Coralife SS adjustment knob stuck

[quil]

Last night I took my skimmer out to clean it up, and as I was cleaning it, I felt the red adjustment knob to adjust the water level kind of push down, and now it's stuck! I can't for the life of me move the knob at all in either direction, and can't get it to pop back up. Anyone ever had this happen before? It's still skimming, but the water level isn't near high enough.

 

[blizz75]

id use some pliers, if u cant get it then call Coralife's 1-800. Thats one and only prob. ive had with this skimmer is that the ajustments and fittings seem to be a little cheap. The o ring broke on mine and the thing leaked once. otherwise they skim great. by the way what size tank do u have and what kind? (fowlr,reef)

 

[quil]

I have a 60g FOWLR with about 110 pounds of live rock. Hermits/snails, an emerald crab, decorator crab, sally lightfoot, sand sifting star, cleaner shrimp for my cleanup crew. Fish are a dwarf fuzzy lion, maroon clown, and bicolor blenny.
I think if I tried to use pliers I would break it for sure. I mean this thing is STUCK, rock solid.

 

[djm]

Don't bother messing with it. Call Coralife's 800 number like Blizz suggested. They are usually pretty good with replacing broken parts.

 

[seannmelly]

Originally Posted by djm
Don't bother messing with it. Call Coralife's 800 number like Blizz suggested. They are usually pretty good with replacing broken parts.

if they have good customer support then i would try the plyers and if it breaks then call the # and have it replaced. i know on mine if i turn it too fast it goes past the little plastic stop thingy and blows the top off of it and makes a mess. thats the only problem i have with it other than that a great skimmer. good luck trying to get it fixed

 

[djm]

Originally Posted by seannmelly
if they have good customer support then i would try the plyers and if it breaks then call the # and have it replaced. i know on mine if i turn it too fast it goes past the little plastic stop thingy and blows the top off of it and makes a mess. thats the only problem i have with it other than that a great skimmer. good luck trying to get it fixed

I completely disagree with that advise, Sean. First of all- if you buy something that doesn't work the way it is supposed to AND you break it worse by trying to *fix* it, you could easily void your warranty.
That adjustment knob is sensitive enough to adjust when it is working properly. I can't imagine ANY way that messing with Quil's knob (no jokes allowed) will ever make the system work correctly.
I have made several modifications to my Super Skimmer so that it performs to my expectations. NONE of my modifications have invlolved ANY changes to the SS itself. That means that I can remove everything that I have done and the unit will look EXACTLY like it did coming out of the box.
Put the pliers and any other tools away, Quil. Call the 800 number and have it replaced BEFORE you ruin the entire unit.

 

[seannmelly]

im not saying to twist the ---- out of it! just use them for some leverage. you could also take it apart and try to get it unstuck from the bottom of the tube. just some suggestions djm no need to get all huffy and puffy.

 

[djm]

I was in no way being "huffy and puffy", my friend.
My point is that SS's have been known to have some issues straight out of the box. They are a GREAT unit! If something isn't "right" with it, get tech support to fix it. They aren't inexpensive because they are built out of titanium. They are inexpensive because they are produced using lean manufacturing principles.
All I am saying is that if you have a MAJOR issue with one (and Quill obviously does), you won't be able to make it any better by messing with the unit. Call tech support and have them issue a RMA BEFORE you destroy it. Don't think for one instant that a quality tech on the receiving end won't know that the unit has been messed with IF you try to "fix" it on your own. The original problem can be put back on you if there is evidence that you tampered with it.
I don't like ANY product that breaks with no good reason and I certainly won't try to fix a broken product that should be working fine after I pay for it. A broken product is a problem for the manufacturer and NOT me.
I apologize if you misunderstood my point, sean.

 

[quil]

Yeah, I guess I should have mentioned I got this off of ----, although it was still new in the box. So I'm not the original owner of the skimmer...not sure if that will affect the warranty on the skimmer or not. I'll give them a call and see.

 

[djm]

Never mention to tech support of any company that you aren't the original purchaser. If you are asked, simply say that you no longer have your receipt.
I do not see anything dishonest about that approach if you have a product that would have been covered under warranty simply by being the person that bought it first.

 

[seannmelly]

djm if you read the original post he said that he was messing with the knob and then got it stuck. its not like the skimmer just broke he physically damaged it(to the original poster, im not saying this to harass you). so if he broke it then i dont think they will replace it it. if he took some plyers and put a cloth over the knob so it wont damage it i would give it a shot. not enough to crack it or break it just to see if he could break it loose. its worth a try cause its his fault to start with. i dunno good luck quil with your skimmer.

 

[quil]

Well thanks for the input. I guess the biggest problem is if I try to force the knob to break free, and I break the skimmer, then I don't have a skimmer for the tank, and it's a real pain to get aquarium supplies up here in Alaska. I'll just have to look at it again and see if I can figure anything else out. And just for clarification, I was just holding the skimmer and my thumb happened to be on top of the red knob, and when I turned the skimmer upside down to dry it off, that's when the button kind of popped in and locked up.

