Fix & Repair Stuck Circulator Pump Before Replacing NO HEAT 

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I used this video 3 years ago to free up my Taco impeller, and it did the trick ever since then. Unfortunately, now I am reviewing it again because it just got stuck again in the middle of a Sub-Zero freeze, while I am suffering from the flu. But... off I go again to see if I can get it freed up again! Wish me well!! (And I am VERY grateful for this video!!!)

Just wanted to say thank you for this video! One of many I used to trouble shoot my 70 year old boiler maintenance. I was able to keep her running and replaced the taco pump! I couldn't really find out what was wrong with the old, but it gave me the confidence to keep researching and replace myself! Cheers!!

if the pump jammed, means rust and debree is between shaft and bearing, so cleaning is needed. If you just unblock it, it may still jam next year when not in use or when o water in system. To clean, at least for EU pumps, you can pull the rotor out, and then use some paper towels to clean space between shaft and lid (metal lid under propeller). You can put WD40 and move shaft up/down to get it in the bearing. It will become muddy, so clean it, apply wd40 again and repeat until you get it as clean as possible. This will fix it for a longer time. Also check your radiators and add a magnetic filter. Iron radiators will rust and it will all go to the boiler, seizing your pump. It's like cholesterol going to your heart, lol. Also avoid keeping boiler turned off too long, once a month a start would help keep pump working.

Fortunately, my heating contractor put shut-off valves above and below the circulator pump so if it fails, it's as easy as shutting off those valves, removing the 4 screws, and replacing the cartridge and gasket. 15 minutes top! My burner man also leaves a new nozzle, filter, and a new pump cartridge (after replacing a defective one) as those are the things that seem to fail on weekends, nights, and other inopportune times. He took the time to show me exactly how to get my system going in an emergency. The bearing seized on my pump and we couldn't get it to turn. That cartridge costs from $65 to $185 US. Great video. Thank you for posting.

I work in the spa industry and cleaning magnetic drive pump impellers is a regular part of maintenance. My Taco pump stopped working recently and I suspected it was a seized impeller. I'm hoping the impeller comes out easily as I prefer to remove the impellers, clean them, and clean inside the impeller housing. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for your video! I just saved $1000 (A blood sucking company wanted that much to replace it)by following your instructions. I will order another pump as a backup later. God bless people like you!

I happened across this while doing some research on taco circulator pumps. Great diy information. I appreciate the time and effort you put into the video.

Thanks for the video--I took my motor off and found that a piece of debris had jammed the impeller. 5 minutes later I was back up and running. The pump is part of a wood-fired boiler/radiant floor system to heat a 2000 sq. ft shop. I usually run the pump a few times over the summer and this was the first year I didn't do that. I have always added boiler anti-freeze and conditioner. The piece of debris has me concerned about the condition of the boiler itself. At any rate, watching your video saved me some time and some $.

Your video worked for me... You saved the day and me a lot of money. Thanks!

I just had one lock up on a wood fired boiler and 2 whacks with a hammer in place later viola it started running again. If you hear a humming it's the electric motor trying to turn but can't. Couple reasonable whacks with a hammer and boom! Glad to see this video after the fact to better understand why it even happened. Thanks!

Great info, Zack. Thanks!

This is really good content. Good stuff man

Great job on your information 🙂

Great explanation thxs

Thanks for making this video, great info. One of the heating zones in my house isn't working. It's winter 2 days trying to get a plumber and no call backs. So it looks like I have to be the HVAC guy this week. : )

Great info, explained very well. Thank you, just sub'd.

Nice video, best is to use water conditioning additive in your system and still turn circulator for few seconds once a month. Have some that work for over twenty years.

Great video! Question. What if the motor housing is very hot but hot water is still being delivered if set on "continuous"? Is this normal?

My new pump stopped working yesterday. It's only 2 years and has been rarely used. After watching your video, I decide to flush the heating pipes by draining the dirty water (and air of course) out and let the flowing water clean the pump. Now the pump works again😀! I'll keep the new one I just ordered as an emergency backup.

Thank you so much sir you fixed our 8 year problem!!!!

Once a year must do this service before start heating period. European circulators like Wilo or Grundfos have a screw behind and can easily fix the problem! Nice video.

