POS Gyre - ready to put it in the garburator

[Myka]

So I have this gen 1 Gyre XF150. The cord cracked (common gen 1 issue). Waited WEEKS for an email reply to get a new motor block. Nothing. This is back in early November.


My LFS gets a motor block in by accident (they were supposed to send a 130 motor block for someone else, but sent a 150), so they took the serial number off mine, and that worked out. However, I get the new one and where the cord goes into the motor block the cord casing isn't inserted, so the wires inside are showing.



I'm kinda PO'd at this point so and I siliconed it last night.



I installed it this morning into the tank. I plug it in, red light, no action. Are you kidding me??? So I take it all apart, and put it back together following the directions just in case I missed something. I didn't. Put it back in tank. It starts up. Great! 10 seconds later, red light, no action. *deep breaths*

I took it apart and put it back together 3 times. If I stick a skewer in there (with it off) and move the blades, then turn it back on, I can get it running again, but it stops just the same. It will run for about 10 seconds, then it catches a few times, then jams up, and stops spinning. I took it off pulse, and still can't keep it going.

I'm about to lose my mind over this. Any ideas??? Is it from water get in to the bare wires where I siliconed it (it's not a perfect seal)???

[The Codfather]

Sorry, could help it.....

[Myka]

Originally Posted by The Codfather

Sorry, could help it.....

This is what I get for trying new crap...shoulda stuck with the Tunzes.

[Aquattro]

Trade for Apex??

[Myka]

Originally Posted by Aquattro

Trade for Apex??

Ok. I actually want one of those, but there's been a lot of trouble with them this year (power outs causing grief, etc), so maybe that's not the best idea. On second thought, you keep it.

[Craigdillman]

crap i have this same thing starting to happen noticed it the other day when i was cleaning it

[Galizio]

I have the same issue, with the cord, the gyre is about a year old, contacted support and they told me "can send you to j&l for a new motor block", so pretty much have to spend 50$ on it....


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Galizio]

[quote=Myka;973748]Sooooo...I walk by the tank, and I figure oh what the heck, and flip the power switch. It turned on!!!! I ran it for a few minutes, and I'm all hmm... I switch it to pulse flow, and it jams up right away. Took me another 5 mins to get it running on steady flow again. It turns out when it jams up it starts easier when I use the switch (it's on a DJ power bar) rather than unplugging it from the adapter. So now it's running still for maybe 5 mins. *fingers crossed* Maybe I'll try pulse mode tomorrow...





had a lots of issue with this pump, as soon a little snail gets in they jam, one of the issue had to deal with was the bushing piece, a like3-4 $ piece , they strips really easy and make the pump not working properly


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mike31154]

Originally Posted by Myka

So I have this gen 1 Gyre XF150. The cord cracked (common gen 1 issue). Waited WEEKS for an email reply to get a new motor block. Nothing. This is back in early November.


I get the new one and where the cord goes into the motor block the cord casing isn't inserted, so the wires inside are showing.



I'm about to lose my mind over this. Any ideas??? Is it from water get in to the bare wires where I siliconed it (it's not a perfect seal)???

Yow, those photos don't inspire much confidence in the build quality. So much for UL or CSA standards. I mean really! You don't even require an electrical engineer on the design team to know that you need a certain specification of cable when building something that will be submerged in salt water and/or subject to intense lighting! And a new motor block with the wiring already damaged? I have a decade old AquaClear powerhead pushing water to my skimmer running on 120VAC & the cord going into the motor block is still supple & uncompromised! Not sure why you would choose to silicone the wire rather than get that motor replaced as well?

Ok, with my Captain Obvious impersonation out of the way, let's see if I can offer some useful input to this dilemma. I understand these are low voltage DC motors, so hopefully not that much danger of electrocution, sparks or fire! I suspect that the wiring inside the motor housing where you can't see is epoxied to isolate the electrons from the surrounding elements, so while the silicone may provide some mechanical strain relief, it may not actually be required for water proofing. But that's a wild guess & you can't know until you take it apart further, probably destructively. Either way, I wouldn't be comfortable running an electric motor in salt water with that kind of sub par cable.

With respect to the intermittent operation (possibly solved now by playing with DJ power bar switch?), since there is a controller involved with feedback wiring from the motor, any number of components could be at fault. I won't mention software since I was dead wrong on that with your last little electrical episode! However, it still could be something in the controller, but judging by the cable issue & the propensity for these gadgets to get clogged, it probably is with the motor/propeller/cages/bushings......
One other thing you could try is instead of powering it from the DJ power bar with switch, try plugging the power supply directly into an outlet. That will at the very least rule out the power bar or switch.

Good luck with this one too, but if it was me, that thing would be in the trash! Regardless of whether it moves water more to one's preference than say a Tunze or VorTech, you gotta know when to say uncle on a product. (Title of the thread! do it..)

[Myka]

Originally Posted by mike31154

Yow, those photos don't inspire much confidence in the build quality. So much for UL or CSA standards. I mean really! [...] Not sure why you would choose to silicone the wire rather than get that motor replaced as well?

I know, eh?! I siliconed it because I was tired of waiting for customer service. I just wanted to try it out in my tank. I can pull the silicone off pretty easily.

I don't think it will electrocute anything, or I would have already got zapped. I got zapped pretty good by a clients' tank last week, and I'm pretty sure it's clear enough in my mind to remember how it feels. It's unplugged right now though, and I'm waiting for customer service again.

Originally Posted by mike31154

Good luck with this one too, but if it was me, that thing would be in the trash! Regardless of whether it moves water more to one's preference than say a Tunze or VorTech, you gotta know when to say uncle on a product. (Title of the thread! do it..)

The customer service is what's killing me. I waited to see what everyone was saying about the Gyre, and everyone seemed pretty happy over the last year or so. But me? Yeah, if I didn't have bad luck, I'd have no luck at all.