Problem with new Riptide Pump

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I ran my pump with new impeller with room temperature water at full flow and very quiet. Your first video sounds like MASSIVE vibration. My thoughts are the vibration either caused the impeller shaft to loosen or more likely the shaft came loose first causing the vibration.
 
mbg said:
I ran my pump with new impeller with room temperature water at full flow and very quiet. Your first video sounds like MASSIVE vibration. My thoughts are the vibration either caused the impeller shaft to loosen or more likely the shaft came loose first causing the vibration.
Click to expand...

Definitely a possibility for sure, the failure happened soon after the comparison testing.

I would think that the noise would be constant though regardless of the flow rate no? The pump is constantly driven magnetically even if there is no flow due to complete constriction on the output so I would think if it was some type of physical vibration or alignment it would persist and flow rate changes would not effect it?
 
Well, my pump finally shipped....nearly two months after purchase! The least they could have done was overnight it or two day shipping.
 
Vendors are at the mercy of Blichmann's schedule. I don't know why everyone took preorders but the margins aren't high enough to cover overnight shipping to make up for delays. That's my opinion. I didn't take preorders for this very reason.
 
Bobby_M said:
Vendors are at the mercy of Blichmann's schedule. I don't know why everyone took preorders but the margins aren't high enough to cover overnight shipping to make up for delays. That's my opinion. I didn't take preorders for this very reason.
Click to expand...

Well, when I ordered it it, I do not think it was a pre-order, as this thread had started a few days before I ordered....had I actually bothered to look at this thread, I might have held off!

In any case, it arrived saturday much to my surprise. I got some use in with it on Sunday and I will say that it am impressed....quiet with super duper flow!
 
I was thinking of replacing my Chugger pumps in my HERMS brewstand with the Riptide pumps, but after seeing all these issues I think I'll stay with my Chuggers. Yes, they are a little noisy and a bit of a pain to disassemble for cleaning, but THEY WORK. I've done at least 20 batches with them and had no issues. Sounds like poor engineering and testing from Blichmann.
 
I wouldn't take that view of it; there are a lot of folks using them without issue. I'm one of them. The increased flow is great, and the ease of cleaning makes it a home run.
 
Update

Blichmann CS sent me a new pump to replace my current one. I will be sending my faulty pump back to them for them to investigate the issues. I brewed with the new pump on Saturday and had zero issues with it and it seemed to run flawlessly. There are a couple of interesting differences between this new pump and my old pump.

1. The pump head casting has a Blichmann B on it while the other pump did not. Not sure if they switched pump head manufacturers or something along the way? There are some interesting machining marks on my new pump head compared to the old one seeming to have a better external finish. Nothing that will cause any operational issues but I found it interesting.

2. The linear flow valve on the new pump head is WAY smoother compared to the old pump head assembly.

3. The priming valve is all metal on the new pump while the older one utilized a plastic/metal version.

4. The base on the new pump is considerably longer than the old pump and this is a great improvement for stability of the pump.

5. The internal port in the impeller housing seems to almost be finished by hand. The old pump port seemed to have more of a commercial machining finish.

6. The new pump shipped with the latest brown impeller and it was very quiet.

I snapped a couple of pictures, albeit they aren't the best if anyone is interested in seeing the differences.

https://imgur.com/a/ISLGj

All in all I am happy to have what seems to be a better unit and Blichmann customer service was again flawless.
 
hukdizzle said:
Update

Blichmann CS sent me a new pump to replace my current one. I will be sending my faulty pump back to them for them to investigate the issues. I brewed with the new pump on Saturday and had zero issues with it and it seemed to run flawlessly. There are a couple of interesting differences between this new pump and my old pump.

-snip-

All in all I am happy to have what seems to be a better unit and Blichmann customer service was again flawless.
Click to expand...

Appreciate the updates as I am following this thread closely (subscribed!).

