Taco pump squeaking

[Dave T]

I have a used EKO and when I bought it it came with a Taco circ 1400 B..I installed it with the circ it came with so I have no idea of it's age but today when I went down to see why the house was still at stat temp where it belongs just like it's been, I noticed the circ is making a squeeking or chirping noise I have not changed anything, should I be ready to strap a new circ to the EKO or is there any other reason it would be chirping??Dave

 

[in hot water]

Is it mounted in the correct position? Sometimes if the motor is mounted pointing up, the cartridge will not lubricate properly.

Also if they run dry, for even a short period of time you can damage the bearing assembly. The cartridge is easily replaced, possibly still under warranty?

hr

 

[Dave T]

Pics of pump placement, I don't think it ran dry at all,also I see a date 02-07..Dave

 

[Eric Johnson]

It's mounted properly. You might try bleeding it and see if that helps.

I'd buy a backup on Ebay, and use this one until it either fails, or until you can't stand the noise or the noise gets appreciably worse.

 

[Dave T]

I don't want to risk a pump failure and overheat situation so I will wait a day for the 50 degree heat wave to break it down and replace the pump (I have one in the basement) and clean EKO out..Hot Rod spoke of cartrige replacement does that mean the pice that can be unbolted and turned, that pump is very expensive to buy new, Thanks for all responses..Dave

 

[Eric Johnson]

Taco replaceable-cartridge pumps are what the name implies. In my experience, however, you're ahead financially to replace the whole pump. The replacement cartridges that I've found usually cost more than you can get a new pump for on Ebay or elsewhere online. Nice marketing gimmick, in other words, but with limited real-world practical application.

One problem I see with your installation is that pump is sitting at the bottom of the pipe run, which means it's more likely to encounter crud in the system and fail as a result. You can either mount the pump higher up on the return line (or put it on the supply side), or install a strainer ahead of the intake. The zone pumps on my system are on the return side, but they're mounted a few feet above the return outlets.

Also, as I said earlier, try venting it before you go bananas. Some of the bigger Taco and Grundfos pumps allow you to vent them through a big screw in the body of the pump. Otherwise, you can just crack one of the flange connections.

 

[Dave T]

Eric will do it has bleeder bolts I'll try them first and your right I do need a Y strainer that could be the reason for the breakdown, I'll have to see if I can get a hold of one..Dave

 

[Duetech]

It's good you have a replacement pump on hand. I felt it would be good to get a replacement cartridge for mine but like Eric said I found it cheaper to just buy a whole new pump on eBay. The local dealers either wanted way too much or didn't have one with out ordering it.

 

[Eric Johnson]

If it has a built-in bleeder, Dave, it's going to be a big, slotted round screwhead on the face of the pump, i.e. in the middle of the round part right below the junction box as shown in the photo of your pump. I can't see it in the picture, but there might be one there. Just turn it counterclockwise with a big screwdriver until it leaks water. Don't try to loosen the four bolts that hold the cartridge to the body of the pump. If you don't have a built-in bleeder, just loosen the bolts holding one of the flanges to the pump until it leaks. I doubt that's the problem, but it won't cost anything to check.

 

[Dave T]

I did bleed it out and got only water, the chirping continues I think it's on it's way out, I'll strap on the other one that I have laying around when it warms up and see if I can cobble up a makeshift Y strainer Thanks for all the responses..Dave

 

[Chris S]

I'm not sure about what Eric said re price, I pulled out a failed 009 yesterday, and I'm lookig at half the cost of new for a cartridge, I think I'll try it this time. For a 007, it's not worth the trouble.
As for a strainer- I see that Spiortherm makes a Spirotrap- anybody have any experience with these?

Chris

 

[Eric Johnson]

True, my experience is limited to the smaller pumps.

Are you talking retail price on the new pump, Chris, or something else?

