Think I fried my dosing pump...

Discussion in 'Filters, Pumps, etc..' started by Dingo, Jun 20, 2011.

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  1. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    While I was messing around in my sump last night I had an accidental spill right onto my dosing pumps!!!
    Well I'm pretty sure they are fried :( anyone have any suggestions?
    Here is a pic of the guts with the areas that have corrosion/burn marks on them circled.

    [​IMG]
     
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  3. Vinnyboombatz

    Vinnyboombatz Giant Squid

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    Bummer Dingo.Sorry I can't really help you.:confused:
     
  4. Magnus

    Magnus Sharknado

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    That sucks, Trent. Any way to get the boards from the manufacturer and solder them yourself? Do you think pumps are still functional on their own?
     
  5. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    Well I'm no expert but it looks like it's just the LCD screens that are malfunctioning. I believe that the peristaltic pumps are are in good condition still though. Unfortunately the LCD screens are what control the pumps though so I am getting no response from them at all :-/
     
  6. Sacul1573

    Sacul1573 Millepora

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    Spilling saltwater on circuit boards will cause electricity to arc from a high potential to a low potential. Usually circuits that have low potentials cannot handle the higher voltages from other circuits (think microprocessor using 5v, vs a pump using 120v). Therefore, you most likely did not fry the pumps, but rather the "brains" of the controller like you suspect.

    Same happened with my ATO when I spilled saltwater on it... electrons arc'd over from the 120v pump power supply to parts of the controller's circuitry.
     
  7. mikev15101

    mikev15101 Purple Spiny Lobster

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    I would go with that response hopefully it's an easy fix, I had expensive oops.
     
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  9. Matt Rogers

    Matt Rogers Kingfish

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    Sorry to hear this Trent. I am raising it up the flag pole for more views. I am curious if there is a a way to fix.
    With some electronics if you allow it to completely dry before powering up you can sometimes get lucky. Or so I have heard. :p

    matt
     
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  10. Dingo

    Dingo Giant Squid

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    Yepp... This really doesn't sound too good :(
    So is there any good news that can come outta this now?
     
  11. Sacul1573

    Sacul1573 Millepora

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    Well, if it were freshwater, I'd say let it dry for a few days. But since it's saltwater (very conductive), most likely any sensitive electronics were completely fried.

    If it were me, I'd look for a similar model used or broke on e-bay or CL for a while, and see if I couldnt pick one up cheap and try replacing the boards. But most likely, other broken models will have broken boards as well (instead of pumps).

    You could salvage the pumps, but I dont know where that would get you.

    Now, all my equipment is hung high, where it would be almost impossible to spill water on...
     
  12. xmetalfan99

    xmetalfan99 Giant Squid

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    Each pump will dose a certain amount of fluid per minute. He could wire the pumps and hook them to a timer. Then, set the timer to stay on for a certain length of time based on ml/minute dosing rate and how much he has to dose.
     
    Last edited: Jun 20, 2011
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