Hydor L30 pump as good as Eheim 1250?

Jim · 12-29-2002, 08:26 AM

Been a while since I have posted. Good to see much water cooling activities going on.

I read the pump roundup thread (here) since I am going to build another water cooling rig. Sold my first build.

I wanted to know if the Hydor L30 was performing well? I had an Eheim 1250 in my first setup, but saw this Hydor at Danger Den and liked the smaller size and PRICE!

How are these and is Danger Den the only vendor?

I'll be using 1/2" tygon, my old Maze 2 and a Chevette heater core with push pull 120 mm fans.

If anyone can share experiences with this pump I would appreciate it.

Jim

bigdawginva · 12-29-2002, 08:44 AM

I've had one installed about a week. Cooltechnica also carries them and I believe is still offering 10% off if you mention ProCooling.

I can't compare to an Eheim from practical experience but the PQ charts show them almost identical.

I cannot hear my L30 nor is it warm to the touch.

Jim · 12-29-2002, 08:50 AM

bigdawginva-

Two improvements then so far, I definetly could feel heat off my 1250 when I placed my hand on it. It was not what I considered noisy, but it did have a hum and I had to insulate it from the case with some pipe insulation.

Appreciate the input and tip on discount at Cooltechnica, first I heard of them.

Jim

Deviant · 12-29-2002, 11:52 AM

The L30 is a nice pump because of lower EMI, size, performance, price and same reliability than Eheim. Hydor is a OEM manufacturer of pumps for US companies like little giant for a long time, so it's not a new company and compared to Eheim 1250 it consumes 5W less, thus it releases 5W less heat.

Don't get me wrong. Eheim makes excellent pumps but some German sites showed how to fix the impeller of Eheim 1048 and Eheim 1250 in the past so I find that people sometimes tend to stick with what they know and that means in most cases that they are biased and just think Eheim....and that Eheim never had some issues....which is false.

Eheim is a well established brand, and they're well known in the computer liquid cooling mainly because of Swiftech. When Swiftech first introduced the Eheim 1048, people didn't recognize it too, and found it extremely expensive... and over the time, they've accepted it. But Swiftech is not offering Eheims anymore, they started offering another Italian pump, Sicce Idra which is a submersible pump and not really made for inline use. They vibrate a lot and comes with a steel shaft, which releases more heat in to the coolant.

I'm going to quote my friend Bruce at Cooltechnica(Sorry to put you on the spot Bruce =) ) " before bringing the Hydors to North America, I used them for months in my own systems... and I'm still using them. If i'm not totally satisfied with a product, I won't offer it in the store. To me, it's as simple as that. " And Bruce sells Hydor and Eheim....

Now I think Hydor and Bruce can send me one free L30

gmat · 12-30-2002, 05:28 AM

Got one L30 in my sytem. I've been using it for 1 and half a year. It's rather powerful, and may share the flow / pressure characteristics of the 1250, but i've got some griefs:
- It's definitely noisier
- It's absolutely burning hot
- it vibrates a lot, i had to suspend it...
- the shaft is cheaply made. i had to change it once.

On the other hand it's cheaper...I'd consider it more an alternative to VIA or Rio's than to Eheims.
If you want small and amazing pumps, try the Maxijet series -> some ppl here reported they're great for their price.

bigdawginva · 12-30-2002, 07:57 AM

Keep in mind that you'll have to "work" with the Maxijet pump's inlet and outlet. That's assuming you'll run it inline versus submersible.

I purchased a brand new MP1200 off Ebay for $15 and the outlet is 1/2" OD and the inlet is 3/4" OD. Also, the inlet and outlet are not threaded. The Maxijet MP1200 uses 20w vs the L30's 23w and the Maxi flows 295gph at 69" and the Hydor flows 320gph at 75".

I am unable to compare the two in practical applications since I didn't want to be bothered with figuring out how to fit something to the Maxi's inlet. It's still in the box.

