[Gribble]

I've been using my pumps for a while now, and they work great.  Both of them are hard piped into my system and have never had a performance issue until last night.  My wort pump seized up in the middle of transfer giving me the "opportunity" to yank it apart, thank god for unions.  I take good care of my pumps always flushing them out and running pbw and acid 5 through them but when I tore the pump head apart i found the shaft and impeller bore coated with a good amount of beerstone.  So I guess pulling the wort pump apart is going to become a regular maintenance item.  I was wondering if anyone else has had this same problem.

[denny]

Yeah, I've had that occur.  Now I break down the pump head every few months and clean it just to be safe.  Only takes a few minutes.

[euge]

This is good to know. Thanks. Had to open it up to clean hops out of the impeller but no beerstone. 

[tom]

Everything gets pulled apart once a year including the ball valves, etc.

[mabrungard]

I have had this happen many times.  Its a coating of sugars on the shaft.  I'm betting that you also turned off your pump and it wouldn't restart.  The secret is to never shut off your pump motor during the mash and runoff.  Close the outlet valve anytime you need to stop the flow, but don't shut off the motor.  

Since I've learned that trick, I've never had the pump stick.  And I've never taken the pump head apart for cleaning either.  The sugars build up during the mash, but apparently redissolve when the sparge and cleaning cycle occur.  I do run hot PBW and hot water rinse cycles every few brew sessions to make sure the pump head is clean.  

[Gribble]

I actually hadn't turned it off when it stopped, I had about 2 gallons more to transfer over, but since I have a dedicated wort pump and water pump, the wort pump might have built some beerstone up from cooling and transfers, but I'll definitely share your perspective on the sugars stopping it since I was running 1.082 wort through it at the time. 

[euge]

IIRC the instructions said not to run the pump dry. Is just a little moisture enough?

[Gribble]

if you get the pump primed (being a mag drive it will not prime itself, i dont know why) you can restrict the outflow (close the valve) and it will be just fine.  I dont usually run it during the mash, just the last 15 minutes to settle the grainbed, but it does run the entire sparge with the valve mostly closed.

[bbump22]

Quick Question on the Installation of the March 809 Pump.  I have mine set up with the motor horizontal to the ground.  Does it make a difference whether the inflow is on top or bottom?  To me, it makes sense to have the inflow on top, but often see people use both methods.  Is there a setup that the manufacturer recommends?  I couldn't find one.

Thanks!

[tom]

If you look at the inside of the pumphead, when the inlet/outlet are horizontal, the outlet is at the top where you want it.

[mabrungard]

To avoid trapping air in the pump, you should have the pump outlet at the highest (or near highest point). 

[blatz]

To avoid trapping air in the pump, you should have the pump outlet at the highest (or near highest point). 

so if you have it oriented with the valves pointing vertically, you would want the "In" facing the ground?

[a10t2]

so if you have it oriented with the valves pointing vertically, you would want the "In" facing the ground?

That would put both the inlet and outlet horizontal. Ideally, with the pump mounted sideways, you'd want to rotate the head 90° so that it's back in the standard orientation.

[bbump22]

so out up, in down...pump motor horizontal to the ground.  I think I got it.  If anyone has a picture handy and can post it that'd be cool.

Thanks!

[a10t2]

If anyone has a picture handy and can post it that'd be cool.

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