Chugger pump not starting

[ontum]

Hello,

I have a Chugger pump that is 11 months old and it does not run every time you start it. When I click it on, it tries to start and you can see the fan moving slightly. If you turn it off and on a couple times it eventually starts. Obviously I can't live with this, because I can not rely on the pump.

I removed the head unit and the motor still will not always start.

Has anyone experienced this? If the motor is bad, is this even worth sending out to be repaired?

Thank you,
Craig

 

[jafo28]

I just had this issue also. While messing with it trying to get to work I happened to rest my hand on the ball valve on the outlet port. When I did this it started to slowly turn. I pushed down a little more, and the thing came to life. With a little more inspection I found the portion of the pump behind the head was not totally tight. You could rotate it around an 1/8th of an inch, and when doing so the pump would stop running. Rotate it the other way and the pump runs fine. Tightened the screws and haven't had a problem since.

Good luck, hope it's something simple like this.

 

[kickflip_mj]

Hello,

I have a Chugger pump that is 11 months old and it does not run every time you start it. When I click it on, it tries to start and you can see the fan moving slightly. If you turn it off and on a couple times it eventually starts. Obviously I can't live with this, because I can not rely on the pump.

I removed the head unit and the motor still will not always start.

Has anyone experienced this? If the motor is bad, is this even worth sending out to be repaired?

Thank you,
Craig

Have you oiled it?

 

[Bobby_M]

Take the head off and try running the motor. That will isolate a lot of potential issues right away.

 

[day_trippr]

Take the head off and try running the motor. That will isolate a lot of potential issues right away.

Seems that the OP already did that...

Cheers!

 

[ontum]

Take the head off and try running the motor. That will isolate a lot of potential issues right away.

I believe I tried this a couple weeks ago, but now I am starting to second guess my memory.

I removed the head unit yesterday and I could not get the motor to act up. The motor seemed to be very inconsistent when it would and wouldn't work when brewing, but I couldn't get it to act up at all yesterday and I tried it many many times. Its possible that I only removed the head unit, adjusted the black plastic housing that the head mounts too and reassembled. Maybe the ball valve and stainless fittings on the output of pump are heavy enough to cause the head unit to make contact with the magnet. And maybe heat expansion of the parts along with friction from the propeller are the variables that cause the inconsistency of its function. Has anyone experienced this?

 

[kickflip_mj]

I believe I tried this a couple weeks ago, but now I am starting to second guess my memory.

I removed the head unit yesterday and I could not get the motor to act up. The motor seemed to be very inconsistent when it would and wouldn't work when brewing, but I couldn't get it to act up at all yesterday and I tried it many many times. Its possible that I only removed the head unit, adjusted the black plastic housing that the head mounts too and reassembled. Maybe the ball valve and stainless fittings on the output of pump are heavy enough to cause the head unit to make contact with the magnet. And maybe heat expansion of the parts along with friction from the propeller are the variables that cause the inconsistency of its function. Has anyone experienced this?

I have had that happen a few times, id oil it, and pray.

 

[Bobby_M]

If the motor runs strong with the head removed but not with the head in place, the cup magnet is either making contact with the back of the head or the impeller is locking up on the shaft. Loosening the screws that hold the larger black plastic mount to the motor will allow you to recenter the head within the cup magnet. If it's the impeller, you'd know because it wouldn't spin easily on the shaft.

 

[mabrungard]

Pumping high-gravity wort can cause sugars to crystalize onto the impeller shaft and cause the impeller to bind. Since pumping high-gravity wort is a typical duty of a brewery pump, this is a problem. Fortunately, pumping hot water through the pump does dissolve that sugar layer and restore the clearances. However, this resolution is no help during the mash.

I've solved this problem by never turning the pump off once I've begun the mash (I use RIMS). I just shut the output valve and keep the pump running. Once I've completed the sparging, the hot sparging water has dissolved the sugar and there isn't a problem with stopping and restarting the pump. Running hot PBW or Oxyclean through the pump after the brew day also helps avoid problems.

In the interim, you might need to disassemble the pump head and remove the impeller and look closely at the stainless steel impeller shaft. Give it a light scraping with your thumbnail or something a little harder to see if there is still a layer of sugar coating the shaft. Remove it as necessary.

 

[ontum]

Well, the chugger would not even start with the head unit off.

https://flic.kr/p/shU1Xf

With the head off, it turns really slow. If I give it some help it kicks in and goes. I gave it a little oil with no help. Any ideas?

 

[mabrungard]

Interesting. The only other thing I can think of is that the brush end plate is held on by some sort of clips (at least they are on the March). I'm wondering if something is misaligned at that end? How free does the rotor turn with the power off? It should be free.

 

[ontum]

It seems to spin free and rotates around many time before it stops.

I am wondering if it is having problems between the start and run capacitors, but I don't know enough about it.

 

[kickflip_mj]

Just give them a call, they are really helpfull and have great customer service. sounds like some shooty magnets.

 

[ontum]

Good News!

I sent a Chugger technical help an email and a video of the pump not moving and they were quick to issue me a warranty. They sent me a new motor and even sent a stainless pump head on it.

So I purchased another motor with a plastic head. I will take off the stainless inline pump head off my bad motor and install it on the new motor with the plastic head. So I will end up with two new motors with stainless heads. One is the center inlet and one that Chugger sent is a stainless side inlet. I guess I will see if the center inlet is any better or not and I will have a backup plastic pump as well.

Thank you for all the help and input.


-
Craig

 

[Natdavis777]

Glad they took care of you.

I had the same thing happen to me (wouldnt run unless I gave the fan a little push) and it ended up being grain husks stuck in the impeller. Therefore, I check my pumps before each brew (takes 30sec with a drill) to ensure everything is clear and doesnt give resistance.

 

[jbaysurfer]

Good News!

I sent a Chugger technical help an email and a video of the pump not moving and they were quick to issue me a warranty. They sent me a new motor and even sent a stainless pump head on it.

So I purchased another motor with a plastic head. I will take off the stainless inline pump head off my bad motor and install it on the new motor with the plastic head. So I will end up with two new motors with stainless heads. One is the center inlet and one that Chugger sent is a stainless side inlet. I guess I will see if the center inlet is any better or not and I will have a backup plastic pump as well.

Thank you for all the help and input.


-
Craig

Great customer service. I'm having this exact same problem with an attic fan, but I'm pretty sure whichever manufacturer Home Depot sourced it from isn't going to afford me the same service.