View Full Version : How to be a Happy Vortech Owner
Hi
There have been a couple of people here grumbling about their Vortech pumps and have been finding them too noisy. In general I think the pumps are pretty quite.
If you are having problems with noise.
I can only say pm me and we will get it sorted out, regardless of age or version.
There are a number of reasons why your pump might be noisy and many of them are easy to solve.
All I can say is ITC want you happy with the product, as do Ecotech the manufactuer, I have used loads of pumps over the years and honestly think Vortech in terms of what it achieves with water movement and technology leaves the others looking pretty basic.
PM me
regards jez
What if you dont still have a receipt for your pump ?
Mine is much quieter now i have the new wet side, but the motor whines away.
instantsquid
02-09-08, 15:44
Any news on when more stock is coming into the UK, Jez? :)
Hi
The shipment is still showing as at JFK on the tracking number so possibly by the end of the week. We will have MP40w and MP20 on the shipment.
Dan
If you pump is noisy on the dry side pm me your contact details and we will get it sorted.
regards jez
Jez, Why is the mod for the wet side a cost option? If the vendor know it is a fix for an issue the people who spent £230 (or whatever it was) should get it free. Will the vendor look at doing this with some pressure?
Jez, Why is the mod for the wet side a cost option? If the vendor know it is a fix for an issue the people who spent £230 (or whatever it was) should get it free. Will the vendor look at doing this with some pressure?
From reading RC if you bought the pump very recently they did offer you the wet side upgrade for free, not sure if this was US only.
I think 7.99 is reasonable for the new wet side pieces - its a upgrade from the original not a quick move from them to fix a mistake, the pumps have been around a while in the US. They also offer the software upgrade for free which you cant grumble at. :thumbsup:
Daneeboy - I only got it about 3 weeks ago, I was quite a big outlay which I debated for a while, then the next week I need to spend another £8 for the new wet side. I thought this was to resolve some issues??? Would not suppise me if it was the US only who got the upgrade - Something to do with the letters UK equates to "we love being shafted"............
Software is good though! Is it easy to upgrade?
i dont know the full details, just going off what i read on RC. i didnt realise you had bought the pump very recently.
Yes the new wet side resolves the rust issue but the pumps have been arround for a while on the older style magnet.
As a newbie I may be wrong, But I am guessing rust is an an undesirable thing in a reef tank........ OMG........ And they charge for putting this right. Ill have a read, it may go back in the box and back to the shop. Dont really want to support companies that charge people for rectifying their mistakes :mad:
Thanks for the help daneeboy.
Hi
Lets see if we can put some smiles on the unhappy faces around here.
Vortech upgrades
Are charged at cost so neither ITC, Ecotech, or your friendly LFS is making anything out of the upgrade. The purposes of this is to give all customers of Vortech an opportunity to move to the latest and greatest version of the product.
As with many great original designs they evolve over time and rather than being left with an older spec product, the guys at Ecotech are passionate about providing a good customer experience. So unlike many products that have a 6 monthly brand refresh and you are left with the older model, they offer a low cost upgrade path.
If you bought the product a few weeks before I really do not think the cost is the end of the world but if you have the receipt I will get the upgrade sent to you for free.
As for paying for an upgrade to put things right, I think that is really just playing devils advocate. The only issue with the pump magnets has been that in some tanks the nano coating that seals the magnet has become damaged this has lead in some cases to corrosion of the magnet.
The biggest cause of this erosion of the coating technology has usually been down to user error and the damage has been caused by the fining's from iron oxide phosphate removers being allowed into the water column and sand particles being drawn into the pump.
I have seen this in a few cases out of 100's of pumps and the wetsides were replaced FOC so the new magnet has a heavier plastic coating. The other upgrades to stuff like software is from user feedback for more energetic crest modes, a night mode, wave memory etc.
Behind the scenes they have used this opportunity to make better firmware that increases power efficiency even further, a calibration mode so the pump is calibrated to its wetside and a whole raft of tech stuff.
I think that approach is exceptional in this day and age.
Please mail or pm me if you qualify for a free upgrade
regards Jez
Jez,
Thanks for your reply, I am not sure on the rusting issue and numbers. I will pay for the upgrade with the LFS where I purchased as I feel strongly that neither you, the LFS or ITC should take the brunt of a manufacture issue. I will however not by another product from this vendor.