 

[heaterman]

I don't want to risk a pump failure and overheat situation so I will wait a day for the 50 degree heat wave to break it down and replace the pump (I have one in the basement) and clean EKO out..Hot Rod spoke of cartrige replacement does that mean the pice that can be unbolted and turned, that pump is very expensive to buy new, Thanks for all responses..Dave

The Taco 1400 series is not a wet rotor/cartridge type circ. You can get a rebuild kit for about $50-60 but all it contains is a seal and impeller IIRC
It is also a pretty large circ for a normal (<200,000btu) installation. Are you sure you need a circ that size in the first place? If you replace it with something else, be sure to check the flange bolt spacing because the 1400 series has 3 different dimensions.

 

[Dave T]

Heaterman,
I agree the 1400 is BIG for my application and I am replacing it with a smaller circ that I have from my previous system I plan to install a Y strainer also to try to keep some of the particles out of my circ and EKO, I compared sizes of the two circs before installing the 1400 20B and they are the same length and flanges match,Thanks guys...Dave

 

[Chris S]

Eric,
A 009 runs around 200 new the replacement cartridge about half that.
A 0014 around 250 new, again the replacment cartridge is about half.

I haven't bought a cartridge yet, but it seems worth it in this case.

Hot rod, are you using the ecm circulators? I jsut ordered 2, and got a big run around. Two supply houses tried to push 00-vdt crculators, and a third the Grundfoss , but that wholsaler had zero knowledge of the product. And the 00 series are not in my area yet. The ecms are being UPS'd down from Syracuse, so I should have them in a few days

Chris

Oh, and Merry Christmas to you all

 

[heaterman]

Heaterman,
I agree the 1400 is BIG for my application and I am replacing it with a smaller circ that I have from my previous system I plan to install a Y strainer also to try to keep some of the particles out of my circ and EKO, I compared sizes of the two circs before installing the 1400 20B and they are the same length and flanges match,Thanks guys...Dave

If you have an open system, don't put the strainer on the suction side of the circ.

 

[Dave T]

I have an EKO with copper baseboard all pressurized and today I installed a cast Y strainer and put the other pump in the system, is there a good way to tell if the circ was going bad I have it in hand??Dave

 

[sorethumbs]

Heaterman,
I agree the 1400 is BIG for my application and I am replacing it with a smaller circ that I have from my previous system I plan to install a Y strainer also to try to keep some of the particles out of my circ and EKO, I compared sizes of the two circs before installing the 1400 20B and they are the same length and flanges match,Thanks guys...Dave

If you have an open system, don't put the strainer on the suction side of the circ.

Heaterman, why?

 

[heaterman]

Heaterman,
I agree the 1400 is BIG for my application and I am replacing it with a smaller circ that I have from my previous system I plan to install a Y strainer also to try to keep some of the particles out of my circ and EKO, I compared sizes of the two circs before installing the 1400 20B and they are the same length and flanges match,Thanks guys...Dave

If you have an open system, don't put the strainer on the suction side of the circ.

Heaterman, why?

Because a strainer will reduce available flow somewhat, especially if it becomes even partially fouled . You want to have as little restriction as possible on the circ inlet in an open system seeing there is very little static pressure to work with. The strainer can go anywhere downstream of the circ.

 

[pybyr]

Before you give up on your existing pump, make sure that there isn't merely some crud that got in it- one of my circs started letting out bad sounds a week or so after I commissioned my Econoburn, and it turned out to be a blob of solder that'd let loose and gotten into the circulator's impeller. After opening the circ and finding and removing the solder blob, all was quiet again- and has remained quiet ever since.

 

[pybyr]

I'm not sure about what Eric said re price, I pulled out a failed 009 yesterday, and I'm lookig at half the cost of new for a cartridge, I think I'll try it this time. For a 007, it's not worth the trouble.
As for a strainer- I see that Spiortherm makes a Spirotrap- anybody have any experience with these?

Chris

The Spirotrap looks similar in concept to the Caleffi DirtCal- and they each have a long-term high efficiency at catching particles both large and small, but not necessarily the same certainty as a strainer at catching big particles the first time through.