Euro-Reef Pump Impeller Damage
 

I have a RS-180 in sump skimmer that is running a Gen-x 4100 needle wheel pump. It would not start yesterday after unplugging it. I took it apart to clean it and noticed a crack in the magnetic portion on the impeller. The crack is actually in what appears to be a plastic coating on the magnetic. The pink line on the attached picture outlines where I saw the crack. It’s almost as if whatever is under the plastic was swollen.
After cleaning when I plugged it back in it started. Today I unplugged it again and it would not restart. I left it for about an hour and tried again and it started.

Has anyone else experienced this with the Euro-Reef impellers? Do I need to purchase the complete Euro-Reef needle wheel impeller ($75 USD) to fix this or is there another option?

This is a common problem among ER/ASM skimmer pumps. I believe it's a design flaw in the impeller itself. I'm sorry to say that there's not much you can do aside from purchasing a new impeller.

I have an RS180 with no issues, I don't think it is a design flaw, maybe just a bad part

I have an ASM G5 with 2 Sedra 9000 needle wheel pumps.
One of the pumps seized up last year with the exact same problem. Once the rubber cover cracks and the salt water hits the magnet, the impeller seems to expand and that's that.

Tom R