I used my pump for the first time this past weekend. Clamp was hand-tightened. Ran a test/clean with PBW, no probs or leaks. Ran again with clean water rinse, no probs. Finally, after brew was done (MoreBeer's "Cali Mtn", Extract) and wort was still 210F, primed and ran the pump to start the whirlpool, no noise issues, probs or leaks. Then I had to leave to run to the LHBS for O2 tank fill and some tubing for the immersion chiller (doh!). I put the pot cover on with an inch gap.

Came home 90 mins later and temps were down to 110F (garage ambient temp was 78F). No leaks, noise, or probs. Droppe din immersion chiller and it was down to 70F in the time it took to eat my lunch.

Disconnected output tube from kettle and placed into fermenter for transfer. No probs. All in all, things went pretty smoothly with my new kettle, whirlpool + RipTide pump (purchased from MoreBeer back in July). I just need to build a better support base.

9WjWNsF.jpg
 
Interesting and thanks for the comparison. I definitely have the newer pumps but my impellers are black. I've ran boiling water through mine a couple times without issues so I'm very satisfied.

hukdizzle said:
Update

Blichmann CS sent me a new pump to replace my current one. I will be sending my faulty pump back to them for them to investigate the issues. I brewed with the new pump on Saturday and had zero issues with it and it seemed to run flawlessly. There are a couple of interesting differences between this new pump and my old pump.

1. The pump head casting has a Blichmann B on it while the other pump did not. Not sure if they switched pump head manufacturers or something along the way? There are some interesting machining marks on my new pump head compared to the old one seeming to have a better external finish. Nothing that will cause any operational issues but I found it interesting.

2. The linear flow valve on the new pump head is WAY smoother compared to the old pump head assembly.

3. The priming valve is all metal on the new pump while the older one utilized a plastic/metal version.

4. The base on the new pump is considerably longer than the old pump and this is a great improvement for stability of the pump.

5. The internal port in the impeller housing seems to almost be finished by hand. The old pump port seemed to have more of a commercial machining finish.

6. The new pump shipped with the latest brown impeller and it was very quiet.

I snapped a couple of pictures, albeit they aren't the best if anyone is interested in seeing the differences.

https://imgur.com/a/ISLGj

All in all I am happy to have what seems to be a better unit and Blichmann customer service was again flawless.
Click to expand...
 
Me too. Our new riptide squealed like crazy during the first use while moving hot wort. Second brew the impeller melted itself to the shaft while moving sparge water. So. What do we do? I have written Blichman but no response as of this writing.
Mudbug
 
Mr_McGibblets - nice setup. Could you share info on the camlock fittings & where you purchased them?

Thanks,

Mike
 
huckdizzle - appreciate the time you took to do the comparison. I'm now confident I have the upgrade.

Mike
 
MUDBUG said:
Me too. Our new riptide squealed like crazy during the first use while moving hot wort. Seconed brew the impeller melted itself to the shaft while moving sparge water. So. What do we do? I have written Blichman but no response as of this writing.
Mudbug
Click to expand...

When did you contact Blichmann about the problem? Just wondering, you say as of this writing but there is no given time frame. Did you email them today or two weeks ago?
 
hukdizzle said:
Update

Blichmann CS sent me a new pump to replace my current one. I will be sending my faulty pump back to them for them to investigate the issues. I brewed with the new pump on Saturday and had zero issues with it and it seemed to run flawlessly. There are a couple of interesting differences between this new pump and my old pump.

1. The pump head casting has a Blichmann B on it while the other pump did not. Not sure if they switched pump head manufacturers or something along the way? There are some interesting machining marks on my new pump head compared to the old one seeming to have a better external finish. Nothing that will cause any operational issues but I found it interesting.

2. The linear flow valve on the new pump head is WAY smoother compared to the old pump head assembly.

3. The priming valve is all metal on the new pump while the older one utilized a plastic/metal version.

4. The base on the new pump is considerably longer than the old pump and this is a great improvement for stability of the pump.