If you install flanged shut off valves on either side of pump you don't need to drain system. I recommend them. Also if you get the type with installed check valve then pull the check from the pump- only want one check valve of course.

I woke up this morning, 3 of my 4 zones...no heat...boiler was on and sending hot water to my 4th zone and my hot water heater...3of my cycles were warm not hot...air handlers were able to be turned on...so I took a hammer and gently tapped the cyclers...and presto...all 3 started to work. I’m wondering how long before I get them changed out?

OK, so I replaced my Taco 0010-F2. Your videos helped a lot. First off, I can't believe how simple it is...sort of. In theory it is as simple as drain, disconnect wires, unbolt, replace. Simple right? Well, I had some hiccups. I drained the tank until it trickled but when I removed the old circulator I flooded my basement. Apparently I didn't drain the circuits. Who knew?!? LOL. Funny now, not so funny when the pipe is spewing water like a bathtub faucet! Secondly, I had probably three generations of gaskets welded to the pipes. No lie, two O-ring layers sandwiching a diamond one. I had to ruin a wood chisel to chip those off! After that it was simple. A comment: I looked into replacing just the cartridge as you suggest and found that the cost was actually a few dollars more than the whole unit. That is a BIG disappointment, Taco. I replaced the whole unit as it carries a guarantee for three years. A question: I replaced the unit because every so often the darn circulator buzzed like a cicada. No gravel sound just an annoying buzz that, when it cranked up, reverberated throughout the house, loudly. I would go and give the unit a few love taps with a hammer and it would stop - but only for about 24 hours. It was intermittent. So, of course I take the old unit out and it spins fine. It seems great. I expected to find a broken impeller but, nothing. My question to you is...Do you ever find a unit that buzzes but spins freely? For such a simple pump the darn things are EXPENSIVE!!! If the old one is fine I'd like to sell it on Ebay ( I can't take the new one back now that it's been installed!) Thanks for your response below!

In the UK we tend to have two isolation valves on the pump flanges, this means you can shut the water off to the pump and remove it without draining the entire heating system.

Get your self of T Handel Allen screw wrenches, makes life easy

Well if the installer's did you a favour they would have put shut off on both sides of the circulating pump to make it easier to change out in the future.

Good video

Bobby Edwards I replaced my Watts 500800 pump with a new one and stumbled across a video on RU-vid saying that the pump can be repaired. I viewed the video and the pump repaired was a different one but was informed that they all work the same. The old replaced pump was leaking water over the top of the hot water heater. I took it apart and it wasn't stuck or impaired and when plugged in the pump worked like a charm. What made it leak, and how can that be diagnosed and fixed?

This was very helpful. Thanks

Cool.

Great video... going to try this as soon as I'm home today - as one zone is not heating even though all other zones working. However, I have valves on either side of the circulator pump in question... can I just turn those off rather than draining the entire boiler? Or am I missing another step or concern by not draining the boiler? Thanks!

my house struggled to maintain 2 degrees below the set point last nite (about 10 below) and the Taco recirculator never shut off it ran all night, and had a sort of cavitation sound at times like it was running at different speeds. Not sure what to think of that.

Out of curiosity if you have say 4 zones and 1 zone does not have water at a bleed valve, is it possible there is no water because the circulator pump locked up? or would it be more likely the bleed valve is not working? (its -26 ) and I am not taking the boiler offline or changing water if I can help it and everything else seems fine and working?

Great information. Do you have an videos on Grundfos pumps? I think i have a bad check valve on mine but haven't taken apart yet and really dont know how to tell if they are bad.

This method worked for me. I dismantled it and sure enough the cartridge was stuck. Gave it a push and it freed up and is working just fine....

I have say 170 degrees (according to my temp gauge). On each side of the pump top and bottom are both very hot to touch, is that a sign that the pump is working fine ? Pump is very quiet and I can't really tell by feeling the pump. Tenant keeps smart thermostat at 77-79 degrees, it's fairly warm in the house but feels more like 72 inside. Stat is set for 3 boiler heating cycles per hour. Aquastat at about 190 max.

Do you know what is " Auxiliary coolant pump - short circuit to ground" error on bmw f10

so my circ pump seems to be turning on and off in 10 sec intervals. Tub is not getting to desired temp either. Took circ pump out and apart and tested (like in your video) and it spins freely. Pump goin on intermittently a sign of bad pump?

