Ecotech Vectra L1 on closed loop Stopped working. Need help

[Ashish Patel]

My Ecotech vectra L1 stopped worked after turning of, it just gave me red/yellow light. I cleaned the pump and it still giving me the error. I contacted ecotech and they send me instructions to have it send back for repair.

The issues is my closed loop is so vital to my flow and I can't afford to spend the retail on a new ecotech right now. I added a 2 jebao to make up the flow, one is on a seasweep so no issues on one side of the tank.

I have a Periha pond pump, which is way more efficient and cheaper would be a good solution, the issue is since its behind the tank I didnt have much room to add space where I could cut out the ecotech unions, and I definately don't feel comfortable not waiting 24 hours for the pvc cement to dry.

Does anyone know a pump that would work with the ecotech vectra l1 pumps?

This is no way bashing Ecotech, I have another vectra m1 that has been running continuously without issues for 7 years. However, that one was not running at near 100% or close to it as this one was. I still am dissapointed that after 2 years it failed to kick on with no visible damages. I think it just overheated and burned out.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Also, I love the flow I was getting from my closed loop, the head pressure was only 16" so the flow was insane. I like ecotech since its easy to adjust the flow on closed loop mode throughout the day. I would hate to run a pump under my stand but since the tank is up and running It will be challenging to do what I did as seen in the above picture. where I was inside the tank fitting and glueing everything.

I am not sure maybe I should just wait for a repair. However, I would not mind improving the closed loop inside the system. For example, I only used the front 2 nozzles of the closed loop. maybe if I add a 4000gph pump I could run more flow nozzles at the back. I worry if i go a pump pond route it maybe too much flow but the periha pump i use for my return moves 6000gph at 120watts. which is double efficiency compared to ecotech.

 

[C_AWOL]

Depending on what generation your periha pump is, its more adjustable than gen 1 (only 3 settings) and would work great for a closed loop if you wanted to make the switch.

Not sure what kind of pvc cement you're planning on using but when I use kristys red hot, it dries extremely fast and I've used it within the half hour of finishing it unlike oateys fusion which takes a lot longer (I use this for my builds that arent an on any form of time crunch)

 

[Ashish Patel]

Depending on what generation your periha pump is, its more adjustable than gen 1 (only 3 settings) and would work great for a closed loop if you wanted to make the switch.

Not sure what kind of pvc cement you're planning on using but when I use kristys red hot, it dries extremely fast and I've used it within the half hour of finishing it unlike oateys fusion which takes a lot longer (I use this for my builds that arent an on any form of time crunch)

I'm not sure what generation I got it 2 years ago. Probably 1 since I have another that has more settings. I am worried I am going to set it up and hear alot of noise or vibration. It's hard to tell running from the basement bc of all the other noises but it seems to be very quiet.

I just don't know if I want to hack up my plumbing job, which took me many hours. If ecotech says I have to replace the pump than I will have no choice but If they can fix it for under $200 i would prefer to keep the vectra. The periha would help me out by increasing my flow so I can run it through 4 outlets.

Thanks for the tip on that glue. I will check it out

 

[C_AWOL]

If you're not in a rush then, I would just wait on ecotech to see what they say. If it ends up being a no go, then re-plumbing for whatever periha pump you choose would be a wiser choice since they generally are a lot more affordable to replace if needed and/or parts are fairly inexpensive for the pumps.

 

[mfinn]

The L1's did have a heat problem and it sounds like you had about average life on yours. I had 2 and each lasted about 1 year. The L2's seem to last longer with the modifications ETM did.
If you are lucky they may offer a decent discount on a L2.

 

[Ashish Patel]

If you're not in a rush then, I would just wait on ecotech to see what they say. If it ends up being a no go, then re-plumbing for whatever periha pump you choose would be a wiser choice since they generally are a lot more affordable to replace if needed and/or parts are fairly inexpensive for the pumps.

I think I am going to wait and see...I just checked out all my closed loop and it would be very difficult, time consuming, and costly to re-due the closed loop. I would have to change the configuration of my closed loop to replace the pump.

I also would have to hack my mixing vat where the periha is currently and would end up having to eventually replace all those fitting and pump. Basically its in my best interest to see what ecotech says first.

