Little Giant Recent Questions, Troubleshooting Help & Support

i get calls on this from time to time , heres what ive found to be cause in a few in past breaker that feeds outlet that pump is plugged into has tripped the auto sensor points on pump motor cover are covered up with slime and leaves pump impeller is clogged with leaves and tree fallings

new pump

this sounds as if motor is overheating and the thermal switch is stopping it (why it restarts by itself) if a pump is overheating then a few reasons need be looked at , is pump encountering higher viscosity's than designed for and is having trouble moving liquid fast enough , is distance pump has to lift liquid over what it's designed to do most of these pumps use liquid it's moving to provide cooling to pump , is liquid it's moving warm/Hot allready if so use different type of pump (non submerged) and last but not least is pump worn out and is failing moving parts wearing together make heat !!! ?

due to the seals involved and the increadable possibility of leaks happening i dont recomend that you try replacing a power cord on a submurged pump, the risk of shock is just to great for the benefit !! the plug end now that can be replaceed however , contact any licened electrician they can handle that for you.

yes any good electric motor shop can repair this problem , but might require pump be removed first (ask first)

a device called a flow restrictor is needed in this case , pond supply places can source this device as it needs be sized for the size of hose your using

sumerged pump oil is most allways a fire resistant (smokeless) type of mineral oil , when filling any pump allways allow for heat expansion !!!

this sounds as if the thermal switch is being activated , this ocurrs when an obstruction has entered pump , by design the pumping media (water?) is the cooling for the pump , low to no flow no cooling !!

lots of times you can fix a slow pump by reversing the flow of the pump , by shutting off power and forcing water back thru it with a garden hose , no dissasembly required !!!

this sure sounds if the impeller is blocked and not being able to turn ,Dont let it run this way , can dammage motor of pump , remove intake cover (unplugged) and wash out with garden hose real well , see if impeller (black plastic blade) can turn with your finger (unplugged) , should move easy ! this might be an indacation of need for a filter on pump inlet !!!

water being pumped have high solids content ? , get sample in clear glass let set overnight look at bottom closely , Lots of stuff settle down there ? if so your gonna need a filter of sorts to remove solids before pump gets a hold of it

if a pump connected to a gfci outlet trips , then the gfci has detected a high resistance "shortage" inside pump and has disconnected power , this "shortage" can be nearly in detectable from human standards(shock) , but gfci picks it up most likely pump seal has failed and water has gotten inside pump !! it only takes one drop to do this !!

"pump oil" usually is a fire redardant mineral type , ive seen good uses of dietary mineral oil avail at local phamacy , but is sort of pricey if filling a total pump up with it (allways allow for heat expansion)

if a pump connected to a gfci brkr is tripping it , gfci has detected a connection from hot wire to ground !! this could be a high resistance connection still allowing pump to run but "leaking" power to ground thru restance connection , this pump could become dangerious (if short gets worse) and should not be used for this application

if this is the type with the open frame motor (meaning its got no round cover) then i suggest you soak the pump (not the motor ) in hot/warm water for a bit , sugar from drinks mix has dried up inside pump not alowing pump to turn , hot water will soften sugar and allow motor to turn

thats why i like the little giant pumps they are put together with phillips screws not glued like them other guys , i do suggest that if you dissasemble pump and water has gotten inside , replace it not just seal it up and go , wont last long as that means the pump shaft seal has leaked , ther e has been a few folks that add dietary mineral oil to the inside , for use in very deep ponds (over 3 feet) they believe that helps keep the water out

pumps will increase in there noise level as they age , this is due to parts that turn wearing down , eventually pump will fail to turn any more and require replacement , but that could be years later , one tip thought !! allways run pumps level not tilted they last the longest that way (its the way the mfg intended it to be used ) and not have a lot of stress put onthe pump housing with a tight hanging discharge pipe (support the pump not the pipe)

You can try to force prime with a garden hose. Put the hose in ether side suction or discharge.