only moving part in the pump). they told me that if that did not fix the problem, then they would exchange it out for another pump.

after much waiting (ups ground delivery) my impeller arrived, i spent about 5 minutes changing out the new with the old impeller, and WOW! NO NOISE! i had to check the return flow tube to make sure it was actually pumping. and sure enough, it was working like a charm.

after looking at the old impeller, i noticed a small defect (indention in the end near the blades) that i think MAY have caused the noise. all this was said to say...sometimes people flame a product without first trying to fix the problem. granted, it would have been a whole lot nicer to have it working silently out of the box, but hey...just cause the one you get isn't perfect, doesn't mean we should all come out and flame the product as being junk.

and that's all i got to say about that...

[Flash]

I'm glad you got your pump working right. I suspect I may have had the same problem with mine (in addition to leaking face plate which I never got sealed before I split the damned thing practically in two trying to screw teh inlet fitting in tight) (and I did use teflon pipe tape, BTW)).

However, even if it is the impeller, it seems to be a pretty common problem, and leaking also seems to be a common problem. So, even though it's possible to get these pumps to perform quite well, I still maintain that they are CRAP! You shouldn't have to rebuild a product that's brand-new-out-of-the-box.

In contrast, my Eheim pump worked flawlessly from the minute I hooked it up. Even before all the air was bled out, the Eheim was about 1/8th as loud as the accursed Danner at its best.

[Colin]

Thanks for the report. BTW, put a hose clamp over the inlet to keep if from cracking if you overtighten the fitting.

[SteenkyBastage]

yes, i realise i've heard seveal complaints (5 or so) about the pump itself having the noise and leak problems. but i've gotta wonder how many people got it right out of the box and it worked great that didn't mention it on the boards. also take into consideration that probably not many (if any) people who fixed theirs like i did posted about it on the boards.

i'm not trying to say buy the danner instead of the eheim. but simply to point out that sometimes you need to do a little fixin or whatnot to get the best results. and as this is an overclockers forum, i'm sure a vast majority of us are used to doin a little tweakin and fixing. it's one of those things that (altho in this case it was a pump) can be related to a lot of other situations.

hope this helped someone...

[Flash]

I definitely agree about the tweaking, and that's good info. you provided. I still have the Danner and I may replace the impeller and try it out submerged (since I cracked the inlet, though I could replace that too). No offense taken, I hope.

[dwango]

My mag7 was fine out of the box, but after a while it started to sound like a can opener. I took off the cover and to my suprise found a little plastic piece sticking out of the otherwise smooth face. It had already carved small grooves into the impeller blades (though I doubt they will hinder performance). Anyways, I filed the piece off for the most part (I want it smooth, so I'll pick up some fine grit sand paper) and the pump was as quiet as can be. It's a good pump, but I think Danner needs to pay some more attention to quality control :(

Also, is there anything i can use to seal the pump besides the RTV stuff? I've tried with it many times and, no matter how careful I am to keep the stuff off the face, it always finds its way there. Maybe a bigger (thicker) washer?

[Colin]

Yeah those little tits from the molding of the plastic should be removed from the impeller chamber.