March pump advice, please!

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Yooper

Yooper

Ale's What Cures You!
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I just flipped the switch on my pump "on" and suddenly got nothing. It wasn't dry, as I had filled the tubing before turning it on.

It's about a year old. Is it possible that it just needs oiled? Or is it something else? I'm an equipment moron and have no idea what to do! Any help is appreciated!
 
Where's Walter when we need him?

Did you try disassembling and cleaning the impeller area? Might have a little build-up in there.
 
I'd check wiring first, does it still have a factory plug, or can you plug it directly in the wall to check if its the switch that is the problem?
 
Budzu said:
I'd check wiring first, does it still have a factory plug, or can you plug it directly in the wall to check if its the switch that is the problem?
Click to expand...

It "hums" when I turn it on, so it's getting power. I have it plugged into my control panel.

I'll have to take it apart (sigh). Is there a good photo of how to do this?
 
Try taking the pump head off and spin the motor by hand a few times. It's just a couple screws. You can plug it in with the head off and see if that works. I had trouble with mine recently and this got it going again. Been running ever since.
 
If it hums but doesn't pump I would pull it apart and check the impeller. Mine did the same thing once, turned out I didn't flush it well enough after a brew day and it had dried wort which caused the impeller to stick. Since its a magnetic drive it doesn't have the torque to break loose if stuck.
 
I have to have Bob help me take it off of my stand, and then I can take it apart. Unfortunately, he's laid up right now with a left hand injury, so it won't be for a few days or longer. We've got it secured so well to my stand that I can't get if off by myself. :drunk:
 
BBL_Brewer said:
Try taking the pump head off and spin the motor by hand a few times. It's just a couple screws. You can plug it in with the head off and see if that works. I had trouble with mine recently and this got it going again. Been running ever since.
Click to expand...

May not relate to brewing but I have had to do this to my pool pump for the past few years when opening . Once it gets goin its fine all year. How long has it been since you brewed?
 
Turn it off and take a screwdriver and spin the fan blades. If the motor is stuck this will release it. This might only work if the motor clicks on.
 
Yooper said:
I have to have Bob help me take it off of my stand, and then I can take it apart. Unfortunately, he's laid up right now with a left hand injury, so it won't be for a few days or longer. We've got it secured so well to my stand that I can't get if off by myself. :drunk:
Click to expand...

The head will come off without removing the whole pump, just need a flathead screwdriver.
 
kpr121 said:
May not relate to brewing but I have had to do this to my pool pump for the past few years when opening . Once it gets goin its fine all year. How long has it been since you brewed?
Click to expand...

About 10 days since I last brewed.

lewybrewing said:
Turn it off and take a screwdriver and spin the fan blades. If the motor is stuck this will release it. This might only work if the motor clicks on.
Click to expand...

I've tried to turn the fan blades- it's really hard to move them. I wonder if the whole thing is seized up?

Demon said:
The head will come off without removing the whole pump, just need a flathead screwdriver.
Click to expand...

Thanks! I'll get at it tomorrow, then. I'm not ready to tackle it tonight.

The pump was the least of my issues today. My CFC totally clogged, and I used my co2 tank to blow it out but apparently not well enough. I have 10.5 gallons of hot wort sitting in fermenters. I guess I suddenly went "no chill".

Either this beer will suck and be an infected mess, or it will be the best beer I ever made. Either way, I'm NOT going to repeat it!
 
DO NOT TRY AND TURN THE FAN BLADES!!! They are made from aluminum and they can bend easily...you may tweak them and it can start hitting the body of the motor internally!

