Sicce Syncra Silent pumps 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0: The Total Comparative Test

by | Aug 24, 2012 | Equipment | 3 comments

Let’s continue with this article to speak about the numbers resulting from our tests, following the introduction that you can read here: Return Pumps: tests and real measurements compared, and the test done with Eheim pumps: Eheim pumps 1048, 1250 and 1260: The Total Comparative Test and Sicce Pumps: Sicce Syncra Silent pumps 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5: The Total Comparative Test now we continue to analyze the intermediate Sicce pumps: the Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0, 2.5 and 3.0.

sicce Syncra Silent 2.0

His technical characteristics are:

  • Pump Output: 2.150 l/h
  • Delivery Head: 2,0 m
  • Power Consumption: 32 w
  • Dimensions: 123x85x105 mm

here with all the pieces that compose it

This is the first sicce pump we cas use as a return pump, so definitively worth a test, to compare it with all other pumps.

Our test began literally in my garage, where we tested all pumps we have received, not only this, in a single session.

Delivery Head Test

The first test we did was to measure the delivery head. The test is very simple to accomplish. We dropped the pump into a bucket full of water, we connected the pump to a garden hose plastic held vertically, and we measured the height reached by the water column from the ground. We then removed the height of water in the bucket, given that the delivery head is the distance between the two levels of water.

Let me point out that, contrary to what one might think, the level in the pipe was not fixed, but fluctuated noticeably.

So for sicce Syncra Silent 2.0 we read 224 cm – 22 cm = measured delivery head 202 cm (200 cm declared)

Pump Output Test

Measure the pump output is however very complex and the result was only approximate but still useful for comparing similar pumps. Placing in fact a pump in a container, its output was affected too much from the prevalence present in the bucket itself, and thus the decreasing the water in the container fell also the output. In any case, we measured the time it took each pump to fill a 12 liter tank, and run 3 measures that than was averaged, and then we divided the time obtained by 12 liters, resulting in a capacity not perfect, but significant, especially for the comparison.

To fill the tank up to 12 liters to sicce Syncra Silent 2.0 took an average of 30 seconds.

The output with this simple calculation reported a flow rate equal to 1.439 l/h (against the 2.150 declared). As mentioned in the introduction, this number is misleading because the test was conducted in an unscientific manner, but we will measure everything with a calibrated instrument, as we report later in the article.

Test of Power Consumption

During the test of delivery head we also measured the power consumption with current clamp, but as it was also impossible to measure the power factor, the offset between the real and apparent power, the result is only and exclusively as a curiosity.

Consumption at maximum delivery head: 0.232 amps or 51 watts versus 32 watts declared.

At this point we wondered if we could do more, and for this we came to meet the sicce, thanks to Federico Carraro, has made available all its instruments of measurement.

We should note however that all the measurements made in sicce were performed with a supply current at 230V as standard of measurement in Europe, so keep in mind when you read these results.

But we have to point that we have tested all pumps with all their protections like they’re in the first picture, if we take out the protections, we have better values

Measured delivery head: 198 cm (declared 200 cm)Measured output: 1.944 l/h (declared 2.150)

Please note: the measured head has to be corrected by adding 20 cm which is the value read by the system when pump is off

Power Consumption at maximum delivery head: 31,1 watt
(declared 32 watt)
Power Factor: 0,504Absorbed current: 0,27 A

 


Output measured at 150 cm of delivery head: 741 l/h
(please note: the measured head has to be corrected by adding 20 cm which is the value read by the system when pump is off)

Power Consumption at: 21,3 wattPower Factor: 0,374Absorbed current: 0,25 A

 

sicce Syncra Silent 2.5

His technical characteristics are:

  • Pump Output: 2.400 l/h
  • Delivery Head: 2,4 m
  • Power Consumption: 40 w
  • Dimensions: 123x85x105 mm

here with all the pieces that compose it

This is the first sicce pump we cas use as a return pump, so definitively worth a test, to compare it with all other pumps.

Our test began literally in my garage, where we tested all pumps we have received, not only this, in a single session.

Delivery Head Test

The first test we did was to measure the delivery head. The test is very simple to accomplish. We dropped the pump into a bucket full of water, we connected the pump to a garden hose plastic held vertically, and we measured the height reached by the water column from the ground. We then removed the height of water in the bucket, given that the delivery head is the distance between the two levels of water.

Let me point out that, contrary to what one might think, the level in the pipe was not fixed, but fluctuated noticeably.

