Supreme Mag Drive 500 gph Utility Pump Review

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Mag Drive 5 Specs

The Mag Drive 500 gph utility pump is one of the most cost efficient models of the series. It comes at a moderate price, brings a decent flow while still keeping the more practical body shape.

Set-up

There isn’t a whole lot of set up involved with this pump. You will first need the right size tubing. Both the inlet and outlet sizes are 1/2″, with the inlet being FPT and the outlet being MPT.

Unlike the larger models, the Mag Drive 500 features a flat base for the pump to stand on. This is in no way sound reducing, but it does make quieting the pump a bit easier. Placing a rubber mat underneath the pump will often be enough to reduce the noise.

If you can, submerging the pump will reduce the noise immensely as opposed to running it externally. This will also reduce the over all tubing required. The issue here is heat generation. When fully submerged the Mag Drive has a bad habit of raising the waters temperature a few degrees. If you have a small tank/body of water this could be trouble.

Despite being one of the smaller sizes, the 500 gph model still comes with a 10 foot cord. This is actually too much cord for my indoor use. You can keep a lot of the cord coiled while using the pump, but do not excessively bend it. This can damage the wires.

Assembly

To open the pump you will need to unscrew the four screws located around the intake of the pump. They require a Phillips head screw driver to remove.

With the front cover gone you will have access to the impeller. Unlike larger models, the impeller is magnetic rather than ceramic. In my opinion this is great, as ceramic shafts always break much easier.

Remove the magnetic impeller and submerge it in a solution of 50% water and 50% vinegar. Leave the impeller soaking for at least 15 minutes.

The body can be scrubbed clean with whatever you have on hand. Try to avoid any materials that have been exposed to cleaning agents or other chemicals.

Both the impeller and its magnetic mount must be cleaned using soft, non abrasive materials. Any scratches here will cause irregular spinning. This creates uneven water flow while damaging the impeller until it breaks. I personally use cotton swabs on my magnetic impellers, as they can still scrub hard enough to remove debris without scratching.

Flow & Adjustments

Keep in mind there is absolutely no way to control the flow without installing an additional valve or adding more/less head(vertical height). While the pump may be small, it can still surprise owners with its powerful flow.

The table above shows why I absolutely love this model. Its strength is well above what is listed. After climbing a few feet it can still hold a lot of power.

Mid sized tanks can easily see a 10 times turnover rate with this pump installed in their sump. After switching out my old rio aqua(old for a rio anyways) I immediately saw better tank conditions. If you use a wet/dry filter sump set up like me, you will absolutely love the flow this pump puts out.

Warranty & Lifetime

There is a 5 year warranty on all non moving parts on the Mag Drive 500 gph pump. The impeller and motor however are covered by a lesser 1 year warranty. Additionally this one year warranty does not cover damage caused by user error, running the pump dry or excessive build up. While this may sound extremely limiting, you shouldn’t run into any issues if you clean the pump every month or two.

Owners of the Mag Drive 500 can expect over 5 years of lifetime from this pump. In that lifetime you will likely need to replace the impeller at least once, which costs around $15. For strong reliable flow, I am more than happy to replace a broken part or two. Remember: if you are instead choosing a larger model that does not have the flat base, you will be getting a ceramic shaft. Those break far more frequently and cost much more to replace. The 700 is the largest magnetic impeller model available.