Varios 6 losing flow

jschultzbass · Jun 27, 2018

rkpetersen said:
I have experienced gradually decreasing output from a VarioS 6 over about a year, as controlled by Apex through the 0-10 V port. About 2 weeks ago, I hit the feed mode as usual, which should take the pump down to 13% output, but the pump just stopped instead and would not restart thereafter. Fortunately I had a spare pump. Took the dead one apart, found that the impeller was frozen stiff. No obvious calcium buildup, but I soaked it in vinegar for a few days, without improvement. Looks like the bearing on the impeller just failed. CoralVue does offer replacement impellers for the VarioS line. I got one and the pump works fine again, but they should last longer than this.

Maybe I'll grab an impeller just to see if it makes a difference at all. I've tried everything else so might as well! You're right though, they should last longer than a few months. The impeller on my Vertex 180i had to get replaced after about a year and a half of use. You think they would make them better!

jschultzbass · Jun 27, 2018

gcarroll said:
If you get rid of the flow meter, the problem will go away!

Ha! I'm with Chad though. When my drain starts gurgling I know that it's my return flow causing the issue.

BZOFIQ · Jun 27, 2018

This just doesn't make one confident about their purchase.

jschultzbass · Jun 27, 2018

xoomercom said:
This just doesn't make one confident about their purchase.

Yeah. The pump is amazingly quiet and setup and control are awesome though. I agree that nothing can beat an AC pump when it comes to reliability but DC has other advantages that I really like. I might pick up a neptune Cor-20 and see if it has the same issues. I'll also fill out a ticket on the Coralvue website and see if they'll replace the impeller under warranty.

jschultzbass · Jun 27, 2018

Well Coralvue is out of the Varios 6 impeller. Hope @Jeremy@CoralVue can chime in here.

408Dartfish · Jun 27, 2018

I just bought a varios 2 yesterday. Hopefully mine will last. If not I’ll prob go eheim. Dustin

Holy_makerel · Jun 27, 2018

This was my first choice for a return pump on my upcoming 120 build. Guess I'm back to researching.

ksed · Jun 27, 2018

Has anyone tried to contact Coral Vue?

rushbattle · Jun 27, 2018

rockskimmerflow said:
1262 was 'so loud'?? I've run them in sumps with no vibration damping even and they're near silent. Maybe something was off with your 1262 or the plumbing connection that caused vibration. I've never had one make any noticeable noise in situations I installed them. And yeah I hear you on the frustration with a newish pump already losing steam, but again, it doesn't surprise me. Some will last longer, but at the end of the day I think the only fix is new components. That's the risk you run with a chinese made DC pump, no guarantee of long term consistency of performance.

I made the exact same change. The 1262could be heard in the next room. Sitting on silicone pad and run on soft silicone tubing. Same setup and you can’t tell if the Varios is running or not.

jschultzbass · Jun 28, 2018

ksed said:
Has anyone tried to contact Coral Vue?

Contacting Coralvue can be a pain. Their process is very tedious compared to other companies. I tagged Jeremy in this thread hoping he'd hope on and let us know if this is a known issue or not but haven't heard from him yet. I'll contact Coralvue directly soon.

ScooterV · Jun 28, 2018

I have a Varios 8 and it slowly but steadily also became weaker. No flow meter, but every now and then I had to turn it up a bit so it became obvious. Eventually the power supply failed. CoralVue sent me a replacement and as soon as I turned it on the flow was back to how it seemed when new. I assumed the power supply was weak and the voltage slowly dropped until it failed. Just a possibility anyway, I now have a spare power supply on hand.

jschultzbass · Jun 28, 2018

ScooterV said:
I have a Varios 8 and it slowly but steadily also became weaker. No flow meter, but every now and then I had to turn it up a bit so it became obvious. Eventually the power supply failed. CoralVue sent me a replacement and as soon as I turned it on the flow was back to how it seemed when new. I assumed the power supply was weak and the voltage slowly dropped until it failed. Just a possibility anyway, I now have a spare power supply on hand.

Maybe I'll order a new power supply to see what happens....

BZOFIQ · Jun 29, 2018

jschultzbass said:
Maybe I'll order a new power supply to see what happens....

Perhaps that is the problem; these were already re-designed once before.

jschultzbass · Jun 29, 2018

xoomercom said:
Perhaps that is the problem; these were already re-designed once before.

It's on order so I'll do nothing but change out the power supply and see what happens!

BZOFIQ · Jun 30, 2018

jschultzbass said:
It's on order so I'll do nothing but change out the power supply and see what happens!

Can wait to see what the results of the P/S swap are.

jschultzbass · Jul 2, 2018

xoomercom said:
Can wait to see what the results of the P/S swap are.

Well swapped out the power supply and no change on flow

I'll return it and wait for them to get the impeller in stock and try that.

BZOFIQ · Jul 3, 2018

jschultzbass said:
Well swapped out the power supply and no change on flow I'll return it and wait for them to get the impeller in stock and try that.

That's disappointing, as is lack of any response from Coral Vue

jschultzbass · Jul 3, 2018

Yeah, I'm sure they aren't on their threads all the time, might be on vacation too. Who knows.... If it's not the power supply or the impeller then I might try a different pump. Overall not a big deal as long as it doesn't continue down to nothing, haha, but they definitely should be more stable than this.

BZOFIQ · Jul 3, 2018

jschultzbass said:
Overall not a big deal as long as it doesn't continue down to nothing, haha, but they definitely should be more stable than this.

Not a big deal? I beg to differ. I bought 2 for new build for north of $600, Makes me think that perhaps saving more for a single abyzz would have been a smarter choice. Thank god I'm going with dual pump system or I would have been in for a surprise. Will definitely include more flow sensors to make sure things are churning along.

Forsaken77 · Jul 4, 2018

It's not just RO pumps that do this. I've had a few different brands of dc pumps and they all declined over time, but not quickly like that.

Most recently I've had a Deepwater Aquatics pump running for 3 years. At first, I couldn't put the pump past level 3 of 6 or it would overflow my tank.

Now it can run on level 6 the same as it used to on level 3.