[walteratmarchpump]

I hope this thread will help any brewers with issues they may have with their pumps. Feel free to post you question/problem here and i will answer it and the rest of the community can see the fix....if you want you can also PM or email me. 

-Walter

[denny]

Hey, everybody, I asked Walter to start posting here so we could get pump questions answered right from the source!  Walter, thanks so much for joining us!  I have a question....my pump has 2 small openings for oil on it.   How often should I oil it and what type of oil do you recommend?

[walteratmarchpump]

Good question. Depending on the motor that comes with the pump it may or may net need oiling. If you look on the motor itself, on the white label that has all the specs of the motor like voltage etc....you will find it say "OIL" with arrows on each side pointing tot he end caps of the motor. At the edge of the caps you will find a hole and if you look inside the motor you will see a small channel leading tot he center cap where the sleeve bearing is located. Any 3-in-1 oil will work fine. You can pick it up at any hardware store. Its most commonly used for sewing machines and small motors etc. Or any light weight machine oil you can find will work too. As for how often to oil these units? That depends on how often you use it...what kind of environment you keep the pump in etc. For most beer brewers that keep their equipment in the garage and has for the most part a constant temp...then once a year is more then enough.
If your garage is detached and you get big temp swings like up here in the winter or if you are in a dry/dusty region then 2-3 times a year may be warranted. And it only needs like 2-3 drops per bearing.

If your pump motor does NOT have that "OIL" marking on the motor label then you have a ball bearing motor and it does not require any lubrication.

[denny]

Thanks, Walter.  My pump does have the oil markings and I'm in the detached garage/temp swings/dusty category.  I've had it a couple years and never oiled it, so I guess it's time!

[phillamb168]

Hey, great! Walter, why is there an availability difference between March USA and, for example, March May in the UK? There's a really nice nano pump at morebeer (http://morebeer.com/view_product/12009/103556/March_Nano_Brewery_Pump_-_Stainless_110V) but the march may guy told me he didn't carry anything like that. Do you sell a 220/50hz version?

[walteratmarchpump]

Thanks, Walter.  My pump does have the oil markings and I'm in the detached garage/temp swings/dusty category.  I've had it a couple years and never oiled it, so I guess it's time!

The motor Mfg actually tells us that theres enough in the bearing area right out of the factory that in a 24/7 use it will go 3-5 years no problem...but in those cases its sitting in an indoor situation and the temps do change much.

[walteratmarchpump]

Hey, great! Walter, why is there an availability difference between March USA and, for example, March May in the UK? There's a really nice nano pump at morebeer (http://morebeer.com/view_product/12009/103556/March_Nano_Brewery_Pump_-_Stainless_110V) but the march may guy told me he didn't carry anything like that. Do you sell a 220/50hz version?

The March May guys are a sister company and they buy a bunch of our pump heads but install their own motors for the european side of things...they even have alot of their own pumps that we do not sell here.
That pump you posted the link to is something we made to try and get a stainless pump to the larger beer guys a bit cheaper then the standard industrial type we normally sell. If you call them up again try and ask for the TE-5S-MD or their equivalant. If they have our version then the motor is TEFC and is 115/230v 50/60hz compatible. Or they will have one just like it. And see if you can get a price break if they change out the full stainless impeller with one made out of Polysulfone or if not then Kynar should work as well.

[nateo]

I wonder if I could use my 809 to pump a mash, like in a decoction? I'm afraid to try it because I don't think it will work.

[walteratmarchpump]

I wonder if I could use my 809 to pump a mash, like in a decoction? I'm afraid to try it because I don't think it will work.

It will depend on how much is going through the pump at any given point during the pumping. The pumps actually can pass solids up to about 1/4" in size....problem is if they happen to pass through just right and jam between the impeller and the pump housing then it will stop the impeller and decouple the mag drive. The the motor will freewheel and you would get any pumping action out of it. I know the mash is a soft solid and in small quantities it will pass through the pump...if it clumps up or you get a bigger pocket of mash going through you will have problems....all i can suggest you try is possibly after a brew session when you are done with the mash.....dump it into a kettle of water and try pumping it through the pump and see how it goes. You will probably find you need to keep stirring it so its evenly suspended in the liquid as its getting pumped out. At least this way if it does clog your not ruining a good brew.

[nateo]

Walter - Thanks for the detailed response. It's great to have you here to answer questions.

Do you think the AC-5 could handle something like that better? I was looking at the drawings, and it looks like the impeller is a different shape (4 blades instead of 6) so maybe that could handle bigger chunks?

I'll try the experiment you suggested next time I brew.

[walteratmarchpump]

Walter - Thanks for the detailed response. It's great to have you here to answer questions.

Do you think the AC-5 could handle something like that better? I was looking at the drawings, and it looks like the impeller is a different shape (4 blades instead of 6) so maybe that could handle bigger chunks?

I'll try the experiment you suggested next time I brew.

The AC-5 will handle more/bigger "stuff" but again if you get that big clump of junk going through the pump then it too will get chocked up and stall on you. the only pumps that would be able to pass debis along would be a shaft drive centrifical...butt hen you have the shaft seal to worry about. Theres also a gear drive pump but again you have a shaft seal and then the gears will crush the debris and make it smaller/finer. And you could also use a peristaltic pump but they dont realy move a great deal of liquid around...i'm sure you could make a DIY peristaltic to move a good amoutn of liquid of you used like a 3/4-1" line butt hen you would need a decent size motor to do it with. 

[bluesman]

Thanks for joining us Walter!

Also want to thank Denny for asking Walter to join us here.

Anyway...I have a question regarding my March pumps. I have a Brutus 10 clone single tier brewstand. I use two pumps that are mounted below the kettles, and from time to time I have a problem priming the pumps. What are your thoughts in this regard. Any ideas, suggestions or input would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

[mabrungard]

I have a 809 HS pump.  What does the high flow impeller do for the performance of that pump?  I seem to recall the shut-off head of that HS model is on the order of 12 feet.  Is there a pump curve for that impellor?  What is different about the impeller and when should a brewer consider its use?

Thanks!

[walteratmarchpump]

Thanks for joining us Walter!

Also want to thank Denny for asking Walter to join us here.

Anyway...I have a question regarding my March pumps. I have a Brutus 10 clone single tier brewstand. I use two pumps that are mounted below the kettles, and from time to time I have a problem priming the pumps. What are your thoughts in this regard. Any ideas, suggestions or input would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

If you can post a pic for me to look at it would help with suggestions...or email to me if you like

[walteratmarchpump]

I have a 809 HS pump.  What does the high flow impeller do for the performance of that pump?  I seem to recall the shut-off head of that HS model is on the order of 12 feet.  Is there a pump curve for that impellor?  What is different about the impeller and when should a brewer consider its use?

Thanks!

If you have the 809-HS inline version then right now it will do 6gpm and a max of 12.1 feet.
upgrading to the 815 inpeller will increase the max gpm to 7 and raise the head to 18 feet
it also helps a bit more in keeping the prime and passing bubbles easier due to  the impeller being larger and taking up more space. The standard inpeller has a dia. of 1.687" and the 815 is 2.156 and has a stronger magnet.