How do I fix my circulator pump?

luna12

This is kind of a long explanation before I get to my questions because it's an odd situation. I have a vintage circulator pump that I believe was originally a complete Bell & Gossett. I believe it's from the 1950s and is perhaps an early Series 100 or a predecessor to it. It appears that the motor was replaced at some point in time with a Dayton 3K516. The part with the oil reservoir has a metal tag with three labels, “size 1-1/2, P3-6, and 3-N”. The volute has one stamped marking “P3-81”.

Until now, I have been oiling it through the little flip top hole on the oil reservoir, but this time, I decided to take off the little plate and oil it that way. Unlike other Bell & Gossett pumps I've seen, the plate was not retained with clips, rather, there were springs holding it down. One of the springs was still attached to the shaft encasement, and the other one had already broken off prior to me opening the reservoir. I couldn't figure out how to detach the spring, and it eventually broke free from the shaft encasement. Also, there was not any rope inside for wicking the oil like I've seen in other pumps.

My questions are: Do I need to add a rope or something else before I add some oil, or is it possible that this model never had rope?

Now that the “spring-hold-down-apparatus” is broken, should I just break off the other parts of it and screw back on the little metal plate?

Any additional insights or suggestions would be much appreciated.

retiredguy

That bearing assembly is worn out and needs to be replaced. I would replace the bearing assembly and the motor. Call the nearest B&G rep and ask for advice or call one of the contractors that are listed here. on this site. That pump is past the point of a simple repair.

EdTheHeaterMan

That is an obsolete 1-1/2 pump. you can still rebuild the bearing assembly sne some supply houses will have that rebuilt bearing (the center section between the motor and the part attached to the piping) in stock and will want the old bearing assembly in exchange. The impeller may be something that you will want to bring with you also. The replacement bearing assembly may not come with an impeller and your eill need to use a puller to remove the old one from the trade in before you give it up. You may even look at the impeller and decide to replace that also.

The motor mounts on the motor are often fatigued from over oiling the motor cups. You should probably pick up a set of those also. If you find that the bearing assembly is rather expensive, you might consider a newer pump to replace that old dinosaur with a wet rotor pump that does not need to be lubricated. That replacement pump might be about the same price as the repair to the old pump.

The supply house personal that have B&G parts should be able to help you with selecting the correct bearing assembly, impeller and or replacement pump.