[MeltMan]

I just bought a Rio1400 because it was cheap. I know about rio's being notorious for crapping out when you need them most. Upon opening the package I wasnt too impressed. The pump worked, but made that grindey sound under load. So... I glued the impeller. This did help the noise, but it also created new problems. After gluing the impeller, the pump had a very difficult time starting up. Instead of pumping, it would kinda vibrate. Maybe I glued the impeller in just the wrong spot to where the water created enough back pressure to keep the impeller from hitting its next "phase". So instead it just vibrated back and forth. I was able to un-glue it. Heres what I think gives these pumps a bad rap:

1. The impeller assembly is cheap
2. The impeller itself is NOT balanced at all, causing vibration
3. Lack of threaded inlet and outlet stock

I think the major cause of the failure of these pumps is the terribly unbalanced impeller. I hyphothesize that since these pumps are shelled out as fast as they can be, some of the pumps come out of the factory more balanced than others. I think DigitalChaos ended up with a well balanced pump. Mine needs work.

Plans to fix
1. put impeller into drill press and balance it. (the unbalanced part is the orange paddle, especially at the bottom of it)
2. Glue threaded ends onto the pump.

I think these pumps can be made very reliable and long lasting with a little work.

Input?