If i could go back I would 100% have used the Periha pump on my closed loop. The ecotech reefcreast mode on a closed loop is amazing but since my closed loop has seaswirls I don't think it would matter much if I ran a periha on constant speed. I could always direct additional flow to the back of the system, something I can't do right now since I am running about 1400gph (at 100% max) from 1 seaswirl nozzle on a educator. It creates massive flow but my periha would allow me to run more flow, so I still would consider it, just wish i could test it first,.

 

[Ashish Patel]

The L1's did have a heat problem and it sounds like you had about average life on yours. I had 2 and each lasted about 1 year. The L2's seem to last longer with the modifications ETM did.
If you are lucky they may offer a decent discount on a L2.

Average life? 2 years for a $550 pump is wild! . I just checked I do have the L2. I expect minimum 5 years! I have a Vectra M1 running on my other system running without issues for 7 years. I am not running the M1 pump that high speed so that maybe is the reason but if a pump can't handle being ran at a 100% than it should be dialed back a little so 100% is not going to overheat the pump.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Also, I am not evening running much head pressure, only 18". I know people have issues with products and just throw in the towel. However, Ecotech customer support is top notch even outside of warranty period, I am curious if anyone else has send their burned out L2 and gotten it fixed

 

[Ashish Patel]

Also I have a Vectra L2, Not L1!

 

[C_AWOL]

You're very likely to get over 2 years of use from an L2. L1 did commonly have overheating issues though.

 

[mfinn]

Average life? 2 years for a $550 pump is wild! . I just checked I do have the L2. I expect minimum 5 years! I have a Vectra M1 running on my other system running without issues for 7 years. I am not running the M1 pump that high speed so that maybe is the reason but if a pump can't handle being ran at a 100% than it should be dialed back a little so 100% is not going to overheat the pump.

The first generation of L series pumps had a heating flaw that cut the life short on many of them.
I may have over exaggerated the failure rate, but it seemed like alot did. I had 2 L1's that each last 1 year. ETM was fast on the replacement, but when the second one failed and they sent me a new L2, I sold it and bought a RD3 80 watt pump.
I have a M1 that's been running 7-8 years ( I forget exactly) and from the threads I've seen they fixed the issue.

 

[Ashish Patel]

I send the pump back to Ecotech, they are going to fix it and ship back at No Charge.
Once again Ecotech wins for best customer support! They even nudged support to try to get me an answer in 1 days instead of the standard 7-10 business days.

 

[Ashish Patel]

Ecotech send out a new pump today! I just can't believe how great a company is to send out a new pump that has been used for 26 months with no charge. I would say Coralvue are similiar that they stand behind their products and offer outstanding customer support. I can tell when the owners of these companies are hobbyist since they know the sense of urgency and react fast to get us back up and running.

 

[1000rrstunna]

Ecotech send out a new pump today! I just can't believe how great a company is to send out a new pump that has been used for 26 months with no charge. I would say Coralvue are similiar that they stand behind their products and offer outstanding customer support. I can tell when the owners of these companies are hobbyist since they know the sense of urgency and react fast to get us back up and running.

Glad you had good results. It took 6 weeks to fix my mp 40’s and the first time they sent them back UN FIXED first bad experience it’s usually great like you said.

 

[mfinn]

Ecotech send out a new pump today! I just can't believe how great a company is to send out a new pump that has been used for 26 months with no charge. I would say Coralvue are similiar that they stand behind their products and offer outstanding customer support. I can tell when the owners of these companies are hobbyist since they know the sense of urgency and react fast to get us back up and running.

I've always had a good experience with Ecotech. They have always been fast to respond to replacements, even out of warranty equipment.

 

[piranhaman00]

I would take this opportunity to switch to Jebao and not have to deal with this again.

 

[Bruttall]

I would take this opportunity to switch to Jebao and not have to deal with this again.

jeboa are disposable, unreliable and cheaply made, you get what ya pay for. In no catagory does a Jeboa pump even come close to an Ecotech. There is a really good reason a 3100gph Eco costs $500 and a 3100gph Jeboa cost's $100.

I've had an Ecotech L1 running for close to 10 years now, at 100%. First 5 years on Freshwater, sat dry for 3yrs and now 14months in on salt.
In this same amount of time I have burned up 3 jeboa pumps, dcp2500, dct6000, and dct8000.