Questions about March Pumps answered by the Factory!

[pola0502ds]

So I broke off the threaded outlet on my march pump, anyone know of a place that has great pricing for these pump heads or cover?

 

[wildwest450]

So I broke off the threaded outlet on my march pump, anyone know of a place that has great pricing for these pump heads or cover?

Never use a wrench on a march pump head. I hand tighten all mine.


_

 

[samc]

Send him an email [email protected] - maybe he has some leftover Chugger pump heads. Since they are SS, you can tighten them without issue.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Walter,

I've noticed a few comments about having 2.5" of straight pipe going in the inlet side, and I understand the logic with a standard 90* pipe fitting. My question is...could I use a hard pipe that has a sweep to it? I'm thinking of a 90* tri-clamp fitting like this one:

http://www.brewershardware.com/1-Tri-Clover-90-elbow.html

I was hoping the hard piping, and gentle curve would get me the bend I'm looking for in my application, without the chance of cavitation.

Thanks!

A sweeping bend will always be better then a hard right angle due to the fact the water is hitting a wall and changing directions like in a true 90*.
Just make sure its got a good I.D. size and you are good to go.

-Walter

 

[sickbrew]

If one were to spill some hot sticky beer into the open end of the pump near the motor and fan what would you recommend he do?

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

If one were to spill some hot sticky beer into the open end of the pump near the motor and fan what would you recommend he do?

Make a cover for the next pump? :cross:

You can try going to a place like radio shack and getting there electronic parts cleaner in the spray can and try to clean it all out...then oil the bearings when done before use. If you caught it right away and happened to have an air compressor i would have blown the thing out dry as much as possible, oiled it and ran it for a while to make sure it was all dry inside so it didnt bing up later...
Other then that i have no clue.

-Walter

 

[TheZer]

Walter, I was filling out my warranty card for an 815-PL, then decided it would be easier to just do it online at your website.

Well, I registered my pump online, but your website indicates that the warranty card must be returned to the factory within 10 days of purchase in order to qualify for a one year warranty BEGINNING date of purchase. If not, its a one year warranty from date of manufacture.

Does March Pumps strictly adhere to this 10 day policy? Obviously I have had the pump for more than 10 days.

Date of Purchase: 04/29/11
Date Received: 05/06/11
Date Install: 05/29/11

thanks

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Walter, I was filling out my warranty card for an 815-PL, then decided it would be easier to just do it online at your website.

Well, I registered my pump online, but your website indicates that the warranty card must be returned to the factory within 10 days of purchase in order to qualify for a one year warranty BEGINNING date of purchase. If not, its a one year warranty from date of manufacture.

Does March Pumps strictly adhere to this 10 day policy? Obviously I have had the pump for more than 10 days.

Date of Purchase: 04/29/11
Date Received: 05/06/11
Date Install: 05/29/11

thanks

Its OK, as long as we have some sort of record its all good. The only time we would question it would be if the serial number shows the pump being older then 1yr...and its been just registered less then a month ago and now failed. Then we would ask for a reciept or question where you purchased it to see if we can verify the timeframe.

-Walter

 

[Nwalesmith]

following

 

[emjay]

A bit late on my part, but thanks! Didn't realize you answered everything *inside* my quote

Now I just need to find a local distributor that can order the SS housing and o-ring for me...

By the way, I'm using polysulphone street elbows on the inlet and outlet in order to avoid stripping their heads (the elbows are then connected to SS fittings)... I figure those can easily be replaced, and much more cheaply than the entire housing.

But it still have me nervous as I still feel like tightening too much can still easily break the threads, and I've used my pump now a couple times with the elbow SWIVELLING on the outlet. It hasn't leaked, even when moving around (it sits on a chair right now so it can't loosen more than 45° or so before hitting the surface and stopping), but still, with boiling-hot wort moving through it, it feels like an accident waiting to happen.

So just how tightly CAN I tighten polysulfone fittings onto the pump? I also gave it 3 wraps of Teflon tape... bad idea? Do I even NEED to use PTFE tape?

 

[pola0502ds]

I would have wrapped it 5-6 times with the tape. I tighten mine a 1/2 turn to a full turn past hand tight. Thats all you need. A lot of people don't realize that even on metal NPT pipe fittings you don't need to crank on them to get water tight. I learned the hard way and I actually broke the threads off on my head once. Had to replace the whole pump head. I used JB weld at first but it didn't work to well.

A bit late on my part, but thanks! Didn't realize you answered everything *inside* my quote

Now I just need to find a local distributor that can order the SS housing and o-ring for me...

By the way, I'm using polysulphone street elbows on the inlet and outlet in order to avoid stripping their heads (the elbows are then connected to SS fittings)... I figure those can easily be replaced, and much more cheaply than the entire housing.

But it still have me nervous as I still feel like tightening too much can still easily break the threads, and I've used my pump now a couple times with the elbow SWIVELLING on the outlet. It hasn't leaked, even when moving around (it sits on a chair right now so it can't loosen more than 45° or so before hitting the surface and stopping), but still, with boiling-hot wort moving through it, it feels like an accident waiting to happen.

