why is this pump so LOUD?!?!

[Saurk]

I have a ViaAqua 1300 pump in my water-cooling rig, and the pump has suddenly gotten rather loud. It used to be much quieter than all the fans, now it drowns them out. I even have to unplug it at night because of the noise, where I used to leave it on without being able to even hear it. Has this happened to other people with this kind of pump? I haven't had it that long; maybe 4-5 months. Does anyone have recommendations for a better pump?

 

[soja]

Are you running inline or submerged? I've been running mine about 4 months submerged and just converted to inline. The via aqua is supposively supposed to be run submerged even though many users have ran it for about a year inline with no problems. Have you tried the impeller mod? If that doesn't help I guess it's time for a new pump. The vias aren't known for reliability anyway. You might want to check out eheim, danner mag drives, and hydors to name a couple. I'm going to go with a quiet one 1200 myself if this via dies on me anytime soon (hopefully not).

 

[fell8]

Did you check the coolant level?

 

[GAZZA]

Originally posted by: soja
Are you running inline or submerged? I've been running mine about 4 months submerged and just converted to inline. The via aqua is supposively supposed to be run submerged even though many users have ran it for about a year inline with no problems. Have you tried the impeller mod? If that doesn't help I guess it's time for a new pump. The vias aren't known for reliability anyway. You might want to check out eheim, danner mag drives, and hydors to name a couple. I'm going to go with a quiet one 1200 myself if this via dies on me anytime soon (hopefully not).

From what I've read regarding this pump it does sound like soja has spotted the answer, sounds like you have a lot of play in the impeller and may need to mod it, or get a new pump (eheim - 1048 best bang for the buck).
Also what coolant are you running ?

 

[Saurk]

Coolant level is good (it never changes, so - no leaks) I use distilled water and water wetter.

I am running he Via aqua pump inline. But the pump shouldn't be able to tell the difference, 'cause I modified the intake to have a small reservior (holds ~ 1/2 req'd volume, so it's not optimal). The thing is, this setup USED to be really quiet. One day the pump just started being loud. Temps are the same, but it's loud enough to really annoy me, so I have to fix it.

I guess you guys are right, probly it's the impeller has become loose. Pisses me off though, since the pump is only ~ 5 months. I'm temped to get a different pump, rather than spend time trying to fix it.

Thanks for the replies!

 

[GAZZA]

Did you use distilled water with an addiitve like waterwetter or antifreeze ?
It's possible your impeller shaft has rusted if you only used normal tap water.

 

[Saurk]

I use distilled H2O w/ water wetter.

I'm pretty sure the shaft is ceramic. I did open it up when I did the reservior mod, and I think it was ceramic. The magnet may have corroded, or just got some wear. I used to leave it on most of the time. This pump is supposed to be compatible with fresh/saltwater aquariums (aren't those aquarium pumps on all the time?) so I would think corrosion and wear should have been considered when they designed the thing.

I think the pump has become even louder, if that's at all possible.

I looked at some of the other pump suggestions. The Eheims are expensive! At least twice the price I paid for the Via Aqua. I might try out the "quiet one 1200". It's about the same price as the via aqua, and it's advertised as inline compatible and QUIET. Maybe I'll just have to see about that.

 

[soja]

Yep, give it a try. I've heard of it runing in aquariums for years without a hitch.