formerly icyuodd/icyoud2 Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 i was sitting infront of the tv when i heard god awful noises from my aquarium. i got up and walked to the aquarium just intime to see my nanostream shoot a huge jet of water all over my 175mh. it seems the vibration of this pos broke the top 2 clips (i know they werent broken before, i took great care to make sure they didnt) as soon as the top 2 tabs broke loose the pump worked itself free from the clip and showered my light. it's a good thing i was home. i'm not sure of the damage caused to the light, but it doesnt matter. i am ###ed! if tunze took 1/2 as much time with the design of the pump as they did with writing the warning about the clips breaking easily, maybe just maybe this wouldnt have happened. what a pos. who are they trying to kid? like these tiny clips where ever designed to last. these clips are breaking left right and center. i'm not the first to complain about the broken clips. Link to comment
aquamac Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Tunze products are too expensive for build quality such as this... Link to comment
Withers Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Now you've got me scared! Link to comment
ezcompany Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 thats why i was very careful in removing them from the box. mine has a HORRIBLE rattling noise omfg Link to comment
formerly icyuodd/icyoud2 Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 i'd double check it, thats how mine started. i had read the warning and took great care not to break the clips. it was rock solid for a couple weeks. i've read that thier first powerheads had problems with brittle plastic clips. (which apparently has been resolved) but not nearly fast enough Link to comment
ezcompany Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 talk to Roger over at the Tunze section on RC, i'm sure he will take care of you. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 former, can you post a closeup of the other surviving clips (i.e. other side). from the present angle they look very thin but i can't see if they're unreinforced or not. regardless of the type of material they used (usually ABS for quality parts), unreinforced points can break very easily from in-molded/processed stress or normal flexing, which it appears they're designed for but maybe not engineered to do. too bad for the mishap. this scenario is exactly what i deal with in my business. i see stuff like this all the time in my business and from some of these same companies. troubleshooting stuff like this is our/my reputation. we take the crappy parts and fix 'em. i'd prefer to be involved in the beginning stages but marketing usually takes the lead then. Link to comment
formerly icyuodd/icyoud2 Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 i already glued the broken pieces together with a quality glue for plastics, so this out of focus pic is all i have. the holes for the clip are almost as thick as a penny so the clips, are 1/2 the thickness of a penny with no reinforcement what so ever. (holes are larger than the clips to allow the latch of the clip to pass through) imo, designed to break in just a few months. Link to comment
Withers Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Its strange though, because mine don't seem to vibrate much at all. In fact, they're dead silent, and if it weren't for the hair algae flowing all around the tank you'd never even know they were on. Maybe you just got a bad batch? Link to comment
lgreen Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 From Tunze Forum on RC: I would be happy to send a replacement. We found that the cause was the mold being too hot and it actually turned our high dollar Lexan into charcoal so it was very brittle. The part is made from virgin GE Lexan and despite the fragile appearance should be plenty strong. Just PM me your name and address. http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...hreadid=1026945 ALSO, for IC: You would need to contact Phil in Canada, he is your distributor. I only handle the US market. Link to comment
formerly icyuodd/icyoud2 Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 mine was silent/solid for the first few weeks also. until they change the design, i think i'll stick with my glued unit. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 i made some notes on the pic. your best way to gauge if it's reinforced or not (structurally not material-wise) is looking at the tabs' profile at the base (i.e. eyes level with the faceplate and tabs upright). it should be slightly rounded at the base where the tab forms with the faceplate and not a hard 90-degree angle. if it is rounded slightly, then i would suspect a material issue. poor grade of ABS or not even ABS, e.g. polystyrene. Link to comment
aquamac Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Just add a bit of JB Weld to reinforce the clip? Link to comment
adinsxq Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 ok i want a pump designed by tiny Link to comment
