[bcreque]

Hi,

I bought a used Magnum 350 from someone online, when I arrived to pick it up, it was not in working order. The impeller seems to be "stuck" in the motor housing... so instead of being able to simply pull it out, it is like it is drilled in rather than magnetically held in. Obviously, it won't work either...

Any ideas on why it may be "stuck" like that? He said it had worked fine a week before I had come to pick it up. Any ideas on what I might try to do to potentially fix it?

On a side note, he went ahead and let me have it (the broken one) and sent me another much less used one that works perfect. I still would like to make an attempt to fix the one that isn't working if at all possible.

Thanks,
Bryant

 

[distrbd]

I have 2 mag.350 and have never ever had the impeller stuck the way you are discribing.can you turn the impeller blades by hand ?
Be very careful not to bend or damage the shaft.there is a rubber cap right at the other end of the shaft ,that might be the one that is stuck .

 

[GDominy]

The impeller in my Magnum 350 got stuck because it ended up getting some sand stuck in it from one of my tanks. This is actually a fairly common problem simply because the impeller well is at the bottom of the canister.

Its entirely possible that something similar may have happened to yours. Have you tried getting it wet to see if it loosens up? It might just ned some brute force (carefully) to pull it out of the well.

 

[distrbd]

The impeller simply can not be drilled to the motor housing or held by any other means other than the rubber and the magnet.even if some sand is stuck in there ,it should still move or come out if its carefully wiggled.
I would like to know how this is resolved,please let us know.

 

[bcreque]

Trust me, I've tried the brute force tactic... even beyond 'careful' since I wasn't too terribly concerned if I messed it up further. I used some needlenose pliers to try to pull out with a good grip... nothing. I put some water in it for an hour or so earlier today and it didn't do any good, maybe I should try soaking it overnight and see if that by some chance makes a difference. ????

I also have tried wiggling it, etc. I can turn the blades about 3/4 quarter turn or so and then it stops...

Like I said, he said he it ran fine a week before I picked it up. He said the only thing he could think of that messed it up is there was a very small amount of water in it (it just wasn't completely dry anyway) when he stored it in the garage. It got well below freezing... but I wouldn't think that would do any permanent damage... at least not to the point where it would cause it not to be able to be removed (the impeller).

 

[distrbd]

This is really strange isn't it.What I would do now is pour some hot hot water in the cavity where the impeller sits and then try wiggling it and see if you can move it ,.I have a feeling the magnet has swelled up a bit and is sticking to the wall around it.

 

[bcreque]

Distrbd, that seems like a good possibility.

I tried using almost scalding hot water... no luck.
I let it soak in hot water overnight (of course it slowly cooled) and had no luck this morning. Any other ideas? I'm almost to the point of carefully drilling it out and seeing if I can prevent further damage, then order a new impeller if that is the only piece needing replacement.

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

Have you tried soaking with a high concentration of distilled white vinegar and water?

 

[bcreque]

Thanks for the suggestion Annie. I will try that later today/tonight.

-Bryant

 

[elpezpr]

A similar thing happened to me. I used the 350 to do water polishing after I cleaned my reef. The impeller got stuck and when I pulled it out I found that the magnet on the impeller had exploded into a big ball of rust and broke the plastic housing it sits on.

 

[AnneRiceBowl]

If you do let it soak in the vinegar, soak it over night. For some reason, this has worked for me. I'm assuming the vinegar broke down whatever build up was on and around the impeller.

 

[bcreque]

Just started soaking it... we'll see how it worked or didn't work in the morning. Thanks a lot for the help guys.

 

[distrbd]

If vinegar didn't work,try using some CLR,calcium,lime build up remover.

 

[aquarium boy]

have you tried to just get it out? i bet you could buy a new propeller
for it. if you cant get it out just yank it out with some pliers. (if thats even possible iv never seen a mag filter's insides)

 

[bcreque]

have you tried to just get it out? i bet you could buy a new propeller
for it. if you cant get it out just yank it out with some pliers. (if thats even possible iv never seen a mag filter's insides)

Yes, as said earlier in the thread, I've used brute force with pliers. It is in there gooooooood. If I can't get it out, I'll just try to drill it out somehow, but don't want to damage the working part(s).

 

[Rex Grigg]

I'm thinking that the water freezing could have damaged the seat somehow.

 

[bcreque]

No luck still on getting this thing out... any remaining ideas?