Got my new rollers today and figured it would solve my loss of prime issue. Well was i suprized. Took the head in question off and found it broken inside. 20150514_202105_resized.jpg20150514_202139_resized.jpg
Looks like there is more than just an issue with the rollers here guys!!!! Lets Get this fixed asap
and by no way was i even close to the 700 hour mark as advertised with these heads. Looks like its back to manual water changes
Regardless of whether it broke during shipping, assembly or when it was removed I would not be upset with Neptune. Stuff happens and if it was/is the cause of your problems it is an easy fix and I would be relieved to finally have gotten to the bottom of the issue.
Good luck and let us know if the replacement roller cover fixes your problem when you get a replacement.
This has been up and running flawless since boxing day. Last week it began to have problems holding prime. This DOS is used for cwc and pumps 5500 ml up 12 feet every day. The head in question was the new salt mix head. Thinking the new roller would fix it, byt discovered the broken plastic. By no means am I upset with neptune, I just wanted to give the community a heads up as what to expect if you use the dos for cwc, The head will eventually fail. There are new ones on the way and I have made a temporary repair to the old head as well and it works for the interm.
A statistical sample of one is meaningless. There have been no other reports here of a cracked or broken pump head. You can't say that there is a design or manufacturing issue based on one incident. You should exercise greater caution and be able to substantiate such a claim before crying "wolf".
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I agree. I've been holding my tongue but to suggest that there's a wider problem than just the rollers or that the heads eventually need replacement is completely false. The tubing inside the head is designed to be replaced but that's it. The rollers and head itself should last indefinitely under normal usage - even water changes.
Al
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Russ, take a close look as to where the roller stresses the plastic. Then reserve judgement. The stress fracture is exactly where the most pressure is placed on the tubing/plastic head. Take a look when moving it by hand, the plastic moves. Now being from a mechanical background, the weakest link in any system fails first. Seen it time and time again. Beef up one part, ie the stepper motors, the weakest part of the system will always be the next failure. There is no "crying wolf" here. Its pretty easy to see that the plastic will flex over and over and depending upon use this will be something that will fail. I have come up with a simple fix that will make the head foolproof. Fill the empty void at the stress point with epoxy, thus no longer the plastic will flex. The tubing will be the weak link and eventually wear out as it is supposed to do. So take a closer look at the head and reconsider what you have posted. In no means am I upset with neptune and the dos, in fact i have two and I love them. I was just giving the community of owners an insight of what may happen to their unit over time. Disagree if you must, but in time I will guarantee that I will not be the only DOS user who will come across this failure. Like I had stated--this is just a heads up--you may or may not experience this. If you do lose prime constantly, check the head for a stress fracture of break where the roller passes tightest against the tubing...
I dont mean to argue Russ, you have helped me on countless issues in the past, I just wanted to give my viewpoint and hope it would help if any others run into the issue
And to add to this thread, two new heads are being sent out. The interval stats of the dosing schedule have been requested and sent to the engineering team for further investigation.
I have a similar issue to this. I too just received my replacement sub-serial-5000 rollers, and while mine aren't as far gone as the OP's, mine are cracked in 4 places (3 on one housing, and 1 on another), and cracks like this will spread.
Slightly different from the OP, my DOS is less than 4 months old. I pump 12000mL per day, but not up 12' -- rather only about 2'.
I won't go so far as say that the OP and my issues make up a systemic problem, however looking at the bracing it seems it is either too brittle or too thin. And also with the new rollers likely providing more consistent (or higher) pressure, this could break sooner? (I'm just inferring that the old rollers were possible to lose prime, so the new ones must be slightly wider to put more pressure against the tubing).
Now time for pics:
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Interesting and probably worth investigating further. Cracks could explain the clicking sound I am hearing in my left pump that has now started in my right pump since installing the new rollers. I think I will take a closer look at the pump covers on my DOS pumps. My system pulls OSW up 13 to 14 feet and then runs approximately 65 feet to my DOS. The OSW of course runs the same total distance but has a little less height. I have changed back and forth a couple times but I have been changing 3 to 4 gallons of water per day as well. Consequently, my guess is I'm probably pushing my system as hard if not harder than most so if there is an issue with stress fractures I probably should see them.
I recommend all owners take a close look at their covers and report any findings here. If there are indeed issues with strength or brittleness of the materials Neptune will need to hear from more than one or two owners before they will spend the time and money to redesign and manufacturer more robust covers.
RussM or aquamanic care to comment on this thread? Wolf??
I quickly inspected mine and there is bit of a seam or possibly a crack that could be the beginnings of a stress fracture on both my pump covers in the same general area on each of them. With the clicking sound that both pumps are now making I guess there is a good chance that they are not seams that are supposed to be there.