You help is much appreciated. PM sent regarding the nosie issue.
Thanks
AEP
HI
As I said in the pm, I will pop round and have a listen to the pump, whilst I am there drinking your excellent tea :D I will also upgrade the pump FOC.
regards Jez
Jez, i appreciate you may very busy i pm'd you my email and phone number re: noisy pump but not heard anything yet :whistling:
JOHN & CAM
04-09-08, 20:55
John and I must say that our upgraded vortechs are absolutely superb and we have had nothing but first class service from Jez and ITC. Thanks Jez
regards
John & Cam
Hi
Danny I have not had a chance yet but was waiting till I have the parts on the next shipment, which should land at the weekend and should be available to me latter part of next week. Once I have some parts to work with, will be in touch to sort out what you need. Your details are on my todo list with a daily reminder. It gets no higher priority around here, soon as I have the parts will be in touch.
regards
Jez
No problem, cheers. :thumbsup:
jimdon IOM
05-09-08, 16:41
Hi Jez
many thanks for the advice you gave me in your PM, I have now set my vortec up and think it is brilliant.
So do the corals, after my worrying about it I followed your advice and set on about half power it is just perfect, and whisper quiet.
Thank you again.
Jim
Jez was kind enough to come and look at my pump this eve, something on the dry side was not quite right, we swapped out the dry side and upgraded firmware, now VERY quiet!
Superb service and help from Jez. This gives me confidence in buying any of the multitude of things he imports - THANKS JEZ - MUCH APPRECIATED :thumbsup: :thanks:
GSXRnutter
09-09-08, 23:18
Glad to hear your noise free from your mp40, I have got mine permantly on green at the lowest setting, its going in the bin in a couple of weeks, then I'll be going back to tunze I think, ecotech sould have put more into the dry side rotor development, great bit of kit IF your lucky enough to land on a quite one, seems to be a bit of a lottery, No more ecotech products for this reefer:mad:
Just to put a bit of a positive spin to this thread i've got the new gen 2 vortech mp40w and although the pump does whirr ( sp ) a bit i think you'd have to have extremely sensitive ears for this to bother you, i for one am extremely pleased with mine :wub::wub: and i am an Arsenal supporter so i do like my peace and quiet at the library :p.
stretchlong
10-09-08, 19:05
Just to put a bit of a positive spin to this thread i've got the new gen 2 vortech mp40w and although the pump does whirr ( sp ) a bit i think you'd have to have extremely sensitive ears for this to bother you, i for one am extremely pleased with mine :wub::wub: and i am an Arsenal supporter so i do like my peace and quiet at the library :p.
Go on you Gunners!!!
Gav :thumbsup:
Hi Jason
Seeing as you bought it 2nd hand off some dodgy UR member :D thats a bit of a cheek I am going to get you a replacement dryside sorted. As who knows what happened to it in its previous life the guy could of dropped it whatever.
There are a couple of choices either send it back and we will swap it out. Or if you need it on the tank hang on till I am up your way probably next week.
regards Jez
Hi Jason
Seeing as you bought it 2nd hand off some dodgy UR member thats a bit of a cheek I am going to get you a replacement dryside sorted. As who knows what happened to it in its previous life the guy could of dropped it whatever.
There are a couple of choices either send it back and we will swap it out. Or if you need it on the tank hang on till I am up your way probably next week.
regards Jez
Jez,
Sending you my noisy pump for you to check may be my only option seeing as im about 250 miles north from you. I'll wait for your contact though for your advise.
Thanks
Dan
jimdon IOM
11-09-08, 18:30
Hi Jez
Having run mine now for a few days following your help, I have decided that I am going to invest in another, so I will be able to do my own upgrade to gen2 when I get it and won't have to trouble you with posting it in to be upgraded.
Thanks again for your help,
I'm very satisfied
Jim
I now have a two MP40w setup - nice and quiet. My only gripe is that the battery backup was supplied with a US transformer and it cost me another £5 to get a converter which frankly is poor attention to detail from the importer.