Puzzdre · 12-30-2002, 08:39 AM

I agree that maxijets inlet is big, but it's doable...I just used wider tube on the inlet (16 mm ID), but actually I managed to heat up and put on the inlet a 12 mm ID pvc tube...It worked, but looked kinda grotesque, so I changed it for the bigger tube...

bigdawginva · 12-30-2002, 10:11 AM

Did you use a reducer to get the 3/4" inlet tube down to 5/8" or 1/2"?

Puzzdre · 12-30-2002, 03:09 PM

Jim, I hope you don't mind this sorta off topic posts in your thread...

The 16 mm ID tube is on pump inlet with no reducers, the reducer is on the other end of the tube, on the flow indicator output barb. The copper elbow is completely inside the 16 mm ID tube, and the reducer is made by simply putting one piece of the 12 mm ID tube on the barb itself, than 16 mm ID tube over it, and with a good clamp...voila!

One can also use the copper elbow as a reducer by simply sawing off one end of the elbow to fit the 12 mm ID (little stretched) tube over it, and the wider side of the elbow fits nicely into the 16 mm ID tube (think that outside ID of that elbow is 16.5 mm or close to that...)

Cheers!

Jim · 12-31-2002, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Puzzdre
Jim, I hope you don't mind this sorta off topic posts in your thread...

The 16 mm ID tube is on pump inlet with no reducers, the reducer is on the other end of the tube, on the flow indicator output barb. The copper elbow is completely inside the 16 mm ID tube, and the reducer is made by simply putting one piece of the 12 mm ID tube on the barb itself, than 16 mm ID tube over it, and with a good clamp...voila!

One can also use the copper elbow as a reducer by simply sawing off one end of the elbow to fit the 12 mm ID (little stretched) tube over it, and the wider side of the elbow fits nicely into the 16 mm ID tube (think that outside ID of that elbow is 16.5 mm or close to that...)

Cheers!

NO PROBLEM!
First I am suprised to read the L30 is Louder AND HOTTER than the Eheim 1250. WOW I don't want HOTTER or noise either.

Puzzdre -
What about this pump of yours? Who sells it and would you know how it compares to the 1250 Eheim.
thanks
Jim

bigdawginva · 12-31-2002, 09:04 PM

Jim, before you make up your mind based on one bad experience and one good one, perhaps you should check out this thread http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/sho...&threadid=5262 and then PM pHaestus.

Also, I would email Bruce at Cooltechnica for his thoughts as I believe he carries both pumps as well.

I wouldn't make your decision based on one user who says their 18 month old pump is noisier and burning hot, nor from someone who's had it a couple of weeks and says it's quiet and cool.

If I thought for one minute the 1250 would be quieter and cooler than my current pump, I would've purchased it in a heartbeat. Maybe it is and there's only one way to know for sure and that's to get both of them which I'm not willing to do. I'm quite satisfied with this pump's performance and the price was quite appealing.

Deviant · 12-31-2002, 10:02 PM

Bigdawg is right. Talk to Bruce. He does carry both Eheim and Hydor and he knows his WC stuff really well.

Here's something he once emailed me:
"Hydor L30 is a powerfull pump in a small body, and yes it doesn't tolerate much air in the line, and that's perfectly normal. The impeller in the L30 spins really fast to give the intended 320GPH high flow, so if there's lot of air trapped in the lines, then the impeller makes a sound. Now this's not an issue related to Hydors only... Some German sites showed how to fix the impeller of Eheim 1048 and Eheim 1250 in the past. The reason for this is, all these pumps have an implemented feature called anti-clog. This feature allows the impeller to rotate 3/4ths of a turn, free from the shaft allowing debris to flow through the pump without getting clogged."

Just a little more info....

Puzzdre · 01-01-2003, 04:17 AM

Quote:

What about this pump of yours? Who sells it and would you know how it compares to the 1250 Eheim.
thanks
Jim

I really dunno who sells those pumps out there, I just found it in a pet shop here in Croatia.:shrug: Some people found it on a good price on Ebay I think.
IMO, Eheim is a one class up pump in quality/price comparing to the mjets, and I don't have the experience with Eheim, so I couldn't compare. All I can say this little pump is quiet and good, for the 1/2 of the price of an Eheim 1046 here, and I'm gonna use two of them in series for my next setup...

