Jebao WP-40

[bhazard451]

Although the last thread was closed, I'm hoping that this thread can stay open to provide information and experiences from using these pumps.

This pump is a newly released item from China that provides a lot of water movement for the money. It looks very much like a Tunze 6105, but pushes more water and has its own controller for wave modes. The company name is Jebao, and can be found at www.jebao.com. The only seller that I have seen so far is fish street (www.fish-street.com). This may change in the future.

One of these pumps can create a 1"+ wave in my 125 gallon 6 ft tank, which is impressive. Its price is equally impressive. I had 2 MP40s on my tank before, and was skeptical of claims that it could move water as well or better. Once I tried them out for myself, I saw that they actually do work as well as people have claimed. There are many youtube videos of the pumps already showing what they can do.

There has also been a lot of modding done to these pumps within a short amount of time. They can now be controlled by reef controllers such as the Apex and Reef Angel. They seem to be Arduino friendly based on the Microprocessor used, so anyone that can code with an Arduino can technically make their own controller for this. The controller uses a 5v analog signal to control the pumps.

They can also use the Tunze safety connector to create a 12v battery backup solution. All that is needed is a 12v 18 sealed lead acid battery, a charger such as the Battery Tender Jr., and the Tunze safety connector, which allows the pump to run at its full 24v, and then when the power goes out, it switches to the 12v battery for power.

The price of ~$100 for the pump, + modules to work with Apex/Reef Angel, + the battery backup solution in total comes out to less than what a Vortech or Tunze would cost on its own. For those would have thought those pumps were too pricey, this is a very good solution.

Since they are so new, longevity and customer service is a wild card at the moment. There are not enough long term experiences to fully recommend these pumps over proven solutions such as the Tunze or Vortech, but initial reviews have been very promising. If you are willing to take the chance on unproven new pumps such as these, hopefully this can be a thread to share these experiences over time.

I will post how-to tutorials on how to connect these to the Apex and battery backup. You can find more info for Reef Angel use on their forums.

This is the wave these are capable of. This is much stronger than my MP40s could ever create.

Anti-synced via an Apex
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XmbM686VIJQ

 

[Adamc1303]

FWIW I just ordered one. I'll report back when it arrives.

 

[bhazard451]

For Neptune Apex:

You will need:

A Reef Angel Jebao Cable. That's it. No need for the Jebao controller box anymore.
------
or

0-10v analog input PWM module:
Search ebay for LED DIMMER PWM 10 A.12VDC-24 VDC; POT. or 0-10V control
-----------------
Cat5e ethernet cord

Wire nuts
or
Solder and heat shrink tubing

(optional) Solid core wires (or wires that can handle up to 6A) stevesleds.com has some.

Directions:

Unscrew the controller casing

24- is blue
24+ is reddish brown
VA is green yellow and remains untouched

Cut the blue and red wire about halfway down, so you have enough wire connected to the controller still, and some down the cord to the pump. You can also desolder the wires from the 24+ and 24- points, but this is more difficult.

Connect solid core wire to extend the wire length with wire nuts, solder, or some way to connect the wires securely. This makes it easier to work with.

The 0-10v PWM module terminals look like this -+ +-

The first left side -(blue) and +(red) go to the pump wires

The next right side +(red) -(blue) are the ones connected to the controller internals 24+ and 24- points

For the wire to connect to the apex VDM ports, you can buy the Neptune cable ~$15, or do the following.

Cut one end off a Cat 5e ethernet cord.

Keep the following wires:
orange/white wire (positive) - orange wire (negative)
blue/white wire (positive) - green wire (negative)

When plugged into the first VDM port, blue/white wire, green wire is V1, oranges are V2
Second port, blue white green is V3, oranges V4

On the 0-10v module for V1, connect blue/white to + on 0-10v control input terminal , green to - control.

Put the controller back together in a project box, do a really good job with electrical tape taping the loose box together, or fit it all inside somehow and screw back together.

Create profiles to control the pump. The original controller mode are kept, so you can use the Apex to set intensity.

The easiest profiles are ramping profiles throughout the day, like this:

Outlet - Base_Var1 (for V1)

Set PM-Else
If Time 07:00 to 10:00 Then AM-Else
If Time 10:01 to 21:00 Then Day-Else
If Time 21:01 to 23:00 Then PM-Else
If FeedA 000 Then Feed

(feed would be a profile to allow the feed mode)

Profile name: AM-Else

Control type: Ramp

Ramp time (minutes): 1

Start Intensity: 60
End Intensity: 60

(this makes the pump run at 60% power, but if you use the ELSE mode on the controller, it simulates reef crest mode on a vortech, but at 60% overall power)

A midday profile can be made to use a higher intensity, and the PM one can use a lower one.

This barely touches on what can be programmed. If you set the pump on H1 (full power), you can create your own wave mode, like this (borrowed from Kenargo's Tunze profiles)

Profile name: Day Rt
Type: pump
Minimum Intensity: 30
Maximum Intensity: 100
Sync: Enabled
Divide-by 10: Enabled
Initial off time: 4
On time: 8
Off time: 0

Profile name: Day Lt
Type: pump
Minimum Intensity: 30
Maximum Intensity: 100
Sync: Enabled
Divide-by 10: Enabled
Initial off time: 0
On time: 8
Off time: 4

(This creates a huge syncronized wave between two pumps)

You can also use the Weather profiles to control the pump. The Vortech profiles do not work.

