Grainfather pump or controller faulty

[Keruso]

Today’s brewday nearly turned to a disaster. When I switched the pump on to cool the wort and transfer to the fermenter via the CFC the pump didn’t work. I could hear a faint buzzing sound but the pump was not vibrating. I unplugged and tried several times but no luck. Eventually the pump did switch on and I was able to transfer the wort so brewday saved. When I started the cleaning process the same problem occurred, after many on and off attempts the pump did start to work. I notice the pump on/off indicator on the display is no longer appearing either, my assumption is the controller is faulty, not the pump, any thoughts ?
It’s a G30, I just looked at the controller instructions, I’m sure there used to be a pump on/off indicator on the screen, can someone with a GF let me know if yours does ? Thanks

 

[Fletch]

If you could hear a noise when switching on the pump, it’s likely that the pump is just blocked. My Grainfather often does this too. It accumulates hop debris in the coil spring in the isolation valve. I find it necessary to remove the spring after every brew to clean out the crud. If this happen again, switch off the pump, take out the coil spring, and reassemble the valve without the spring. Now switch the pump back on and you may find that the pump starts working. Don’t forget to put the coil spring back before starting your next brew.

 

[The-Engineer-That-Brews]

I have no experience with the GF, but I'm not sure whether a blockage in the pump would cause the display indicator to stop working...
If it's a low voltage pump I'd be tempted to put a multimeter across it to see whether it's getting voltage.

 

[Keruso]

If you could hear a noise when switching on the pump, it’s likely that the pump is just blocked. My Grainfather often does this too. It accumulates hop debris in the coil spring in the isolation valve. I find it necessary to remove the spring after every brew to clean out the crud. If this happen again, switch off the pump, take out the coil spring, and reassemble the valve without the spring. Now switch the pump back on and you may find that the pump starts working. Don’t forget to put the coil spring back before starting your next brew.

Hi, thanks but I removed the coil spring and ball shortly after buying the GF so it can’t be that. Could you have a look to see if your connect controller has a pump on/off display on the screen ? I’m sure mine used to have it but not now, I hope I’m not just dreaming ! Thanks

 

[Hoagie]

Sounds almost certainly like it’ll be the pump.
With the spring and ball removed and valve open, give a it a good blow and force anything stuck in the pump back up in to Grainfather.

To prevent clogs, always whirlpool up all debris and allow to settle for a few mins before turning on the pump (or use a hop spider). Also, I’m not sure but ive had a few issues when using sodium percarbonate in too high a concentration while cleaning (it can produce pressure in a keg so I guess it’s what ever gas comes off it that causes air bubbles or something.)

 

[Fletch]

The Connect controller should show a green illuminated ring around the pump button, when switched on. If yours doesn’t do that, it could be there’s no power getting to the pump.

 

[Slid]

I removed the GF ball and spring after a few brews - the spring gets clogged by hop debris.
The pump is unlikely to be the problem, just a blockage around the spring.

 

[Binkei Huckaback]

The quickest way to test this is to connect the pump cable to he heating socket (or vice-versa if you think there's a heating problem). If you get the same result, it's the pump.

I managed to diagnose my broken controller in about 30 seconds. It took Grainfather weeks to come to the same conclusion and replace the controller, despite video evidence to the contrary. They kept trying to send me a pump. I'm now kicking myself I didn't let them as I'd now have a spare pump.

 

[Keruso]

The quickest way to test this is to connect the pump cable to he heating socket (or vice-versa if you think there's a heating problem). If you get the same result, it's the pump.

I managed to diagnose my broken controller in about 30 seconds. It took Grainfather weeks to come to the same conclusion and replace the controller, despite video evidence to the contrary. They kept trying to send me a pump. I'm now kicking myself I didn't let them as I'd now have a spare pump.

Thanks I did that and it seems to be the pump, have fitted a new pump and all seems to be ok now,