March pump showed up broken

[arborman]

My march pump from morebeer, with ball valves connected, showed up yesterday broken. The "in" side broke off where the ball valve was screwed on. This is my first pump ever, and now that I am seeing this, I am wondering if I made the right choice in pumps? I was looking at the Steelhead pump from northern brewer, which caught my eye in that the head is not plastic..

Should I consider sending this back for a more durable pump head?

 

[IslandLizard]

I have a March 809 (plastic head) and I too am worried about breakage. It's a good pump, and although it's sturdy, the plastic nipples stick out, have little support, and could crack or break off too easily. Metal fittings on plastic threads is another weakness to watch out for (you just found out). And never screw metal inside plastic.

I looked at the Chugger pumps. Similar price but all have SS heads. The SS head March pumps are way more $$.

 

[arborman]

Yeah, I scoped out the all stainless march pumps, and they seem way overpriced for my budget. But, this broken head is worrisome. I can just imagine bumping into one of the valves on a brew day and watching my wort get pumped out all over the garage floor. Why is it that they cannot make these things a bit stronger? This seems to be a common complaint. Hmmm, guess its a nice money maker for them, since they sell replacement heads at $40 a pop. Its 2013, cant they come up with a more durable design?

 

[mrklueber]

I've used a March 809PL (plastic) head pump since 2006, with at least 100 brews and I have not had any problems with breakage. I have SS fittings on the inlet outlet side and then two valves. Never a problem and no worries about breakage. I am surprised that Morebeer shipped a pump with the valve installed as that may have put undue stress on the pump inlet. Just sharing my experience. SS heads look shiny and should be more durable than the plastic heads, but the heat transfer through SS is much higher, so if you are pumping hot liquids, there is a burn potential with the SS head that is not there with the plastic head.

 

[arborman]

I've used a March 809PL (plastic) head pump since 2006, with at least 100 brews and I have not had any problems with breakage. I have SS fittings on the inlet outlet side and then two valves. Never a problem and no worries about breakage. I am surprised that Morebeer shipped a pump with the valve installed as that may have put undue stress on the pump inlet. Just sharing my experience. SS heads look shiny and should be more durable than the plastic heads, but the heat transfer through SS is much higher, so if you are pumping hot liquids, there is a burn potential with the SS head that is not there with the plastic head.

Well, like a sucker, I bought the pre assembled pump for $50 more, which came with two ball valves and a tee connection. Being as it was my first pump, I bought into the claims that (by morebeer) it's "tricky" to connect ball valves to the plastic head without cross threading. So, I paid to have them ship me a complete unit. Oh, and I paid for overnight shipping. Now, I have a broken pump, paid for a pre assembled unit, and now will put it together myself. Guess I'm a SUCKER! Not too happy with morebeer right now. They should be packing these things better

 

[RiverCityBrewer]

So... Have you contacted morebeer yet? They have never failed to make me happy as a customer.

 

[mikescooling]

Chugger pumps have sales often, get on their email mailing list. My last one was SS center in-let head, $135 shipped.

 

[arborman]

So... Have you contacted morebeer yet? They have never failed to make me happy as a customer.

Yep, they are sending out a new pump head, but I still got stuck with some of the overnight shipping charges, only to learn I'm within their next day delivery, so I didn't need to pay for it in the first place.