Questions about March Pumps answered by the Factory!

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Hey walter,

Thanks again for this thread it has helped alot. However I am having a problem with the roter not spinning. I took it completely apart and got the roter out and put it back in but it still wont spin. I know you have have given some vague answeres on this but is there anything specific I can do to get it to spin again? Thanks for the help!

v/r
ryan

Send it back is all I can say....when I take it apart I inspect the main motor body for being out of round...and hammer any bent spots out then put it back together.....its hit or miss most times but i've had some good luck doing it.

 

[beerandbourbon]

I've been considering adding a second pump to my brewing setup. The first pump was part of a pre-configured system that I received. It's a March 809. I've had great success with it. That said, I looked into the other pump options to determine if that's what I'll add for the next addition. The great reviews from everyone along with the superb customer service and the fact that there's a company expert here has convinced me to get another March for my system. I still have to decide what exactly I'll be getting, but I wanted to let you know that your work here is certainly beneficial to both us and the company. Thanks again!

Roger

 

[beerandbourbon]

Nothing to see here

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

your welcome beerandbourbon I find it fun to be here...even though I'm not a drinker, I love the mechanics of making your own "Thing"
I personally am into offshore boats (anything with an engine really) and build my own motors.... So I like seeing you guys build your rigs...I have learned quite a bit from this forum

 

[ekjohns]

Walter-
I am a very proud owner of a March 809 pump with SS head. The only problem I have with it is the shaft that holds the impeller fits very loose and causes a very loud rattle sound. If I jam dome Teflon tape between the shaft and head it runs much quieter for a bit the the teflon works its way out. I remember someone saying there is a tolerance for all the parts. I'm thinking I may have a shaft at the small tolerance and a head at the larger size of the tolerance. Is there any way I could buy a shaft that is at the larger tolerance side from you?

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Call us here at the factory and talk to Wayne in the service dept...i'd rather have you send us the pump head back for us to take a look at. The shafts are pressed into the housing and all leave here tight......I'm not sure if I found a shaft on the high side of the tolerance that it would fix the issue if the head is worn out....and we don't make any oversize shafts....that would be a custom grind to make a shaft. And the housing would need to be re-worked to fit the shaft as well....talk to Wayne see what he can do for you... 847-729-5300

 

[DigityDan]

Will the 809 head fit a mdxt-3?

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

no it wont...different bracket and bolt pattern

 

[fpweeks]

Walter
OVer the past few brew sessions i have had my pump sieze up during use. I pull the head and pull the impeller and put back together and then all is right in the world.......allowing me to finish my brew session. The problem is my pump is hard plumbed in my system and its a pain in the arse to do this during the middle of the brew.

Suggestions?

Mike

 

[mattd2]

Walter
OVer the past few brew sessions i have had my pump sieze up during use. I pull the head and pull the impeller and put back together and then all is right in the world.......allowing me to finish my brew session. The problem is my pump is hard plumbed in my system and its a pain in the arse to do this during the middle of the brew.

Suggestions?

Mike

Got any photos? and what's you cleaning schedule after brew day?

 

[DigityDan]

Is it possible to change the bracket over to the 809 style and then add the head? Or is there just now way possible an 809 head is going on the MDXT-3 pump?

If not, is there an MDXT head replacement that is a better applicant for brewing? I know others have used it, but the material is different from the 809 and I purchased this pump used. I have no idea what the previous owner used it for. Do I need to worry about anything leeching out of the plastic?

 

[fpweeks]

Got any photos? and what's you cleaning schedule after brew day?

Hot water and PBW.
The pump always works fine at the start of brew day. I usually make it through an hour of recycle through my HERMS. It generally seizes up during my sparge.

When I pull the volute apart there is nothing that has impeded the impeller. I pull the impeller and put it back together and it works like a champ.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Walter
OVer the past few brew sessions i have had my pump sieze up during use. I pull the head and pull the impeller and put back together and then all is right in the world.......allowing me to finish my brew session. The problem is my pump is hard plumbed in my system and its a pain in the arse to do this during the middle of the brew.

Suggestions?

