Is it worthwhile to replace impellers?

[kaceyo]

My AC 500 has slowed to a trickle in the last month so I'm debating on buying a new impeller or the whole motor. I'm inclined to think an impeller wouldn't go bad that quickly and wondered what others have experienced with their AC's. At the same time, when the motor kicks on it pulls water up the tube and into the filter in a hurry as if there's nothing wrong with the power, but it barely moves the water after that. Is this indicative of some problem in particuler?
Thanks,

Kacey

[Ed13]

Give the customer service peoplea call, they might helpyou out. They might even offer parts towork the bug out!

[tcyiu]

Have you tried running the filter without the media? Perhaps the media is clogged.

If you do run this bare, you might want to remove it from your tank and set it up on a spare tank. Without the sponge etc, it might kick out a lot of junk,

Tim

[Ardan]

clean the motor out and make sure the metal rod is securely in place. then make sure the intake tube is seated well over the motor and in the proper slot.
the end over the motor must have the circular part installed. ( part #A16412)
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1&SUBCAT=107&PROD_ID=01006200020101
click on "Parts" at the bottom


hth
Ardan

[oodi]

Kacey,

I'd give Ardan's suggestion a try. I've had ACs that wouldn't run at all, but a good cleaning, and they are back to normal. I use a baby bottle brush. The nipple brush portion is good for cleaning inside the motor with the impeller removed and the impeller intself. The bottle brush portion is good for getting most of the intake tubes and every other part of the AC.

Judi
:)

[kaceyo]

Thanks for all your suggestions. The first thing I did (before posting) was take it all apart and clean up the motor/impeller and check the media, which didn't have much gunk in it at all, thanks to a Filter Max 3 prefilter.
Next I'll check the filter on the front of a 10gal I have, so I can see that all the pieces are fitting together right, and swap impellers with another one to see if it makes a difference.
Has anyone here ever replaced an old impeller and had it make a significant difference in performance?

Kacey

[RickMay1]

If all the blades are still on the impeller then I would look else ware. I've had impellers build up minerals that caused it to rub against the sides of the tube that they sit in. and I’ve had minerals build up inside the tube the impeller sits. Both problems were correctable with a good cleaning.

[DavidH]

Kacey, check carefully that the intake tube is seated like Ardan suggested. If it leans forward just a little it will reduce flow, push back on it a little to make sure it's seated snug.
The only other problem I've had is with the metal rod that hold the impeller coming loose, just tap it in place. I've run the same AC500 for about 10 yrs. I'm not sure but I think there should be a white plastic washer under the impeller, lost mine awhile back but still works fine. Still think I need to replace it.

Dave

[kaceyo]

Thanks Rick and Dave. Turned out the intake wasn't sealed over the motor after all. I had ruled that out as it happened again after cleaning every thing up and putting it back together, which I've done a hundred times. I was sure it fit together right, but nooo!

Kacey