# Hmm a little concerned about my new (second hand) Eheim 2317 filter.



## ojustaboo (8 Oct 2017)

Am in the process of installing it, the lead was miles too long, and as it was joined in the middle, decided that was a good point to cut it.

I then went to take the plug off the end and found the (13 amp) fuse was wrapped in silver foil (see attached)

Will see what happens with a proper fuse but a little worried.


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## John S (8 Oct 2017)

Where did you get that from? That's terrible, a good job you wanted to shorten the lead of you might of unknowingly been running it like that.


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## MarkyP (8 Oct 2017)

If the previous owner had wrapped foil around the fuse would lead me to think there was a problem with filter blowing fuses, try running with the correct rate fuse should not be 13 amp more like a 3 amp or 5 amp fuse and see if if it blows


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## ojustaboo (8 Oct 2017)

Ebay

The seller has 100% positive feedback and has been a member for many years and sells a lot of stuff like this, it's possible he himself wasn't aware.

Just need to work out what the correct fuse should be.   Amps =  volts divided by watts.  That means 240v / 250w = 1.04 hence a 3amp fuse?    Seeing as it has a heater like a kettle element, I would have thought it a little higher than that, but that's what the maths imply?


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## ian_m (8 Oct 2017)

Yes change to 3A fuse before using. The fuse is to protect the cable, not the end user or equipment as many people think. It is I fire risk if incorrect fuse (or foil) is fitted.


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## MarkyP (8 Oct 2017)

as Ian said 3 amp fuse is the right rating


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## ojustaboo (8 Oct 2017)

Well the more I think about it, the more unhappy I am using it.

Even if it worked for the next two weeks on a 3amp fuse, they obviously put the silver foil on for a reason and chances are a month or two down the line it would blow?

Plus the impeller only has 3 fins on when the 2217/2317 should have 6.  Advert also says ring gasket is in good condition and while it might look fine on the outside edge, it's frayed/cracking on the inside.

And I've just pulled out all the filter media from the canister and the filter screen thingy (bit that keeps media away from pipes) is also broken, see attached pics.

So to get proper flow rate I would need to buy a new impeller, that's £12.99, http://www.eheim-aquarium-parts.co....ic-external-filter-2217-impeller-part-7633590

plus a new seal/gasket that's another £5.99 http://www.eheim-aquarium-parts.co....ernal-filter-main-sealing-gasket-2217-7287148

plus  a new filter screen, also £5.99  http://www.eheim-aquarium-parts.co....7-canister-filter-lattice-screen-part-7275600

plus £2.50 delivery that means I've spent another £27.47 on top of the £64 I paid for it making £91.47  for something that I'm not sure wont start blowing fuses at some point down the line.

Ebay sale said no returns, but also said in good working condition and the ring gasket is in good condition.


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## John S (8 Oct 2017)

Even if it says no returns you should contact the seller to say you are not happy. If you can’t resolve it then raise it with eBay, they are good at sorting this kind of thing out. Also, if you payed with PayPal you should be covered.


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## ojustaboo (8 Oct 2017)

He's replied saying I can return it, he also said,
*
I will just add, I had run out of fuses and seeing your picture it reminded me of this. I had over 2000 gallons of water running in my fish room and this was not the only filter I was using , but needed the filter to keep working on a certain part of my system so that the biological bacteria in the filter did not die, hence the tin foil. I can assure you the filter is not faulty (if this was the case it would have shut down my whole system and put all my fish at risk) Also if this was the case, it would have blown my entire house electrics and this filter has been running for over a year with no leaks. 

I have to say, I am a little confused that your feed back said "Perfect, just as described". Then you have come to me with a return request. I understand regarding your issue with the fuse but the plastic grid would have been visible if damaged on unpacking. Surely you would check for damage before leaving feedback?

