Chugger LOUD and seizes

[anonymousbrew]

I have an old chugger - the green body - for one of my pumps.

I had it mounted in a rolling tool box and wired through a switch, but now is on my brew table and wired into my electricbrewery build.

I had all kinds of trouble with it in the past with it being load and would loose mag couple and then would not restart when liquid temp got over 150 (with wort), but figured it would work fine for my water pump in the new brewery.

When my new chugger came in, i noticed just how freaking deafeningly loud it is. and in playing with it, i took the head off, turned it on, and gave it a good look.

when i turned it vertically with the head upwards (TWSS) the noise stopped.

So now, i can set it upright and run it just fine and it pumps as quiet and as fast as my new Chugger.

So my thought is, there's a bearing or bushing or SOMETHING thats not right in the housing, but i dont see any way to access the inside to check/fix.

any ideas?

 

[broadbill]

send it back...I think the early version suffered from a bunch of quality problems related to their initial manufacture, including this issue. A search here should turn up more details...

 

[maida7]

I have a green one and I had some issues with. I saw a tip on line that explained that the impeller can get suck on the shaft. The cure is to run a drill bit through the hole in the impeller to widen it slightly so it no longer sticks on the shaft. I forget what size bit but once I did this the pump started working good as new.

 

[maida7]

A quick search turns up this post...

I was having the same issues with mine and followed Walter @ March Pumps suggestions that he wrote re: a march pump that was doing the same thing. I have not had any problems since.

"More then likely what's happening with yours is that you are getting a sugar buildup on the shaft the impeller spins on. Easiest thing you can do is take the pump apart and pass a 17/64 drill bit through the center of the impeller. Or if you happen to have a better drill index available then use a "G" drill bit.

Either you are not cleaning the pump out with clean hot water long enough or your pump may be on the tight side of tolerances when it comes to the impeller and shaft. Just as any other part made in the world they all have minimums and maximums during production. In the case of the impeller the bore hole should be between .253-.255 ID and the shaft should be .250 +/- .001 OD Now we cant check every single piece that comes off the production line so there may be parts that exceed the tolerances and you may get an impeller that's on the tight side and a shaft that's on the big side. They will work just fine but when you start pumping something thicker then water like an alcohol that has sugars in it, then you could run into situations where there is not enough lubrication between the shaft and impeller and it will literally cook the material between the two and seize up the impeller onto the shaft. By drilling out the impeller bore you give it an extra ..10 clearance that wont harm anything on the pump and will help keep things clean and clear inside the pump."

 

[anonymousbrew]

yeah, read those - but even better...i sent a contact to chugger asking if there's a way service it - 5mins later, there's a new pump on its way!

I mean, the new black bodied pumps are fantastic - the heating elements in my kettles are louder than that thing!

Dan at chugger pumps was VERY helpful. I might be buying another one just dedicated for CIP.