It says it all. I made two extract+grain kits, used the mash pipe for grains because I hate the cheesecloth bag and used the false bottom during boil to keep hops out of pump. Pump worked during “mash” and to circulate when I added extract. Near the end it was vibrating slightly. Then I boiled with pump off. Beginning with transfer with the arm to primary I noticed it wasn’t moving wort. Cleaned it out and no pump action…
Can you spin the fan with your fingers? I don’t know much about Brewzilla but my Chuggar didn’t start once and I just spun it by hand and it worked. That’s the only problem I’ve ever had with it.
Sorry to hear that.I have used my BrewZilla many times with no pump problems. The actual pump they use is inexpensive and may be easy to replace. Maybe it is still under warranty? I’m curious to know how it fares out
I’m a technical sort and pumps and electrical work certainly aren’t foreign to me. I’m going to perform some maintenance on it tomorrow. Mt only issue with the Brewzilla set up is that the pump is installed inside the unit. I looked at exterior pump models but this was on sale and had great reviews and I thought I wouldn’t have to break into it for a while. I expect it’s just a fluke considering the reputation of the brand. Update later.
Wellll, my fault, kind of. Over the fourth I used the secondary “cooker function” advertised for the unit. For corn. Apparently some corn threads found their way into the pump. Next time I’ll avoid doing that or use cooking bags to keep things out. So no bad press for the company, just an embarrassing detour on my account.
OK, a couple of notes, because when we screw up we should learn as much as we can.
The internal aperture of the pump is a bit narrow, a few large grains might clog it. In fact, the corn thread only narrowed the aperture, husks then clogged it.
The top nut (furthest down when unit is upside down) requires manual dexterity to reinstall and can fall beneath the insulation. It’s not entirely necessary as the pump bracket is threaded, but a nut rattling around in an appliance is dangerous, as any computer tech will tell you.
I hope my experience helps someone.
Hell that’s great news! Thanks for the clarification.