[enz660]

Just that. There are sometimes small dribbles of water that leak out at the area where the lid is sealed with the canister but more specifically around some of the nuts that hold the lid. All the nuts are fully tightened as well.

I'm thinking about just putting a silicone around the areas so there's no chance at all for leaks

edit: here are some photos of the filter:

http://img13.imageshack.us/g/img0095pm.jpg/

 

[OverStocked]

Is the rubber seal in place? Is the lid seated firmly? A little vaseline or food grade silicone grease would help. I would not use silicone sealant... you'd have trouble opening it.

How tightly did you screw the lid down. It should be firm.

When in doubt, start again.

 

[RickRS]

Not a odyssea user, but any signs of tears or distortion in the o-ring are reason to replace if the seal is leaking. Silicone grease or vaseline will help to some degree, so try that.

Distortion would be flat spots or pinched areas in the round cross section of the o-ring.

 

[Wasserpest]

You have to be careful not to overtighten the screws, also follow the procedure that gunner described in the CFS500 review thread. Basically screw them down across from each other so the lid doesn't get distorted.

Keep in mind too that when the filter runs, the lid is pulled against the canister body, so there won't be leaks (until the power goes out).

I have mine sitting in a salad bowl to catch any occasional drip. :wink:

 

[bklyndrvr]

i don't own one yet, but am thinking of purchasing one, it looks like the cover doesn't sit flush on the body. Is that normal?

 

[enz660]

alright, i put aquarium silicone under, on top, and all around the rubber o rings. In addition to that, I added MORE silicone on the outside of the filter between the lid and the canister. The only way this thing will leak is if someone starts shooting holes in it now.

Wont open it up for several months anyway since all I have is one red ear slider.

 

[Wasserpest]

i don't own one yet, but am thinking of purchasing one, it looks like the cover doesn't sit flush on the body. Is that normal?

Yes... the cover isn't perfectly stiff, so it bends a bit where the screws are located. I think it's normal since mine looks like it, but doesn't leak. The leaking might have a lot to do with how you attach the cover. If you are familiar with putting tires on a car you know what I mean.

I tighten the screws VERY lightly, to keep the bending to a minimum.

 

[sns26]

I'm having these same lid leak problems and haven't found a solution that makes me comfortable. The only way I can stop my leaks is to tighten the screws pretty firmly. By "pretty firmly" I mean that the lid is obviously distorted--there is very little gap between the lid and canister body where the screws are, but a noticeable gap in between the screw locations.

I see that some of you are only tightening your lids very lightly. Mine just spews water out when I do that. I think I am going to make one of those plywood rings to help distribute the clamping pressure more evenly so I feel more comfy really tightening the screws. Right now I worry a lot that the lid will crack on me and dump 50 gallons of water on my living room floor. Better a slow drip that I know about then a catastrophic one that surprises me.

I don't know why these things would matter, but I point them out in case you think they do. I am currently in testing mode, so there is no media in my filter right now. Also, I've plumbed my filter directly into tank bulkheads, like so. (Obviously the lid isn't tightened in this picture.)

 

[fresh.salty]

Looks like they should have beefed up the plastic and raised the price another $2.00. With distortion in the plastic like that the position of the gasket might need to remain constant after each opening. The rubber seal is being compressed far more at each of the hold-down screws. If the gasket is rotated the seal may not have enough "memory" to fill the gap if it's located at another point.

Also I think there's a point of diminishing returns as far as tightening. You may be pulling it together at a screw contact point but at the same time forcing the space in between upwards.

I think I am going to make one of those plywood rings to help distribute the clamping pressure more evenly so I feel more comfy really tightening the screws.

Thant should help if you could use 3/8" or better. That is if the screws are long enough to get over the top of that extra thickness.

 

[sns26]

Looks like they should have beefed up the plastic and raised the price another $2.00.

Amen to that. Well, I have easy access to a bandsaw, so if the plywood ring trick solves the problem I won't complain too much. This was $100 cheaper than the next option.

 

[xmas_one]

Just from looking at your photos, it looks like you tightened the lid way too tight. Those knobs just need to be snug, tighter than that and you just start warping the lid.

 

[sns26]

Just from looking at your photos, it looks like you tightened the lid way too tight. Those knobs just need to be snug, tighter than that and you just start warping the lid.

Those aren't my pictures, but they might as well be--mine looks just the same. I would love to leave the knobs looser, but it leaks when I do. My procedure is to start with the knobs just barely snug, open the filter valves (at which point the leaks start) then tighten the knobs in a criss-cross fashion (like putting on a tire) until the leaks stop. But by that time, my lid looks like the pictures above, and the knobs are more than just "very lightly" tightened. They are what I would call medium hand tight.

 

[Wasserpest]

Check the big CFS thread... Gunner described how to use a wooden ring to prevent bowing and leaking.

 

[DvsDev]

I actually don't have one of these filters but I was thinking, why don't you just get rid of the o-ring and replace it with a larger thicker rubber gasket, make it like a big beefed up o-ring.
Take the lid off, flip the filter upside down and trace around it, make a circle inside that shape that will allow the lid to fit properly, transfer that to some nice thick rubber and cut that out, I'd use 3-4mm rubber (sorry i'm not too flash with imp. measurements).
Chuck that on and see if it leaks, if you use a nice soft(ish) rubber it will spill down into the o-ring groove for a good tight seal.

I don't know if this will work but I thought it wouldn't hurt to try.

 

[sns26]

I think I've licked my problem - I used a modified version of the plywood ring mod to redistribute the clamping pressure more evenly. Whole thing seems happier now. I posted pictures in the main filter thread -- I think it's reply #230 or so.

 

[150EH]

Someone needs to make a metal washer to fix the problem, the lid is just too soft and you can see the distortion in the photo, like wasserpest said it may pull tight and work better if not overtightend but what about a power failure.

I've only heard of these filters in the last few months, first was from a member in India, then a budget build in the states claims they really suck, like in good power, so there gotta be sum'n we can rig it wit.

 

[150EH]

Links!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!ahhhhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!, sorry.

 

[CWO4GUNNER]

FIX!

I managed to make time today to DIY the lid support flange I had been speaking about using 7/16" plywood, a drill, drill hole-saw, and a small jig-saw. Taking me all of about 20 minutes to make. The end result worked much better then I expected sine I only needed to barely tighten the nuts and it was leak free right from the start, no extra tightening here-and-there which is a good sign I think. Since the plywood was almost 1/2" thick I had to pop the nuts out of the orange plastic nobs to make more room for the threads, later I will pickup some more wing-nuts to make for easier lid removal.

This new lid was black in color and surprisingly the O-rings were the correct size this time. Let me add that my other CFS500 who's lid cracked 6 months ago was also replaced and that new replacement lid has not cracked yet even with regular mounting. So I suppose this new style wood flange I made today is a precaution in the hopes of eliminating lid stress cracks altogether as seen in one photo below. Hope this post helps. Now at least the entire lid shares in the load of pressing the O-rings not just the edges of the canister which caused the cracks.

 

[sns26]

I'm glad the new reinforcing "disk" approach is working--I may try it myself. BUT I will point out again that the real problem is not lid deformation. It is deformation of the canister body where the bottom of the retention screws attach.

Put another way, my lid doesn't bow downward at the places where the nuts pull down. The canister bends upward at the place where the screws are pulling UP. I can think of no good way to reinforce against that problem.

 

[bsmith]

Wow!!!

I'm going to Favorite this thread for anyone thinking about buying one of these "top quality" filters.

Another reason I always suggest Eheim, you never have to mess with it.

Good luck on fixing the issue!