Heres what you do:

1. Take the 4 Philips head screws out and remove the pump head....no need to take the motor out of the stand jet yet...now you should be able to spin the drive magnet by hand easily..
2. turn the power on and verify the motor runs properly....if it still hums then theres something wrong with it....could be the bearings have seized from corrosion if liquid was spilled on them...or something was dropped on it and tweaked the alignment out of whack and the rotor is locking up when power is applied.
3. If motor checks out then open the pump head up.....4 flat head screws on the back.
4. Impeller should spin freely on the shaft...if not then you could have a sugar build up between the shaft and impeller...you should be able to pull the impeller off the shaft and clean it all off. Soak it in hot water to dissolve it.
5. If for some reason its still tight, then it may have ben run dry.....your next option would be to drill the hole bigger. Take a 17?65" drill bit and drill the hole bigger...that shoudl solve it and put you back in business...

If none of that works for you or if you dont want to mess with it then you can ship it back to me and i can look it over for you. :)
 
Also, Bob is a guy. He should be able to do amazing things one-handed.

Just sayin.


;)

Oh, and you should be able to see the fan blades spinning which would indicate whether the motor has seized, or the impeller is stuck. If you've had it about a year, I'd still take the pump housing off and clean inside there.
 
WalterAtMarchPump said:
DO NOT TRY AND TURN THE FAN BLADES!!! They are made from aluminum and they can bend easily...you may tweak them and it can start hitting the body of the motor internally!

Heres what you do:

1. Take the 4 Philips head screws out and remove the pump head....no need to take the motor out of the stand jet yet...now you should be able to spin the drive magnet by hand easily..
2. turn the power on and verify the motor runs properly....if it still hums then theres something wrong with it....could be the bearings have seized from corrosion if liquid was spilled on them...or something was dropped on it and tweaked the alignment out of whack and the rotor is locking up when power is applied.
3. If motor checks out then open the pump head up.....4 flat head screws on the back.
4. Impeller should spin freely on the shaft...if not then you could have a sugar build up between the shaft and impeller...you should be able to pull the impeller off the shaft and clean it all off. Soak it in hot water to dissolve it.
5. If for some reason its still tight, then it may have ben run dry.....your next option would be to drill the hole bigger. Take a 17?65" drill bit and drill the hole bigger...that shoudl solve it and put you back in business...

If none of that works for you or if you dont want to mess with it then you can ship it back to me and i can look it over for you. :)
Click to expand...

Thank you! I have my little grandson right now but I will get at it later. I appreciate the input from everyone!
 
WalterAtMarchPump said:
DO NOT TRY AND TURN THE FAN BLADES!!! They are made from aluminum and they can bend easily...you may tweak them and it can start hitting the body of the motor internally!

Heres what you do:

1. Take the 4 Philips head screws out and remove the pump head....no need to take the motor out of the stand jet yet...now you should be able to spin the drive magnet by hand easily..
2. turn the power on and verify the motor runs properly....if it still hums then theres something wrong with it....could be the bearings have seized from corrosion if liquid was spilled on them...or something was dropped on it and tweaked the alignment out of whack and the rotor is locking up when power is applied.
3. If motor checks out then open the pump head up.....4 flat head screws on the back.
4. Impeller should spin freely on the shaft...if not then you could have a sugar build up between the shaft and impeller...you should be able to pull the impeller off the shaft and clean it all off. Soak it in hot water to dissolve it.
5. If for some reason its still tight, then it may have ben run dry.....your next option would be to drill the hole bigger. Take a 17?65" drill bit and drill the hole bigger...that shoudl solve it and put you back in business...

If none of that works for you or if you dont want to mess with it then you can ship it back to me and i can look it over for you. :)
Click to expand...

Walter, I did just what you said. Everything went fine. I took the head off. The drive magnet was easy to spin by hand and the motor was fine when I turned it on. I took apart the head, and the impeller spun freely but I took it off and made sure there was no gunk. Everything was perfect.

I put it back together, put some water in the HLT to prime it, and the motor did NOT run. It runs without the head attached, though! I let the water from the elevated HLT run via gravity through it to the bucket on the floor, but the pump motor never did turn on. I just turned it on after about 15 seconds.
 