If you have another preference of resolving this , please let me know before I instruct the courier.*

That being the case, if it runs fine on a 3amp, do you guys think it's a good risk for me to take?  Not really bothered about the filter grid thingy, can superglue that, and the rubber gasket, well it's got dry so that could have caused the cracking when I removed it to grease it?, the cracking isn't all over and I've filled it with water and it doesn't seem to be leaking.

The only thing I want is a new impeller, as I presume 3 fins wont give me enough flow at the 6?

If it hadn't been for the fuse, the other stuff wouldn't really have bothered me, except for the impeller, providing I'm right thinking that 3 fins reduces the flow?

And yes, silly of me to give feedback before I tested it, but a lot of feedback all 100%, me quickly taking the head off and seeing the filter media inside, I had no reason to doubt it wasn't working as I expected


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## ian_m (8 Oct 2017)

Never seen 6 fins on an impellor. Most are only 3 blades.


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## ojustaboo (8 Oct 2017)

I have another 2217 and that has 6 fins.  I also had to buy a replacement for it as it rattled, official eheim part, that also has 6 fins.

Just found this from another forum (plantedtank.net)  which verifies my concerns.



> My primary intention was to test for flow rates on new filters,with and without filter media,and to see if these filters would actually produce their advertised flow rates.I also conducted tests with and without the included spray bars.Upon close examination of the filters I noticed that the impeller assemblies were identical on both of the filters except for the 2217 having a 6 blade impeller,and the 2215 having 3 blades.I then decided to test the 2215 using the 2217 impeller to overdrive it and to consequently boost the flow rate.I likewise ran a test on the 2217 using the 2215 impeller to under drive it to reduce the flow rate.As I expected,I was able to boost the flow rate significantly on the 2215 using the 2217's impeller assembly,and predictably got a corresponding reduction of the flow rate on the 2217 using the 2215's impeller.



Very undecided on this,  am verging on the side of keeping it as I need a filter quickly and presuming the 3amp fuse works fine, everything else is fixable  (I still have my old 6 fin impeller and could probably take the fins off that and put them in the one in the 2317)


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## John S (8 Oct 2017)

It's a tough call. If it were me I'd return it on the basis that it doesn't sound like the seller looks after his kit. We don't know why the fuse blew and how low long has it run with a lashed up fuse and it should never have had a 13A one fitted in the first place? It could be something with the heater element that causes it to blow? The fact it didn't take his house electronics out or melt the cable is of no consolation to anybody.


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## MarkyP (8 Oct 2017)

I would return it as not fit for purpose with 13 amp fuse wrapped in foil and it is a obviously a problem with filter.


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## ojustaboo (8 Oct 2017)

Yep I think you are both right, I will return it .


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## ricky tango (8 Oct 2017)

sales of goods act covers that , even tho its second hand , eBay will side with you as not fit for purpose


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## ojustaboo (8 Oct 2017)

He's happy to arrange a courier and refund me, but seems pissed off that I gave him good feedback when I'm not happy.  I explained to him that it arrived, I had a quick glance, all seemed fine, he has a perfect record, obviously deals in fish stuff by his ebay name, hence had no reason to doubt it would work when I plugged it in.

I used a comment I read somewhere on here (think it was one of the mods) and have said to him, 



> in reality, a external filter is a bucket with a pump on it. It arrived very quickly, I saw the filter media in it, all looked like photos. Hence gave good feedback. It wasn't until I took the filter media out today I noticed the broken plastic bits, they would take me 2 mins to superglue and normally I wouldn't have given it a second thought. Likewise, the filter gasket did look fine until I removed it and noticed the inside fraying, again quite a few months worth of use left and normally I wouldn't mention it.   The 3 fins is a concern as the reason I went for the 2217 over the 2215 is for the higher flow rate and by using a 2215 impeller in the 2217 the flow rate is reduced.
> 
> I understand what your saying about the fuse, I don't doubt for one second that what you say is true. It did have a 13amp fuse in it instead of a 3amp. What caused the original fuse to blow? Why did the 13 amp blow? Would it have blown again if if it had a 3 amp in over the course of the year you used it and if so, has any long term damage been done by it having silver foil?. That is my main worry, every thing else is fixable.



