Air pump safety

[Cinnebuns]

Long story short my air pump got water inside of it. Not from the tank. From my cat doing cat things and ruining my life and knocking over my humidifier. I noticed a burning smell so I unplugged it and threw it in a bowl with an entire bag of rice. It's a uniclife 40. Here's an Amazon link to it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01N7GUPXC?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Will this pump be safe to use ever again?  Should I try to open it maybe?  It does have screws so appears to be open able. The only reason I haven't so far is because I have bad hands and it will hurt me a lot and I know I'm gonna get angry doing it lol. Any other ideas?

I truly hope this actually is the cause of the burning smell and it's not something else I'm missing. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:13 PM, Cinnebuns said:

I truly hope this actually is the cause of the burning smell and it's not something else I'm missing. 

It's very likely not worth the hassle.  Pretty much every pump you have is the same thing with slight variations.  That burning smell is likely water on the board inside the pump itself. Probably something on the magnet or one of the other electronics and that's causing the short. That short led to voltage going where it shouldn't have and overloading a component, which is the burning smell you had.

[Cinnebuns]

On 7/20/2022 at 1:20 AM, nabokovfan87 said:

It's very likely not worth the hassle.

Just want to clarify that you mean it's a goner?  Just toss?

[Cinnebuns]

On 7/20/2022 at 3:19 AM, Pepere said:

$14.00 at Amazon.  How much is your peace of mind worth?  Opening it would be painful for you.  How much is avoiding that pain worth? 
It would be an easy decision for me.

It's not just a little pain. My wrists are pretty bad right now. 

Also, $14 is a lot to me. I'm on disability. I agree peace of mind is the most important but not knowing the functioning of the equipment it's worth asking if it's done for before just throwing it out. 

No offense but that may be an easy decision for you but you are not in my physical or financial situation. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Cinnebuns

[Gwallace]

I think being safe and not potentially having a fire is worth the $14

[Guppysnail]

@Cinnebuns it may be fine I’m not an electrical guru though. If it still runs once it dries out the short may have been a temporary thing. @dasaltemelosguy is my electronic go to guy. He works with it in his professional life. He will know. Maybe take a picture of the inside so he can see the gizmo stuff inside to know if it is safe for you. 
 

I understand wrist pain..7 unsuccessful reconstructive surgeries on my dominant wrist but I also understand financial struggles that come with disability.  I was mostly immobile for 3 years with other issues waiting for SS to deny my disability anyway 🙄. So hopefully he can save you money and give you peace of mind. 
 

My cats are bulls in the china shop as well. It’s usually my cords that get chewed. ACO long cords are my hero. They can be spliced many times before they are to short to be useful 🤣

Edited July 20, 2022 by Guppysnail

[gardenman]

There's not typically a lot inside an air pump that's electrical. Just a transformer. If you can take off the bottom cover to help with the drying, it would speed things up. By and large, air pumps are pretty sealed so it shouldn't have much water inside it. Was it plugged into a power strip or extension cord? If so, that might have been where the burning smell was coming from. If the cord looks fine and the plug looks fine, then odds are the pump will be fine. The actual wiring on the transformer has an insulated coating on it so it's unlikely to short out. Now it can burn out for other reasons, but a bit of water shouldn't be a huge issue with it. I'd recommend plugging it into a GFCI outlet (typically found in bathrooms or around water) for if there's any issue, it will trip that outlet which is easy to reset and prevent any serious issues. 

[BuzzDaddy21]

On 7/20/2022 at 1:13 AM, Cinnebuns said:

Should I try to open it maybe?

I think I would try, just to see what's inside. There are times I have trouble opening a bottle of water or jar, but I like to tinker with stuff. (Sometimes I wait till someone stops by and I say open this 🙃) A while back for reasons I don`t understand I replaced my air pumps with ones that had battery backup and then did the silly thing and hung them on the wall, might not be good to do with cats around 😼, If possible, I would like to know what was wrong with your pump.

[JettsPapa]

On 7/20/2022 at 3:34 AM, Cinnebuns said:

It's not just a little pain. My wrists are pretty bad right now. 

Also, $14 is a lot to me. I'm on disability. I agree peace of mind is the most important but not knowing the functioning of the equipment it's worth asking if it's done for before just throwing it out. 

No offense but that may be an easy decision for you but you are not in my physical or financial situation. 

I'm a big fan of the little USB air pumps.  They're less expensive than that, and unless you're pushing air to the bottom of a tall tank it should be adequate.

Also, I take a plant weight, bend it into an S-shape, and use it to hang the pump on the back of the tank.  That has several advantages.