 

[gsd]

Being a multiple owner and satisfied user of quite a few CSS I just do not see how yu can get that knob stuck. There really is no way to take ther knob out or dissassemble it, and if it wsa not for that little raised nib on the dial the knob could simply be be kept turning around and around. Look inside the outflow pipe and you should see the valves rotating gate. Take a pliers and place on the red knob, and pull it straight back up. Its going to have resistence since its working against an O-ring if its the newer model or no resistence to amount to nayhting if its old model. Simply pull it starit back up. Once its up and the red knob is off that dial face it should rotate 360 deg around for as long as you care to rotate it. Snap it back in place by pushing it down......Its really not rocket science and there s nothing there thats gonna get broken, and its just not that fragile. Just do not use pliers to rotate knob with.
I still can not follow what yu actually did when you say you say you "felt" the leittle red knob, and "can't get it back up again" care to be a bit more explicit for an old dude!

 

[seannmelly]

Originally Posted by GSD
Being a multiple owner and satisfied user of quite a few CSS I just do not see how yu can get that knob stuck. There really is no way to take ther knob out or dissassemble it, and if it wsa not for that little raised nib on the dial the knob could simply be be kept turning around and around. Look inside the outflow pipe and you should see the valves rotating gate. Take a pliers and place on the red knob, and pull it straight back up. Its going to have resistence since its working against an O-ring if its the newer model or no resistence to amount to nayhting if its old model. Simply pull it starit back up. Once its up and the red knob is off that dial face it should rotate 360 deg around for as long as you care to rotate it. Snap it back in place by pushing it down......Its really not rocket science and there s nothing there thats gonna get broken, and its just not that fragile. Just do not use pliers to rotate knob with.
I still can not follow what yu actually did when you say you say you "felt" the leittle red knob, and "can't get it back up again" care to be a bit more explicit for an old dude!

same thing im saying use plyers and pull it back up. as for the little red nub that keeps it from spinning 360 degrees ive done that numerous time, it makes a huge mess,lol. thats the only thing i dont like about it. i bet you thats what the owner did is when he had pressure on it he popped that little nub down and now its stuck. but i dunno once agian good luck to the owner and i hope he gets it fixed. and what kind of lfs do you have in alaska?

 

[quil]

I really don't know how to explain it any more clearly than I already have...I was handling the skimmer while I had it out to clean it, and I guess I held it a certain way so that my thumb was on top of the red dial and I felt it push in. Now it's stuck.
We have one "fish only" store here in Anchorage...we have 3 others total that carry saltwater fish, but that includes chains like *****. I would probably have to pay about $200 for a skimmer comparable to the Coralife SS (for a 65g) here.

 

[djm]

I still stand by what I said. There is no way that the knob should have broken by just performing routine maintenance the way quil described. Therefore, the unit was defective to begin with IMO. Trying to do ANYTHING to try to "fix" the knob will only make it worse. I can pretty much guarantee that. You can take pliers to it all you want and your best result will still be a knob that doesn't work. Worst case? A leak would be the best worst case. A cracked housing is the most likely worst case.
Call tech support before you touch anything!!!! If they won't help you, THEN you can start yanking on it all you want.
My biggest point is that most companies back their products and I know from experience that ESU is pretty good with making sure that you are happy with your purchase of their equipment. Trying to "rig" a piece of equipment to work should NEVER be your first option because the odds are pretty good that you will only make it worse and void any warranty.
That is just my 2 cents. If you'd rather try your luck and possibly make a $100 mistake, I'll keep my fingers crossed for you.

 

[gsd]

I still am lost. The red knob sets directly on top of the valve body anyhow so there is no room for it to push anywhere. About all it could have done was "pull" out not in. I would bet my lif eon it that there is no way to push that red knob down any further than it normally sets and yur certianly not gonna break the valve body and make it push in as that PVC maaterial is approx 1/4" thick. The valve is about as simple a setup a it gets and there is no room for lots of scenerios as to why its not working.
If its a new style there is some resistence pushing or pulling on the red knob due to an oring on the valve stem, on the old ones its pretty darn free and little to no resistence would be felt. I have spent probably the better art of 20 minutes with a unused skimmer body trying to position my thumb on the knob in such that it even everts some kind of pressure and its virtually impossible unless your thumb is where your little finger is.......all due to just how its made and how that valve is placed. Get the pliers, grab ahold of that red knob and pull it back up if you really think it "pushed" in. Just do not turn valve in the process or you would rish twisting the valve stem off. It will take some doing to separate that shaft pulling it straight out. Oh and by the way, any component onthr CSS that is bad toinclude a new body is freely shipped without a return being necessary by coralife even if yu did manage to bust it, its not a biggie. They do not want the old body back anyhow.......I certainly think your fish will survive if you mail ordered a skimmer if yu had to. I certainly would not spend $200 or even $100 for the CSS65 since they can be gotten on line for under $80 at numerous vendors.

 

[quil]

OK guys, thanks for the help. I'll see what I can do with it.

 

[stanlalee]

did you ever fix it? If you break it or are worried about the warranty the part you are having trouble with is nothing but a cheap semi ball valve on an output pipe. you could EASILY and cheaply replace that whole section of the skimmer (with better gate valve if you wanted to) with a few fittings and pvc from the hardware store. Very easily. If you cant do it even a novice employee in the plumbing section should be able to help you replace that. Still curious to know if you got it unstuck or tried to get warranty work?

 

[quil]

You know what, I did fix it. I finally got fed up and just got the pliers out, pulled the red knob straight out the top, put it back in, and now it works fine again!