strange march pump happenings

[log]

I've had this pump for 1.5 years now. During the occasional batch the pump will slowly start to screech and then seize up. I take it apart, spin the impeller , and reassemble. Works like new. I don't find anything when I take it apart. I use pellet hops and brew a fair amount of IPA's. could this be hop matter getting stuck? If so seems like I'd see
it in the impeller. It will do it on a smaller hopped batch. I use this pump during the recirc. of the mash and then during the boil to sanitize to use for the jamil chiller. Thoughts?

[bryngelbrau]

I've occasionally had this happen when recirculating during the boil to sanitize the pump. It could be a tight tolerance on the impeller/shaft plus a little something from the last brew. Usually just shutting the pump off and turning it back on gets it going again and I can finish the brew. After that happens I do more of an extended hot PBW recirc during clean up and it seems to fix the problem.

[ajdelange]

This happens to me quite frequently when I am pumping boiling water or wort. What happens is that the liquid, subject to the slightly lower pressure in the pump volute, flashes into steam so the pump runs 'dry'. The solution is pour some cool water over the volute. The vapor quiclkly collapses back to liquid and all is fine. This may be what is happening to you or it may not be but I suppose it can't hurt to try it. I'll note that my volutes are bronze so the cooling reaches the interior very quickly. This might not work with the plastic heads.

I suspect this is what's happening to bryngelbrau. When he stops the pump for a few seconds the steam condenses so that when he restarts the volute is full of liquid again.

It's obvious that you should exercise some care that you don't pour water into the motor and, of course, the motor should be plugged into a GFCI circuit.

[Quin]

It may be that the motor needs a little oil. I think march recommends oiling every six months with machine oil like 3 In 1. There's a couple small holes marked "OIL" at each end of the motor.

[vortex]

My 815PL did this on the weekend just gone, I was recirculating boiling wort at the time. Pump is near new, this was only the first brew with it and the first time i'd recirculated wort while boiling. Beer was a hefeweizen so not like there was a pile of hops in it; though
Unplugged the pump and reconnected, all was OK. I jumped a mile when it happened, I thought I'd fried a pump! Glad to see i'm not the only one, though

Thanks for posting the pic of where to oil it, I was personally unaware of that requirement but I'll be sure I do it every so often

[Ozwald]

This happens to me quite frequently when I am pumping boiling water or wort. What happens is that the liquid, subject to the slightly lower pressure in the pump volute, flashes into steam so the pump runs 'dry'. The solution is pour some cool water over the volute. The vapor quiclkly collapses back to liquid and all is fine. This may be what is happening to you or it may not be but I suppose it can't hurt to try it. I'll note that my volutes are bronze so the cooling reaches the interior very quickly. This might not work with the plastic heads.

I suspect this is what's happening to bryngelbrau. When he stops the pump for a few seconds the steam condenses so that when he restarts the volute is full of liquid again.

It's obvious that you should exercise some care that you don't pour water into the motor and, of course, the motor should be plugged into a GFCI circuit.

I'll second this. Every time my pump has screeched at me it's from steam creating a 'dry' pump. Pay close attention to the order you operate your ball valves in & how long you pause between opening a specific valve and hitting the switch. My pump hasn't screamed at me since.

[Petedadink]

I always spray a little lube on the magnet . At times if the backing plate is misaligned the magnet will rub causing it to seize up . It might not be your case but worth looking at

[Lewybrewing]

I would check the "thrust" washer inside the wet side of the pump head. If you take the impeller off you will see a spacer washer. My was warping, causing the motor to lose contact with the impeller. Making the pump lose prime and the motor running to fast and making a nasty sound.

I used 3-1 for the hell of it and replaced the washer. I found a stainless one at lowes, the march brand one is hard to locate. Now I have 6 in my parts bin, just in case.