2 of these have run non-stop for 8 years 1 is new. I have no complaints about them and they also come with a clamp to use if you dont like suction cups.
They do require ocassional cleanings about every 4 months I used to remover the impeller clean the magnet chamber with a tank brush and then just put it back together. I have never replaced an impeller in 8 years.
I also have one rio which came with my CPR bak pak it has been running with no problems for about 6 months. I do however clean this pump about every two weeks by placing it in a bucket of water to which I add a cup of white viniger. I leave it in about 15-30 minutes and it comes out good as new.
I have also switched to cleaning my hagans this way and have not torn them down in about a year.
my next powerheads will be Maxijets because they start up quite on wavemakers and I hear wavemakers are hard on hagans.
recommendations :
Maxijets (everyone loves them)
Hagans (will never breakdown with regular matainence)
Rio (everyone hates them but hey no problems here)
I wonder what level of problems are caused by poor maintence ?
I am in the market for some new Powerheads. I have been using Rio's but the break quite often and also fall down. The good news is it is cheap to get them back up and working by replacing the internal impeller. But I am quite frankly tired of it.
Does anyone have a brand of Powerheads they really like? Or are their folks who use the Rio's and do what I have been doing and just replace parts.