So for sicce Syncra Silent 2.5 we read 266 cm – 21 cm = measured delivery head 245 cm (240 cm declared)

Pump Output Test

Measure the pump output is however very complex and the result was only approximate but still useful for comparing similar pumps. Placing in fact a pump in a container, its output was affected too much from the prevalence present in the bucket itself, and thus the decreasing the water in the container fell also the output. In any case, we measured the time it took each pump to fill a 12 liter tank, and run 3 measures was averaged, and then we divided the time obtained by 12 liters, resulting in a capacity not perfect, but significant, especially for the comparison.

To fill the tank up to 12 liters to sicce Syncra Silent 2.5 took an average of 26,6 seconds.

The output with this simple calculation reported a flow rate equal to 1.623 l/h (against the 2.400 declared). As mentioned in the introduction, this number is misleading because the test was conducted in an unscientific manner, but we will measure everything with a calibrated instrument, as we report later in the article.

Test of Power Consumption

During the test of delivery head we also measured the power consumption with current clamp, but as it was also impossible to measure the power factor, the offset between the real and apparent power, the result is only and exclusively as a curiosity.

Consumption at maximum delivery head: 0.298 amps or 66 watts versus 40 watts declared.

At this point we went to sicce, where, thanks to Federico Carraro, we have had available all its instruments of measurement.

We should note however that all the measurements made in sicce were performed with a supply current at 230V as standard of measurement in Europe, so keep in mind when you read these results.

But we have to point that we have tested all pumps with all their protections like they’re in the first picture, if we take out the protections, we have better values

Measured delivery head: 240 cm (declared 240 cm)Measured output: 2.148 l/h (declared 2.400)

Please note: the measured head has to be corrected by adding 20 cm which is the value read by the system when pump is off

Power Consumption at maximum delivery head: 41,2 watt
(declared 40 watt)
Power Factor: 0,502Absorbed current: 0,36 A

 


Output measured at 153 cm of delivery head: 1031 l/h
(please note: the measured head has to be corrected by adding 20 cm which is the value read by the system when pump is off)

Power Consumption at: 30,9 wattPower Factor: 0,411Absorbed current: 0,33 A

 

sicce Syncra Silent 3.0

His technical characteristics are:

  • Pump Output: 2.700 l/h
  • Delivery Head: 3,0 m
  • Power Consumption: 45 w
  • Dimensions: 123x85x105 mm

here with all the pieces that compose it

This is the first sicce pump we cas use as a return pump, so definitively worth a test, to compare it with all other pumps.

Our test began literally in my garage, where we tested all pumps we have received, not only this, in a single session.

Delivery Head Test

The first test we did was to measure the delivery head. The test is very simple to accomplish. We dropped the pump into a bucket full of water, we connected the pump to a garden hose plastic held vertically, and we measured the height reached by the water column from the ground. We then removed the height of water in the bucket, given that the delivery head is the distance between the two levels of water.

Let me point out that, contrary to what one might think, the level in the pipe was not fixed, but fluctuated noticeably.

So for sicce Syncra Silent 3.0 we have read 304 cm – 21 cm = measured delivery head 283 cm (300 cm declared)

Pump Output Test

Measure the pump output is however very complex and the result was only approximate but still useful for comparing similar pumps. Placing in fact a pump in a container, its output was affected too much from the prevalence present in the bucket itself, and thus the decreasing the water in the container fell also the output. In any case, we measured the time it took each pump to fill a 12 liter tank, and run 3 measures was averaged, and then we divided the time obtained by 12 liters, resulting in a capacity not perfect, but significant, especially for the comparison.

To fill the tank up to 12 liters to sicce Syncra Silent 3.0 took an average of 24 seconds.

The output with this simple calculation reported a flow rate equal to 1.789 l/h (against the 2.700 declared). As mentioned in the introduction, this number is misleading because the test was conducted in an unscientific manner, but we will measure everything with a calibrated instrument, as we report later in the article.

Test of Power Consumption

During the test of delivery head we also measured the power consumption with current clamp, but as it was also impossible to measure the power factor, the offset between the real and apparent power, the result is only and exclusively as a curiosity.

Consumption at maximum delivery head: 0.108 amps or 31 watts versus 45 watts declared.

At this point we went to sicce, where, thanks to Federico Carraro, we have had available all its instruments of measurement.

We should note however that all the measurements made in sicce were performed with a supply current at 230V as standard of measurement in Europe, so keep in mind when you read these results.

