DIY water pump repair

In detail: do-it-yourself water pump repair from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

Modern features of power grids, as well as water supply networks, violation of operating rules, negative environmental factors lead to premature failure of water pumping equipment. Having found defects and malfunctions in the operation of the unit, it is not necessary to make a radical replacement. In some situations, it is possible to repair pumps at home.

If the breakdown is not serious, it is quite possible to repair it yourself, otherwise it is better to contact the nearest service center.

When using hydraulic equipment, prompt and timely detection of units and parts that need repair is of great importance. Diagnostics is an effective and simple method for identifying such parts without dismantling. It allows, by indirect parameters, to determine the operability of the elements of the pumps for water. These indirect parameters of hydraulic structures are considered, for example, the frequency spectrum of vibration or noise of the hydraulic system during operation.

Vibration pump device

The performance of the devices is assessed by the failure of several or one main operating parameter to be out of tolerance. For pumping equipment, such parameters are pressure pulsation and performance, for servo spools - flow in the neutral position of the oil, for reversible spools - leaks, for safety valves - minimum flow. The following components are most susceptible to aging and wear:

  • spools, plungers;
  • seals;
  • movable mates;
  • springs when the number of operating cycles is exceeded.
Video (click to play).

Common causes of water pump failure include:

  • pressure surges in the hydraulic system;
  • contaminated water with a solids content exceeding the established limit;
  • incorrect selection of materials for rubbing pairs;
  • contact fatigue;
  • uneven thermal expansion of materials;
  • erosion and cavitation wear;
  • hydraulic entrapment;
  • making mistakes when installing the unit;
  • work in modes other than the regulated ones (operation in "dry" mode);
  • improper fastening of the cable connection;
  • damage to bearings;
  • air ingress into the flow path;
  • impeller blocking, shaft oxidation and others.

Some breakdowns occur as a result of malfunctions in the pressure switch, engine, lack of a filter. An increase in heat generation in the hydraulic system often leads to an accident as a result of jamming of moving parts. Stabilization of the temperature of the pumped medium increases the durability of the pumps, reliability, and extends the overhaul cycle.

Most often, the owners of water equipment complain about the following malfunctions:

  1. The power cord is damaged.
  2. The water pressure has dropped, does not match the pump power.
  3. The water supply has stopped.
  4. When starting the electric pump "knocks out" the electrician.
  5. High pressure pump motor does not start.
  6. The pumping equipment switches itself off.
  7. There was a hum, strong vibrations.
  8. Overheating of the device.
  9. Leakage of liquid inside the device.
  10. There are problems with the control system.

Do-it-yourself repair of household models intended for the water supply system is carried out when it is possible to replace a broken part and the necessary spare parts are available, when it is easy to perform technical procedures, for example, to clean the unit. Pump repair always begins with disassembling the casing. The next step is diagnostics, which allows you to find a faulty part and select an identical one.

Available actions are: replacing the condenser, float, impeller, repairing the electrical cable, removing suspended particles that have entered with water, fixing the shock absorber.

First, a number of pre-repair measures common to all types of water pumps should be carried out:

  1. Pull out the pump carefully. Carefully examine and study the constituent elements of the equipment.
  2. Check the presence / absence of damage to the case, whether there is dirt or corrosion centers.
  3. If the pump starts, listen to its operation, the detected side sound may indicate a defect. Extraneous noise indicates mechanical failure.
  4. Turning off the machine and the pumping system as a whole often indicates a banal overload. Therefore, it is necessary to disassemble the junction box and make a visual inspection of the inside. A part that has overheated is visible to the naked eye, and a burning smell is also noticeable.
  5. If the cause of the failure by this stage is not clear, the impeller is removed from the pump motor in order to check in which state the motor itself rotates - free or not. An attempt is made to manually scroll the structure shaft. If it does not rotate, it is probably a motor jam.

Do not forget about the position: before disassembling, the upper part of the electric motor must be vertical. Failure to do so will inevitably lead to oil leakage, which is the working fluid of the pumps. After installation, the cover is removed through which the power cables pass. After, using an ohmmeter, the starting capacitor is diagnosed.