I don't think I can be fairer than that


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## ricky tango (8 Oct 2017)

dodged a bullet there , last thing you want filtering a tank is an unpredictable filter popping a fews whilst your at work


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## ojustaboo (9 Oct 2017)

While I agree with what you've all written, I don't think he;'s trying to scam me/rip me off (as I said he has perfect feedback since 2008).   He's just got back to me and said:

When I bought the filter, via Ebay, it came with no plug at all and due to the length of lead I needed, I attached the spare one. I didn't have a working fuse to hand at the time (needed to visit DIY shop again) therefore I knew I had a couple of dud fuses in my work room lying around. That is why the tin foil was used. The original fuse did not blow as there was no plug on it in the first place on purchase. If this heater was faulty , due to my set up, it would have blown another fuse within the fish room and most definitely my house electric board (where my fish room is wired to separately). There are many other electrical items in the fish room including 12 Volt lighting, which was my main let down and would trigger my house fuse at the slightest fault. In this case I am confident there is no fault with the filter and was not aware of the 3 fin impellar.

There cannot have been any damage due to the tin foil as it would have blown my electrics because of the electrical surge, please be assured the tin foil is not an issue (this was just a temporary measure that had slipped my mind and not a measure to hide a fault). If this was the case, I would have removed it before sending the item if I was being dishonest.

Just for extra re-assurance in my fish room here is what I had permanently running (including this filter
5 External Filters
4 Water Pumps
2 Heaters 2 KW
2 Evo UV lights
1 Air Pump 240 LPM plus lighting.
Due to all this running to keep my hobby/business going, I would not have risked it for a faulty electrical item, to be honest I would have thrown it away. I hope this further info helps. Let me know if you are keeping or returning it.

Regards


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## John S (9 Oct 2017)

If you are happy with the reply then stick with it. I would just call John Allen aquariums (eheim uk distributor) and question the impeller. All my eheims have had a six blade version so just check the 3 blade one is correct.


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## ojustaboo (9 Oct 2017)

I'm still 50/50     Thing is, I believe what he says so I shouldn't really be worried, plus all I originally wanted was a 2217 so the heater is a bonus and if the heater did stop in the future, that shouldn't affect the pump.

The last 2217 I followed on ebay sold for £80 (with P&P) , looking at sold items over the past few months, only a handful have been available, 3 have sold for around £55 with postage. So I could return it and hope to get a 2217 appear and sell for a decent price, but I could end up paying more for it,. and who knows how well that will have been looked after.

My 2317 comes with a load of nice quality media which wouldn't be cheap to buy




most of the sold ebay ones state no media included.

I've tested it with a 3amp fuse for a couple of hours, turning the thermostat up then down etc (plus checking thermostat turns off) and zero problems.

So really I don't know why I'm typing this, I suppose I just want a little assurance that I'm not being insane for trusting what he says


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## John S (9 Oct 2017)

Can you set it up and run it overnight?


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## ojustaboo (9 Oct 2017)

John S said:


> If you are happy with the reply then stick with it. I would just call John Allen aquariums (eheim uk distributor) and question the impeller. All my eheims have had a six blade version so just check the 3 blade one is correct.



From what I understand the 2215 is identical to the 2217 impeller, except for the no of fins. So it looks like the previous owner put a 2215 impeller in it. As I have an old 2217 impeller kept as an emergency spare (chipped magnet hence noisy) from my other filter, and the plastic fins easily come off, I should be able to put my 6 fin on there. Not trying until I decide to keep it just incase I break anything


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## ojustaboo (9 Oct 2017)

John S said:


> Can you set it up and run it overnight?



Good idea, I will do that.


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## DavidW (9 Oct 2017)

If you paid with Paypal, you have 180 days to raise a claim.


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## ojustaboo (10 Oct 2017)

It's still working perfectly.  i think I'll keep it


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