If anyone can create other profiles, share!

 

[cmantis]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiOa3agSi48

 

[bhazard451]

12v Battery Backup Solution

You will need:

-12v sealed lead acid battery. 12v 18ah is the battery used in a Voretch BBU, and can be found for ~$35 at amazon.

-Tunze Safety Connector or a custom relay with a 4 amp fuse that can switch between 24v DC, and then switch to the battery when there is power loss.

-Battery Tender Jr., or a similar trickle charger.

-24v DC 60W or higher universal power supply. Like this one: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I5ERUW/?tag=reefs04-20
The voltage sliders on the power supply also can provide speed control!

-crimp terminals

A good tutorial with pictures can be found here:
http://www.thereefuge.com.au/threads/my-diy-battery-backup-for-tunze-pumps.5133/

The only differences being, that the power supply connector from the Jebao will not fit in the Tunze connector. If you use a universal 24v power supply with multiple tips, one of them will connect to the Tunze connector.

 

[Tonyscoots84]

FWIW I just ordered one. I'll report back when it arrives.

Please do we are interested in how these pumps work out

 

[bhazard451]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiOa3agSi48

Development like this already is pretty cool and exciting. These can basically become open source pumps.

 

[Lenny718]

Could this finally be a cheaper alternative to vortech pumps? Tagging along!

 

[smoq]

That is very interesting, tagging along.

 

[mbg75]

Nicely done.

 

[SPotter]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiOa3agSi48

what controller is that? reef angel?

 

[jcs11236]

Pretty cool

 

[strgazr27]

VERY VERY Interested in these pumps. Any idea as to a release date of the smaller 25 series pumps?

 

[Silkyslim]

Thank you so much posting this up.

 

[d5332]

The minute bhazard posted this I tried finding info on them. Jebo is supposedly also working on a WP25 which I guess would fall within the lines of pump suitable for smaller tanks.

I contacted customer service and despite the time difference received a reply whithin 4 hours, they dont have a def release date on this.

I ordered one this weekend.

The flow of the WP40 is going to probably be too strong for my tank, probably great for sps keepers or ppl with fish only tanks that like strong currents, my lps and softie tank not so much so I have been looking on line to see if anyone has figured a way to control the impeller speed on the WP40.

I am not good with small sensative electronics, never even soldered a wire so if anyone beats me to figuring out how to control the speed so I can put this on smaller tanks please remember to post.

 

[tunicata]

I spent two days reading the 47 page RC thread, the threads from Singapore, and of course the last MR thread. Additionally, watched at least 10 of the youtube videos and decided that trying this pump out for $108 shipped was worth it.

Right now I have 5 Koralia 3-4s and one MJ 1200 (modded) in my tank to provide circulation. The price to replace those is actually a bit more expensive than the one WP 40.

The functionality in terms of the flow modes should not be difficult as folks knowledgable in electronics have already figured out how to ramp up/down with and without a controller!

So, I bit the bullet and will learn code.

I've experienced recent hardships with my tank that could have been prevented if i had a controller, so slowly I am ramping up the tech on my tank and well, i would never have been able to afford something in the Vortech or Tunze line.
So, I'm willing to try out something on the $100 scale.

Also, I chatted with Eric the contact for the pumps and he said that the majority of the feedback he has been getting concern:

Sensor for night/day functionality. So, they are adding an extra one in all orders from here out.

And he has only had 1 out of 300 shipments of the pump to the US return as damaged and that it was due to the shipment of it, not quality of the pump.

He has answered all of my emails within 2 hrs.

Mine will be shipped out on the 18th and I should expect it 7-11 days from then

So, we'll see.

I'll also post my experiences.

 

[tunicata]

d5332-
Folks have already come up with like 2-3 ways at least to ramp the flow down for smaller sized tanks.

Bhazard will probably post it, but I believe the controller that comes with the pump can be modified, code/strategies has already been written for controllers like Reef Angel and Apex, and there is the easier option of using the variable control power supply ( $12 option).

 

[dubs]

i am going to give this wp 40 a try

 

[bhazard451]

The only thing that doesn't work well is the night sensor on these. If it is in ambient room lighting, it wont work very well and will run your pump in night mode too often. It is also worthless if you keep your controller in a cabinet with no light.

Fortunately, the piece is external and easy to remove and put back. I just run it without it, since I don't need it anyway being attached to my apex.

The Reef Angel guys have already copied their code they use for their Vortech model to use with these pumps, and they are releasing an easy to use, cheap harness to attach this pump to it. I may even swap my apex to the Reef Angel just for this.

I'm still waiting on my second 0-10v 24v module for my second pump, but when it comes in I'll make a vid of the pumps synchronized.

 

[bhazard451]

I am not good with small sensative electronics, never even soldered a wire so if anyone beats me to figuring out how to control the speed so I can put this on smaller tanks please remember to post.

The absolute easiest, no soldering way to get speed control on these are the universal power supplies like this one http://www.amazon.com/dp/B004I5ERUW/?tag=reefs04-20

The Jebao power supply is connected via a computer AC cord, so you just swap this one in instead. You adjust the voltage sliders to control speed, much like you would with a Tunze power supply. If you want much less flow, you slide it down to 15v or so. Since the pump is DC and voltage controlled, it wont damage it and works great. The actual Tunze power supplies work with this too if you already have one.