Circulation pump device

An ohmmeter allows you to check the resistance of the working and starting windings. For this purpose, the terminals of the measuring device are connected to the winding, the handle rotates. You should not worry about the state of the winding if the ohmmeter shows resistance that does not reach infinity. Otherwise, the problem lies in the loss of the motor phase. Too little resistance is a "messenger" of turn-to-turn closure. In all of the above problems, the repair of the water pump should be carried out by a specialist.
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A pump for increasing water pressure has its own characteristic defects: holes in the cover, housing, and suction nozzle, cracks, wear of the shaft, bearings, wear of the wheel blades, corrosion damage. Cracks and fistulas in the pump cover and casing are eliminated by welding them, or by replacing parts with new ones. Shaft journals for bearings are restored by chrome plating or chrome plating. In this case, the liner bushings (sleeve bearings) are exclusively replaced.

If minor corrosion damage is found, deburring is required. The same is done in the case of erosive wear of the wheel blades. If the pump for increasing the water pressure has deep sinks, they are welded. The impeller fit is restored by building up a seat on the shaft using an electrolytic method or an elastomer.

At the end of the repair of the wheel and shaft, they are assembled and statistically balanced, the runout of the shaft journals (the norm is 0.02 mm), the end and radial runout of the wheel (0.04 mm) are checked. At the time of assembly of the pumping equipment, gaskets intended for sealing and stuffing box packing are replaced in the section of the cover and body connector. Then you need to adjust the gap between the wheel and the body from 2 sides (permissible value is 0.07 mm). Finally, check the rotation of the pump rotors, which should be without jamming. When aligning with an electric motor, do not forget to comply with the norms for kink and displacement, in accordance with the type of coupling.
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Repair of VVN pumps is extremely rare. The components and parts of the device do not come into contact with each other, and the working fluid lubricates them, which increases the pump's resource and extends its service life.However, VVN also has malfunctions. Start by assessing the nature of the breakdown. In many cases, the normal functioning of the pump is impaired by insufficient vacuum generation. A similar defect appears when excess air flow enters the inside of the structure of the vacuum water ring electric pump through loose seals, worn out oil seals.

Repair of liquid ring vacuum pump

During operation, make sure that the oil seals and the O-ring are in good condition, as their failure causes serious problems and the threat of damage to the entire mechanism. It is necessary to tighten all nuts and screws, replace the old seals.

A detected imbalance in the pump operation indicates a lack of water. Turn off the unit and add more liquid inside. Contamination of the internals of the device causes a decrease in performance, which is restored by blowing the pump dry with compressed air. If the actions did not lead to the expected result, you will have to carry out a complete disassembly and cleaning of each component.

If the wheel turns incorrectly, check the operation of the electric motor, shaft alignment. If the engine burns out, as evidenced by the release of a burnt odor, it must be replaced. If there are no problems with the engine, simply align the impeller, lubricate or replace the bearings.
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Pumping equipment can solve many problems that arise when arranging a private house. With the help of such devices, they provide water supply to the house, carry out drainage, increase the pressure in the existing water supply lines. An equally important role is played by the electric pump in industry, where large volumes of materials are transported with its help.

But, no matter how high-quality and functional the unit is, if it is used incorrectly, it quickly becomes unusable. And if there is no money for qualified assistance, you will have to repair the pumps yourself.

Incorrect operation of the pumping device or complete cessation of its functioning are the result of failure of individual units of the apparatus. In this case, the repair of the pump will consist in the replacement of non-working components. The complexity of this action lies in the fact that the modern market has a wide variety of pumping equipment and each device assumes an individual design. Therefore, the repair of the device depends entirely on the type of device.

Types of pumping equipment

The main types of household pumping equipment include:

  • borehole pump for water;
  • water drainage unit;
  • pumping stations based on surface electric pumps.

Among industrial units without special skills, only 2 types of devices can be repaired on their own:

  • water ring apparatus VVN;
  • mud pump.

In accordance with each type of apparatus, separate algorithms for repair work are distinguished. In general, it should be remembered that if the motor block of the device has succumbed to damage, and there are no skills to work with winding and contact groups, it is better to give the device to a service. Also, before starting the repair robot or maintenance, the pump unit is disconnected from the electrical network and removed from the source.
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Regardless of the type, the well water pump has a cylindrical elongated body made of steel or cast iron. The pipeline is fixed on it at the top. In this case, the engine can be located both at the top and at the bottom of the unit. This type of electric pump is designed for the intake of liquid from a great depth. Often with a high level of abrasive substances in the water. Therefore, it should be remembered that it is much easier to prevent damage by periodically cleaning and checking the machine.

If, nevertheless, malfunctions have arisen, the beginning of any work is to correctly diagnose the problem.At the same time, even if thoughts arise about what exactly is broken, the entire device should be carefully examined for minor problems.

