new **used** MP40 - wetside magnet CRACKED

[fatoldsun]

I feel like I’m having a manic episode… flip-flop, flip, flop – happy to have a new toy, pissed that I got shafted by someone….
I was super excited after some back and forth I picked up a pair of MP40Ws with a very nice craigslist discount. Granted they are used and had been out of service for a while but the price was right. Of course there is always that risk with used stuff and there is no warranty so you’re on your own if something goes wrong. Well all my excitement was tempered pretty quickly. Before I got them he plugged them in and everything seemed perfect. They both spun nicely. I took them home and began cleaning them up – a nice vinegar bath for the wet-sides and I took them apart – took the “nozzles” off and got off all the encrusted bleached out coralline and dried algae. They were spotless. Then I took off the back cover to inspect and on one of them the magnet was in 2 pieces. Wow, what a sad moment. Of course, the guy I got them from is MIA now – how someone can have you in their home and blatantly screw you like that is a mystery to me. Oh well, the risk I took not buying new and the reality is even replacing a wet-side I’ll still be under what I would have paid for a good set of used MP40s so I’ll still sleep tonight. I guess I have to decide if I should just get a new wet side with the group buy or try and find a magnet replacement somewhere and rebuild the wet side I have. It looks pretty easy to do – Ecotech has a .pdf on their site for replacing them from the Gen 1 magnets. The problem with that is, the magnet from ecotech is $50 and a new wet-side is less than $100 (cheaper with the GB) I read stuff from back in ’08 where the magnets could be picked up for <$12 but I guess that deal is gone. $50 seems a bit high to still have all the risk of it not lasting long. Anyone know where yu can get a $12 replacement magnet ?

 

[howze01]

Same thing happened to me. Except with MP10s. One had a bad wet side. Luckily there was a new wet side included in the sale too or I would be out some $$.

 

[SirFragalot]

If it still works, I would still use it. If it's just cracked, it should be fine unless the pieces move. You can always use a spare wet side though. (I need to get one myself).

 

[fatoldsun]

I hear you. I guess that's why it spun when he plugged it it but I'm gonna guess that it got worse when I cleaned it. But still the magent smelled like glue/solvent so unless there's grease in the wetside (which I doubt) the smell tells me he tried to fix it and must have known. Maybe it held long enough just to spin it. Life goes on. Just have to figure how to get the wetside purchase past the wife. She didn't appreciate what a great deal the MP40s were... just comes off as more money thrown into the tank

 

[SirFragalot]

Maybe it will help to add the words, "15% discount" to how you break it to her.

 

[fatoldsun]

Maybe it will help to add the words, "15% discount" to how you break it to her.

Good strategy but I'm not sure - she didn't appreciate the initial 60% discount. I can’t expect someone who just wants to look at the tank to care or appreciate the mechanics. Most people don’t appreciate what under the hood of their car, they just want it to get them there. I’m actually irritated that new cars use the engine covers that hide the whole engine when you pop the hood. Sorry, I’m getting off track. I digress…
The other thing that bugs me (aside from the dude selling it broken) is the way EcoTech rips us off. The magnets were $12 back in ’08 to upgrade your Gen 1. Why the @#$! Are they $50 now? If they were solid and didn’t break after warranty they wouldn’t need to sell them. Otherwise they could market their product and say – lasts forever and if something goes outside of warranty you can easily fix it yourself and it isn’t expensive to do. If you don’t want to mess with DIY then here’s a whole new wetside for $93. They way they have it, to buy the parts ala carte for just the wetside is more than $125. From my perspective, their reputation would get a boost if they took care of their customers. Granted I bought these used but either way they are a large investment and you expect something like that to last. If it doesn’t and it’s easy and inexpensive to fix, why do they need to make such a large profit their unless they are intentionally making it cost prohibitive. If the magnet was $12 I’d fix it myself – at least try to. If It was a wasted $12 and still didn’t work, ok, then I would have to bite the bullet and spend for the new wetside. I’m not “trying” it at $50 though. Now I just move to buy the new wet side because they set the price at a ridiculous number for the magnet. Alright, sorry for the rant. I’m done now

Here's the crack. Not sure the will do anything without a ton of vibration

 

[SirFragalot]

wow.. That looks like the screw was tightened too much to cause that crack. I'm not defending the guy but if it was/is still working, it might be possible that it was like that from the factory. Unless there IS a vibration caused from it. Have you ran it yourself?

 

[fatoldsun]

Yep. Thought the same thing about overtightening. Or it was dropped and a stress point gave way. I'd have given him the benefit of the doubt too but it smelled like glue and I sent him a msg to ask and he ignored it. When he was trying to sell it he got back to me quickly and countless times. If I were confident that it was fine, I'd respond, even if just to say it was fine. Lack of confidence smells like a guilty conscience but that's just me I guess.

