steven@reev.com

Not weird at all. Most of them do that. The fix I found is to stick your finger in there to stop the propellor, then when you release it, it will usually run forward. And you'll have to check them every time they stop or restart.

Yep, what Phil said. In my experience the MaxiJets restart backwards about 1/2 the time as well. Only thing I've found to get the MJ's to go forward is to restart them (sometimes multiple times) until they run forward. Don't know what causes the MJ's and Koralia's to start backwards. Never had a problem with the AquaRio or MagDrive pumps.?

Blakew

Yes, very common with the korcheapos...Incidentally I don't have that problem with the Vortechs, They just seem to leave your wallet flat. I guess they help with posture in that sense.

Originally Posted by Alaska_Phil

Not weird at all. Most of them do that. The fix I found is to stick your finger in there to stop the propellor, then when you release it, it will usually run forward. And you'll have to check them every time they stop or restart.

I appreciate your reply but I would not call that a fix at all. this is what I have been doing however when you have them on an alternating power system to help randomize waterflow they come on and off many times an hour so this is just not feasible. i also would not call them cheap at 70$ bucks each. I do suppose that in comparison to Vortechs they are cheap.

In all seriousness, I think Koralia has a fix for that. I thought they corrected the problem, it could be that you got a pump that has been on a shelf for awhile. So try contacting Koralia. I think it has to do with the fact that the motor is an AC motor instead of a DC one.

Originally Posted by Midnight

In all seriousness, I think Koralia has a fix for that. I thought they corrected the problem, it could be that you got a pump that has been on a shelf for awhile. So try contacting Koralia. I think it has to do with the fact that the motor is an AC motor instead of a DC one.

Interesting. I have two that are doing this. they ran fine before.

While I understand that $70 may not be pocket change, the Koralia pumps are far "cheaper" than any other version of "reliable" controllable alternating speed pump...there is a reason that they don't cost as much. It is a known problem with these pumps, even the "supposedly controllable" evolution version. As with anything, you can find reviews and some people who say they work fine, but by far most of reviews I read when researching them suggested that they (1) sometimes don't restart (mine don't restart all the time) and (2) restart backward quite often (mine does). After having one, I'm sold on the idea that even at $285 for the smallest vortech, it's worth it to have a reliable pump that does exactly what it's advertised to do.

YMMV, but unfortunately I don't know of a "fix" for either of these problems. Have you tried contacting Hydor?

Blakew

Although I know this doesn't help with your specific pumps, if you want a cheaper alternative to Vortechs or Tunzes, you could try the 12v Koralias with a Hydor wave maker. Those pumps are supposed to be designed to work with a wave maker type device. The price for those is still fairly steep though.

Blakew

It's a cheap single phase AC motor without any starting coil or circuiting. So they run backwards just as well as forwards. Just depends on the position it stops in whether it starts forward or backwards.