The pumps seem to be working properly with the exception of the plastic clicking noise that makes me wonder if the problem is going to get worse with continued use but, time will only tell.
I'm not a mechanical engineer so I don't know if that material needs to be flexible but if it is seeing that it just plastic I can certainly understand how with continued use it is being flexed in and out each time the pump rollers turn, logically it would make sense that they will eventually fail.
I wonder if one of the mods here can ask Neptune to chime in on the issue and explain what's going on and let us now if the plastic clicking sound is normal or a sign of a problem that will get worse. My left pump started clicking within just a few days of being in operation. My right pump did not start making any clicking noises until I replaced the new rollers. I did not compare the old and new rollers but I will next time I get a chance to see if the new rollers actually cause more pressure to be exerted on the plastic covers and may cause the covers to fail even faster if they fail at all. It was pretty coincidental that my right pump ran pretty quiet but the second I put the new roller on it and ran it manually for a few rotation it almost immediately started making the plastic cracking type sound.
Again, can someone who has contact with the Neptune staff directly pass along these and others findings found in this thread and ask them to comment and explain what is going on and what can we expect. I'm think of seeing if I can find replacement roller covers to order so I can do a side by side comparison of what they look like before going into operation and what mine look like now after being used a good bit. Anyone know where parts are available for purchase at this point. Thanks!
Update: I received my replacement heads today, and they are amazingly more reinforced... This definitely goes to confirm that the problem was indeed systemic, and Neptune knew about the problem a while ago since they already had changed the mold.
Can you post a pic of the new head and possibly explain a little more about the difference? ThanksOriginally Posted by craigwmiller
Update: I received my replacement heads today, and they are amazingly more reinforced... This definitely goes to confirm that the problem was indeed systemic, and Neptune knew about the problem a while ago since they already had changed the mold
Chad
Update: I received my replacement heads today, and they are amazingly more reinforced... This definitely goes to confirm that the problem was indeed systemic, and Neptune knew about the problem a while ago since they already had changed the mold
I think we all would appreciate more details if you would be so kind?
Has the clicking sound gone away? Can you post a side by side comparison picture with the old and new head cover that we can all have a look at? Did Neptune say that this was a new reinforced/heavier duty head cover or did they just send you a replacement for your broken one and you noticed it appears to be heavier duty? Thanks!
Bumping this thread since I am having the exact same issue as the OP. One pump started moving much less water, and back siphoning. My unit was under the 5000 serial number so I got the new roller units. Installed today fired up the pumps and tried to calibrate and it only moved about 10ml of water. Pulled the pump head back off and discovered it was broken. A quick look revealed the culprit behind the weakness and eventual failure. As simpletty described the plastic is weak and least supported where there will be the most pressure against it. Along with that there is a small "notch" in this area. The notch is shallow but has sharp 90 degree corners creating an even greater point of weakness that would be prone to failure. Both my pump heads show "stress marks" leading from those corners. And the breakout I had originates right from this corner as well.
It's good to hear that new pump heads may already be shipping out that takes care of this problem at least I hope that's the case. I know neptune will take care of the issue, but wanted to give a heads up that its not an isolated incident. May not be a common issue depending on how the pumps are used, but not isolated.
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The breakout
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Stress marks on broken head
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stress marks second pump
Found this this morning. Mine is serial 5896. Well after the 5000 cut off. I have contacted Neptune, now waiting on a response.
Also having the same issue with the heads.
Not to mention the ridiculous never ending "clicking" noises they make.
See this thread for the clicking sounds
https://forum.neptunesystems.com/sho...S-Noisy-Pump-2
Chad
Hmm, sorry to bump this thread, but I just had a issue with my pump which was losing air in the tube. After a close inspection I've noticed there was plastic shavings in the head casing and the rollers would not fully close the tubing causing no pressure to pull water 6 feet away from the sump...
Now that I think of it, I believe the casing had a crack in it as well, however I forgot to inspect closely and forgot to have a look at the serial # (@work now) as I was so into the shavings of the tube/casing as per below pic.
will inspect further tonight, however my pump was purchased at the end of Feb 2015 and was not used until mid March for ATO changing 5407.7ml per day or 9.8gallons per week. I don't think the pump is at 700 hours
Edit: with shipping one head is $42.65... ugh
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Everyone: Please do not post about a in a thread which has been marked as "Solved" by the creator of the thread.
Ginu, you should contact Neptune support. https://www.neptunesystems.com/support/contact-support/
Please do not send me PMs with technical questions or requesting assistance - use the forums for Apex help. PM me ONLY if the matter is of a private or personal nature. Thanks.
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