Questions about March Pumps answered by the Factory!

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Trevor, you can even contact our local sales guy out in Maryland. His name is Rick Dickinson 410-827-3841 if you are local to him then drop it off with him and he can send it over to me..

-Walter

 

[simtel20]

My march pump was in the basement, in a mount abou 8 inches off the ground in the first deluge in NYC back in august. We were traveling, and apparently at the peak the basement flooded about 14 inches, which got some water into the bottom of the pump - both the inlet, and the fan area. We were gone for the week, so nothing was done for this until I got back and took it off its mount (the wood was growing fuzzies in the basement).

I've dried it out and it made a bad noise for about 2 seconds when I ran it, and since then it has worked fine. I've sanitized the pump head by taking it out of the magnetic mount and soaking it in star-san, then running star san through it (and my plate chiller , which was at the same height).

My question: is there any maintenance that I can/should do to make sure that there isn't any rust setting in, or any bearings that will give out down the line? The pump is only 6 months old, and I'm hoping to have it for many years to come. Even though the landlord has cleared out the drain and there was barely an inch of water during irene, I'm not storing my expensive brewing toys downstairs anymore.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

If you have the pump that you can oil the bearings then do so now. there will be a spot on the white motor label that says "OIL" with two arrows pointing to the motor end caps and you will see a hole on each end...put a few drops of any 3-in-1 oil or light weight machine oil. I would also spray some WD40 or any other moisture displacing lubricant that protects against rust insde the motor area where you can see the main rotor spinning. Also take off the pump head completely and make sure the drive magnet is not rusting. You can take some sand paper and take off any surface rust and again spray it down with WD40 or the like. After all that then just hope for the best!

If you motor does not have the "OIL" tag on the label then you have sealed ball bearings and hopefully no water got inside them...if it did then theres unfortunatly not much you can do but wait it out..

-Walter

 

[ryan0914]

Walter,
Do you happen to have any literature on the difference in GPM and Pressure between the 809hs-v-815. Basically I'm trying to find out if it's real noticeable difference between the two. Before I get and install the new impeller.
Thanks
-Ryan

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

well you can find all the info off our website
here you have the curve for the 815:
http://www.marchpump.com/site/files/966/112279/382929/524649/Performance_Curve.pdf

and here is the curve for the 809-HS:
http://www.marchpump.com/site/files/966/112196/382493/524057/Performance_Curve.pdf

psi output is dependant on the restriction placed on the pump. If you know the head height and you are running it on a 1/2" ID line then you can follow the curve and find the flow rate. Depending on how much more restriction you may have like 90* fittings, reducers, adapters, filters, etc etc it may drop the flow rate and increase the head hight the pump is looking at pumping against. To find pressure you would take the highest point and divide by 2.31 and that should put you in the ball park of what the pump should be putting out psi wise...

-Walter

 

[ryan0914]

Great thanks.

 

[jsguitar]

Hi Walter,

The 809 HS that I bought used and took apart has never worked right. It seems to work great without the head on it. It spins just fine but gets 'stuck' when the head is on and trying to pump liquid. Do you think that the drive magnet has weakened and just can't move the impeller? If so, maybe I could just replace that.

I just upgraded to the larger impellers which made a huge difference in my working pump, but the other pump also stopped spinning with the smaller impeller.

Sorry if you've answered this already but there's an awful lot to read through.

Thanks!

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

jsguitar, if its been taken apart then i suspect that either the drive magnet has been set wrong on the shaft and may be hitting the rear housing...or the black motor bracket has shifted and again its hitting the rear housing causing it to bind up. We use a fixture that centers the bracket and aligns the drive magnet so they are perfectly centered each time. First thing i would do if you dont want to send it back to me here, is to take the pump head off ($ philips screws) and look at the drive magnet. You should have a uniform clearence around the outside egdes of it and the motor bracket. If one side is closer then the others then loosen the 4 flat head screws and eyeball it till its close. Then you can install the pump head back on, prime it with liquid, and turn the motor on...from there you can tap the motor bracket around lightly with the handle of a screwdriver till you can get it close enough to where it operates without rubbing.
If its the drive magnet thats set wrong then i would advise you to ship it to me here and i'll take care of it.

-Walter

 

[Catt22]

Sounds like he might be missing the thrust washer. Been there.

 

[jsguitar]

No, I have thrust washers now. I didn't though when I ordered the new impellers and washers. I went to change them and sure enough, no washers in the pump!

