CThompson Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 What's new you ask? Well in this case the issue is a bit different from the usual noise problems with this pump. I use it in my water change barrel, so it spends most of its time off, and when it's on, it is so for only the time it takes to empty a 200 litre barrel. My issue is that of late, when I turn it on, it doesn’t pump. There is power going through it, and when I take the front cover off and give the propellers a nudge (watch those fingers), it starts. The next time I use it, it may or may not work. I have cleaned out the magnet section (it was spotless), and tried putting Vaseline on the magnet itself, thinking that maybe its getting stuck. I have tried putting the cover over the propellor section on not quite so tight. None of these ideas made any difference. Anyone got any suggestions? Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted January 28, 2005 Share Posted January 28, 2005 G'day Craig The only thing I can think of is to get another impellor blade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted January 28, 2005 Author Share Posted January 28, 2005 That's funny - I've got one, but never thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bit Racer Posted February 2, 2005 Share Posted February 2, 2005 That's funny - I've got one, but never thought of that. Thanks for the suggestion. Craig Did the new impellor work for you craig ? I have the same problem with my pm 4200 and had to hand start it while it was plugged in for about 2 months then it finally gave up and refused to spin at all. Could it be the magnet in the impellor losing magetism or the magnets in the sealed pump unit. Bit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted February 2, 2005 Author Share Posted February 2, 2005 Not only did I have one spare propeller, I had two. Just never crossed my mind to swap it over. I have swapped it over now, and keeping in mind the issue I had was a little spasmodic (some times it started, some times it didn't), I have done several water changes since I swapped it over, and it has caused me no problems. There were some wear marks on the magnet itself, which I had noticed, but didn’t think they could stop the impellor from starting. I didn't understand how the scratches would get there as I have always had the pre filter sponge attached, so all water going through it, had to pass by the sponge before reaching the impellor. The magnet itself seems fine other than the scratches, so I guess the scratches were "holding" it back from the initial first spin. I assume it will keep working okay now that I have a new impellor in it. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bit Racer Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 Not only did I have one spare propeller, I had two. Just never crossed my mind to swap it over. I have swapped it over now, and keeping in mind the issue I had was a little spasmodic (some times it started, some times it didn't), I have done several water changes since I swapped it over, and it has caused me no problems. There were some wear marks on the magnet itself, which I had noticed, but didn’t think they could stop the impellor from starting. I didn't understand how the scratches would get there as I have always had the pre filter sponge attached, so all water going through it, had to pass by the sponge before reaching the impellor. The magnet itself seems fine other than the scratches, so I guess the scratches were "holding" it back from the initial first spin. I assume it will keep working okay now that I have a new impellor in it. Craig Thanks for the reply. I'm going to have to get myself a new pm4200 impellor as well so that I can bring the pm4200 back to life as when it failed on me, I went out and bought a different one from the sponsors. Not knowing that a new impellor would do the job. One thing that I've experienced over the years with the pm4200 impellors is that over time they can rust (especially if you dip it in water and leave it out to dry like you do when you've finished pumping water out of those 200 ltr drums). The rust will penetrate the impellor and it will soon lose it's cylindrical shape causing the rubbing against the impellor chamber. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CThompson Posted February 3, 2005 Author Share Posted February 3, 2005 Yes I had one rust on me too. I had swapped one over for a new one, I had left the old one out of the water (as you would), and some months later found a rip down one side of it, where internal rusting had expanded the shaft, and busted it open (never seen that before). While you are out getting anther impellor, buy a spare or two. The reason I had two spares is that this model of Pump Master (and as far as I know it is only the PM4200), as time goes by, the magnet losses its tight fit to its inner core, and moves just a little bit. This extra movement causes the pump to become noisy, and in addition hold the potential for cavitation, which will cause more noise. Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ViS Posted February 3, 2005 Share Posted February 3, 2005 I recently had a problem with mine. It had been sitting unused for a few months (the pump is 6 years old) and when I set up a new bank of tanks, decided it was the right size for the job. I put it into the sump and switched it on and nothing happened. I too tried fiddling with the impellor blade with no success. With a great deal of effort and a pair of pliers, I pulled out the magnet and it had basically exploded in slow motion from the inside out Rust had formed under the "skin" of the magnet and had increased in volume until it split the skin and forced its way out, jamming the magnet in place. I've since replaced the magnet and impellor and it's working like a dream again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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