• It reduces the length of air line needed, which helps take some of the load off the pump.
• It puts the pump near the top of the tank, so there's no need for a check valve to prevent siphoning in case of a power failure.
• It puts the pump out of the way, and out of sight.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2022 at 10:33 AM, JettsPapa said:

plant weight, bend it into an S-shape

Unrelated but I have been looking for something that cuts easier than steel wire for hanging in/ out of tanks. Thank you I never even thought of this 🤩

[dasaltemelosguy]

On 7/19/2022 at 10:13 PM, Cinnebuns said:

Long story short my air pump got water inside of it. Not from the tank. From my cat doing cat things and ruining my life and knocking over my humidifier. I noticed a burning smell so I unplugged it and threw it in a bowl with an entire bag of rice. It's a uniclife 40. Here's an Amazon link to it:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01N7GUPXC?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

Will this pump be safe to use ever again?  Should I try to open it maybe?  It does have screws so appears to be open able. The only reason I haven't so far is because I have bad hands and it will hurt me a lot and I know I'm gonna get angry doing it lol. Any other ideas?

I truly hope this actually is the cause of the burning smell and it's not something else I'm missing. 

Hi, I agree with @gardenman in that there’s not much in a pump that can be damaged by water. As he pointed out, there’s a transformer-like object inside (called a solenoid) that is really just a plain coil of wire, wrapped around a magnet that they run electricity through.

If it gets wet, there’s minor shorts creating heat and the trapped water experiences some electrolysis and/or just plain boils off so there’s a lot of potential odors from the electricity, heat and water.

Yes, there’s always a possibility of a shorted coil given the smell you noticed but, in all likelihood, it’s just the water in the device. There’s really no reason it should have been damaged. Just watch to see if it starts getting unusually hot as if it gets very hot, then it probably has a fatal short. However, if it still pumps air normally, it most likely has no shorts, just water.

We used to manufacture large HIFI electronics which ran at 6X the voltage that this air pump operates at, and we literally took large amplifiers and hosed them down outside to clean them. So long as they are allowed to dry out, they were always fine.

If you feel your kitty made a mess, you can open it and rinse it out well and just let it dry again. But I would definitely try to open it so it can thoroughly dry. If it remains closed, it could take weeks to dry out. If it’s open, a day or two. Once dry, I see no reason it should not work.

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/20/2022 at 12:15 AM, Cinnebuns said:

Just want to clarify that you mean it's a goner?  Just toss?

correct.

On 7/20/2022 at 7:40 AM, Guppysnail said:

Unrelated but I have been looking for something that cuts easier than steel wire for hanging in/ out of tanks. Thank you I never even thought of this

paracord

On 7/20/2022 at 5:51 AM, gardenman said:

I'd recommend plugging it into a GFCI outlet (typically found in bathrooms or around water) for if there's any issue, it will trip that outlet which is easy to reset and prevent any serious issues. 

awesome tip.  I like that.

[Guppysnail]

On 7/20/2022 at 2:21 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

paracord

This does not work. It does not hold its shape. I need something rigid for what I’m doing. Hubby gave me something similar to try. I had a spool of plant weight metal and that is going to work perfectly.  Thank you for the suggestion though. 

Edited July 20, 2022 by Guppysnail

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/20/2022 at 11:27 AM, Guppysnail said:

This does not work. It does not hold its shape. I need something rigid for what I’m doing. Hubby gave me something similar to try. I had a spool of plant weight metal and that is going to work perfectly.  Thank you for the suggestion though. 

Ah didn't realize you needed it rigid, I thought it was to hang something from the ceiling.

The other common thing that might be relevant is called piano wire. It's stainless steel wire prior to heat treat or anything like that.  This is what a lot of springs are made out of.  It comes in different diameters, making it easier or less easy to cut.  This I link just as an example. It says "high carbon steel" which would leech some iron and rust over time.  Others would be made out of the material you need, just something to always double check under that nomenclature.

https://www.amazon.com/Music-Wire-032-Diameter-Long/dp/B002WXGIHC/ref=sr_1_5?crid=2STYNFW7KQJSK&keywords=piano+wire&qid=1658352770&sprefix=piano%2Caps%2C432&sr=8-5

Someone suggested plant weights (I really need some!) That's probably the easiest way to get it done.

Edited July 20, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Cinnebuns]

On 7/20/2022 at 4:38 AM, Pepere said:

No offense was intended,  just giving things to consider in order to come to the decision that works for you.

Hey i apologize for getting so defensive. It was a chaotic and rough moment.

[Guppy Guy]

As far as safety goes, it depends on the pump. If it is quiet when working properly, it probably uses a DC electromagnet with AC current to move a diaphragm back and forth. This kind of pump should work fine after drying out since it is so simple. If it is noisy when working properly, its probably a pump that runs off a DC motor. DC motors need a special converting circuit and sometimes a driver, but they are cheap and common in lower end pumps. Due to the complexity and fragileness of a DC motor circuit, I would get a USB nano air pump as a replacement.

I say this, but if it were me, I would just get a USB nano air pump no matter what pump it is. 

As far as the burning smell goes, check your power strip. If water spilled on it, it could be the source of the smell. You could also move the old air pump away from the tank and see if the smell continues so you will know weather or not it is the pump.

Edited July 21, 2022 by Guppy Guy