HI
We are working on a battery backup solution that is more UK friendly, basically with shipping costs weight etc and the fact that they are 3rd party built for Ecotech. These are a loss leader.
What we hope to do in the future is source empty units with a UK battery solution and power configuration.
Sorry for any inconvenience.....
Jez
Big thank you to Jez who just left my house with my old vortech :( but left me with a quiet new one :D
Even as we was chatting the new pump was settling down and getting quieter. Excellent service, thank you :thumbsup:
Thanks Dan
A nice tank in the making :-)
Jez
Jez, dropped you another PM the other day about my MP40w.
As I said I'm now in a position to send it to you. Can we arrange this? I'm also still happy for you to pop around if you are in the area.
eddiedundee
09-10-08, 14:54
hi jez trying to pm you your in box is full about my vortech as its noisey when i turn it up full thanks eddie
triggerhappy
15-12-08, 09:06
Jez,
2 PM's sent to you re. 2 wetside upgrades, but I have yet to hear from you?
Trig ;)
I've been waiting months now for a promised upgrade.
First PM was on 10-09-08. I got a prompt reply saying I'd need to wait for the next batch to be imported when I'd get an upgraded dry side.
No reply by 02-11-08 so by this time I had replaced the Vortech with some Tunze streams due to the noise. I offered to post my dry side.
No reply so sent a reminder on 12-11-08. Got a reply saying I'd missed the next batch so I would have to wait 10 days again for the next batch to be imported. I guess that should have been the 22-11-08. Not heard anything though.
I know a few people have been sorted out and good for you guys. Doesn't really help me. At the moment I have a very expensive ornament gathering dust.
In case you read this Jez, I'm ready to post this at any time, or I am happy for you to pop around etc etc.
Does anyone know if the MP20 are all 'Gen. 2' with the new magnets or are they just as likely to be as noisy as the MP40s?
MP20's should be Gen 2 as they where released at the same time as MP40 Gen 2's.
Thanks. Is it pretty widely accepted that the wet side upgrade fixes the noise issue? Therefore if it's gen. 2 it should be reasonably quiet?
Sorry for all the questions, want to treat myself for Xmas but need to do the research first! Is it a problem that the pin spacer setting is in inches and I have 10mm glass? (not one of the standard settings)
Sorry for all the questions, want to treat myself for Xmas but need to do the research first! Is it a problem that the pin spacer setting is in inches and I have 10mm glass? (not one of the standard settings)
All of the inch settings relate to standard mm thicknesses i.e. 10/12mm etc.
Not exactly, though - 3/8" = 9.525mm. Would hate for the half mm to add to any noise, can't see any mention of metric equivalents on ecotech marine's site.
The biggest cause of this erosion of the coating technology has usually been down to user error and the damage has been caused by the fining's from iron oxide phosphate removers being allowed into the water column and sand particles being drawn into the pump.
LOL, user error? are you/they serious Jez?
Sounds like a design flaw to me, reef tanks have sand in them, did someone not point that out to teh designer!
great customer aftercare though :thumbsup:
Thanks. Is it pretty widely accepted that the wet side upgrade fixes the noise issue? Therefore if it's gen. 2 it should be reasonably quiet?
My advice for anyone looking at a Vortech who is worried about noise is to ask themselves a pretty straight question.
Are you happy to put up with external noise to get the extra flow that the Vortech's offer?
If you are the type of person who gets easily irritated by a changing background noise (due to surge patterns on the pump) or if the tank is in what needs to be a silent sleeping/working/movie watching environment then really think twice before going for a Vortech.
If it is going into a Dining Room / Guest Room or generally in a noisey environment then the fantastic flow that these beasts produce is well worth it.
For me, the noise was such an issue I have currently replaced it with 3 x Tunze nanostream 6055 which give me more flow, are GHL controllable and could quite fairly be classed as "silent". The only noise I get is a slight hum from the hood reacting to the motors - but I have to try hard to hear that! They also don't need constant readjusting (which may be fixed via the wet side upgrade). Price wise they work out about the same.
hi folk
i have had my mp20 in my red sea for about a month now
runs silent, best bit of kit i have purchased for my tank :applause::applause:
hope this helps
cheers
drew
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