Central heating pump dead in warranty - British Gas Multihead III

[David Robinson]

The central heating pump is dead. Even connected directly to a 13A plug it does nothing. Previous owner claimed to have a British Gas service contract. Haven't heard anything about that or attempted to keep it going.

The pump says: Multihead III British Gas Warranty Date 301110 Make by Circulating Pumps Ltd PE30 4PP

So apparently in warranty - but who's?

Searching on the web, it sounds like these might not be very good. Shall I just buy a Grundfos, or are there any tricks for coaxing this back into life?

Cheers, David.

[chrisj.doran]

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Just to add: you may have to press in as you turn, to engage a sprung clutch mechanism.

Chris

[Ian Jackson]

Sometimes even a not-too-gentle tap with a hammer works.

Pumps sometimes seize if they are never run during the summer. To prevent this, every three or four weeks, it's a good idea to turn on the heating for a couple of minutes.

[geoff]

In message , Ian Jackson writes

NEVER do that

gentle, yes, but the shafts are ceramic and a good belt with a hammer could shatter the shaft

[Ian Jackson]

In message , geoff writes

When I said "not-too-gentle", I didn't mean "a good belt"! Maybe "gentle, but with attitude" might have been better. There's no point just tickling it.

[cynic]

you can shatter a ceramic shaft by injudicious use of a screwdriver so "attitude" is still perhaps excessive

[David Robinson]

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I must be being very thick here. I've even got the instructions and I can't figure out what do to.

I can turn the plastic nut front/centre. That nut can be pulled off - it's just pushed on the metal screw with hex head behind it. When pulled fully out, that won't turn any more. Screwing it in just tightens it. I can't see what, if anything, is attached to the shaft. The screw goes into a brass cylinder which just pokes through the main body of the pump. That brass cylinder doesn't seem to move.

Any ideas?

(System is drained. Pump hasn't been run with system drained! I filled the system again before testing the pump - even bled the pump using the plastic nut!).

Cheers, David.

[David Robinson]

way!- Hide quoted text -

No, mine looks like this (is this!)...

the screw behind the plastic cap uncrews, but doesn't come out, and there's no slot to be found other than in the screw itself.

I must be being so thick :-(

Cheers, David.

[Andy Champ]

"Manual re-start for free movement of impeller and additional manual venting if required." sounds interesting...

You did read the trouble shooting guide in the PDF linked from that page didn't you?

Andy