5. The internal port in the impeller housing seems to almost be finished by hand. The old pump port seemed to have more of a commercial machining finish.

6. The new pump shipped with the latest brown impeller and it was very quiet.

I snapped a couple of pictures, albeit they aren't the best if anyone is interested in seeing the differences.

https://imgur.com/a/ISLGj

All in all I am happy to have what seems to be a better unit and Blichmann customer service was again flawless.
Click to expand...

sounds like you got an engineering prototype that was accidentally packaged and it got replaced with the production unit.
 
I quote Blichmann:

"I agree you shouldn't have to worry, lets get you fixed up.
We had some issues with the impellers on the first round of pumps we had. If run with boiling liquid it could lock up the impeller on the shaft just as you experienced. To correct the issue we changed the material of the impeller to a material much more resistance to heat.
If you can send me your shipping address I can have a replacement impeller sent to you.
This will get you issues corrected with the impeller sticking and able to us the pump without worry."

I quickly received shipping confirmation.
 
My new Riptide just arrived. The good news is that it shipped with the brown impeller. The bad news...

roKiFL7.jpg
 
Bummer. I'm sure Blichmann will make it right. I had a minor issue w/ mine when I got it back in December, they immediately had new parts on the way to me.

The build date on mine was a year old, so I was concerned about the wrong impeller, so they sent me a new one.

I've pumped boiling wort with mine, no problem. Great pump.
 
mongoose33 said:
Bummer. I'm sure Blichmann will make it right. I had a minor issue w/ mine when I got it back in December, they immediately had new parts on the way to me.

The build date on mine was a year old, so I was concerned about the wrong impeller, so they sent me a new one.

I've pumped boiling wort with mine, no problem. Great pump.
Click to expand...
Yep. The store I bought it from had it drop shipped from Blichmann, so rather than go through them I just contacted Blichmann directly (since that's what they'd be doing). Had an email response within an hour asking me for an address to send a replacement pump to.
 
Blichmann quickly sent me a new impeller, O-rings, metal pressure release valve, and spare impeller washers after I contacted them about my stuck impeller. Pump works great now and I'm really pleased with the high flow rate for whirlpooling and the ability to clean out the pump head in seconds when I'm done brewing.
 
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"sounds like you got an engineering prototype that was accidentally packaged and it got replaced with the production unit."

Mine looked like his old one as well. No B or directional on the pump, small base and plastic pin. Weird how they have changed it. I had issues with it not spinning so they sent me a new impeller. Some of those upgrades would be nice. If I run into any more issues with see if they could send me the newer model. I have a couple of their products and they have always been good with CS sending out parts when needed really quickly.
 
Glad I found this thread.
I have one of the first release pumps too and was having the screaming issue along with stalled pumping during sparge from time to time.
contacted support and they are sending me out the new parts along with a upgrade kit for my chugger.
So far other than the issues known the pump has done really well and I love how quiet it is and the valve built into the head.
 
I've had mine since early January, and it's been a trooper. I can move boiling liquid with it, which is important not only from a chilling and whirlpooling point of view, but it sanitizes the pump and hoses as well.

My only problem so far has been the little washer on the spindle; while cleaning the pump last night the washer slid off the spindle, bounced once in the sink, and right down the drain. Almost as if it was aiming there.

Sent Blichmann a contact note today asking where to get more, and within literally 30 minutes I had an email back again asking for my address to send me a washer. I don't know who teaches customer service at Blichmann, but I can think of a couple other places that could use lessons from them.

I've since found out where to get extras, and I've bought them (Blichmann has a parts web page), but man--that's such a good response. They've bought my loyalty the old fashioned way--by earning it.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
I picked up some stainless #10 washers on the cheap this morning. The washer itself if the right size however the opening is too slight. I'm going to keep shopping for a replacement, as I know I will lose the original washer at some point. Small part, clumsy dude, more likely than not to lose it.

