I have had trouble starting my new 1" clearwater pump.

it hums when turned on, but it won't move unless you give the fan a spin first. this is with the fan guard off.

once it is moving it works well enough. it spins cleanly and operates quietly without any wobble or grinding, but won't start without giving it a good spin first.

I can't get to a store easily to return it, so I plan to take it apart to see if there's anything obvious inside that's binding it up.


Any suggestions or ideas on what might be the problem?

Hello Biojam
The Starter capacitor frequently goes bad on the blue Harbor Freight pump. That is probably the problem.
If it is the Harbor Freight pump be aware that they also have a history of catching fire and leaking.
I suggest that you buy a pump that is actually made to pump veggie oil and methanol and whatever you do, do not make your biodiesel in your basement or a garage connected to your house

I used a pump similar to this one for years and never had problems with it in my first 2 reactors. Is there any way to confirm the capacitor as the problem?

Hi biojam,
It is probably just tight from being new. That is a fairly common problem with these cheap pumps. Get it started and just let it run for a while to loosen up. It should be fine. You should monitor it just in case it decides to let out the "magic smoke".

HTH,
Clint

Hello biojam

Replacing the capacitor is the best test.

I've also seen ones that had their fans shoved tight against the housing, and wouldn't spin when power was first applied. They also had their cooling shrouds shoved in initially, which gave me the clue. Otherwise I agree with Tilly that the start capacitor is bad, or possibly mis-connected.

wow,

thanks for all the feedback!

how do you replace the capacitor? can you just drop a replacement in the existing housing? where do you get a replacement capacitor?

I want to make do with what I have because I live in a fairly remote area and i can't just go to the store to replace it (I had to fly in with this pump in my baggage). I can get things shipped in if necessary, or can get parts on my next trip to the city.

I've got it running out on the concrete pad right now to see if it will "loosen up" without causing my demise.

thanks again for all the advice

Also, as another thought....

Sometimes a hum just means you have the wiring hooked up backwards. Double check your wiring before pulling out the capacitor.

Another check to see if it's the capacitor is to remove the shroud on the back, turn on the pump, and then CAREFULLY reach back & turn the fan.

If the thing takes right off you know you've got a bad capacitor. If, on the other hand, it just sits there & still hums, check your wiring...

I've had both issues on the old Harbor Freight pumps before...

-Graydon

It sounds like y'all have nailed it!

I gave the fan a spin and did a test run for 15-20 minutes and it got too hot to touch. nothing burned out, but there was that "hot plastic" smell.

this never happened before for me with these pumps. is this consistant with a bad capacitor?

I will carefully try the switch the wires technique and see what happens before I trek into town for parts.

bless you all. I believe you have saved me from some major complications.

Hello biojam

What you describe is consistant with "you have bought a piece of crap."
See my first post for more details.

I don't want to be an alarmist, but don't operate that pump in that condition. I had the same condition with mine where it could occasionally only be started by moving the fan blade by hand. I operated it like that for many weeks. One night it caught on fire. It was used in my bag filtering tank as a follow up to methanol removal.

My theory is that there was an interruption in power at some point in the night causing the pump to stall. Unable to restart itself, it got hot enough to catch fire. Perhaps replacing the capacitor would have prevented a fire, I don't know. I never bought a second HF pump, I upgraded. But I would not recommend operating it where you have to spin the fan blades to start it.

I am a little bit curious; has any of these problems ever been reported with the Northern Tool clear water pump (reference please), or is it just inherent to the Habor Freight variety ?

I have one HF pump that needs to be nugged to start,but I never leave unattended.

I also have NT pumps that have faithfully served for a few years without a hitch and are still in service.

Both BP and I have HF pumps that have run flawless for production of thousands of gallons of bd. I guess they are crap, who knew?

quote:

has any of these problems ever been reported with the Northern Tool clear water pump (reference please), or is it just inherent to the Habor Freight variety ?

When I bought my HF pump the fan cover was smashed against the fan. The HF store had 5 of them in stock and every one was in the same condition. I bought one anyway. When I got it home I just pried the cover off, beat it back into shape, and re-installed it. It's been fine since. I think they might get thrown around in transit or maybe a cargo container full of them coming over from China got dumped over. I never had any problems with my NT pump. All of the ones the NT store had in stock appeared to be in perfect condition.

Ken

I use NT pumps in my process. I had one that was just a little tight when it was new and wouldn't start. The fan guard was intact as I recall. Removed the fan guard and gave it a boost and let it run for about five minutes. It has since performed flawlessly for a year and a half and >2000 gallons.

Clint

Thanks y'all, after closer inspection it looks like the insulation on one of the wires partially melted. I agree that this pump is too dangerous to use in this condition. I hope I can find the receipt so I can return it on my next trip home.


Legal,

the pump in question was from Northern tool. It looks just like one I got from harbor freight a few years ago, but a different name on the electrical housing.

Tilly,

I humbly accept your "I told you so". You were right from the beginning. I hope I can find an appropriate pump in my neighborhood, any suggestions?

quote:

Legal,

the pump in question was from Northern tool. It looks just like one I got from harbor freight a few years ago, but a different name on the electrical housing.

So I guess this is one failed Northern tool pump for the record.

Dont you guys go to ebay or craigs list. If your patient you can get some really great deals. I got a 1000gal HDPE tank for 250$ with fittings and level shutoff. propane water heater new for 20$...........