Chugger Pumps

[dhempy]

I have a pair of March pumps .. on my last brew day my HLT recirc pump (it recircs HL through the outside of a Chillus Convolutus) started giving me fits (fir the first time ever) ... apparently, it no longer has the oomph to push the water back into the HLT ... it was primed OK and I bled it over and over but it would only push HL for about 30 seconds and then stop. You could year the motor pitch change just slightly .. not cavitation ... but just different enough to notice. Supply line was full, valves wide open, 10 gallons in the HLT. Now this pump is 4 years old .. the motor is great but the pump part seems to be getting weaker. I called March and talked to a tech. There is a poly washer behind the impeller that I need to check. I haven't done that yet BUT I am going to have a look at the SS head and maybe the 815 impeller for that pump for sure. My other pump actually has a more difficult chore ... pumping the wort through the inside of the chillus and back into the mash (it also moves wort to the boil kettle) and it occasionally gets ahead of the flow out of the mash (read: runs dry - cavitates) but I've never had an issue with it.

Over on HomeBrewTalk there is a relatively long discussion about these pumps. Turns out that the March patent is 30+ years old and companies are free to copy it. I know that JonW and JWard both have these .. I think JonW is pretty happy with his .. don't know what JWard's experience has been. I think that the specs are very similar but if memory serves, the GPM and pumping height are a little better on the March pumps. Probably not enough to justify a $50 difference, especially if you are just moving fluids around without any substantial restrictions or long flu9id paths in the way (like a Chillus). I too am interested in the SS head quality and will see what I can find out (if anything).

Dan

[JonW]

Just an FYI to add to Dan's info... From the long discussion over on HBT, it appears that the current Chugger pumps/heads are a Rev 1 product (that attempted to copy March) and they are working to bring a newer/better product out this Spring. I believe that is the reason for discounting and giving away so many of the current units.

Also, the 3 pumps on my stand are March and only the heads are Chugger. I have not used my Chugger pump itself for a brew yet, but I plan on swapping one in for my next brew just to try it out.

[dhempy]

Thanks for the clarification Jon ... and the note on the better unit!!! I will contact the guy and see what is what.

Dan

[lexuschris]

Just had a question, and thought it may be pertinent to this thread....

I have 2 of the new revision Chugger pumps for my brewstand. On my last brew day, I was recirculating my mash (direct fire) during the raise to mash-out temp (30 mins). Then, I started my fly sparge and the same pump is now move the wort into the boil kettle. I have a ball valve on the out side of the pump, opened just enough to keep the wort flowing at a slow & steady pace. After 28 minutes of sparging, the pump stopped. Frozen.

I tried turning it off and back on several times, and the little spinning fan in the back of the cases wouldn't even move with the power going on/off/on. I thought maybe it was a loss of power so swapped it with the outlet plug the HLT pump was using, and it was not a power outlet issue. Still no movement on the pump.

I used the HLT pump to recirculate the MT to verify the flow through the grain bed was good, and it was fine. Not a stuck lauter or anything. So, I just used the HLT pump to drain the mash tun, and I was able to get to my boil volume with what was already in the mash kettle.

I used that HLT pump for the rest of the day, thinking something was wrong with my MT pump; however, during clean up I tried turning it on to pump some water & PBW around and it worked flawlessly!

Could it just have overheated after nearly 60 minutes of continual use? Waiting to cool down to work again?

Is there something else going on? Was I restricting my outflow too much and overworking the pump? Is this a common pump problem? Or should I inquire with Chugger?

I am new to fly sparging, so maybe I am going too slow? I know I"m not supposed to open it up 100%, but am not sure where I really should be on flow speed...

Any thoughts are appreciated!
--LexusChris

[bwarbiany]

I've had that happen a few times w/ the March pump. Usually when I turn on the pump I see the fan move 1/4 in or so, then stop. Usually if I cycle power on/off a few times I can get it to advance enough to start going again.

BTW if it's a model that can be oiled, you might want to do that. It definitely helped a bit for mine.

[JonW]

I've seen this also (not on my pumps, but a friends), and it seems to be heat related. We were able to kick start the pump by using a small screwdriver to "flick" the fan and get the pump going. It was one of my original Chugger pumps that I had passed to a friend, so I contacted Chugger about it and they sent out another pump to replace it (it was a gen 1 pump that they replaced with a gen 2 one).

While I've not had the issue on my March pumps (that have Chugger heads), I have seen other March users with the same issue. I think maybe I don't see the issue because once I start my pump, it usually runs continuously without any starting and stopping.

[lexuschris]

Just a quick update...

I sent and inquiry into Chugger about this, and they requested a photo of my rig to check out my setup. Once they saw it was configured correctly, they sent me out a new pump to replace this one.

Very good customer service!
--LexusChris

[backyard brewer]

If anyone is looking for Chugger pumps, Brewers Hardware has them on the shelf and at no markup over Chugger's prices. (in fact a few cents less). I have all 3 versions and replacement stainless pump head assemblies.

[brahn]

I noticed that on your site the other day, very cool! These are great pumps, I've been really happy with mine.