My march pump quit working. When I plug it in, the aluminum prop (maybe that’s the impellor, I don’t know) visible on the back side grabs, looks like it’s engaging, but doesn’t spin. Any ideas?
did you take apart the head? maybe there is some blockage in there?
did you add some 3in1 to the oil drop?
Take the front cover off the pump (4 screws) and you can easily tell if it’s the motor or the pump. Don’t worry, there’s not much in there and they’re easy to reassemble. Just be careful with the large o-ring.
I agree, it is not hard to disassemble, trouble shoot, and then assemble.
You have a need to do it, so now is the time. You will be in the middle of a brew someday and need open it up to remove a blockage (if that is not the present case).
Some oil is good advice from Paul.
If you use whole hops then it might be a seed. Or maybe a bit of wort dried up in there due to forgotten flushing. 8)
Probably goes without saying, but they’re talking about oiling the motor shaft, NOT anything in the pump.
A seed or other bits can’t jam the motor or “aluminum Prop” thingy. The front side is magnetically clutched. That part can jam, but not the back. The manual has some limited instructions: http://www.marchpump.com/site/files/966/112196/382493/524058/Pump_Manual.pdf It is supposed to be regularly lubed and the manual tells you how to get the back part off.
Here’s the link that show the series of pumps we normally use. Note the model 815PL vs 809 PL-HS graph. That’s what you get if you replace part # 11 with # 12. http://www.marchpump.com/site/files/966/110033/376591/563809/815-PL_Beer_Pump_Instruction_Sheet.pdf
It sounds like you’re talking about the fan. If it’s not spinning, that’s a problem.
Try some oil in the two holes that say “oil” (circled in red below). A few drops should be enough.
He’s seeing the motor cooling fan start to spin, but then stop. If it was a frozen shaft, as in lack of oil, it likely wouldn’t move at all. I’ll bet there’s something jamming the pump internally.
I have had to clean sticky stuff from the impeller more than once, probably from not cleaning and rinsing thoroughly enough.
Thank you guys so much for your responses. That is why this forum is awesome!
I took it apart and didn’t find anything really, but started oiling, then found the two holes that you pictured in the photograph. Wow, how do you do that (in less than a day :))?
Anyhow, it’s working great, and now I know a lot more about how they work. I had no idea.
Thanks again.
Yep, and it also reminded me it has been last winter since I oiled mine!