I just bought a Pentair Aquatics Q1 9000 pump off ebay, that was missing all the accessories. The pump is very clean, and even smells new, was in original packaging, etc. When I plug it in, it pumps very well sometimes, but other times when I start it up, it cycles off and on a number of times before deciding it's happy and pumps continuously. I thought at furst this was an auto purging thing, but it doesn't do it every time, and sometimes it does it for quite a while before pumping normally. Anyone ever had this kind of problem? I've emailed pentair, but I don't think they will warranty it since it's from Ebay.
problem with a brand new quietone 9000
- Thread starter cvermeulen
- Start date
I haven't taken anything apart. Mechanically the pump appears to function just fine, it does actually pump fluid during these short bursts, but then it stops and goes silent for about a second, then starts again, and so forth.
There is a guy on Ebay who sells factory returned merchandice...including quiet one pumps. These are all warrantee returns and NOT covered by the manufacturer. He usually lists why each one was returned but its lower down on the page. Something to remember when finding a bargan on Ebay...
I got a response from pentair. This IS a customer return, but not a warranty return as far as I can tell. The pump has some kind of sensor in it, instead of one of those anooying ratcheting mechanisms for startup. Instead of the pump grinding until it finds the right direction, it starts up, and can somehow tell whether it's turning the right way or not. If not, it stops and tries again. I thought the pump was working properly because it pumps fluid even if it's spinning backwards (the beauty of impeller pumps). It pumps distinctly MORE fluid when turning the right way though, so I think it's OK. The rep from pentair said it was normal, so I guess I'll be installing my new sump soon! 
Yeah...my 2 Q9000's does it all the time. Only now and then am I lucky enuff to get the pump going the first shot. The noise is not that bad...I placed a stryofoam sheet under the two pumps and it helped a little.
The main thing that helped that I noticed is, one of my Q9000 is connected to my sump via a union and the other Q9000 is connected with a short piece of tubing. Guess what...the one connected with the tubing is quieter. I assumed that the one that is connected via a union is cause more vibration hence the louder noise than the tube connected pump.
Only reason I did this was the two bulkheads I drilled and put on my sump is a little closer because I originally had the plan to go with Mag 1800 and 2400 (which by the way is waaayyyy louder than the quiet 9000's).
All in all, the Q9000 is a sweet pump and does the job well considering I have it running to two tanks (240 and 125).
Usually within 15-20 seconds the pumps start pumping at full throttle.
The main thing that helped that I noticed is, one of my Q9000 is connected to my sump via a union and the other Q9000 is connected with a short piece of tubing. Guess what...the one connected with the tubing is quieter. I assumed that the one that is connected via a union is cause more vibration hence the louder noise than the tube connected pump.
Only reason I did this was the two bulkheads I drilled and put on my sump is a little closer because I originally had the plan to go with Mag 1800 and 2400 (which by the way is waaayyyy louder than the quiet 9000's).
All in all, the Q9000 is a sweet pump and does the job well considering I have it running to two tanks (240 and 125).
Usually within 15-20 seconds the pumps start pumping at full throttle.