Impeller not spinning

[followthattrail]

Hi All!
I have an Emperor 400 on a 55 gallon tank. It has worked flawlessly for about five years with nothing but filter changes. I am having a problem with the impeller. It turns great but not when the housing is around it.

The whole setup was running nice and quiet while I was sitting nearby the tank watching television, when suddenly Emperor made a quite rattling noise and stopped working. I noticed that there was no water running from under the bio wheel. I took the filter to the sink and dismantled it. I tested the motor with the impeller sitting in the well, and it spun great. As soon as I replaced the housing that keeps it from floating away, it wouldn't budge. It seems that something in the housing is keeping the impeller from moving. I am just guessing.

I have examined the housing parts and cleaned the crevices with a cue tip. I don't have live plants and everything seemed perfectly clear. There were no blockages. I am not sure how much the impeller itself is supposed to move. The paddle wheel rotates backward and forward but does not spin all the way around (kind of like a radio volume knob.) There is a rubber tip on each end that I assume is to grip and prevent the whole impeller from spinning, but I am not sure. I don't want to order another impeller due to the long transit time of the mail. I would prefer to just fix it now myself so my fish aren't without filtration. Its already been 24 hours.

Do I need to clean the black rubber band tips with alcohol or something? They seem pretty thin, like the width of a rubber band. I have looked at the part online but don't see anything that looks different from mine.

Thanks in advance for any insight or suggestions.

 

[bbortko]

The impeller is the rotator section of an electric motor, the well the impeller sits in is the stator. Did you clean out the spray bars? Maybe they're clogged preventing the impeller from moving water and since the impeller is still pulling in water the pressure is preventing the impeller from spinnin.

 

[kdrun76]

The impellar should freely spin on the little metal stick. If its not spinning in your hand, it won't spin in there either.

 

[ar0wan]

Impellers will need replaced eventually but with good maintenance
in my experience they should last 10+ years of constant use

 

[followthattrail]

The impellar should freely spin on the little metal stick. If its not spinning in your hand, it won't spin in there either.

The impeller blades that look like a paddle wheel, move freely about 300 degrees in either direction. The spray bars are clean so that is not the problem. This issue occurs even when the spray bars are not attached. I test it in the kitchen sink where I have light to see.

I have been told by a local aquarium shop (who doesn't stock the part) that the impeller is supposed to be able to come apart for cleaning. Despite all my tugging I cannot get the magnet to separate from the blades. Do you have any idea how to take an impeller apart?

 

[ar0wan]

Some come apart easily the rest are not supposted to come off
I don't use the Emperor so I'm not sure if it is designed
to spin on the rod or if the whole rod spins