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Noisy Eheim 2213

Joined
17 Mar 2012
Messages
2,003
Location
Dorset
I thought I’d start a new thread on this rather than add to any others.

First some background. I’m not new to Aquarium keeping and I had one of these filters back in the 1980’s - 1990’s when they were made in Germany. The 2213 was a good filter and very quiet. My first one lived in a cabinet under the tank that was sat next to our TV in the lounge. Even sat quietly reading you couldn’t hear anything from the filter. I ran that filter for the best part of 10 years before a house move saw me giving it to a friend.

A few months back I decided I’d like another Eheim 2213 or Classic 250 as Eheim call it.
I did a wet test of the unit when I got it just to check it worked and was not impressed with the humming noise coming from the head. Running a filter without media it’s easy to get all the air out so there was no air in it to cause any noise. Not that you can confuse this humming noise with the noise trapped air makes.

When I was ready to set the filter up on the tank I filled it with the supplied media opened the taps and filled the filter with water. I then turned it on and went through the required rocking motions to get the air out. The humming noise persisted even when all the air was expelled and was joined with a rattling noise as well. I turned the filter off and removed the head to check the impeller but nothing obvious presented itself. Both rubber bushes were in place and the impeller moved freely on the shaft.

I emailed the retailer Eheim Aquarium Parts and they asked me to send the head back. It was duly cleaned and carefully packed and sent back. I didn’t here anything for a couple of weeks so I emailed to ask on the progress and they asked me for the order number so they could send it back. They said they had fitted a new impeller and it was now ok. I got the unit back well packed but soaking wet. I set the filter up cycling water through a bucket of water without media and the rattle had gone but the humming or buzzing noise was still there. In spite of this and to give it a fair test I set it up again on the aquarium with the supplied media. As you can guess the noise persisted. The Aquarium is on a side board with the filter in the cabinet beneath, all fairly standard.

I’ve done several internet searches on the topic and you get quite a few hits on “noisy Eheim 2213”.

Not impressed with the retailer I decided to email Eheim in Germany. They replied asking which country I was from then went silent.

I then decided to contact the importers John Allan. I’ve had a couple of emails from them but they too have gone quiet. They did suggest that there is no problem with the 2213’s and any noise is down to trapped air.

Most users that have reported this problem say that you can reduce the noise a little by putting pressure on the top of the head. Some in the US have even resorted to putting heavy weights on it!

I should have just sent the unit back as unfit for purpose but I’m really intrigued to know exactly why the old Eheim 2213 made in Germany were so quiet whilst the new ones produce this irritating humming noise.

One suggestion on the net was to apply silicon grease to the impeller shaft. I tried this and it made no difference. Some have said they get quieter over a period of time as the bio film builds up inside the filter.

One thing I have done it to check the fit of the impeller on the shaft. It’s a bit loose and I’ve measured the shaft at 2.48mm and the bore of the impeller at 2.56mm. I’ve no idea what the design clearance is supposed to be. I’ve informed John Allan of this and I’m awaiting a reply.

I’m currently using a Tetra EX400 on the aquarium and whilst not completely silent it makes a lot less noise than the Eheim.
 
I have been running a 2217 for around 18 months and have had a very similar experience. I purchased the 2217 expecting it to run almost silent, but not it has the same distinct hum coming from the head. I think the most frustrating part is that I also run a cheap All Pond Solutions filter on a different tank, which is completely silent and hasn't had a penny spent on it, even though it cost half the price of the Eheim to purchase.
 
I have a very old 2213 (probably a decade old) and it doesn't cause any noise beyond that I can hear after the cabinet doors are closed. My tank is in the lounge though but I could measure the noise with my phone if you like?

Is the noise measurable on a decible meter or something so we could kinda standardise the issue?
 
The last time I checked it with my iphone it was up to about 56db, with background (filter off) of around 40db. Not sure how accurate you can expect a phone to be though!
 
Does the hole in the impeller look oval to you? I’m sure I’ve seen others that look like this somewhere. Remember, this is a new replacement impeller with only a few hours on it.

2F236E74-51D5-419C-AA01-7C547795C89B.jpeg
 
my 15+ year old 2128 is significantly quieter than my brand new eheim pro 4 350 :banghead:

i hear your pain...
 
Well I’ve heard nothing more from John Allan the importers so it looks like if you buy a dodgy Eheim you’re on your own. How hard would it have been for them to have checked a shaft and impeller for themselves to check it met their requirements and then posted it to me?

If anyone stumbles across this thread in the future maybe because you’ve bought a Noisy Eheim filter then my advice is send it back straight away.
 
Yes Keith, they replied to my first email asking my location but that was it. No reply after telling them I’m in the UK.
 
Well I’ve heard nothing more from John Allan the importers so it looks like if you buy a dodgy Eheim you’re on your own. How hard would it have been for them to have checked a shaft and impeller for themselves to check it met their requirements and then posted it to me?

If anyone stumbles across this thread in the future maybe because you’ve bought a Noisy Eheim filter then my advice is send it back straight away.


surprised last month they were really good with me. try calling them? they answered pretty quick for me
 
I’ve been looking at other external filters for another possible Nano. In the process I’ve noticed whilst looking at parts diagrams etc that many of them have plastic washers top and bottom between the impeller and the rubber bushes that the shaft sits into. The Eheim I bought recently does not have these washers and there is no sign of any in the Eheim parts diagram.

