Model Forum / General / Models / September 2009

Washing the pump is a good suggestion. Just make sure it's fully dried
out afterwards, which at room temperature might take weeks. I'd suggest
that you remove the coils from the pump, to allow the air to circulate
more freely, then put the coils in a warm environment, perhaps on top of
a boiler, for a week or so. You could instead put them in an oven, but
I'd suggest a temperature no hotter than 70 deg. C. Once they're dry and
cool, you can either reassemble the pump and test it, or for added
protection you can paint the covering of the coils with insulating
varnish (Farnell and RS stock it). I think this is a safer choice than
spraying them with Fospro, which sounds like an equivalent to WD-40.
Oily substances like this attract dust, which isn't good for coils as
the thermal insulation provided by a layer of grime can make the coils
run at a higher temperature.

If that doesn't fix the pump, check the fuse in the plug and look for
loose connections. If it still doesn't work, you may need to get the
coils rewound. If it needs a rewind, it'll probably make a buzzing
sound, but the rotor won't spin, even if you try to start it by hand (I
forget if these pumps are self-starting or not). Depending on the design
of the coils, a rewind could be straightforward or it could be
difficult. And once you get the pump running, check the manual to see if
the pump requires lubrication (I've seen a copy of the manual on the
Internet; let me know if you can't find it).

Lastly, if you decide not to fix the pump, I might be interested in it.
You can reach me at chris AT ruggedmachines DOT com.

Best wishes,

Chris