Froze up 12 v Fimco pump

bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
Well normally I take care of my stuff but this year I was a little lax on my 25 gallon spray tank and pump . I left it out where it would get wet after I winterized it. Talking about silly. Anyway water creeped in the motor housing and it rusted up. I went to use it and the pump got real hot and quit working. I removed the two long screws and pulled the armature out from between the magnets from the far end. I left all wires intact. The strong magnets were rusty so I got a piece of fine sand paper wrapped on a dowel rod and cleaned them up. .Then I shined up the armature with fine sandpaper as well. I checked the bearings and added a drop of lube but they were all fine. When I went to put it back in place, the soldered on brushes were sticking out so I placed a piece of Kite string over them and tightened by twisting around my fingers to hold the brushes in and replaced the cover. then I let go of the strings and pulled the strings away.Then the brushes were placed correctly. I replaced the long screws and added a little sealant around the places where I took it apart and around the rubber switch cover. I will never intentionally let it get wet again. So far so good. This fast fix bought me some time . I remembered my Dad's words when I first looked at the hot , not working pump.." Might as well try to fix it because nothing can be hurt now". Bordercollie
 

urednecku

Member
Good job on gettin' 'er back up & running!
AND, if you had of taken it to the shop, they would have told ya it was gone & sold you a new one.

And a good lesson learned!
 

bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
Thanks urednecku. You are right about that. Just before I blew the rusty dust out and put it together, I thought about how the money for a new one could be better spent. like a dvd recorder or 4 or 5 gallons of paint for my mom's house etc...I will definitely take better care of this one as long as it lasts and no matter how tired I am, I will take the time to do what needs doing and put the thing under the shed. Bordercollie
 

jwstewar

Senior Member
Staff member
I feel your pain BC. My little Fimco pump quit working this year. Mine was put away, but I'm assuming mine was because I didn't clean the actual pump out well enough. I ended up taking it apart, freed it up, cleaned it up. Put it back together and it worked. For all of about 2 minutes.:eek: I must not have had it put back together quite right. It tore the pump seals up. Being in a hurry (Thursday night at 7:30 and they were supposed to deliver gravel the next day) I ran to TSC picked another one so I could finish spraying the weed killer. I've taken the old one apart again, but I haven't gone to TSC to see if I could rebuild it yet.
 

PBinWA

Member
I didn't winterize mine a few years ago and it cracked some plastic part. Damn part cost something like $25 to replace. Live and learn. :(
 

bordercollie

Gold Site Supporter
Gold Site Supporter
I appreciate the comments. I had another pump a few years ago that had quit pumping but was still running - it has the tiniest piece of trash under one of the little rubber "caps" .. Another reason to use a good strainer inside the tank.. Bordercollie
 

heehaw

New member
i didn't winterize two of my sprayers well enough last year: but found a bargain at a local feed/hardware store: Atwoods: i bought new pumps for about $30 each..cheaper than the parts to fix the old ones: i have drained the pumps this year..i use to pump windshield washer anti-freeze thru them, but this year i am just trying to completely empty the pumps an see how that works.
heehaw
 
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