Walter, I'm psyched! I got it working! Thanks so much for your answer. All it was was that the bracket was not completely centered. I just loosened and adjusted a tad, hooked it up and wham! Primed and pumped every time.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Good to hear

-Walter

 

[pola0502ds]

So, I had a huge problem during my brew day yesterday. I go to recirculate my wort through my RIMS tube and my pump wouldn't turn on. I would plug it in and the motor wouldn't spin but I could hear that it was in fact on, maybe a buzzing sound? I know it was getting power. I did everything that one could do to see what was wrong, including removing the pump head and checking everything but it wouldn't work. I have a 809, can anyone tell me if this sounds like my motor is shot? It's only 4-5 months old. Last week when i brewed it worked just fine no problems at all but when I turned it on for the first time yesterday, nothing.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

if you took the pump head off and turn on the power and still nothing then i would guess it has been dropped and the motor has been tweaked. You can send it back to me here and i'll see if i can fix it for you.

-Walter

 

[pola0502ds]

Walter, the pump is screwed to a wood platform so it is fixed. It has a metal housing on top of it as well that helps direct liquid away from it and shelf it from heat. The pump sits about 3-4 feet away from the closest burner. I'll get it boxed up.

 

[slykwilli]

subscribed, lots of good info here. Thanks Walter

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Walter, the pump is screwed to a wood platform so it is fixed. It has a metal housing on top of it as well that helps direct liquid away from it and shelf it from heat. The pump sits about 3-4 feet away from the closest burner. I'll get it boxed up.

Sounds good, just include all your contact info for me to get a hold of you. Thanks

-Walter

 

[pola0502ds]

Walter, I ended up fixing the problem myself. I contacted someone at march and they said to add a few drops of oil at the lubricating ports and then take a screw driver and try to spin the fan on the back of the motor. I did that and then turned the pump on, it worked like a charm.

How often does the motor need oiled?

I have a splash guard over the motor but I'm sure it has been wet before, is that really bad for the motor? Is it acceptable for it to get wet? I keep hearing no but it just blows my mind that someone couldn't design it so that it could get wet with no problems. The pump is always going to be in a area where water/wort is splashing around. Even more so when cleaning. After brew day and when I clean I spray everything down. Can I get the pump wet but wait for it to dry to turn it back on. Just want to know so i know how careful to be.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

That must have been Hans you talked to then because i dont remeber a conversation like that As far as oiling the motor goes, once a year is plenty most times unless its in a bad environment...sound like you may have high humidity where you keep the motor so i would do it twice even three times a year. Any 3-in-1 oil or light weight machine oil will do just fine.
These motors are not really meant to get wet.....actualy most any motor doesnt really like to get wet! But if you were to get yours wet, what i would do is probably take the pump head off and run the motor alone till it all dries out. Then oil it...you can even spray a little WD40 or any moisture displacing spray over it and inside the endcaps to help keep the shaft of the motor from rusting up. If your motor is a stand alone unit and not mounted on a brew stand you can take some rice...throw it into a cheese cloth and tie it up and put that bag of rice inside another bag that you can place the motor inside of for storage. The rice will absorb the moisture and keep things dry

-Walter

 

[pola0502ds]

My motor is mounted to my brew stand. I would guess that it gets wet every brew day but at the end when I am cleaning. It doesn't turn back on until the next brew day which is usually 2 weeks. Do they make any pumps for brewing that can get wet? There is so much water used in brewing in every aspect that I really don't want to worry about the motor if it got wet or not. That should be the least of my worries.

 

[bruin_ale]

If you're that worried about it, just mount a splash guard around it. I don't have one on mine, my pump is mounted on the lower shelf of my brew stand so most of the stray stuff false a few inches in front of it. Also, I don't CIP, I move my vessels to the ground and hose them out from there - so no worries about overspray on the pump at that point.

 

[beardedirishman]

Walter,

Should I be concerned with using a caustic cleaner on the polysulfone head pumps? Specifically, I was looking at getting AC-5B-MD or AC-5SSB-MD. I like the stainless head on the 5SSB but I noticed it had a polysulfone impeller in it anyway, which led me to think the 5B might be just as good, and save me money.

Also, is there anyway to special order a 1.5" tri clamp fitting on the pump head, rather than the threaded inlet/outlet? I'd love to eliminate any threads on the pump housing.

Thanks

 

[rmullins]

Walter,

Had an issue arise while I was brewing on Saturday. I finished recirculating the mash for the 1 hour, turned off the pump, swapped the tubing to begin sparging, and couldn't get the pump completely startup again. I could hear a hum like the motor was trying to go, and the fan in end of the dry side of the motor started to go but stopped very quickly.

I ended up sparging manually to finish the brew session. After brewing I took apart the pump, and the motor seemed to be running fine with the Wet End assembly disconnected. I made sure everything was clean in the wet end, reassembled and it looked like it was running fine (haven't done a test run since). The pump is mounted to my B3 sculpture so it was banged around or moved in-between working and not working.