Then it sounds like the alignment has shifted in the motor bracket and the drive magnet is now rubbing against the back of the pump housing. Heres what you do:
1. Put the pump all back together and plumb it up with some liquid so your not running it dry.
2. Now just crack the 4 flat head screws barely loose...just enough to be able to move the bracket around by tapping it with the handle of your screwdriver.
3. Turn the motor on and tap around the outside of the bracket till it starts working....when you get it spinning again and not rubbing, tighten it all up and you should be good to go.

Sounds like something/someone may have bumped the bracket/pump head and slightly shifted it....
 
Yooper said:
Walter, I did just what you said. Everything went fine. I took the head off. The drive magnet was easy to spin by hand and the motor was fine when I turned it on. I took apart the head, and the impeller spun freely but I took it off and made sure there was no gunk. Everything was perfect.

I put it back together, put some water in the HLT to prime it, and the motor did NOT run. It runs without the head attached, though! I let the water from the elevated HLT run via gravity through it to the bucket on the floor, but the pump motor never did turn on. I just turned it on after about 15 seconds.
Click to expand...

I spoke too soon. I decided to go try one more time before giving up and sending it in.

I started the water flowing, and then flipped the switch. And......ShaZAM! It started. It made a weird noise immediately, and I reached down to shut it off but it then within a second it started running perfectly. I turned it off. Turned it back on, and it works like brand new.

There was nothing in there to impede the flow that I saw- but I wonder if that quick noise was something that had fallen in there being knocked off?

One other note. When I took the head apart, I had water coming out of the hoses (I left the ball valve and the hoses on). I wonder if this was something like a water lock in the pump head? I blew out the hoses when I was done brewing yesterday, though, so I thought it would be empty. But water definitely came out once I opened up the pump head.

Anyway, I think it's resolved and I hope that quick "clunk" noise at the beginning was not a harbinger of bad things to come!
 
WalterAtMarchPump said:
Then it sounds like the alignment has shifted in the motor bracket and the drive magnet is now rubbing against the back of the pump housing. Heres what you do:
1. Put the pump all back together and plumb it up with some liquid so your not running it dry.
2. Now just crack the 4 flat head screws barely loose...just enough to be able to move the bracket around by tapping it with the handle of your screwdriver.
3. Turn the motor on and tap around the outside of the bracket till it starts working....when you get it spinning again and not rubbing, tighten it all up and you should be good to go.

Sounds like something/someone may have bumped the bracket/pump head and slightly shifted it....
Click to expand...

I was typing my last entry when you were replying Walter! But know I know that is what happened! We (a friend and I) were changing out the MLT last week and did some work on the stand. I'm sure we shook something and shifted something in the pump. Hopefully the (minor?) clunk I heard wasn't damage!
 
Hmmm..strange. Theres only one moving part inside the pump head and thats the impeller...and only one moving part in the motor and thats the rotor assembly.....so i winder if there happened to be anything inside the motor that may have fallen inside??? or maybe there was something stuck int he pump head blocking the impeller from spinning and finnaly get disloged? well either way if it working then you should be good to go. :)
 
Well i'd say next time you brew, you setup a quick tank of water just to make sure it works so you are not surprised when it comes time to pump!!! but as long as it runs it should be ok....unless, like i said, something fell inside the motor...
 
WalterAtMarchPump said:
Hmmm..strange. Theres only one moving part inside the pump head and thats the impeller...and only one moving part in the motor and thats the rotor assembly.....so i winder if there happened to be anything inside the motor that may have fallen inside??? or maybe there was something stuck int he pump head blocking the impeller from spinning and finnaly get disloged? well either way if it working then you should be good to go. :)
Click to expand...

If you were closer, I'd buy you a beer and give you a kiss. You rock! Thank you so very much.

The funny thing is I was in the laundry room lying on my back (the pump is low on my brewstand, head down) with a flashlight and a screwdriver when Bob said "What are you doing?" I said, "Oh, just fixing my pump". And I actually DID! :D
 

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