Chugger Pump Metal Shavings ?!?

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w0732400

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So my pump head recently got clogged with grain debris which was due to some false bottom issues but when I took the head appart I found these metal shavings that were magnetically attached to the magnetic drive wheel. This does touch the wort as far as I can tell. This is weird to me because my entire rig is stainless and the pump heads are stainless. Stainless is not magnetic. Where are these metal shavings coming from and I took the other pump head apart and it had them too? Has anyone else seen this? What is the remedy? Both of my pumps function as they should so I dont know what the issue is?

Puzzled....

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There's plenty of iron in stainless steel. Stainless is only stainless by depleting the iron particles from the chromium passivation layer (what you see). If that layer is mechanically removed what's exposed will be subject to iron oxidation.

My bet is the impeller is rattling against the drive magnet and eroding the surface layer, and what you're seeing is a collection of iron oxide that resulted...

Cheers!
 
Is that rust and particles enough of an issue I should open up and clean between brews? Or it's not really going to hurt anything? As hard as it was to get it off I would guess not much leaves the surface it would just be the contact with the wort?


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