Rio pumps BEWARE!!

Okay, so i thought i would share this with everyone...I came down stairs and my skimmer wasnt running...This has happend many times in the past..My pump(Rio 110) is always shutting off for no reason in the water, and i just cleaned it too! But anyway..I took it out of the water and checked the wire to make sure it was plugged in, and it was. Took it out of the water and it was very hot! im guessing it was becuase it was running without running if you get what im saying, So for anyone with Rio pumps...Make sure they stay clean and run okay, because i just saved my tank from being burned out. Phew...

 

I am glad you caught it. IME I have ran rio pumps for the last 2 yrs and have not had 1 problem. It might be an isolated incident with your pump and maybe not. I have heard some of the same issues with other brand pumps also.

 

Yeah, i just looked it up after i posted this, some guys said he had a tank crash becuase of a Rio, it did the same thing mine did and it melted some parts and released petroleum or something like that from the plastics and heated up the tank quite high...

 

My rio went bad after 2-3 months as a return pump. I won't use another.

 

If a pump locks up, it'll always generate heat like that, regardless of the brand. It comes from energy being imparted into the magnet via induction (which is completely normal), but then that energy isn't being converted to mechanical energy since the impeller isn't able to move (not normal).

 

Yeah, but dont most better brands have a special heat sensor?

 

So that's why an Eheim costs 3x as much as another pump of the same GPH...

It's really a non-issue with a halfway decent pump, TBH. As long as it won't lock up randomly on you, proper maintenance is enough to keep this from happening.

 

Yeah, i kept maintenance on it! cleaned it once a week...

 

That's why I had that clause about halfway decent pumps in there.

 

If your cleaning a pump once a week IMPO that is excessive. When is the last time you cleaned it? Was it put back together correctly? Did it get put in a bind when it was put back together last time and caused it to fail prematurely? Not saying any of this has anything to do with it but just something to think about.