Help! Ubearable noise from Taco Hydronic Circulation Pump

heatpumpnoise

Hi Everyone,

I've been living in an apartment for 1 month and I've had to deal with this obnoxious noise from the heating system 24/7 which is preventing me from sleeping at night. I narrowed it down to the Taco Hydronic Circulation pump and called the landlord who brought in a plumber. The plumber claims that the noise is normal. I know from extensive research that these units are typically silent or close to it. Can anyone take a look at this video below and tell me what the heck is wrong with this thing so we can get it fixed ASAP?

Thanks!

J

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vN-yGeBfAiM

Bob Bona_4

That's not normal. Not even close to it. May be running dry, spring coupler could be bad, impeller bearings could be dry or shot, motor bearings could be bad. Plumber needs to take another look and have the repair parts and time to fix it.

Don_197

I've come across quite a few Taco pumps where that noise was coming from the motor bearings.

Paul48

Brings to mind a used car salesman........."That model is suppose to blow flames out of the tail-pipe".

icesailor

Sounds like every bad 3 piece Taco circulator I ever heard. Usually the bearing assembly. Was the motor hot?

When normal, the most noise you hear is a "whooshing" noise from the air fan in the motor cooling it off.

Motor is toasty. Paint missing off the rubber motor mount bearings, and black sludge oil running out of the bearing overflow hole. Noisy seal. And "Plumber" that says that is normal is probably saying that because he knows if he changes it, it will be a long time being paid.

The camera went by awfully fast. I didn't see any fresh oil on the top of the bearing lube hole. And if the bearing was bad and it was just oiled, there would be oil everywhere.

What model pump is that? It looks really new. A complete replacement. Not a cheap pump. Does anyone just change bearing assemblies or just motors anymore?

Does anyone ever put the date changed on the part changed anymore so that when some owner/maintenance person says "It was just changed". like it is your fault it isn't working. But the change date with the name of the changing company says 3/15/09?

Just recently changed.

Another thing. Unlike B&G circulators that come with a tube of oil, Taco's come "pre-Lubricated". Until you oil them the first time when you install them. Unlubricated ones when new, always seem to have that black scuzz weeping out the bottom if they weren't ever lubricated when installed new.

Sid's (and my supplier) sold handy oilers in a plastic bottle with a long plastic tube for oiling far away and hard to get at spots.

Did they even try to oil it?

heatpumpnoise

Thanks everyone, yeah the motor is very hot, the landlord says he oiled it a month ago.

Bob Bona_4

Tough situation, we all know the pump needs changing but we all know how landlords can be.:(

KC_Jones

If it's getting that hot....he will probably be replacing it soon enough.

hot_rod

Make sure it is sized properly also.

Joe Mattiello

Thank for posting the video with sound’ it really helps diagnose the problem. Although not conclusive, I’ve listened to it several times to determine the origin of the noise, and it appears the impeller is hitting. The 100 series pump does need periodic servicing, and the lubrication schedule is dictated by run time. If the pump runs 24/7, as opposed to periodically, obviously the greasing intervals would be more frequent. Perhaps the sleeve bearing ran dry, and compromised the assembly. I was able to ascertain the motor model as a 120-105, which is a 1/6 HP motor used on a 120 pump equipped with permanently lubricated bearings, so the motor does not need servicing. However, the bearing assembly does have an oil port to lubricate the sleeve bearing. Not sure when the last time it was lubricated?? We do lubricate the bearing assembly when assembling the motor, and include on the maintenance instructions for servicing.

I would suggest replacing the bearing assembly so you can get some sleep. Sleep deprivation can lead to all kinds of issues unfortunately; mechanical products are dependent on resources to keep them mechanically fit. If interested, Taco offers a comparable maintenance free 0012 pump with the same performance characteristics as the 120 pump.

I am prepared to support the landlord, plumber, and you the suffering sleep deprived tenant and provide a replacement bearing assembly to mitigate the situation. Perhaps you, the landlord or plumber can contact me and let me know if you would like to take advantage of Johnny White’s generosity and have me send out a replacement bearing assembly.

nicholas bonham-carter

What an offer, and how different from another large manufacturer, mentioned above.
World class!!!!--NBC

icesailor

FWIW, and IMO, the motor may be OK but the bearing assembly is bad. End of that discussion.

That wasn't the original pump. The original pump was black. What was? Is that pump being asked to pump to a higher head pressure than the old one? Putting additional load on the motor? Which would cause higher run temperatures.

I've had 1600 Taco's that came with 1/3 HP 1725 RPM motors. They ran so hot doing their job that you could fry eggs on them. As they retired after two years, I replaced them with 1/2 HP 1725 RPM motors and they ran cool forever.

Sometimes, you just need some more Nuts.

Did the "plumber" even attempt to oil that bearing assembly?

Jean-David Beyer

I am just a home owner, but Taco treated me really well when I had problems with a quite new 007-IFC circulator, and I see that they treat other customers well too. So unlike so many manufacturers who push the product out of the factory and then abandon them.

1tondump

I learned something tonight about the taco pumps if you have a relay that is kicking your pump on and off and your pump is very noisy try running a jumper around the relay by unplugging both of your black power wires going to your pump and see if your pup quiets down my pump was very noisy and squealing So I put in a jumper and gave it the 120v from the outlet and the pump is as quiet as it can be!

Solid_Fuel_Man

This is an old thread. You have a bad switching relay.

Taylor