Moen Flo - No flow repair - How to

[timman]

Thanks from me too!!! I called Moen support and they also guided me through the whole process of pulling out the turbine and "cleaning" it off. I saw a little rust on one of the magnets on one side of the turbine. But, I was convinced that the small amount of rust present was enough to "break" the flow meter. I cleaned up the rust and put it all back together. Flo still didn't measure water flow. Then I saw this video. I honestly didn't think that this repair would work in my case. But as you mentioned, a replacement Flo was $400+ and the cost to try fix this was only $12 ($5 magnets + $7 shipping). So, it was worth a try before spending the big bucks! I used a 1/16" drill, drilled through the plastic from the back side and pushed the old magnet out. After both magnets were removed, I cleaned up the one side that had the small amount of rust and pushed in the new magnets. I didn't even bother trying to fill the holes. I figured that the side of the turbine where the magnets get pushed in has been open all this time (my flo is actually about 3 years old), why try to change that. I was also worried about "gumming up" the turbine with epoxy and/or RTV. So, I just reassembled the turbine, put Flo back into the water line and it worked! As mentioned, I was shocked (and amazed). I really couldn't believe that new magnets would make one bit of difference. But, they did! This $12 fix saved me $400+ as I really do appreciate the security that the Flo provides and I would have bought another one. Thanks again. Genius!

[adidasplayr]

Moen now sells a kit and apparently it is redesigned to encase the magnets and isolate them from water. Smart move.

[craigcook]

Well I did the magnet "rebuild" as described and lo and behold, it worked. Tried cleaning the old magnets first and that wasn't successful even though they weren't too badly rusted. It did seem that the new magnets were stronger than the originals, however. Before doing all of this I ordered a replacement turbine from Moen but they must be back ordered because its been four weeks so far. That's why I ordered the magnets, which arrived in a week. Moen did ship me the two O rings that I ordered. I think Moen has a real problem here. Can't imagine why they didn't seal the magnets at the factory because steel does rust. Duh! My magnets were sealed with clear waterproof caulk, top and bottom. My unit was just out of the one year warranty and was installed in a Florida home that is used only six months a year. Not good for a $500 product.

[touchfm]

What magnet did you use? where did you get it from? Cheers

[dave.h]

Thank you!!! This is what happened to my unit after just a few years, weekly usage dropped from 1000 gallon/week to only 300, contacted support they told me to flush it without any details on how to do it, basically admitting their crappy design but wouldn’t offer to fix or a discounted unit. I’m so regretting having recommanded it to friends & family over the years. Good concept but just a piece of crap.

[scottl]

Same issue here after about 11 months so still in warranty. Just got off the phone with Moen they're sending a free replacement. I asked about buying additional parts they said the do sell them but there's a limit of 2 per customer and I could only order one since I was getting a replacment. I was worried that would mean my smart valve would only last me an additional 2 years giving its current performance. The rep assured me that wasn't a lifetime limit. Hope that's true. Think I"ll try this fix on my old turbine and see if I can get it to work.

[Teerman]

$500 device crippled by rusty magnets. Great design there Moen!

[marksecunda]

Did replacing the magnets restore the proper flow readings? (mine also stopped reading flow)Thanks.

[alexchernov]

I have the same issue on my 6-month old unit. Did anyone else restore flow measurement function by replacing magnets?