Question re Vortech reliability

[mike31154]

I have two MP40W which I've upgraded with the new ES drivers. One of the pumps is over two years old and was a Gen 1 when I purchased it new. A few months after the purchase, the Gen 2 improvements arrived on the scene and I upgraded the magnet, driveshaft, bearing with the kit available from EcoTech for just over $10 if I remember correctly. About a year later I got a deal on another forum for a NIB MP40W that had become surplus due to a change of plans of the hobbiest selling it. So I got a decent deal on that one.

Other than replacing the Gen 1 parts, I sent the original pump in just before the warranty ran out since the dry side seemed to be making a somewhat unusual sound. The pump was still working fine, I was concerned about the sound, made a recording and emailed the sound file to EcoTech. They suggested I send it in for them to have a look see, so I did. Returned relatively quickly with the problem rectified at no cost.

So other than the aforementioned blips the pumps have been working very well and I wouldn't trade them for any other mode of water movement, be it a competitor's pump or closed loop. Unlike some of the other posters, I rather neglect them with respect to cleaning. Brush the wet side components down with a toothbrush periodically, but have never soaked the wet side in a vinegar solution to dissolve coralline buildup.

I do have one beef still though. Seems the night mode has a habit of kicking in later every evening. This was a known problem with the original wireless drivers when that option was added by a firmware upgrade. I really would have thought that EcoTech with their reputation of customer satisfaction and innovation would have solved this with the new EcoSmart drivers, especially after I decided spend the extra bucks to upgrade. I gather the solution is another firmware upgrade, but it seems to be taking quite a while to get that out to us, so I'm almost suspecting there's a hardware issue that can't be solved by a firmware fix. You'd really think with all the features, they'd have an accurate timer or clock inside the box.