Bigdaw & Deviant are right, do some more research, you have much better range of pumps to choose from in the g'old USA...

Jim · 01-01-2003, 08:42 AM

Thanks for all your responses.

OFF TOPIC-
Would anyone know why I'm not getting emails from ProCooling informing me posts were made to this thread? This has always worked fine in the past.

I will triple check my set up here but I think it is OK.
Thanks
Jim

bigdawginva · 01-01-2003, 09:59 AM

Quote:

Some people found it on a good price on Ebay I think.

That's where I got my MaxiJet MP1200. $15 brand new in box.

superart · 01-02-2003, 03:09 PM

this link might help:

http://www.overclockers.com/articles672/

Jim · 01-03-2003, 01:18 PM

Thanks for all the replys guys, Bruce was very nice over at Cooltechnica BTW.
I think for less money the L30 is a very good deal.
Jim

bigdawginva · 01-03-2003, 01:19 PM

I agree completely.

12-29-2002, 08:26 AM	#1
Jim Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 389	Hydor L30 pump as good as Eheim 1250? Been a while since I have posted. Good to see much water cooling activities going on. I read the pump roundup thread (here) since I am going to build another water cooling rig. Sold my first build. I wanted to know if the Hydor L30 was performing well? I had an Eheim 1250 in my first setup, but saw this Hydor at Danger Den and liked the smaller size and PRICE! How are these and is Danger Den the only vendor? I'll be using 1/2" tygon, my old Maze 2 and a Chevette heater core with push pull 120 mm fans. If anyone can share experiences with this pump I would appreciate it. Jim

12-30-2002, 07:57 AM	#6
bigdawginva Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: VA Posts: 104	Keep in mind that you'll have to "work" with the Maxijet pump's inlet and outlet. That's assuming you'll run it inline versus submersible. I purchased a brand new MP1200 off Ebay for $15 and the outlet is 1/2" OD and the inlet is 3/4" OD. Also, the inlet and outlet are not threaded. The Maxijet MP1200 uses 20w vs the L30's 23w and the Maxi flows 295gph at 69" and the Hydor flows 320gph at 75". I am unable to compare the two in practical applications since I didn't want to be bothered with figuring out how to fit something to the Maxi's inlet. It's still in the box. Last edited by bigdawginva; 12-30-2002 at 08:02 AM.

12-31-2002, 09:04 PM	#11
bigdawginva Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: VA Posts: 104	Jim, before you make up your mind based on one bad experience and one good one, perhaps you should check out this thread http://forums.procooling.com/vbb/sho...&threadid=5262 and then PM pHaestus. Also, I would email Bruce at Cooltechnica for his thoughts as I believe he carries both pumps as well. I wouldn't make your decision based on one user who says their 18 month old pump is noisier and burning hot, nor from someone who's had it a couple of weeks and says it's quiet and cool. If I thought for one minute the 1250 would be quieter and cooler than my current pump, I would've purchased it in a heartbeat. Maybe it is and there's only one way to know for sure and that's to get both of them which I'm not willing to do. I'm quite satisfied with this pump's performance and the price was quite appealing. Last edited by bigdawginva; 01-01-2003 at 12:18 AM.

01-02-2003, 03:09 PM	#16
superart Cooling Savant Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: FL Posts: 787	this link might help: http://www.overclockers.com/articles672/ __________________ When you do things right, people won't be sure youv'e done anything at all. Looking to buy/trade for used Deep Fryer and Vacume Pack Sealer.

12-29-2002, 08:44 AM	#2
bigdawginva Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: VA Posts: 104	I've had one installed about a week. Cooltechnica also carries them and I believe is still offering 10% off if you mention ProCooling. I can't compare to an Eheim from practical experience but the PQ charts show them almost identical. I cannot hear my L30 nor is it warm to the touch.

