Ose Pondovac 4

[Tommy]

I just bought the Oase Pondovac 4. I tried the Pondovac 4 tonight and it was not functioning properly. It would work for about a minute or less then the suction stops. I still hear the engine running but there is no suction. If I waited for a couple of minutes and turn on the unit again then it would work for another 1 minute or less until the suction stops again.

 

[taherrmann4]

Does it stop sucking after you have had it in the pond and begun to suck up debris? Mine will stop sucking if the hose or the nozzel gets clogged.

 

[Tommy]

There is no clog. I checked. It would work again if I power off the unit for a couple of minutes and turn on again. However, it would only work for a minute or less.

 

[taherrmann4]

Is it the dual chamber one or single?

 

[crsublette]

Yeah, it is the dual chamber one. Exactly the same as the pondovac3 except more horsepower.

I use it as well. Been using it now for about 4 months.

I have never had any issues out of box like that before.

There are height limitations to the Pondovac. One, the vacuum unit must be higher than the flush hose. I just sit mine on a bucket to accomplish this. Second, I have experienced the suction noticeably reducing with the more pipe extentions attached to it. I have only used the clear tube plus 2 more pipe extensions. I have never used all of them at once. The suction is definitely higher whenever I am able to just use the one clear tube.

Also, if ya pull the suction tube out of the water at the moment it is changing chambers, then ya can cause a wierd suction event to occur causing moisture to be forced pass a gasket that protects the motor from water. When this happens, you will notice a fog being vented out of the motor air vents on top. I just turn off the motor, wait a few seconds, then turn it back on and everything is ok.

I bet if I reinforced the gaskets with some pipe thread dope then this would stop moisture from entering the motor.

When motor components are wet, it will not do any suction at all. I just turn off the vaccuum, come back the next day to let the motor dry out, then everything works just fine.

Also, water can be trapped in the motor. It started doing this to me a couple weeks ago. So, you might have to take it apart to drain the water. I have only done this once and I have not had any problems since then. If you are going to do this, be sure all of the screws are out; then, the actual gasket between the motor and chamber lid is damn tight, air suction tight, so you might have to use a flathead screwdriver if you are not strong enough to break the suction.

If you have all of the tube extensions on and ya notice suction slowing down, this means the chamber is full and the trigger has not been reached yet. I just take the suction tube out of the water to suck some air, clear the tube of the water, then the chamber switches and suction is back. Takes a full 3 seconds maybe.

If your pond is very deep, then you may have problems. I did a bunch of research before buying this vaccuum since it is quite expensive. Most of the folk that had problems were people that were trying to use the vaccuum with all of the attachments in very deep ponds. I don't know what is considered "very deep". I do know the ponds the folk were trying to clean are much bigger than my dinky little water feature.

I know the pondovac manual mentions height limitations. You might have to position the vaccuum unit at a particular elevation, higher or lower, to achieve suction.

I have been very pleased with my little pondovac. Sucker is dang powerful. I open the little tab on the suction handle to let in air so the suction is not so hard. Otherwise, I will be picking up big rocks on the water bottom. I also made a crevice tool by fitting some pvc pipe fittings on a tube, reducing the suction to a 1/2", crazy powerful; this gets inbetween rocks very good. I also modified the drain hose with some pvc fittings where I connected a 1 1/2" braided, 30 foot, hose.

If you get the right pvc fittings, then they will form a type of friction connection. I did not glue any of them. If you would like to know exactly what pvc sizes, I can go look for ya if anyone wants me to.

Be sure you have everything put together right.

 

[Tommy]

Many thanks for the additional information. My works fine but after 1 minute or less, the suction totally stops while the motor still runs. I'll try the elevation thing tomorrow and see if that changes anything. If not, then I guess it's broken.

 

[Armando Fernández Fernánd]

Yo tengo a 4 tiene ya algunos años siempre a tenido fallos en hacer el vacío se quedan las válvulas arriba hay que parar escuchar cuando bajan hacen dos clip y encender pero últimamente me tiene desesperado .para ser una máquina cara y alemana da muchos problemas, me gustaría ponerme en contacto con algún técnico de oase y comentarlo

 

[Lisak1]

@Armando Fernández Fernánd ¡Bienvenido al GPF! Le sugiero que se ponga en contacto directamente con la empresa; este foro no está diseñado para diagnosticar problemas de equipos, más que para compartir de un miembro a otro.

 

[Mmathis]

Thank goodness for Google translate. Good answer, @Lisak1. I second that!

 

[don hollowell]

Thank goodness for Google translate. Good answer, @Lisak1. I second that!

check the inlet flap that goes into the pump from the hose...there is a little rubber flap there, if it gets clogged , the pump will not pump..all you have toi do is twist the blue inlet to the pump and check it,,,mine gets clogged occasionally....try that first

 

[mrsclem]

@don hollowell - this thread is from 2012. Appreciate your info. How about going over to the into section and telling us about your pond.

 

[brokensword]

DOTS alert, @poconojoe !!!!!