Cleaning the borehole pump

First of all, for borehole water pumps, it is necessary to check if the overload caused the shutdown. This is done in two stages:

  1. The junction box is disassembled. To do this, first loosen the screws on the housing. Further, the working chamber is separated. And after that, the cover is removed from the engine compartment.
  2. Next, there is a check of all components, including the motor winding and fuses, for traces of combustion and a corresponding smell. If the winding is damaged, it will have to be replaced with a similar one.

Also, it will not be superfluous during a preliminary inspection to examine the cable of the device for damage. The contacts at the point of connection with the motor are especially carefully examined. If damage is found, it is necessary to replace either the entire cable or the damaged section, carefully insulating the connection.

One of the common problems of downhole equipment is breakdown, when the pressure either weakens, or the device works, and the water does not flow at all. This is a consequence of working in wells with a high sand content. In this case, there can be three reasons:

  1. The service valve is out of order. In this case, in addition to the fact that water does not pass, water hammer is also possible, which damages the units.
  2. The filter in the intake holes is clogged. If the device is located close to the bottom, a large amount of abrasives can pass through the suction holes and gradually clog the channel.
  3. The impeller is damaged or deformed. In this case, you can try to align the blades, and put a better filter on the inlet.

If, upon inspection, damage to the electromagnet is revealed, then in this case the water pumps cannot be repaired by hand. They can only be repaired and adjusted in the workshop.
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Drainage pumps are used to drain reservoirs with dirty water, as well as drainage from flooded premises. Such devices are made of plastic, steel or cast iron (industrial versions). As a rule, they are installed on the bottom of the source on special stands in a vertical position. They are characterized by high throughput.

Such devices are designed to work in difficult conditions, where the load on the working units is quite large. Therefore, malfunctions are not uncommon. There are 2 main signs of improper operation of the device: a complete lack of action on the part of the device or the hum of the engine is heard, but there is no pressure.

How to remove the impeller from the drain pump

In the first case, the reasons may be as follows:

  • due to sudden and frequent voltage surges, the capacitor on the electric motor burned out;
  • the float mechanism in a narrow block caught on one of the walls, while being in a position below the extreme switch-on point;
  • with voltage drops, the winding burned out;
  • the impeller blades are clogged with solid inclusions.

If the device hums but does not perform work, the reason may be the following:

  • one of the sections of the power cable is frayed or burned out;
  • the rod inside the apparatus has been loose or completely broken;
  • the non-return valve is damaged, as a result of which water does not pass into the working chamber and further into the water supply.

Of course, this list is far from complete, but more complex problems can only be identified in service centers using the appropriate equipment. In addition, even of the listed malfunctions without equipment, it will hardly be possible to solve even half of the problems.

It is possible to clean the impeller. For this, the fasteners on the case are loosened, and its cover is removed. It is advisable not to remove the wheel itself, but if the pollution is too serious, it must be done. Only first you need to drain the oil from the reservoir, which is located directly behind the impeller.Then all the sand, stones and dirt are cleaned out, after which the mechanism is assembled back.

It is also quite possible to change the cable yourself. In order to find the damaged area, the pump turns on and we try to squeeze the segments with our fingers. Where the electric pump works, there is a gap. If the gap is in the area near the motor, then the device will have to be disassembled. In this case, you will have to unscrew the three fixing bolts and a washer. Then the wire is cut above the damaged area, inserted and fixed again.

In some moments, it is also possible to replace the capacitor. But as for the winding, check valve or broken stem, repairing household pumps is not possible here.

Such a pump for increasing the pressure of water is used to supply water to private houses. In the course of improper installation or use, a number of malfunctions can occur that can affect the operation of the device. So, for example, the unit can operate, but water does not flow into the line.

There may be 2 reasons: valve breakage, lack of liquid in the working chamber. Repair of the water pump consists in filling the entire volume of the working chamber with liquid or in replacing the check valve. In this case, the check valve for individual models can be made from rubber yourself. For reliability, it is also advisable to check all joints of the pipeline, since they can cause a drop in pressure in the line.

Pump station impeller repair

Also, one of the consequences of a pumping station breakdown may be a jerky liquid supply. This phenomenon most often occurs when the hydraulic tank is damaged. Features of pump repair in this case are to check the integrity of the membrane. If water comes out when the nipple is pressed, the rubber membrane must be replaced. If there is visible damage to the battery, it should be repaired with a sealant. It is also advisable to pump up the tank pressure to a value of 1.8 bar using an air pump.

Also, the station may not turn on due to a breakdown of the pressure switch. In this case, a complete replacement of the block will help.
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