hi! can someone help me? I have a Watts 500800 recirculating pump in my small home. It was installed new almost 3 years ago when I moved into this house. It's always worked and then a few days ago it just stopped working. I still get hot water, but have to wait a couple of minutes. Could the unit have gone bad after just 3 years?
Re-circ pump help needed
- Thread starter Cathy
- Start date
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Yes, it could have gone out in only three years, but I would check the simplest solutions first. Make sure you have not tripped a circuit breaker to the pump, someone unplugged it, or your timer (if you have one) is set incorrectly.
OK. thanks for the tips. It is still plugged in; I checked that. The timer is set to "on" always. I know this is not the most efficient setting, but apparently a timer schedule was never set when it was installed; so it's been on for 3 years straight. Could continuously running it for 3 years have caused it to fail? It just seems like for over $150 it should have lasted longer. As for checking the breaker, I am embarrassed to say that I don't know where the box is, nor would I know what to look for if I found the box. (insert shameful emoticon here)
Is this re-circ pump hard wired into your electrical system, or is it simply plugged in to a plug? If the pump has a black electrical cord, then just follow it to the plug it is plugged into. Pull this plug and try plugging a small lamp or portable device (radio, stereo, TV, Lamp, flashlight, etc) and see if it turns on. if it doesn't, then we can work your way to the circuit box. We are here for you!
Hi! and good morning! The pump is not hard wired; there is a cord plugged into the wall. It shares the outlet with the extra garage freezer, which is working just fine. Just to be sure, I unplugged the pump and plugged in a small lamp, which also worked just fine. So the issue is not power to the pump nor is the problem related to the circuit breaker. That leaves your 3rd possible simplest solution that you mentioned in an earlier post, which is the timer setting. The timer is currently set to "on" and has been since it was installed, so an incorrect timer setting shouldn't be the issue. But maybe I am jumping to conclusions. Any more ideas? Thanks so much for your help! 
The prognosis is not looking good, I'm afraid. Sometimes you can give the pumps a tap on the side to see if you could get 'er started once again, but this is usually only a temporary fix.
Anyone else have any ideas to help Cathy?
Anyone else have any ideas to help Cathy?
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Try unplugging the pump for 15 min. then plug it back in. If it still doesn't work the it's time for a replacement. You'll get longer life out of the pump if it doesn't run 24-7.
Quickest method do an amp draw on the power cord if its more then 20% off the rated amps time to replace it.
Your correct but most DIY don't have the tools to do that test.
