Isubya Posted August 26, 2013 Report Share Posted August 26, 2013 Hi Guys My Eheim 2217 suddenly stopped working a few weeks ago, I checked the impeller shaft and it seems to be fine and there is no air locked in the filter. I never really tried to fix it as I had other filters to go when this broke. Now I am in dire situation to get this up and running again. Any suggestions as to what might have gone wrong? I bought this filter 3 years ago (used) and it was used for approx 12 months when I bought it I guess(that's what the seller told me). Your suggestions will be much appreciated. Thanks Subbu Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saczel Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 Could be the impellor itself has gone belly up. My brother in law had a old filter(not ehiem) given to him and it would not work with the old impellor but he bought a new one and it came good, still working as far as i know. The magnets in the impellor can de-charge over time and if left on a metallic surface, so the motor basically can't work. If you pull it apart and look at the impellor when quickly turned on it should vibrate quite noticably so you know the motor is good, if not try another impellor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kasman Posted August 31, 2013 Report Share Posted August 31, 2013 not much can really go wrong with them, itd usually be one of 2 things, like sarczel said its your impellor or the motor itself. Does it make a noise and vibrate when its turned on? Does it flow any water at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsaltytears Posted March 2, 2014 Report Share Posted March 2, 2014 i have the same problem, mine suddenly stopped working. it is make noise and vibrate but its not pumping water at all even when primed. could someone help? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saczel Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 Have you checked to see if the shaft is broken? It is ceramic and does not like to be handled roughly and if it is ok and the impellor is ok, not falling apart, then the motor must be stuffed but that is pretty rare. I have heard of models from the 70's that are still working so probably something you can see is broken. Try it on another circuit(power point) in another part of the house. Just a thought, but if the impellor is ok does the impellor end(plastic paddle wheel) turn around a bit backwards and forward? If it is tight and not moving that can stop it from working, it needs some free movement to go with the way the motor wants to oscillate. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 It pays to remove and clean your impellor when you clean the filter. Then you will know how to remove and check it, if theres ever filter problems like this. Never run an impellor for more than 30 seconds out of the water, if you can at all avoid it. They are water cooled so the friction running them dry causes, can damage/destroy pump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsaltytears Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 actually a friend of mine gave it to me for free and said it stopped working suddenly. i know he didnt take care of it but ive cleaned it all. impellor shaft is still one piece and good. impellor seems to me be good too, rotates both way, isnt loose. still magnetised, u can feel it being sucked down when entered. what im wondering is, if when i plug it, it does rotate (but makes grinding noise), aint that a proof that the motor is working still? if the motor was dead wouldnt it simply do nothing at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 motor and impellor sound at least functional. I would say theres a blockage in piping or an airleak at a seal or join. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsaltytears Posted March 3, 2014 Report Share Posted March 3, 2014 ive tried to prime it and water seems to flow fine into all pipe (one end to another). can a very small air leak cause the whole thing not to pump water at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Donny@ageofaquariums Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 over time yes. perhaps the impellor is slightly damaged/dirty and is sticking. Still a possibility it hasnt been primed properly. Have you tried putting the output (with spraybar taken off) into an empty bucket, and then putting the empty bucket on the floor? Should syphon through, and remove any airlock. if impellor isnt then pumping, it sounds damaged. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
saczel Posted March 4, 2014 Report Share Posted March 4, 2014 You could try, with it switch off in case it is not insulated(important) and place about 1/2 inch of water into bucket put it inside and turn it on with out holding it so you don't get zapped if it is live. This is without the hoses connected of course and if it is sitting in a little water it should pump out of the top at a reasonable rate, if it works it's ok and the problem is somewhere else. Just don't let the rest of the motor get wet, Switch it off before trying to pick it up just to be safe. There could be a blockage further into the pump head so first blow some air into the outlet connection on top, if you can blow some air through it it's ok. These filters are usually bullet proof so if it is not something you can see it could be the motor or try and borrow another impellor from someone. It has a certain head height as well, probably about 1 meter/3 foot which is how high it can pump uphill, any higher and it will struggle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigsaltytears Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 thanks a lot guys!!! i finally got it to work! removing the spraybar and putting the hose in a bucket on the floor worked just fine. started to pump water again and reduced the noise a lot!! THANKS! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gpodge Posted March 7, 2014 Report Share Posted March 7, 2014 Trapped air bubbles can be the cause of that noise, if you are able to rock the filter sideways back and forth.... kind of vigorously, it will expel the trapped air thru the outlet hose. It should them run noiselessly! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