Thinking back I’m pretty sure though that my old Eheim had these washers as well. Can anyone confirm this with an older Eheim model?

As a result of this I’ve just unboxed the Eheim and removed the impeller. There seems like an excessive amount of end float that could be the cause of some of the unwanted noise, especially as the shaft to impeller fit could be better. Luckily I’ve recently bought a box of mixed size O rings and although a little large I’ve fitted a couple of the smallest ones onto the shaft between the impeller and bushes. Part of the reason for the large gap between the end of the impeller and the bush is that the latter it able to sit quite deeply into the plastic support. Luckily there is a hole in the upper support so it’s easy to push the rubber bush out. I’ve liberally coated the bush with silicone grease and fitted it not back into the housing but onto the shaft. The housing was then gently pushed over the bush and rotated to lock it.

I’ve run it dry for a few seconds and it seems quite a bit quieter but there is still some vibration that shouldn’t be there if the impeller to shaft fit was better. If I get a chance tomorrow I’ll run it up wet and see what the verdict is.
 
that many of them have plastic washers top and bottom between the impeller and the rubber bushes that the shaft sits into

None of the filters I own have any (visible) washers - I’ve Eheims ranging from old 224 to Professional 4, I no longer have an old Classic, but the ones I bought a couple years back, don’t seem to have any additional washers
- and run almost silent ... noticeable as I’ve a Sicce Whale filter (which cost rather a lot more than the Classics) that ranges from an audible hum to downright noisy after any maintenance (regardless of shaking etc employed, it takes a few days to return to the “hum” level)

Disclaimer: perhaps I’m not understanding what these “washers” are
 
I’ve now had chance to run it up wet in the shed overnight. It’s not that noisy but still noisier than my Tetra EX400. Whether it is still too noisy to use in a cabinet in the lounge is debatable. I don’t feel like swapping the filters over on a working tank with inhabitants to find out! I have ordered some parts to see if I can reduce the noise even more.

Edit: I’ve now set this up running in the cabinet and it’s still too noisy.
 
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I emailed the retailer Eheim Aquarium Parts and they asked me to send the head back. It was duly cleaned and carefully packed and sent back. I didn’t here anything for a couple of weeks so I emailed to ask on the progress and they asked me for the order number so they could send it back. They said they had fitted a new impeller and it was now ok. I got the unit back well packed but soaking wet. I set the filter up cycling water through a bucket of water without media and the rattle had gone but the humming or buzzing noise was still there. In spite of this and to give it a fair test I set it up again on the aquarium with the supplied media. As you can guess the noise persisted. The Aquarium is on a side board with the filter in the cabinet beneath, all fairly standard.

I’ve done several internet searches on the topic and you get quite a few hits on “noisy Eheim 2213”.

Not impressed with the retailer I decided to email Eheim in Germany. They replied asking which country I was from then went silent.

I then decided to contact the importers John Allan. I’ve had a couple of emails from them but they too have gone quiet. They did suggest that there is no problem with the 2213’s and any noise is down to trapped air.

Hi @Aqua sobriquet

It's Christmas Day and I have nothing better to do than scour some of the old(er) threads on UKAPS. I discovered yours above. What you have said is my experience entirely with Eheim and John Allan. Eheim used to have such a good reputation but I suspect that will not last much longer. It's not just that their Customer Support is poor but some of their products are badly designed. I bought one of their streaming pumps and was it noisy! And I very recently bought an Eheim skim350 surface skimmer, which has no guard to prevent small fish/shrimps being sucked in! Would you believe it? I could go on - but I'll stop there.

JPC
 
Eheim must know of the faults in their products by now. They’re just choosing to ignore them.

As far as I can tell the fault in my case is probably the impeller. Why the Chinese can make good quality impellers for other companies but not Eheim is a mystery. My Tetra Tec external is very quiet.

John Allan seem very quick to blame the customer instead of admitting the product may be faulty. In my case they should have offered to send out a replacement impeller but they probably knew that wouldn’t have corrected the problem.

It’s a shame as the old German made products were very good.
 
Hi @Aqua sobriquet

Thanks for the feedback.

If I was looking for a new filter or pump at the moment, I'd be looking at Oase for sure and, possibly Sera or Sicce. I have a couple of Sicce products - a very small Micron internal filter and a Voyager Nano streaming pump. Both are excellent. Sicce make the Tidal HOB for Seachem. I certainly would not buy JBL as I have one of their i80 internal filters and it's very noisy. I disassembled it and concluded that the impeller cavity/impeller was badly designed and/or manufactured.

JPC
 
I quite like the Tetra filter but the small one seems hard to come by over here. If I set up another tank I’ll probably get the Sera, and fingers crossed it’s not noisy!
 
I quite like the Tetra filter but the small one seems hard to come by over here. If I set up another tank I’ll probably get the Sera, and fingers crossed it’s not noisy!

Hi @Aqua sobriquet

When you say that the Tetra filter "seems hard to come by over here", does that mean they are easier to obtain elsewhere? Are they made in Germany?

Before I make a purchase of aquatic (and other) equipment, I like to 'get a feel' for the quality (or lack thereof) of a company's technical support. So, with Sera, you could possibly email them with your tails of woe about competitors' products. Perhaps try to get some reassurance about noise level. Unfortunately, asking about dB(A) at, say, 1m is not going to be that helpful but it's a starting point. We shouldn't need to cross our fingers when making these purchases.

Good luck!

JPC
 
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