Skimmer pump stops and restarts constantly

[Gary]

I have a BM E5 (hob) skimmer. The first pump quit after 8 months and was replaced under warranty. The replacement pump was cutting out almost from day one and again replaced under warranty. The third pump has been running for over a year without issues.

This skimmer was bad for overflowing for no apparent reason. I now believe that it was overflowing on occasion after restarting. With the third pump it has never overflowed and has been night and day difference from the first two.

So yes it is possible to have gotten a bad pump.

[gregzz4]

Originally Posted by matt@concept

Maybe a grounding probe

Of course, before adding a probe one should check for stray voltage with a multimeter as adding a probe without knowing what's going on can be very dangerous, and possibly harmful or deadly to both yourself and your critters
If you do have stray voltage, adding a grounding probe will give it a path to ground. This is not good unless you have a GFCI

With a multimeter set to 120VAC, put the red (positive) probe in the tank water and the black (negative) probe into the d-shaped socket in any outlet

If you do find current in your tank, unplug one piece of hardware at a time until you find the culprit

Any current above a couple volts should be investigated, but sometimes you can get a reading just from lights above water creating a 'field' (for lack of the proper term)

[FishyFishy!]

Originally Posted by gregzz4

Of course, before adding a probe one should check for stray voltage with a multimeter as adding a probe without knowing what's going on can be very dangerous, and possibly harmful or deadly to both yourself and your critters
If you do have stray voltage, adding a grounding probe will give it a path to ground. This is not good unless you have a GFCI

With a multimeter set to 120VAC, put the red (positive) probe in the tank water and the black (negative) probe into the d-shaped socket in any outlet

If you do find current in your tank, unplug one piece of hardware at a time until you find the culprit

Any current above a couple volts should be investigated, but sometimes you can get a reading just from lights above water creating a 'field' (for lack of the proper term)

+1 however if you can put your hand in the tank with no issues, not likely stray voltage.

I had a skimmer pump that would turn off and on. I narrowed it down to the pump after it kept randomly overflowing after a few days of perfect skimming. One day i was looking at the sump I heard a rattling noise, then silence.I put my hand under both pump inlets, and sure enough one wasnt running. After replacing the bad pump, it was perfect. Pump happened to be a sicce PSK2500. I would replace the pump.

[ColinD]

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

Does the motor feel hot right after it shuts itself off?

yup. I think its the pump.

[intarsiabox]

Originally Posted by ColinD

yup. I think its the pump.

The reason I ask is that a I once had a NAC7 skimmer that was doing the same thing. It had the Atman pump on it. It would run then get hot, quit, cool down and then start again. Aquadigital sent me a whole new pump that I used for a couple weeks and all was good. I was moving at the time and had to move in with my parents while the house was being finished so I shut down the tank and sold my skimmer among other equipment. I told the buyer about the old pump and asked that he contact me if there were any problems. About a month later he contacted me, the pump actually blew up his sump tank. Again Aquadigital took care of him and this led to the voluntary recall notice on his website. The new pumps are supposed to be much better but if it is getting hot I would be on the safe side and remove it until you get a new one.

[ColinD]

Originally Posted by intarsiabox

The reason I ask is that a I once had a NAC7 skimmer that was doing the same thing. It had the Atman pump on it. It would run then get hot, quit, cool down and then start again. Aquadigital sent me a whole new pump that I used for a couple weeks and all was good. I was moving at the time and had to move in with my parents while the house was being finished so I shut down the tank and sold my skimmer among other equipment. I told the buyer about the old pump and asked that he contact me if there were any problems. About a month later he contacted me, the pump actually blew up his sump tank. Again Aquadigital took care of him and this led to the voluntary recall notice on his website. The new pumps are supposed to be much better but if it is getting hot I would be on the safe side and remove it until you get a new one.

This is supposed to be the new pump that replaces the troubled Attman pumps, the first one was also a replacement from Aquadigital.

Colin

[ColinD]

well sent the pump back, lets hope pump number 3 is the ticket.

Colin