I've just replaced the rattling eheim pump in my reserator with a 1048, unfortunately that rattles too!
Strangely when I first tested it using a short length of pipe and a bucket (just to see if it worked before I stripped the reserator) it was completely silent. Now I have it connected to my cooling system it is making a nasty rattling noise.
Sometimes this noise it really bad, unless I turn it on/off a few times then it is mearly 'annoying'.
Any ideas why I am getting this noise, is it restricted flow? My cooling system includes the usual CPU block plus the zalman VGA block, and the stock 3/8" piping, and it was silent for 6 months on the inbuilt pump. I've checked for the usual culprets, kinks or restrictions in the pipes, but I've not found anything.
rattling Eheim 1048
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
my 1048 vibrates considerably, i'd make an educated guess that yours does too. is the eheim pump inside the reserator unit? if it is, the vibrating noise is probably coming from the pump vibrating against the base of the reserator / wherever you have it mounted.
if the pump is outside the unit.. then can you hear where it's coming from? is the vibrating coming from the pump or the reserator?
if it's coming from the reserator, there's a chance that the pump is sending enough vibration up the tube to the unit causing some of the fittings / remnants of the old pump to rattle. if it's coming from the pump then you may have some foreign material stuck inside the impeller area, i'd take a look and clean anything out (the manual tells you how to do this).
also, (apologies if this suggestion comes across as insulting).. do you have the pump set up to pull water away from the reserator? that's the way you want it - if you have the pump trying to push water into the reserator then maybe something weird is happening like the pump is struggling to overcome the back pressure of the fluid in the reserator. *shrug*
edit: stuff about watercooling parts/systems should probably go in the (relatively) new watercooling section. just a thought
if the pump is outside the unit.. then can you hear where it's coming from? is the vibrating coming from the pump or the reserator?
if it's coming from the reserator, there's a chance that the pump is sending enough vibration up the tube to the unit causing some of the fittings / remnants of the old pump to rattle. if it's coming from the pump then you may have some foreign material stuck inside the impeller area, i'd take a look and clean anything out (the manual tells you how to do this).
also, (apologies if this suggestion comes across as insulting).. do you have the pump set up to pull water away from the reserator? that's the way you want it - if you have the pump trying to push water into the reserator then maybe something weird is happening like the pump is struggling to overcome the back pressure of the fluid in the reserator. *shrug*
edit: stuff about watercooling parts/systems should probably go in the (relatively) new watercooling section. just a thought
This should be moved into the watercooling forum 
Eheim 1048 have a nasty illness to start rattling after some time ... mine ran fine for over a year and then the rattling started. My solution was to replace the impeller with a modified version. The standard impeller sits loose on the spindle and has some game, that is responsible for the annoying rattling noise. There's a special modded Impeller for 1048 pumps available here in German Onlineshops who carry watercoolingparts for about 6 euro. It is a quick and not too expensive replacement for the standard impeller and well worth it for killing that very annoying rattling.
Eheim 1048 have a nasty illness to start rattling after some time ... mine ran fine for over a year and then the rattling started. My solution was to replace the impeller with a modified version. The standard impeller sits loose on the spindle and has some game, that is responsible for the annoying rattling noise. There's a special modded Impeller for 1048 pumps available here in German Onlineshops who carry watercoolingparts for about 6 euro. It is a quick and not too expensive replacement for the standard impeller and well worth it for killing that very annoying rattling.
Sorry for posting this here, it was a mistake.
Anyway, thanks to your suggestions my (external) 1048 is now completely silent (barring a very very slight normal hum). The problem was the impeller blade, and the fact that it is loose on the the support (it can move through half a turn). Supposedly this is to allow it to pump stones (prevalent in fish tanks, the pumps main market) with snapping blades, but uneven back pressure can cause it rattle back and forth making a terrific noise.
Not having too many stones rattling around in my resertator I glued the impeller to the support and voila, the noise disappeared.
Fantastic! Silence truely is golden.
Anyway, thanks to your suggestions my (external) 1048 is now completely silent (barring a very very slight normal hum). The problem was the impeller blade, and the fact that it is loose on the the support (it can move through half a turn). Supposedly this is to allow it to pump stones (prevalent in fish tanks, the pumps main market) with snapping blades, but uneven back pressure can cause it rattle back and forth making a terrific noise.
Not having too many stones rattling around in my resertator I glued the impeller to the support and voila, the noise disappeared.
Fantastic! Silence truely is golden.
The noise was not developing over time, it was immediate upon the installation of a new pump.snutten wrote:Any noise developing over time, sometimes going away if turning on / off, is due to a lose impeller combined with a high pressure head. Split your water line to save your pump, guys!
Also I would assume that reserator systems are much lower pressure than 'normal' water cooling as they are usually simply a CPU block connected to an open metal bucket. In a normal system you have to factor in significant pressure required to push the water through a restrictive radiator. I can't think of any system what would require less pressure, which would explain why the reserators get away with such puny pumps.
Inclusion of the Zalman VGA block would'nt restrict water flow as it is a completely open straight block with the same diameter as the piping.