Wondering if anyone has longer term (3-4 year) reviews of the Riptide pump. I seems to have had some really bad luck with this pump but can't find any reviews other than those written right after initial purchase.
Bought my Riptide in late 2019 and brew on average 6 times per year. Even when new, the Riptide would not pump when the water got anywhere close to boiling. It would make this awful screaming noise. Contacted BE customer support and they said that the pump could do that with the lever lock fittings because the Riptide 'pumped harder than other pumps'. BE insisted that their fittings were the way to solve the issue. Instead I opted for industrial grade SS compression fittings and it made zero difference. The pump still screamed whenever you got close to boiling. I eventually learned that if you simply reduce the flow at high temps you can get by. Not ideal but also not a big deal...
Earlier this year though, my pump started making all kinds of noise even when pumping room temp water. Disassembled and found that chrome (?) plating on one just side of the impeller magnet was worn completely off likely from it contacting the inside of the cup. I noticed that there was a lot of deflection at the end of the impeller shaft suggesting that the whole drive axis was wobbling inside of the cup which explained the noise. Calipered everything and the problem is the shaft seat in the head unit that had widened out over time. Contacted BE customer service and their fix is to buy a new head for the pump for nearly $100. As you can imagine, this did not land well... Still not sure whether it was an imbalance on the part of the motor or the impeller that started the whole process. Guess I'll have to experiment if/when I fork over the extra cash for a new head.
Meanwhile, I borrowed a couple Chugger pumps from a friend that still work great despite being almost a decade older than my Riptide and have more hours on them. At this point, I guess I'm a little amazed and frustrated that the pump head on the Riptide could fail after only 3 years and am honestly considering just replacing the Riptide outright with a March pump that I can get for around the same price as BE wants for just the replacement head.
Is mine a one-off experience with the pump or is it fairly standard for a longer-term experience in the life of a Riptide user?
Bought my Riptide in late 2019 and brew on average 6 times per year. Even when new, the Riptide would not pump when the water got anywhere close to boiling. It would make this awful screaming noise. Contacted BE customer support and they said that the pump could do that with the lever lock fittings because the Riptide 'pumped harder than other pumps'. BE insisted that their fittings were the way to solve the issue. Instead I opted for industrial grade SS compression fittings and it made zero difference. The pump still screamed whenever you got close to boiling. I eventually learned that if you simply reduce the flow at high temps you can get by. Not ideal but also not a big deal...
Earlier this year though, my pump started making all kinds of noise even when pumping room temp water. Disassembled and found that chrome (?) plating on one just side of the impeller magnet was worn completely off likely from it contacting the inside of the cup. I noticed that there was a lot of deflection at the end of the impeller shaft suggesting that the whole drive axis was wobbling inside of the cup which explained the noise. Calipered everything and the problem is the shaft seat in the head unit that had widened out over time. Contacted BE customer service and their fix is to buy a new head for the pump for nearly $100. As you can imagine, this did not land well... Still not sure whether it was an imbalance on the part of the motor or the impeller that started the whole process. Guess I'll have to experiment if/when I fork over the extra cash for a new head.
Meanwhile, I borrowed a couple Chugger pumps from a friend that still work great despite being almost a decade older than my Riptide and have more hours on them. At this point, I guess I'm a little amazed and frustrated that the pump head on the Riptide could fail after only 3 years and am honestly considering just replacing the Riptide outright with a March pump that I can get for around the same price as BE wants for just the replacement head.
Is mine a one-off experience with the pump or is it fairly standard for a longer-term experience in the life of a Riptide user?