If the pump fails does it "fail open" to at least allow circulation via conventional means?

living thermogenic water circulator is the light supposed to blinking?

Is there a sound that's supposed to make when it's pumping water or is it just a basic water flow sound?

Can u use rtv for small leak

Put a Webstone isolator valve before n after the pump tp avoid the need to drain the furnace

My circulating pump is working only on 3speed not on 1st or 2nd and it is making a noice like barrely is circulating the water.help

What polymers are the internal seals? Is the seal EPDM? Is the impeller PTFE? Are the flange seals EPDM? thanks

I have a brand new pump taco 007e and it starts out with a green light.Then it is orange now it is off completely.... help

@t question is this will the newer rubber old ring work with the old flange thats on my boiler or do I need to install a regular flange gasket? Question 2# Whats the prefer nipple to connect to the flange to the boiler brass or galvanize pipe?

Sometimes the capacitor just fails and the pump will draw higher amps than rating. Thought they did not make the replacement of the capacitor easy but you may cut it out and install another one inside the electrical box or outside in a junction box nearby

In this video, do you need to take the pump off the heating system? It seems that you can do all these repairs with the pump mounted on the system. Or am I missing something? Thank you for the demo!

If you get that far, all those steps, wouldn't it make sense to replace the cartridge? Or even the whole circulator? Thx

How do you bleed the air from the system?

Can you clean the metal bits out?

If I have shut off valves on each side of the pump …. All I have to do is shut electric and do what you said, not drain boiler….. right?

My motor spins when taken out but only hums when powered up. I bought a new armature cartage but cant pull the old cartage out. The gasket system between the water inlets and the pump is a poor design and reinstalling it is a bear.

You can try tapping the side with a hammer sometimes it's just a bit of debris in the system.

I have this circulator pump on my water heater. And of late I’m having a little issue getting hot water out from the faucet. It took a minute or to have hot water running out of my faucet. I also noticed that when I place my hand over the motor of the circulator pump it’s really hot. Anyone have any idea or tips please shared.

If the circulator is well above the boiler and water lines. Mine are in a basement floor below the boiler so I don’t think I would need to drain the boiler

So is water leakage a symptom of this jammed pump scenario?

I took my cartridge out and there is water trapped inside ... is this normal or do I have a bad seal??

Circulator pump is on top of water tank . Very hot to touch, no hot water . Is pump bad?

Run 4th circle liter model number UPS 1558FC it's not that old complements and its whistling does anybody know why

If you put a new pump on, also fit a magnetic particle filter to the system. Stop it happening again.

I have a grun foes circulator model number UPS 15 dish 58FC why is it whistling

Wish I saw this sooner...:-( A new pump set us back almost $900. and they took the old one...:-( Now is only a few months later and the unit won't start...:-( It turns on, just won't light...:-( I knew something was wrong when it started kicking on and off continously...but now won't cone on at all. I saw another video, trouble shooting, showing a dirty flame sensor. I hope I can find it...;-)

Use a T Handel Allen set Ada, lol.

a common fix before you take the motor cover off, is to give it a gentle tap or two with a mallet, often it frees up the pump, and no need to drain the system

My circulator pump vibrates really hard, so I assume the issue is the circulating pump?

Other than for purpose of draining crap out of a water tank.....why drain the tank?. The vid says to do this, it should just say to "relieve pressure", which really is all that is needed. Saying to drain the tank also implies a total drain....also not necessary., maybe only a bit if at all. Close the cold water supply valve to the tank.... open some faucets in your home to drain, ....and you shouldn't have to drain 30-50 gals of your tank.

With my luck it will freeze up when it’s -30 n 10 pm

If the circulator isn't working doesn't it mean that the water is not heating?

If you are doing this in your own home, it may be worth it, but as a business owner, you’re going to want to replace that pump and save yourself a call back and wasted time and money. Replace the pump.

This is NOT a 'fix'. When a bearing is shot then its shot. A circ may not be exactly cheap, but dealing with burst pipes in the dead of winter is going to cost a while hell of a lot more. And motor cartridge cost more than entire unit so don't waste time trying to service it. REPLACE!

You didn't fix anything... nothing was broken. More like maintenanced. How bout you take the whole motor apart and show people what's inside and maybe how to replace a bearing.