I don't think buying this nominal part outside of the Blichmann shop will hurt John so much.
 
I have a 10G BrewEasy, and my pump failed while I was midway through mashing. It was the second time I had used the pump, and I too had the original (black) impeller. I sent a couple of photos to customer support, and within 24 hours they sent me a replacement (brown) impeller, an all-metal release valve - the original had some plastic components - and a new washer. Since replacing the impeller I've had no issues, but as others have mentioned I find that if the impeller isn't seated just right when you close the tri-clamp it will make a horrendously loud noise as soon as it's powered up. So long as everything is properly aligned when it's re-assembled, it works perfectly.
 
I've had this problem two separate times on brew day now. I have the "new" pumps with the stamp / direction / brown impeller. Pretty bummed to be having issues with a product specifically made for this use.
 
Smellyglove said:
Where are these pumps produced?
Click to expand...
These pumps are produced in the USA by March for Blichmann (No idea who designed them).. You can now also buy the riptide TC pump head conversion kits for some of the march pumps as well.

mine been great so far but I dont try to pump while boiling either as that ruined other pumps for me in the past as well.
 
hukdizzle said:
You're missing the difference shown in the picture at the top of my post. I am not referring to the holes in the actual impeller itself but the slits that are on new impeller. Putting the old impeller back into the pump produces a much quieter operation.

The impeller was never stuck to the impeller shaft to the point where I could not easily slide it off either with the new or old version of the impeller at any time during my ownership. I have used this pump a total of 6 times now since I purchased it and it's been babied the entire time with no hard impacts or misuse.

I am thinking trying to reset a press fit shaft into a pump head by tapping it and potentially bending it, mushrooming it, or resetting it out of alignment isn't a great idea and would surely void any potential warranty. Blichmann is supposedly shipping me a new pump on Monday and wants mine back to see what happened with it. I'll update this thread.
Click to expand...
update?
 
chillitfast said:
Not sure if this helps. Its a video we did to a repair on a Chugger pump here at Exchilerator. Something to think about.
Click to expand...
Do you notice any decrease in performance of the pump when the Teflon is new and the impeller is tight on the shaft? How much of the Teflon is left when it's time to replace it?
 
No Its performance seemed better. If you put enough to slow it down, the impellar will not slide on easly. You will know when to replace because it will begin making noise again or you will see if needs to be replaced during normal cleaning. There will a little left at the base of the shaft.
 
chillitfast said:
Not sure if this helps. Its a video we did to a repair on a Chugger pump here at Exchilerator.
Click to expand...

I'm going to have to try this. My Riptide with the new impeller "screams" when the pump is pulling a vacuum with any temperature wort. Sounds like someone is throttling a rabid squirrel. My March pump never had any issues with pulling a vacuum, such as when a silicone tube is partially or fully kinked.
 
I broke down and bought a Riptide pump to replace my Chugger pump. I got a good deal at my LHBS during Black Monday, but I didn't get a chance to try it until this weekend. I was very impressed. It is MUCH quieter and the valve is easier to adjust during sparging. The best feature is the ease of disassembly for cleaning. Awesome. It's off in seconds.

Note that I didn't try pumping boiling hot wort.

However, I really liked it and plan on buying a second one ASAP.
 
My pump has been great ever since I got the redesigned impeller. I haven't had any more issues with it (though I tend to throttle it back a little if I run it while boiling) and Blichmann's tech support was great. The only complaint I would have is that it would be nice if they offered a center inlet like the chugger.
 
UPDATE: I just bought a second Riptide pump and I'm not as pleased with this one. This one pumps okay, but it is a lot noisier like there is something out of balance. I swapped the heads on the pumps and the issue moved. So, I'm assuming the issue is with the pump head.

I need to use it tomorrow for a brew session. I hope there are no issues.

I sent a complaint to Blichmann via their website. I'll see how they respond.
 

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