Bell & Gosset Series 100 Whistling


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Old 12-03-14, 07:08 AM
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Bell & Gosset Series 100 Whistling

My pump started whistling yesterday. I added more oil than needed in all 3 places but it's still doing it. Sometimes it stops for a few minutes, sometimes it continues non-stop. Sometimes it will alternate. The sound seems to come from the middle. Any idea what could be the problem? Listen by yourself:

http://youtu.be/9agVRqPE0So Any help is welcome, thanks!
 
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Old 12-03-14, 08:38 AM
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It sounds like a high pitched squeal? It might be the impeller or a bearing? What is the system pressure? You might try jacking up the pressure a few psi and see if it makes any difference in the sound.

When you rotate the pump by hand, do you sense any dragging?

I don't sense any imminent catastrophic failure. Ultimately, it might be necessary to disassemble the pump and motor and inspect it for any suspicious signs.

Over-oiling is definitely not good. It can get on the motor mounts and damage them. One or two drops of electric motor oil yearly in each oil port is recommended, no more.
 
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Old 12-03-14, 08:52 AM
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Thanks for the tip, next time i'll put less oil. But the current issue was happening before I added oil so I wouldn't say that this is the cause. The problem is the high pitch sound. It's been doing that from 8 psi to 22. I'm disassembling it atm to have a look. I'll try rotating it by hand. If you have any other suggestions they are welcome. Thanks!
 
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Old 12-03-14, 11:28 AM
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Sure sounds like a bearing squeal to me. More likely to be the pump bearing in my experience. Unless you had oil running out of the pump bearing you have NOT over oiled that particular bearing. While the motor bearings only need 3 to 5 drops of oil yearly the pump bearing is scheduled for a minimum of 15 to 20 drops. Over oiling the motor bearings WILL lead to deterioration of the rubber mounting rings but over oiling of the pump bearing will only make a mess.

One other possibility...Watching the video I could sometimes see the coupler arm change speed. It is possible that the coupler is loose on the shaft of either the motor or the pump.

I would check the coupler for tightness and also add a significant amount of oil to the pump bearing.
 
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Old 12-03-14, 01:49 PM
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I changed the coupler for a much better one, and added more oil to the pump bearing. For now the sound is gone. Hopefully it will last! I'll let you know if it starts over. Thanks everyone!
 
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Old 12-03-14, 02:58 PM
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The bearing is an oil light bushing and the oil is forced into the small pockets by pressure when made . The only way to resupply the oil , must be #10 non detergent oil, is to heat the oil until it begins to smoke and then add to reservoir.
 
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Old 12-03-14, 03:39 PM
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Baloney! While it IS an oilite (not oil light) bronze bearing, that materials allows oil to "percolate" through and this happens at room temperatures. The bearing housing has a wicking material (cotton or perhaps wool) that soaks up the oil added through the Gits cap and slowly re-supplies the bearing.

I have resurrected many B&G pumps that had been squealing from a dry pump bearing by simply adding oil to the bearing housing.
 
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Old 12-03-14, 04:15 PM
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Furd I have tried just adding oil without success until I either heated the oil or put the oil in a sealed container with the bushing and then heated the container which caused the oil to be under pressure .
 
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Old 12-03-14, 04:40 PM
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Different people, different results. What more can I say?
 
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Old 12-10-14, 04:21 PM
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I never understood Bell & Gossett.

Once I had to replace one of their circulator pumps because the pump bearing had seized. The new one came with a tube of oil and instructions to put so much in each motor bearing and so much in the pump bearing, what seemed to be an ocean of oil. I could not see where all that oil would go since the bearings did not look that big.

I put in about half of the amount specified in the instructions.

The instructions go on to say put ten drops in each motor bearing and 20 drops in the pump bearing every year.

Other people said the two or three drops should be enough.
 
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Old 12-10-14, 04:40 PM
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What's not to understand?

Yeah, the initial oiling takes a lot more than the maintenance oiling.

You need to fill the bearing housing which is shipped dry, that takes a couple teaspoons, and the felt wicks that oil the motor bearings are dry and need to be saturated.

I do feel that 10 drops in the motor bearing oilers / year is probably too much... I don't recall seeing that in the instruction sheets myself.

If the pump bearing chamber doesn't leak, it shouldn't need all that much either...

But 20 drops is only about a milliliter, so it's not really all that much, about 1/6 of a teaspoon. (oil drops may be bigger than water drops though so it could be a wee bit more)
 
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Old 12-10-14, 04:45 PM
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The amount of oil the bearing would use would depend on how much it runs and the temperature of the boiler water. The housing has an absorber to hold the oil until the bearing needs it.
 
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Old 01-11-15, 01:21 PM
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Adding oil worked for some time, but eventually it started whistling again, and adding oil wouldn't solve the issue anymore. I ended up replacing the pump with a Bell&Gossett NRF-33 and it works like a charm now.
 

Last edited by Xzander; 01-11-15 at 01:57 PM.
 

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