The Puffer Forum

Today I went to clean my Eheim Ecco 2236 filter, and found out that my impeller has lost a blade. I'm a bit puzzled as to how, because I just replaced it less than 3 months ago when my old impeller sheared off all 3 blades at the same time... It's still working with just 2 blades, and it's not rattling or anything, but I have to imagine that's throwing it off. I'm thinking about simply trying to make a blade replacement... Those things cost like $35 and to have one snap a blade after less than 3 months is a little upsetting... Naturally, no authorized Eheim repair shops in Houston carry Ecco parts, because they're considered the junk of the Eheim world... So, it's not just the cost, but having to order the impeller that's an issue for me. However, a piece of plastic, and a lathe...

Any thoughts?

-Rob

Look on eBay, you might find one cheaper on there, they have almost everything.

I'm curious though, what is going through your filter that would cause it to lose a blade? I know they are only plastic, but still makes me wonder why that's happening.

Very weird... I've had the same Eheim for 25 years & it never lost a blade. I'd look around inside there.

Could be a snail?

Personally, I'm guessing snail. I don't know what else could ever get near the impeller. I have the standard Eheim filter media that comes with the filter, and the Eheim pads, plus a sponge prefilter. I mean, I thought the impeller was designed with the blades able to twist on it specifically for the event of snail impact... So, I'm seriously considering fabricating my own set of blades, and just cutting them a little thicker than the originals.

-Rob

Good luck with that, hopefully it will work

The impellers spin so fast that if there is anything that throws them off balance they will shear. Check to see if there is a ceramic sleeve or a part that holds the end of the shaft securely in the housing. If there should be one and it's damaged it could be casing enough vibration to shear a blade.

Ok, I just looked and the Ehienm impeller has a ceramic shaft that runs through the center of the magnet and in to the blades with a rubber end cap on each end. Really inspect the ceramic shaft and the end caps to make sure they aren't damaged and throwing the blades off balance causing them to shear.

Yeah, I inspected them quite carefully. I took everything apart, and checked to make sure the ceramic shaft was straight, and of even thickness along the full length (seriously, I took out a straight edge and a micrometer). Everything but the snapped blade looks fine. The rubber caps are good, the shaft is good, the magnet is good, there are no bumps or warped areas I can spot on anything in the housing... I still have that thing running, and it hasn't sheared off another blade yet. I'm hoping to get the chance to try fabbing new blades later this week. It's just so annoying. I like Eheim, but I could never in good conscience recommend an Ecco to anyone (the impeller's not the first problem I've had).

-Rob

I have heard that about the Ecco. I don't know where they fall in the quality line of Eheim filters....

Well, I decided that I would just go buy a new Eheim filter today to replace my Ecco. I figured that If I had to pay $35 for a new impeller and $10 for a new shaft, plus shipping plus wait for it to arrive, I would simply be happier to buy a new filter and get a warranty...

So I went down to my local Petsmart, and grabbed the filter I wanted, and bought it, and took it home and opened the box and...

...There was an old broken filter sitting in the box...

Apparently someone pulled a fast one on Petsmart. So, I took it back, and explained to them what had happened, and talked to a couple of managers about it. Naturally they didn't have any more filters in stock, so they called the next closest Petsmart (which I frequent as well). That store doesn't even carry Eheim filters. So they called the next closest and that store told them they had 2 in stock. So, instead of giving me my money back (I think they thought I was scamming them), Petsmart gave me a gift card, and told me I should go to the other store (only about 10 miles away)... Of course, by this time it was almost 4, and there was no way I was gonna hop on I-10 in Houston at 4pm on a Thursday... So, now I have a Petsmart giftcard, and I kinda just want my money back, cause I know Petco sells Eheim, and so do a couple LFS, and they're all way closer to me than the Petsmart that has the filter I wanted.

Sad thing is I've worked retail, and I know the first rule of returns is ALWAYS inspect the merchandise.

On the plus side, I did manage to get my hands on a broken Eheim 2217 impeller from a friend right after the whole Petsmart fiasco (it had been dropped and the magnet had split in two), and with a little modification with a Dremel, I got the impeller blades from the 2217 to fit on my 2236 impeller. It's currently on my filter, and spinning away nice and quiet (for the moment). I only consider this a temporary fix. I may still go get that other filter tonight, or tomorrow...

-Rob

1st of all, it;s a good thing they believe d you... yo could have been stuck with that one, since you didn't look it over before you bought it. Good lesson!

2nd, shame on them for taking it back from the thief w/o inspecting that everything was in the box that should have been. It would have also been easy for any thief to buy the filter & switch impellers on them, putting a broken one back in there.

Pufferpunk wrote:It would have also been easy for any thief to buy the filter & switch impellers on them, putting a broken one back in there.

Hmmm... Maybe that's what I should've done!
j/k

-Rob

All this sounds too familiar. I've replaced the impeller/shaft/blades on my 2236 many times in the past. Duration of the blades varies each time. For a while, eheim would send replacement blades free of charge (no magnet, no shaft). None the less, it is a hassle to replace several times a year. Just yesterday, I found all 3 blades sheared off again. I'm tired of this BS and will start shopping for another filter. It's a shame since the filter has been great otherwise. Of course, now I'm a bit leery of eheim product. Why did you decide on another eheim and which model did you choose?

Like I said, I have been using Eheim filters for >30 years. Never lost a single impeller blade, although did replace one on the 30 year old filter before I finally sold it.