But we have to point that we have tested all pumps with all their protections like they’re in the first picture, if we take out the protections, we have better values

Measured delivery head: 296 cm (declared 300 cm)Measured output: 2.375 l/h (declared 2.700) at 2 cm

Please note: the measured head has to be corrected by adding 20 cm which is the value read by the system when pump is off

Power Consumption at maximum delivery head: 42,3 watt
(declared 45 watt)
Power Factor: 0,864Absorbed current: 0,20 A

We have to comment on the power factor that compared to other pumps under test is very high, and in some ways very close to one. This leads to a definitely less heat in the tank at the same flow rate, since being a power factor generated for construction and not through phase-resetting, the pump tends to convert almost all the energy into work, dispersing in the tank little heat.


Output measured at 151 cm of delivery head: 1.469 l/h
(please note: the measured head has to be corrected by adding 20 cm which is the value read by the system when pump is off)

Power Consumption at: 33,5 wattPower Factor: 0,897Absorbed current: 0,17 A

 

And finally here is the summary data of sicce pumps:

Delivery Head

pumpdelivery headgarage testlaboratory testaveragedeviation
sicce Syncra Silent 2.0200202198200100 %
sicce Syncra Silent 2.5240245240243101 %
sicce Syncra Silent 3.030028329629097 %

The measure of delivery head has given us very positive values for all the three sicce pumps, since all pumps are very close to declared values, with max 3% of deviation.

Output

pumpdeclared outputlaboratory testdeviation
sicce Syncra Silent 2.02.1501.94490 %
sicce Syncra Silent 2.52.4002.14890 %
sicce Syncra Silent 3.02.7002.37588 %

The output rate has given us less positive values for the sicce pumps, as all three pumps have a deviation of about 10%. We must say however that the measurements were performed with all the protections over the pumps, as in the photos, while removing them we have verified that the performance would increase a lot, a good advice in case of use in sump.

Power Consumption

pumpdeclared power consumptionlaboratory testdeviationAnnual cost (0,26€/kwh)
sicce Syncra Silent 2.01031,197%70,83 €
sicce Syncra Silent 2.52841,2103%93,84 €
sicce Syncra Silent 3.06542,394%96,34 €

The measure of consumption has been extremely positive, since all the pumps tested exhibited a power consumption close to the data declared, and two pumps less, we have also to point out the close powew consumption of 2.5 and 3.0 but with different performance.

Values recorded at 150 cm of delivery head (more or less)

pumpdelivery head (cm)output (l/h)Power consumption (w)Annual cost (0,26€/kwh)efficiency
(liters for euro)
sicce Syncra Silent 2.015074121,348,5115,28 €
sicce Syncra Silent 2.51531.03130,970,3814,65 €
sicce Syncra Silent 3.01511.46933,576,3019,26 €

The measurements made at 150 cm are indicative of a range that we have in our tanks, both as regards the output, the power consuption and the cost, calculated here at 0.26 euros per kwh, everyone can divide that value by 0.26 and re-multiply for the value they currently pay.

The last column then returns a value indicative of the efficiency. That is how many liters a day we can move with one euro of electricity per year. Therefore the higher the number the better the performance.

Correspondence with declared data

Finally, just as a comparison, we give a matching value compared to data reported by the various pumps

pumpdelivery headoutputPower consumptionAverage
Sicce Syncra Silent 2.0100 %90 %97 %98 %
sicce Syncra Silent 2.5101 %90 %103 %96 %
sicce Syncra Silent 3.097 %88 %94 %97 %

We can therefore say that all three sicce pumps are suited to the data declared. I do however note that in the power consumption column, lowest numbers assure better performance, because they show a lower consumption than data declared.

We can only promote to honors all three pumps in test that you see in the next image in a compact formation.

Many thanks to sicce for providing us the pumps subject of tests and for the provision of the laboratory where the tests were performed.

  • danireef

    Danilo Ronchi, aka DaniReef lives in Italy where he is hydraulic engineer, but starting from his love for reef aquarium and photography, he began to write about marine aquariums from 2006 and now he's published his first book "Marine Aquarium". From 2007 Danilo writes on his blog danireef.com where publishes articles, pictures, product reviews, aquariums coverage, reportage and history of his tank. Now he's happy to be part of Reefs.com

3 Comments

  1. mightymo

    Excellent analysis and write-up. Thank you for your time and effort and sharing this information.

    Reply
  2. Gary Green

    Which size Sicce pump is recommended for a Red sea 55 gallon Reefer?

    Reply

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