Water in my AquaZone Ozone genertor!

[KyleO]

When it came down to it, those little 1-way, "ozone-safe" check valves stink! I spent the extra money on those little buggers to make sure what just happened..........didn't.

So now I have had about a pint of saltwater back through my RedSea Aquazone Plus and am wondering what I can do to fix and/or make sure that it is functioning properly.

I am sure others have had this very thing happen to them.

I am currently have the AquaZone unplugged from the system and am just blowing air through it............anything I can or should be doing?

Help!!

[sirreal63]

I would have run ro/di water through it...if saltwater ran into the unit the water will evap and leave the salt behind. An e-mail to manufacturer would be the course of action at this point.

[superedge88]

The manufacturer doesn't stand behind their product, absolutely no tech support, no help on repairs, nowhere to send in units to get fixed. The only way you really get help is if it is still under warranty, in which case they just replace the unit. Out of warranty-goodluck.

[USC-fan]

i had this happen to me also. It ruined the unit and i just stop using ozone.

[KyleO]

Originally posted by sirreal63
I would have run ro/di water through it...if saltwater ran into the unit the water will evap and leave the salt behind. An e-mail to manufacturer would be the course of action at this point.

running RO/DI through it makes sense.........just ran about 2 pints through. Will run air for the rest of the day.

Sent an email to RedSea.........let's see what they do with this (if anything).

[sirreal63]

you may still have residue left over inside...alcohol will remove the water left in it as well as the residue. Of course after all of this the unit may not work so keep that in mind.

[KyleO]

I will try the alcohol if they stiff me...........nothing to lose at that point!!!

[sirreal63]

I would do the rubbing alcohol now as it displaces water and will help dry the unit out.

[KyleO]

done

[KyleO]

Originally posted by superedge88
The manufacturer doesn't stand behind their product, absolutely no tech support, no help on repairs, nowhere to send in units to get fixed. The only way you really get help is if it is still under warranty, in which case they just replace the unit. Out of warranty-goodluck.

Well........you were absolutely correct! Here is a quote from the email I just received

"Good morning.
After it drys all you can do it turn it on and see if it works. If you smell sweet bread or a smell of rain then it's putting out ozone if not then it's not working. Sorry we dont have a repair shop.I hope it works. Thank you and have a nice day.

Pinky"

I just plugged it back in and I can smell ozone! Unbelievable!

I did catch it within 5 minutes of the occurrence but I believe I owe a debt of gratitude to Sirreal63.......I am convinced that the alcohol is the saving grace of this unit.

Moral of the story............. test your check valves regularly, keep an eye on your system and DON'T BUY REDSEA PRODUCTS!

With no repair and/or recourse, it is just too easy to lose several hundred dollars with nothing to show for it.

[superedge88]

A heads up to those with these units. There is an internal fuse that is the first thing you should check if the unit will not turn on. There is also a contact on the ozone corona that is held on with a zip tie which can break when it gets old an brittle, I had problems with mine not reproducing ozone and replaced the broken zip tie and it began working flawlessly!
I was fortunate to recieve my red sea ozonizer for free, so I can't cry too much, jus warn others. In the future I will just get the enaly units off of ebay, brand new units that are MUCH cheaper than the red sea units. Either get one and buy a controller, or use one that is so underrated that there is no way to overdose your system.

[sirreal63]

I am glad it is working. Being a network engineer you should have remembered an alcohol bath works wonders for wet electronics.

Let's hope it continues to function. My ozone unit is a Sanders and they are worth the money.

[KyleO]

Originally posted by sirreal63
I am glad it is working. Being a network engineer you should have remembered an alcohol bath works wonders for wet electronics.

Let's hope it continues to function. My ozone unit is a Sanders and they are worth the money.

You're right about the fact that I should have remembered...........but I was so ****ed about the stupid little check valve (3 months old) that I couldn't think straight.

I will definitely be looking into other O3 generators. It is probably just a matter of time before this unit fails......a little rough starting back up today but I definitely smell O3 for now.

[KyleO]

I thought I would just give a little update on RedSea's response to my asking about parts........I am probably going to run another thread just to warn potential AquaZone buyers.

"Sorry we dont have parts to the aquazone to sell. I apologize if it sounded like I didnt know what was going on I have had to answer over 300 emails this morning.

Pinky"

Pinky???

[sirreal63]

The best checkvalve is a mechanical one. I keep the ozone unit higher than the skimmer and tested it to make sure the water could not get back to the ozone unit.

[KyleO]

Yes, I was using that one..........unfortunately the water pressure in my reactor pushed the water back up the line when my air pump was off........

[sirreal63]

Ouch...I never used a reactor, just pumped it into an extra port in the skimmer venturi.

[jdieck]

Unplug the unit from power, connect the air inlet fitting to your RO/DI unit pure water outlet line and the outlet to a drain and let several gallons or RO/DI run trough it, drain the unit. Once done connect it to the air pump and let it run for 24 hours to dry it up before plugging power to it. If you have the air drying resin use it to dry the air and improve the process.
The unit shall have no problems. I use RO/DI to rinse the inside of the unit and remove any dust accumulation from the inside every three months.

[superedge88]

Pinky has been the customer service rep for a while now. Answers the phone for them as well, if you call them up you can talk to Pinky.