Need Hypro 403 pump help! (oil)

[GREENITUP]

Pump and sprayer worked fine last week... but today was 25 degrees and I think the pump may have got some ice inside. The oil going to the diaphrams (where you fill the clear, plastic cup/gage) started disappearing. It wasn't milky like when the diaphrams crack and mix with water..... it just keeps getting sucked into the pump. I've refilled it 3 or 4 times while running and it just keeps going out.... it's not leaking on the outside. Diaphrams were replaced about 1.5 years ago with little use since. Any ideas?????

[dwmason]

The ice has done one of two things - displaced one of the diaphrams or one of them has split. Most of those diaphrams seem to only last a year or two.

[GREENITUP]

Thanks DW.... why do you think the remaining oil isn't getting milky as the pump runs? can it flow one direction and not the other? I just tinkered with it again - it is even sucking the oil down after you cut off the engine!

[phillie]

Have you taken the diaphragms out and checked them? That oil has to be going somewhere, if its not leaking on the outside then its leaking on the inside. I would bet money that it is a diaphragm issue as there isnt much more to blame.

[robert@rittenhouse]

The other potential issue, the frost put a crack in the crank case. Therefore the oil is going around the diaphragm. It could be a tiny hairline crack and is only opening up when under pressure. So when you open up the pump look for a tiny crack in the crankcase if you find that the diapragms look ok.

Unfortunately, frost is the death of many pumps.

[doug1980]

This just happened to me. Replaced the diaphragm and all is good. I didn't see a crack on it but the problem was solved.

[Landrus2]

Originally Posted by doug1980

This just happened to me. Replaced the diaphragm and all is good. I didn't see a crack on it but the problem was solved.

Do you guys get freezing temperatures down there

[robert@rittenhouse]

Originally Posted by doug1980

This just happened to me. Replaced the diaphragm and all is good. I didn't see a crack on it but the problem was solved.

Good.

It is a really important to keep an eye on that oil sight glass. If the oil turns milky grey, stop pumping and change the diaphragms right away. Even with a torn diaphragm it will continue to pump. But you are lubricating the pump with spray material and not oil. Eventually the pump will heat up, and the metal will break down and the pump will seize up. Then you will need a new pump.

Smart landscapers keep a spare set of diaphragms in stock. ;-)

[doug1980]

A few nights it does freeze here.

[robert@rittenhouse]

Originally Posted by doug1980

A few nights it does freeze here.

It is unfortunate that you don't get to put the sprayer in storage for a few months and winterize it properly. You could be spraying one week, then get a frost the next week. Hard to plan for that.