# Eheim humming normal?



## chumlee (Nov 4, 2010)

I had this on my 2213 and my most recent ecco pro...I heard that if you leave them alone for a while they should work themselves out. I also heard that any small humming noises might be from plugging the filter into a power strip whereas plugging them into the wall directly might help. Im not going to suggest taking anything apart though because if you're like me, you'll just end up breaking stuff  . having said that, when I first set up my 2213 before taking it apart the first time, It was really silent and I had to put my ear really close to it in order to hear it.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Ok, going to take it out of the power strip and see if that helps. Thanks for the advice. I really want to love it, but right now it's begging to be chucked back in the box and returned . . .


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## chumlee (Nov 4, 2010)

I was at the same point two days ago...that's why I recently acquired an ecco pro


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

chumlee said:


> I was at the same point two days ago...that's why I recently acquired an ecco pro


FYI: Moving the plug from the strip to the outlet made no difference at all. :icon_frow


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## oaksw12 (Nov 15, 2010)

Did you put the rubber pads on the bottom? What kind of surface is it sitting on? Is it enclosed, like in a cabinet, or is it out where there is no barrier between you and the filter?

I have 2 ecco's and they hum a little, but you can't really hear them if the cabinet is closed unless you're right next to it.


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## chumlee (Nov 4, 2010)

Betta Maniac said:


> FYI: Moving the plug from the strip to the outlet made no difference at all. :icon_frow


Yeah I saw that a lot of people said to do that online so I thought I would just pass the word along, ya never know . Good luck getting this filter situated.


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## sailnut (Nov 26, 2010)

My 2213 hummed a bit when I first hooked it up. After "burping" out the air trapped in the media it became so quiet that I had to touch it to be it was running,
The filter sits next to the tank on a metal filing cabinet and is plugged into a power-strip. I have found that the filter should be level for the least noise. I use a bubble level and folded paper shims to level it.


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## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

Mine made noises after I cleaned it out. I primed it "my own way", but that resulted in the noise. I then primed it again exactly per the instruction guide's directions and it's worked silently ever since. 

Prime it EXACTLY how eheim says to!


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Franzi said:


> Prime it EXACTLY how eheim says to!


They have three options. I used the "suck on the out hose" method. Anyone got another way that might work better? I'm going to shut it off, shake it, and try again . . .


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Worse now . . . ARGH!


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## random_alias (Jun 28, 2005)

Are you running CO2 into the Eheim intake? That can cause noise. 

Give it a few days. If, after a few days of running (and a little shaking to shake loose air pockets), it is still annoying you, by all means, box it up and return it for excessive noise. Just because it's an Eheim doesn't mean it can't be a lemon. They are still assembly line products with moving parts.

Having said that, which I think people sometimes forget...

My personal experience has been that, most of the time, a noisy canister filter has had air trapped somewhere inside it. That experience has been limited to Eheim and SunSun. Don't know about other brands.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I've torn it apart twice now. _*Really* _starting to HATE it. When I google the issue, I see lots of people with the same complaint here on the forum, but I none of the threads ever seen to post what solution finally worked or if they got rid of it.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

oaksw12 said:


> I have 2 ecco's and they hum a little, but you can't really hear them if the cabinet is closed unless you're right next to it.


Don't have a cabinet, and it's given me the mother of all migraines at this point. I'm beyond fed up and beyond pissed off. My HOB is utterly silent except for the trickle of water. This POS is as loud as air pump.


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## random_alias (Jun 28, 2005)

Box it up and return it.

If it's driving you nuts then it's driving you nuts.


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## Jeff5614 (Dec 29, 2005)

Just learn to love the noise. If you do more reading on TPT you'll discover that Eheims are the one perfect canister in existence, lol.

Yes that was sarcasm and I know it has nothing to do with your issue that I hope you can resolve one way or another. If you've just bought it new I would return it also.


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## ridethespiral (Aug 5, 2010)

My 2213 and 2075 both have a 'hum'

at first I thought it wasn't normal, but then over time you get used to it and realize that it only sounds like what a impeller spinning really fast pumping water would sound like.. It's never going to be 100% silent


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Jeff5614 said:


> Just learn to love the noise. If you do more reading on TPT you'll discover that Eheims are the one perfect canister in existence, lol.
> 
> Yes that was sarcasm and I know it has nothing to do with your issue that I hope you can resolve one way or another. If you've just bought it new I would return it also.


You're just jealous because you want my Eheim.  

Honestly, OP I agree with random_alias and Jeff here. Box it up and return it if you aren't happy with the hum. It doesn't matter how well anything works if it's noise makes you unhappy. I got one of mine to stop humming by placing it on a cork board. The other one is silent.

