Powerhead - vibrating?

[khombre]

Hey there

One of my powerheads has been making some noise lately (not loud though) and it seems to coming from the powerhead vibrating at a certain degree. It doesn't have any gunk or debris as I have cleaned it thoroughly.

My question is "Do I have to replace this one immediately?". Does it pose any other problem other than being annoying? My other powerheads, some of which are older than this noisy one, are all being silent and well-behaved

Thanks in advance. By "visual estimate", the flow rate don't seem to be affected.

 

[AnDr3w]

Is it just pumping water straight foward or is it in a sump or flowing water up?

 

[khombre]

Its pumping water upwards into a box filter

 

[Volenti]

The impeller is wearing un-evenly on the shaft, instead of a round hole it is developing an oval/egg shaped hole, instead of spinning the impeller "orbits" the shaft , it's not an immediate concern and may continue to function "normally" for many months to come (allbeit noisily). Back in the bad old days of stainless steel impeller shafts I had an impeller completely wear through a SS shaft with no lasting damage to the pump (replacement shaft+impeller= good as new)

Ironically the pump can sometimes quieten down a bit as bio/scum build up occurs (it acts like grease) If the vibration bothers you look into a replacement impeller+shaft, it will be cheaper than replacing the entire pump.

 

[khombre]

Ironically the pump can sometimes quieten down a bit as bio/scum build up occurs (it acts like grease) If the vibration bothers you look into a replacement impeller+shaft, it will be cheaper than replacing the entire pump.

I guess that explains why its noisier when newly cleaned. It's almost silent if I don't clean it for a long time. I'd probably look for the spare part. Thanks.