12-29-2002, 08:50 AM	#3
Jim Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 389	bigdawginva- Two improvements then so far, I definetly could feel heat off my 1250 when I placed my hand on it. It was not what I considered noisy, but it did have a hum and I had to insulate it from the case with some pipe insulation. Appreciate the input and tip on discount at Cooltechnica, first I heard of them. Jim

12-29-2002, 11:52 AM	#4
Deviant Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 58	The L30 is a nice pump because of lower EMI, size, performance, price and same reliability than Eheim. Hydor is a OEM manufacturer of pumps for US companies like little giant for a long time, so it's not a new company and compared to Eheim 1250 it consumes 5W less, thus it releases 5W less heat. Don't get me wrong. Eheim makes excellent pumps but some German sites showed how to fix the impeller of Eheim 1048 and Eheim 1250 in the past so I find that people sometimes tend to stick with what they know and that means in most cases that they are biased and just think Eheim....and that Eheim never had some issues....which is false. Eheim is a well established brand, and they're well known in the computer liquid cooling mainly because of Swiftech. When Swiftech first introduced the Eheim 1048, people didn't recognize it too, and found it extremely expensive... and over the time, they've accepted it. But Swiftech is not offering Eheims anymore, they started offering another Italian pump, Sicce Idra which is a submersible pump and not really made for inline use. They vibrate a lot and comes with a steel shaft, which releases more heat in to the coolant. I'm going to quote my friend Bruce at Cooltechnica(Sorry to put you on the spot Bruce =) ) " before bringing the Hydors to North America, I used them for months in my own systems... and I'm still using them. If i'm not totally satisfied with a product, I won't offer it in the store. To me, it's as simple as that. " And Bruce sells Hydor and Eheim.... Now I think Hydor and Bruce can send me one free L30

12-30-2002, 05:28 AM	#5
gmat Thermophile Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: France Posts: 1,221	Got one L30 in my sytem. I've been using it for 1 and half a year. It's rather powerful, and may share the flow / pressure characteristics of the 1250, but i've got some griefs: - It's definitely noisier - It's absolutely burning hot - it vibrates a lot, i had to suspend it... - the shaft is cheaply made. i had to change it once. On the other hand it's cheaper...I'd consider it more an alternative to VIA or Rio's than to Eheims. If you want small and amazing pumps, try the Maxijet series -> some ppl here reported they're great for their price.

12-30-2002, 10:11 AM	#8
bigdawginva Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: VA Posts: 104	Did you use a reducer to get the 3/4" inlet tube down to 5/8" or 1/2"?

12-31-2002, 10:02 PM	#12
Deviant Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Montreal, Canada Posts: 58	Bigdawg is right. Talk to Bruce. He does carry both Eheim and Hydor and he knows his WC stuff really well. Here's something he once emailed me: "Hydor L30 is a powerfull pump in a small body, and yes it doesn't tolerate much air in the line, and that's perfectly normal. The impeller in the L30 spins really fast to give the intended 320GPH high flow, so if there's lot of air trapped in the lines, then the impeller makes a sound. Now this's not an issue related to Hydors only... Some German sites showed how to fix the impeller of Eheim 1048 and Eheim 1250 in the past. The reason for this is, all these pumps have an implemented feature called anti-clog. This feature allows the impeller to rotate 3/4ths of a turn, free from the shaft allowing debris to flow through the pump without getting clogged." Just a little more info....

01-01-2003, 08:42 AM	#14
Jim Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 389	Thanks for all your responses. OFF TOPIC- Would anyone know why I'm not getting emails from ProCooling informing me posts were made to this thread? This has always worked fine in the past. I will triple check my set up here but I think it is OK. Thanks Jim

01-03-2003, 01:18 PM	#17
Jim Cooling Savant Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Illinois Posts: 389	Thanks for all the replys guys, Bruce was very nice over at Cooltechnica BTW. I think for less money the L30 is a very good deal. Jim

01-03-2003, 01:19 PM	#18
bigdawginva Cooling Savant Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: VA Posts: 104	I agree completely.

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