I've bought power heads that I now refuse to use because of the noise it makes. You aren't alone in this one.


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## hsumao (Oct 15, 2009)

ridethespiral said:


> My 2213 and 2075 both have a 'hum'
> 
> at first I thought it wasn't normal, but then over time you get used to it and realize that it only sounds like what a impeller spinning really fast pumping water would sound like.. It's never going to be 100% silent


I agree with you.
We all have heard about Eheim stories like "I thought its not running because its dead silent".
I also ditched my AC50 HOB for 2213 due to noise issue.
Just like most first time Eheim owners, I was nearly "shocked" when I found out it's not "100% silent".
My 2213 was not broken, and I did not set it up wrong.
After all, its a little hobby-grade mechine with several parts running in there, it just cant be absolutely silent anyways.


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## random_alias (Jun 28, 2005)

I had an Eheim 2213 that I used to quiet by keeping a heavy rock sitting on the lid.


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## KH2PO4 (Jul 18, 2009)

After power on, my 2217 rattles sometime. Unplug and replug it (a few times or a bit more) 
solves the problem. It seems I need to do that until some part has a good seat. Then it will operate 
quietly until the next power off. It's been behaving like this since I bought it new one year ago.

My second 2217 (two days old) seems to behave the same, a bit louder than the older one 
but I think it will improve after a week.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I've taken it apart multiple times. Plugged and unplugged. Tipped it. Tapped on it. It's STILL humming. Maybe my idea of "silent" is just different from other people's . . . but I can hear it two rooms away, which is unacceptable IMO.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

I have four eheim cans and all are dead silent, if you vcan hear it two rooms away something is wrong for sure. 
All of my cans are so quiet you really do have to put your ear on them to make sure they are running.
try lubing the impeller magnet and hole where it sits.
If that don't help return it for sure.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

random_alias said:


> I had an Eheim 2213 that I used to quiet by keeping a heavy rock sitting on the lid.


LOL! I've got a full 1G paint can sitting on it right now to dampen the sound a bit. Ugh. I've emailed the shop about returning it . . .


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

mott said:


> try lubing the impeller magnet and hole where it sits. If that don't help return it for sure.


That's an idea. I did take it apart to make sure that it was all seated properly . . .


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## Jim Miller (Dec 24, 2002)

At the risk of stating the obvious:

Hum is caused by imbalance somewhere. It could be the impeller or whatever is driving it. It could be a loose winding in the stator. It could be a bubble caught. 

Look for imbalance in anything that moves.

Lube is not likely the answer.

good luck

jim


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Don't burst my bubble here, Jim! 

I've taken the dang thing apart like 6 times now. Lube is the last hope (and yeah, I know it's likely that I'm just going to have to return it).


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## Franzi (Dec 7, 2009)

When you "take it apart" do you drain the water? I took it apart a bunch of times too, but that didn't do squat till I drained it, reconnected it, started the siphon to fill up the canister, plug it in, then it finally ran smoothly with no noise.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Franzi said:


> When you "take it apart" do you drain the water? I took it apart a bunch of times too, but that didn't do squat till I drained it, reconnected it, started the siphon to fill up the canister, plug it in, then it finally ran smoothly with no noise.


 
No, I didn't drain it . . . will try that tonight! 

I just want to thank everyone AGAIN for all the suggestions. I love the nice low flow of the Eheim and the unobtrusiveness of it, so I’d really like to keep it if I can just fix whatever is wrong.


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## mott (Nov 23, 2006)

Lube is not likely the answer BUT it helped me with my used 2217, thing was loud as hell when it arrived! Cleaned the impeller and it was less noisy but not silent, put some Vaseline on the magnet and housing and it's been quiet ever since and that was two years ago!


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## talontsiawd (Oct 19, 2008)

I had a 2215 Classic that was noisy. I bought it new. I couldn't even hear it from 2 rooms away but it was unacceptably loud. People on the board told me to prime it differently, it would go away, etc. After about a month, I decided it was time to take it apart. I had a broken impeller shaft and my impeller was missing a blade from hitting things. I don't even know how it was working.

My point, if it seems overly loud, take it back. I should have taken mine back. The time and effort to figure it out was not worth it, and I ended up having to pay for parts out of pocket. I would have figured it out much more quickly now but still, try to take it back. My filter is dead silent but you can't hear it with the stand closed, it should be very quiet.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

I've emailed them about exchanging it . . . but first I'm going to try lubing it, draining it, and repriming it. Can't hurt to try at this point.


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## Betta Maniac (Dec 3, 2010)

Didn't help . . . and they haven't emailed me back. *grrr*


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