Mike

Is it actually seizing up or is the impeller de-coupling or even sucking in air off the bottom of the vessel and cavitating if you are at /near boiling?
If it is indeed seizing up then you most likely have a very tight tolerance between the shaft and the impeller....either from a sugar buildup (soak the impeller in hot water and use a small bristle brush to clean out the center hole) or you may have an impeller on the tight side of tolerance, in which case you can take a 17/64" drill bit and ream out the hole a little bigger. If you have letter drill bit at your disposal then a better bit to use would be a "G" size drill bit.
Also when you have the pump apart make sure the Teflon thrust washer is still there....it sits on the shaft between the impeller and the front inlet housing....

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Hot water and PBW.
The pump always works fine at the start of brew day. I usually make it through an hour of recycle through my HERMS. It generally seizes up during my sparge.

When I pull the volute apart there is nothing that has impeded the impeller. I pull the impeller and put it back together and it works like a champ.

Drill it with the 17/64" drill bit (or the "G" if you have one) and you should have no more problems and make sure the thrust washer is there..

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Is it possible to change the bracket over to the 809 style and then add the head? Or is there just now way possible an 809 head is going on the MDXT-3 pump?

If not, is there an MDXT head replacement that is a better applicant for brewing? I know others have used it, but the material is different from the 809 and I purchased this pump used. I have no idea what the previous owner used it for. Do I need to worry about anything leeching out of the plastic?

Short answer...yes the 809 stuff will fit the MDX motor...

Longer answer...you could change the motor bracket and install the 809 pump head.....you would also need to transfer the 809 drive magnet as the MDX is bigger and wont fit in the 809 motor bracket... the pump head outlet "MAY" be cocked different then what it would come on the standard 809....some motors have different bolt patterns to align the outlets the way we need them....so even through it would fit on the MDX motor...the outlet may be slightly off...I wouldn't know for sure unless I tried to put one together on that motor....if you already have the parts then you have nothing to loose

 

[mrjofus1959]

Hello Walter -

I'm working on some plumbing changes on my brewing setup, and one of the things I'm looking at is having a valve that would allow me to supply fresh water from the faucet directly to the center inlet of my 815 SS pump. The pump would not be turned on and its output would feed the input of my HLT. Is there any risk of damaging the pump under those conditions? I wouldn't think so but the impeller and therefore motor would be turning faster than under normal power on operating conditions. So I thought I'd check just to be safe.

Thanks!

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

you wont harm anything with the city water pressure going through the pump.....it may de-couple the mag drive, but as soon as everything comes back down to a stop it will re-align again and you should be back in business....The metal pumps are rated for 150psi of internal pressure....most city water systems are between 35-80psi depending on how close tot he transfer station you are.

 

[DiscDoc]

Walter
I'm setting up an electric brewery using either 20 or 30 gallon kettle/MT/HLT. What is the difference between the 815-ss-c and the H350. Any recommendations. Thank you.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Its basically the same pump....we make a special assembly for Morebeer...it has a 6' cord with a plug on the end....if you were to order the standard 815 from our distributors you would get the pump with no plug on the end of the cord and they are only 3' long...

 

[ekjohns]

not sure if this has been asked but what is the average life span of the 809 pump? I am looking to use it to recirculate for sous vide which would require me running the pump for 48 non-stop at 145F. I would assume that using the pump for a few hours every other week to brew and 2 days non-stop maybe once a month, the pump would still last years but just want to make sure.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

All the pumps we make (including the beer) are designed for 24/7 operation. When everything is plumbed correctly (proper size tubing fittings etc) and there's nothing out of the ordinary attacking the pump (like chemicals or abrasives etc) the pump head will usually outlast the motor....the motors we are told have an average life of 3-5 years running 24/7 with no maint. If you take care of it and oil it once a year, don't drop it or drop something on it etc....they will last a good long time. I have an 809-HS in the test lab on a life test right now that's been running 24/7 for almost 8yrs now. We are going to change the motor on Monday due to an electrical spike we had on Wed that fried it....but the pump head will remain untouched with the new motor/old pump head combo will continue to be run until something else fails. Our pumps do not get shut off other then when we have power failures or if we do sound test.

