Help....

[clarkiiclown04]

I have an Eheim 1260 powerhead. I know it can be used externally. but when i try to do that and switch it on theres like a big noise and not ######. is it normal? do i have to wait a while for it to suck?

[clarkiiclown04]

nobody can help???

[typrobin]

do not let the pump suck water from height on its own...try to activate the pump with another pump...wat i usually do is to use another pump to force water into the inlet of the ehiem pump then switch on the ehiem pump after that...once the ehiem pump is running, switch off the activation pump...

pumps are not designed to suck water, they are designed to push water...

[dandelion76]

Bro,

What robin said is right. Eheim 1260 impeller design (and most pumps available in LFS) does not eqquip it with suction power. It needs water to be present in the impeller chamber first before it can operate. So you need to prime it, by using a pump as robin mentioned, or using some other method.

If I remember correctly all centrifugal pumps' impellers do not have suction power, they can only push water up to certain height (given by the pump rated Head, in meter or feet), if there's water in its chamber.

Low pressure area will be generated once water in the pump chamber is pushed up from its outlet, and this create a suction power that enable more water to be sucked into the impeller chamber - that explain why once the pump is started, it can suck water without problem.

Cheers.

p/s: Some pump impellers are designed to suck water, but it's quite rare amongst those available in LFS.

[clarkiiclown04]

thanks robin & d76..... will try it out tonight.

[clarkiiclown04]

One question....I'm curious.... instead of pushing water into it initially, can i pour water into its outlet to fill the pump with water first? you think it will work too?

[dandelion76]

Yes, it will work. Try to make sure that there isn't much air trapped inside the chamber. (little bit still okay, but if a lot then the pump can't work - it's designed to push water, not air; so the key is to get water into its chamber before starting the pump

[clarkiiclown04]

thanks. it worked last night. but the eheim 1260 quite noisy man.

[ervine]

try turning on then off the pump again... it should help expel whatever air is left trapped inside...

If it is still disturbingly noisy, maybe the shaft is loose, out of place or broken... take the pump apart to check.. but I think this is not very likely...

[clarkiiclown04]

thanks ervine...sorry...the noise i mentioned does not sound like a malfunction kind of noise (as if I know what one will sound like). But its more of the humming sound that it makes when running coz i use it externally and screwed the bottom plate to the ground. Is there any trick to cushion it to absorb the vibration so as not to make it audible?