Chupacabras Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 Mine is acting up too. It amazes me that this was missed. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 We found that the cause was the mold being too hot and it actually turned our high dollar Lexan into charcoal so it was very brittle. The part is made from virgin GE Lexan and despite the fragile appearance should be plenty strong.hmm, no, i don't think that's quite on the level from them. lexan can be processed up to over 650F. plus, it's supposed to be run in a hot mold. too cold and it affects aesthetics and filling of the cavity. i'd like to see the gate/material entry point. based on the top view, it isn't a gated nominal for lexan/pc, should be thick and wide. now there are probably 50~100 different grades of lexan and lexan blends but assuming they're using general purpose lexan (ge's brandname for polycarbonate, which is very strong) that's bs imho. now that might be what they're hearing from the factory so i don't fault them for intentionally misleading themselves and others. lexan is very hygroscopic (prior to processing). high moisture would also lead to very brittle parts but this is usually this can be seen on the surface as "streaks" or "splay". i'm also surprised they're using lexan. it's not the material i would've chosen. true, it's strong but ABS would've been a better choice for chemical, flex, and price properties (about 50%~60% of lexan). lexan is a better heat properties material though but since it's submerged i doubt that's an issue. Link to comment
adinsxq Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 (this is like the aquaglobes thread) Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 ok i want a pump designed by tinywe almost got into some of that. now, i do have the benefit of hindsight and critiqueing from an outside point-of-view so i don't want to be too harsh. brain farts occur all the time. e.g. "they must've had a reason to do that?!" err, riiight. Link to comment
Bobalouy Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 tiny - Do you do product design, or injection molding? I've had a reef related idea I have been tossing around. Maybe you could give me some tips. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 .....which it appears they're designed for but maybe not engineered to do. I like the distinction you made tiny Agreed on the sharp 90 degree angle - you need to add a fillet on the inside of corners like that, even a very small one. Sharp 90 degree features create stress risers, and cause parts to break with much lower force than you'd expect. A great demonstration of stress risers can be done with a 2x4. If you take a 2x4 and lay it flat between two points, like a bridge, you can usually stand on it, unless you're a fat guy like me. The board flexes, but it'll hold. Lets say you want to stop the flexing. A great idea would be to nail a second 2x4 board to the underside of the first board. Being twice as thick now, it'll be stronger for sure. Even I could stand on it now. What if all you had for reinforcement were two peices of 2x4 that were half the length you needed? If you nail on two separate peices on the underside of the board, you now concentrate the stress on a single point in the center, instead of distributing it along the entire board. The 2x4 is made weaker by ADDING material intended for reinforcement. Now the board will snap like a twig if you step on it. Link to comment
formerly icyuodd/icyoud2 Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 well to get to the bottom of this, i tore the pieces apart (glue takes 24hours to cure) it seems the area's in question are a sharp 90*. took these pic's of what i believe to be the entry/exit points of the plastic in the mold. (small blemish center) one good thing did become of this. i had to temp. set up a borrowed light from a friend until mine dries out/ is replaced. but i've desided my tank will look much better with a pendant (just wasnt happy with the canopy) anyway this little mishap got me motivated. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 "sharp angle mistake" like nman noted but in better techno-lingo. took these pic's of what i believe to be the entry/exit points of the plastic in the mold. (small blemish center) that's a "tunnel gate" or "submarine gate", depending on who you talk to in the industry. it self-shears itself as the part is ejected. nice clean design that i often use but not optimal for PC. creates too much shear heat (not related to the term just used though) in the material itself from squeezing thru such a small aperture. that's the first thing the GE Lexan engineer would note. (btw the current GE field tech/engineer is coincidentally german! i know him personally. tunze is german. ok, maybe that wasn't so interesting.) that gating method may have created sheer heat stresses that weakened the part too. but i think the 90-degree thing is more likely, altho the gate doesn't help. jeebus, now my work is trickling into my fun. i hate tunze now for doing that. one good thing did become of this. i had to temp. set up a borrowed light from a friend until mine dries out/ is replaced.the bulb might be "scarred" from the splash. surprised it didn't burst. Link to comment
formerly icyuodd/icyoud2 Posted January 31, 2007 Author Share Posted January 31, 2007 i was totally surprized it didnt bust, it was my understanding it didnt take much of a temp drop to shatter tempered glass. it soaked the bulb but only for a few seconds before it tripped the breaker and i unplugged the tunze. (happened almost at the same time. water got right into the socket and sparked like crazy, so i'm not sure it will even work again. i had the canopy door open. it would have exploded in my face. i consider myself very lucky. Link to comment
tinyreef Posted January 31, 2007 Share Posted January 31, 2007 i had the canopy door open. it would have exploded in my face.i consider myself very lucky. agreed, that could've been very messy for you! *tunze-attorneys-breathe-relief-whew!* Link to comment
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