 

[ekjohns]

That should last me forever then. What do you mean by oil it? Do you have a link on the best way to do this?

Thanks again

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Not all the pump motors need to be oiled....if you look at the white motor label...on the ones that do need to be oiled you will find it says "OIL" with two arrows pointing to the end caps of the motor. On the ends you will find a hole and if you look down the hole it will have a small channel that leads to the center sleeve bearing.....you put 3-4 drops of any kind of 3-in-1 oil or a light weight machine oil for like sewing machines....easy

 

[photogscott]

Morebeer systems don't shield the pumps from the environment such as water splashing. I'm sure occasional drops of water make it into the vent holes of the body. Should I rig some sort of shield over the pumps?

Another note: Occasional flow stoppage was messing up my brew day and Morebeer sent me a new pump which didn't fix the problem. On my own I learned that slightly choking off the flow after the exit eliminated all pump "failure" I think Williams Brewing sells stainless heads that have the output diameter smaller than the input to insure pumps aren't starved of liquid-the cause of all my problems.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Shielding the pumps is a personal choice.....small splashing here and there will not hurt anything...getting it soak will! These are induction motors...they work off of magnetism...what's more common for these types of motors is to have rust lock up the motor or if you spill sticky stuff on it that it binds the motor up. There have been a few motors we got back that were locked up due to spilled beer all over them.....and i got them working again by spraying them down with an electrical de-greaser to get it moving again then lube it up with 3-in-1 oil and back in business.

As for your second issue....what more then likely is happening is that you are pulling air bubbles off the bottom of you brew pot and once they hit the pump head, it cavitates it. When you choke off the outlet of the pump, you slow down the velocity of the liquid going into the pump....less likely-hood of sucking in air....

 

[insanim8er]

I just acquired a march pump. It was sold to me as an 815, but the sticker says:

809 H S
Ass'y 815

Can you explain what I have? Is it an 809 High speed at 7.5gal or the 815 at 8gal?

Also, it's a plastic head with center outlet. Where can I get the stainless steel head? I'm not finding it anywhere for sale when doing a search.

 

[photogscott]

As for your second issue....what more then likely is happening is that you are pulling air bubbles off the bottom of you brew pot and once they hit the pump head, it cavitates it. When you choke off the outlet of the pump, you slow down the velocity of the liquid going into the pump....less likely-hood of sucking in air....

My problem at the time was with 170 water. float valves turn the pump on and off. In the middle of the process it would stop moving water. The folks at Morebeer were mystified, replacing a pump. After I told them what I did, they used the word "starving" the pump. Is this in your glossary at work?
Anyways its an old story now because my pumps both work flawlessly.

They use a stainless T with an extra "dump" valve on the outflow. This makes for instant priming!

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

My problem at the time was with 170 water. float valves turn the pump on and off. In the middle of the process it would stop moving water. The folks at Morebeer were mystified, replacing a pump. After I told them what I did, they used the word "starving" the pump. Is this in your glossary at work?
Anyways its an old story now because my pumps both work flawlessly.

They use a stainless T with an extra "dump" valve on the outflow. This makes for instant priming!

Yes it is in the "glossary of terms" but that usually only happens if you have less restriction on the outlet side of the pump then what coming in...either from too small a line or too many elbows/fittings etc....

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

I think i may start a new thread for "Questions Answered by the Factory" For 2014.....may be easier to start fresh then look through 500+ postings

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

I just acquired a march pump. It was sold to me as an 815, but the sticker says:

809 H S
Ass'y 815

Can you explain what I have? Is it an 809 High speed at 7.5gal or the 815 at 8gal?

Also, it's a plastic head with center outlet. Where can I get the stainless steel head? I'm not finding it anywhere for sale when doing a search.

You do have the 815 pump.....those are older stickers we used so they are still out there labeled like that.....no worries
The stainless head for the 809/815 are all the same...just call any distributor and ask for part# 0809-0150-0000
you can re-use all the old parts from the pump you have other then the o-ring...they are different between the plastic and metal housings....thats part# 0809-0165-1000

hope that helps