I dropped my anvil pump the other day and gave the cord a good yank. It busted off the strain reliever on the pump housing. Pic is here: (anvil pump - Album on Imgur) BQkPYTP (7.36 KB)
I looked over the Anivl parts list (https://www.anvilbrewing.com/category-s/107.htm?searching=Y&sort=13&cat=107&show=30&page=1) and couldn’t find the strain reliever or a replacement “cap”. Contacted Anvil but there seems to be some confusion in the design of the current pumps. Current models, the housing is apparently “welded on”. Mine is attached with screws so the service rep wasn’t able to find a part that would work I guess.
Wondering if anyone knows of an aftermarket cord clamp/strain reliever that would work for something like this? The pumps seems to work Ok yet so don’t want to buy a new one. I’ve got a 3d printer but before spending half a day fabricating something, I thought I’d check here first. Might be some electrians on the forum that might know just how to fix or at least point me in the right direction.
Tbh their stuff is so cheaply made I would just buy a new one. You don’t want to attempt to repair an electrical device that has anything to do with water
None of these will thread into a molded case pump housing. Once the pump housing is broke like this the UL listing on it is void or whichever underwriter lab they used to have it tested. The windings of the small motor are now susceptible to moisture and saturation and create a very unnecessary electrical hazard for the user of this pump. Might just be 120 volts but remember .5 MA can kill you.
Hate to see somebody get hurt. I was on the anvil foundry Facebook page and I saw a lot of bad advice and very dangerous electrical installs from people who take advice from forums and not a licensed electrician.
The windings are actually enclosed in the metal part of them pump housing (Imgur: The magic of the Internet) rTkKzRl (7.38 KB)
. I do appreciate your experienced advice, however. I’ll see about contacting Anvil again. Maybe sending the pump in to get fixed would be cheaper than a new pump…or funeral.
If you don’t think water will get into your windings you know more than me… Just be careful. Water WILL find it’s way down those conductors and over that tape into the windings and not to mention those termination points stored behind that plastic cap.
I certainly defer to your expertise. But my photo was not to suggest the OP use one of the three strain relief devices pictured, but to demonstrate there are 202 strain relief devices at that one particular store. I am sure there is one with a gland around the wires and o-ring at the base that would work just fine.
I’d repair that pump myself and wouldn’t think twice. Other than the pump head being visible, my pump is under a table. The electrical connection does not get wet. But to be safe it is plugged into a GFI. After all, it is used in a brewery.
If not, I’ll probably just get a new one, as Oiscout mentioned. No matter how hard I try to keep the floor dry, I always end up with water all over the place.
I think I have the exact little do-dad that will fix this. In the world of home electricity there exists a small plastic grommet that protects wire cables that enter the breaker-box. This should work without disconnecting the wires or accessing anything from the inside. This small plastic thing will allow the wire to pass through from the side and then snap into the existing hole in the metal housing. Goop it up well with silicone and it should be pretty darn waterproof. It is item #3182805 at Ace Hardware. It’s called an NM Cable Connector. They’re normally available in 3/8", 1/2", and 3/4" sizes.
I’ll add that at the very least you should make sure that your pump is being plugged into a working GFCI outlet- might save your butt in the event you have an issue.
A good reminder to me as well as it turns out. Just ordered an in-line GFCI for my 240V induction burner that I’ve been using without it- which is plain dangerous and stupid. Can’t brew beer if you’re dead.
That is a good call. I have one for the PID controller, vent fan controller, and pump. The PID GFCI did trip once when I spilled wort on the heater element plug. Saved my bacon.
However, I do not have GFCI on my induction cooktop connection.
The dryer plug into the wall is a foot off the ground (my brewery is my laundry room), and my cord to the fob has a drip loop so any spills won’t track down the wire into the device.
I have a heavy extension cord from the cooktop plug that tracks around the edge of the room to the wall. I have the cooktop to cord connection hanging higher than the boil kettle.
Even though it’s well protected, I might pull that cord off the floor in case there’s a big spill. …and start shopping for a 240v GFCI.
Finished up the repair this morning (Imgur: The magic of the Internet). Man, getting all those wires back under that cap was like fitting 10 pounds of crap in a 5 pound sack.