I ended up ordering the new HF model and plumbing parts I need as I don't want to get caught like this again, and I can find another use for the older pump, but was curious as to your thoughts as to what could have happened (Had it now for 2 years with about 10-12 brew sessions/year).

Appreciate your input

 

[CidahMastah]

Walter,

I didn't see this, but maybe I missed it. Is there a recommended distance below the pot for the required gravity feed to supply the pump?

I am designing my stand and I wondered how low I can make the top of my stand (for easy pot access), without impeding the pumps functionality.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Sorry for the late responce guys, been off the last 3 days workign on my house, still trying to get back to mormal after my basement flooding back in Jan when we got hit with 7" of rain inside of 2hrs! Anyway here are your answers.

-Walter

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Walter,

Should I be concerned with using a caustic cleaner on the polysulfone head pumps? Specifically, I was looking at getting AC-5B-MD or AC-5SSB-MD. I like the stainless head on the 5SSB but I noticed it had a polysulfone impeller in it anyway, which led me to think the 5B might be just as good, and save me money.

Also, is there anyway to special order a 1.5" tri clamp fitting on the pump head, rather than the threaded inlet/outlet? I'd love to eliminate any threads on the pump housing.

Thanks

The caustics should not be a problem unless you are using some realy nasty stuff in 100% concentrations...then i would suggest you call us and ask for me or Hans and let us know exactly what the chemical is made of so we can check the compatability.

You can order the pump head with the clamp on it. It would take a few weeks longer as we would need to go and get the clamp (since we dont stiock things liek that) and most times we go and have them welded on. Or if you like you can order them pump without threads and have your own clamps welded on at your leasure.


-Walter

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Walter,

Had an issue arise while I was brewing on Saturday. I finished recirculating the mash for the 1 hour, turned off the pump, swapped the tubing to begin sparging, and couldn't get the pump completely startup again. I could hear a hum like the motor was trying to go, and the fan in end of the dry side of the motor started to go but stopped very quickly.

I ended up sparging manually to finish the brew session. After brewing I took apart the pump, and the motor seemed to be running fine with the Wet End assembly disconnected. I made sure everything was clean in the wet end, reassembled and it looked like it was running fine (haven't done a test run since). The pump is mounted to my B3 sculpture so it was banged around or moved in-between working and not working.

I ended up ordering the new HF model and plumbing parts I need as I don't want to get caught like this again, and I can find another use for the older pump, but was curious as to your thoughts as to what could have happened (Had it now for 2 years with about 10-12 brew sessions/year).

Appreciate your input

If it worked after you cleaned it out then i would guess it was either sugar buildup on the shaft between the impeller, or you may have a pump with tighter then standard tollerances between the shaft and impeller and it binds when it gets hot due to expansion of the parts against each other. Either way what you can do is take a 17/64" drill bit and drill out the center of the impeller bigger. That will open it up so it doesnt bind and will help with cleaning so you dont get that buildup between the two later. Also put a few drops of 3-in-1 oil into the motor if it has the openings for it....look on the label for it to say "OIL" with two arrows pointing tot he sides..

If that doesnt work then i would suggest sending it back to me here and i can check it out to make sure the bracket is aligned properly and the magnet strength is still up to par.

-Walter

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Walter,

I didn't see this, but maybe I missed it. Is there a recommended distance below the pot for the required gravity feed to supply the pump?

I am designing my stand and I wondered how low I can make the top of my stand (for easy pot access), without impeding the pumps functionality.

There realy is no "minimum" distance for the pump to be mounted below thw liquid source for these guys. As long as the inlet is flooded and the pump is primed it shouldnt have problems. Now if you have air pockets trapped in the line between the pump and pot...or leaky fittings allowing air in....or smaller then 1/2" ID valves or pipeing etc...then those are different issues you will need to deal with!

-Walter

 

[CidahMastah]

Thanks walter - I sure am shooting for non-leaky fittings I do have 1/2'' sizing. Looks like a best practice probably will be to make it as tall as I reasonably can to ensure a good gravity drain.

Thanks!

 

[bgarino]

I was cleaning my pup the other day and noticed the white gasket or spacer behind the impeller looks worn out on one side.. How can I get a replacement??

Thanks

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

I was cleaning my pup the other day and noticed the white gasket or spacer behind the impeller looks worn out on one side.. How can I get a replacement??

Thanks

That would be the Teflon thrust washer. Its part number 0809-0043-1000 and has a list price of $0.60 you can order it from any of the distributors.

-Walter