So just how tightly CAN I tighten polysulfone fittings onto the pump? I also gave it 3 wraps of Teflon tape... bad idea? Do I even NEED to use PTFE tape?

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Teflon tape wont hurt anything and only help with a better seal. As for tightening the fittings on the pump head. We here usually just tighten it hand tight (not forcing it as much as possible but just a good hand tight) then take a wrench and go another 1/4 - 1/2 turn more. If you feel its too tight when doing so then just leave it as is hand tight. With the teflon tape taking up any space between the threads you shouldnt have any leaks.
And we wrap 3-6 turns of T-tape....depending on how cheap the teflon tape is...some of them seem thinner then others.

-Walter

 

[beardedirishman]

Walter,

Is it possible/safe to control the motor speed on an 809 with a variable voltage controller? Thereby, controlling the flowrate? If not, could you explain why on this particular motor?

Thanks.

 

[emjay]

I've heard of people trying it with a dimmer switch, and no dice. Only real way to control flow, I believe, is with a valve on the outlet side of the pump.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

If you wanted to control the rpm's of the motor you would need to get a PWM (pulse width modulated) speed control. Dimmer switches can only take these motors so far before there's not enough voltage for it to work properly. With a dimmer you would need to start the pump up at full speed and then turn it down....i think we have taken the voltage down as low as 89 volts and the pump was struggling.....and it wont turn back on if you leave the dimmer set there.
A PWM controll basicly works like a fast light switch turning on/off at a set rate. To vary the speed you change how long the power is kept on/off.....the thing is that the motor is getting full 115 volts.

-Walter

 

[AdamCanFly]

Walter, I got a march pump for Christmas and plugged it in for the first time a couple weeks ago. Before I plugged it in I accidentally dropped it on my garage floor. When I plugged it in, it made a quiet hum but did not run. Is there something I can do to fix it, or do I need to send it in? About how much would it cost to fix if I do send it in?
Thanks!
Adam

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Look at the back end of the motor and see if its bent in any way. The motor body is most likely dented and the cap is not sitting right putting stress on the shaft of the motor. Unfortunately that wouldn't be covered under warranty but I have repaired more then a few of these by taking that cap off and tapping the body back straight with a ball peen hammer lightly. If you don't want to undertake that project you can send it back to me here at the factory and I can try and do it for you but I cant guarantee any outcome out of it.

-Walter

 

[AdamCanFly]

Well I took the front pump housing off and can turn the motor easily. It doesn't feel like it's rubbing or catching on anything. When I plug it in it gets harder to turn.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

So you have the pump head off and the motor turns freely with no power.....but when you put power to it it kinda locks up....sounds typical of the motor being knocked off center. More then likely the rotor (the center part thats spinning inside) is now too close to one side of the coil and the magnetic fields are seizing it up in one location...

-Walter

 

[AdamCanFly]

Anything I can try to fix it or should I send it to you?

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

If you want to attempt it then go for it...if not sure then ship it to me and i'll see what i can do.

-Walter

 

[pola0502ds]

Walter, I lost a screw can you tell me what size it? If you remove the pump head there is a metal housing that has scews on it. You remove those screws to get to the impeller. I lost one of those screws.

can the pump still function with 3 of the 4 screws.

Also, i see a little rust forming on the metal body of the impeller. I can't believe that. Is a little rust going to hurt my brew?

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Those screws that hold the stainless rear plate on are 8-32 x 3/8" long.
That rust may be from the stamping process. Even though the cover is stainless they have metal stampings....they can transfer small amounts of metal during the stamping process. Easiest way to get rid of it would be to go get some stainless SOS pads....but not the kind that have the detergent in them...just the plan scrubbing pads...and they must be stainless! And just clean the impeller off....should never return again.

-Walter

 

[pola0502ds]

Makes sense to me. Thanks.

 

[JohnnyO]

Hey Walter, my pump tipped over during brewing this weekend and the intake valve broke off my pump when it hit the ground.

How do I go about replacing that part of the pump?

Thanks in advance.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

If you have the plastic (Black) pump head the part number is :
0809-0079-0100

If you have a center inlet in plastic it will be:
0809-0179-0100

If you have the bronze pump head:
0809-0013-0000

And bronze center inlet is:
0809-0156-0000

You can can any of our distributors and order one through them. You may have better luck with a beer distributor possibly having one instock:

http://www.marchpump.com/distributors/

http://www.marchpump.com/beer-distributors/

-Walter

 

[acefaser]

I have the side inlet (not the center) and want to mount my pumps so the inlet is either up or down. Is it better to have the inlet side of the pump pointed down for best performance? I have my inlet on the top with a valve on the outlet and it worked ok, but just wondered if it was better to have the inlet closer to the ground.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Best setup would be to have the outlet pointing up with inlet on the bottom. This way air travels up and out of the pump all the time.

-Walter

 

[pola0502ds]

I know this would go against what people have said but myself and others included have used JB weld to fix the problem and have had good luck with it. It holds up and have not had any off flavors.

 

[emjay]

I'd be more concerned about toxicity than off-flavors... is it food-safe?