 

[SirFragalot]

I wouldnt spend the money to just fix the magnet. With it looking like that, i'm sure that the bushing and other internals on the wet side should be replaced at the same time as well. If not today, down the road when you get the money up. I'm going to take mine apart later on tonight to see if my magnet is rusted like that as well.

 

[Fish Brain]

From a manufacturing stand point, the cost of magnets has gone WAY up, much like the cost of everything since 2008. You can thank China and all the hybrids that are driving around for the higher cost of magnets.

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

From a manufacturing stand point, the cost of magnets has gone WAY up.

+1, I had a customer order refrigerator magnets for his company recently and he almost fell down when he found out that the price tripled from his last order.

I am in the same boat as you with a used MP40. Almost the same scenario, but I will be buying a wetside from the group buy.

 

[fatoldsun]

+1, I had a customer order refrigerator magnets for his company recently and he almost fell down when he found out that the price tripled from his last order.

I am in the same boat as you with a used MP40. Almost the same scenario, but I will be buying a wetside from the group buy.

Looks like I'll get one too, but far be it from me not to say something to the fine folks at Ecotech. I posted something on their vendor board on RC. I suggested that I bought them new a few years ago and didn't register but otherwise everything I said was accurate. Besides, who cares if I bought them used - it's still their product and their name. Looks like mine are Gen 1s (since the magnet is pretty rough looking) and I guess had they been replaced in '08 they would still be fine. Anyway, their reposnse was to say that magnet prices have gone up but if that were accurate than the cost of the new units would have gone up too. And I don't know what a new wet side cost in '08 but I doubt it was $40 cheaper - even $25 cheaper. My gripe is that they make it too dificult (or cost prohibitive) to repair these yourself. So I decided to respond in a very public way over on RC and see if I get any further response. ....and at the end of it all, I will be +1 on the GB for a wet side

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

I looked into a wetside about 8 months ago and they were $75 now they are $93 on their site. I was also talking with one of our sponsors last week and they said there is a price increase as of OCT 1

 

[fatoldsun]

Meaning $93 is the result of an increase from 10/1 or retailers will be going up?

 

[Tazmaniancowboy]

Meaning $93 is the result of an increase from 10/1 or retailers will be going up?

No, this is just what I observed on Ecotech's website then and today. ALL retailers should have raised their prices though

 

[howze01]

So it seems that they are raising the prices of the Vortechs now. Saw it on another site. Some LFS owners were told it was the "rising cost of materials."

 

[fatoldsun]

I hope the GB gets current pricing and not increased if PA's prices go up before ordering closes

 

[asonitez]

Fat I had a wetside that kept wobbling- iF all the other components are fine you can order a new wetside magnet from ecotech for 50 bucks!

 

[fatoldsun]

Just for an update - I contacted EcoTech and told them that I had Gen1 wetsides and missed out on the upgrade kits that were available a few years ago. I said that I had never registered them (the guy I got them from had not) and I was told if I shipped the wetsides back to them they would fully upgrade them and my cost would be magnets+shipping. He also told me I could keep the old magnets (to save on shipping weight and to keep for frag racks, etc) and when I took them apart certain internal parts have been changed (and even differed between the 2). It sounded like they would replace all of that so all that was left was basically the "nozzle" and for $50 I should have essentially new wetsides. I also sent them the controllers to update the firmware. I just took the pump motors off - no need to ship that extra weight. I read that the wireless could be upgraded using any other wireless with the updated firmware - but it would have to be a non-ES as the ES have different boards. He did say that he didn't want to send me an email b/c they don't offer this for everyone – specifically people who buy their stuff second hand (shhhhhh) – technically I said “they were never registered” and “they were purchased at the Hidden Reef in the summer of ‘08” and “I didn’t have the receipt” – all true statements. Anyway, if you don’t want to buy a new wetside and save a few bucks, this may work if you have an older Gen1 MP40. Just don’t volunteer any information about how you acquired them if you got them used and I also wouldn’t call looking for this deal b/c he made it seem like you had to be “worthy” - Like I said, all I did was complain that the magnets were too much(the upgrade kit was $12-14 in ’08, magnets alone now are $50) – I also mentioned that it would be more cost effective just to replace the whole wetside but even though I was well outside the warranty, I was disappointed in the useful life of something that was $415 just 3 years ago that was clearly defective.

 

[fatoldsun]

If anyone's in this situation I highly recommend trying this before you buy new wetsides. I opened mine and they shipped back brand new for $50 (magnet price) each. Good deal IMO since I was spending $80 each to buy new