My new toy... March AC-1A-MD Pump

Funkenjaeger · 02-23-2008, 03:54 AM

Just recently picked this little guy up.

March AC-1A-MD pump, with hose nipples that fit 1/2" ID tubing, and a kynar wet end so it can handle high temps. It's even smaller than I expected, and I doubt it's got anywhere near the power of the bigger march pumps most people use (809's?) but I think it'll be quite useful for me... I've got plenty of projects in mind that need a pump so now I'm anxious to get started on them - it may not be a very big pump, but it still opens a lot more doors than not having a pump at all. Tested quickly with water, it seems to do a good job, getting about as high a flow rate as I'd hope for through the 5/16" tubing I am using. Can't wait to do real vorlauf, and whirlpool recirculation during chilling (a la Jamil)!

Best part is, this thing ran me just $30 shipped. A month or so ago there was a company selling a ton of these things on ebay for $22 shipped, and I was pretty disappointed to find that I'd missed the boat on that one, and I'm sure there's some others out there who might feel the same. There is one up as a regular auction right now, but no more buy-it-now I don't think.

The seller 'tescopumps' on ebay is selling off the 240V version of the same pump for $22 shipped right now though, for those of you that can make use of that version.

**CodeRage** · 02-23-2008, 03:56 AM

Good deal, make sure you use a gfi on that puppy with that exposed transformer.

Funkenjaeger · 02-23-2008, 12:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtuous

Good deal, make sure you use a gfi on that puppy with that exposed transformer.

Yeah, that's one of my first orders of business for today, along with sticking it in some kind of enclosure for convenience and splash resistance.

**CodeRage** · 02-23-2008, 03:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Funkenjaeger

Yeah, that's one of my first orders of business for today, along with sticking it in some kind of enclosure for convenience and splash resistance.

Heh, I was a little druck last night when I saw this and didnt realize you were OP Funkenjaeger. Dont need to tell you about GFIs

Funkenjaeger · 02-23-2008, 07:40 PM

Got the pump mounted in an enclosure today. Found this little airtight, snap-lid container at Target for $3 that is almost a perfect fit for the small pump. The holes in the side (done with a step drill) fit the large tubing snugly, so the whole thing is close to being waterproof - which is fine, since I only need it to be splash-resistant.

Also got an in-line GFI, basically a GFI plug with a short extension cord on it, so I think I'm good to go with this thing!

SC_Ryan · 02-23-2008, 08:13 PM

Nice work!!!

**CodeRage** · 02-23-2008, 08:35 PM

I like the way you think. You're not worried about the pump over heating though?

Funkenjaeger · 02-23-2008, 08:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Virtuous

You're not worried about the pump over heating though?

Yes and no... I just left it running for about an hour recirculating some room-temp water and the pump did heat up a bit, though not enough to burn you on touching it or anything. I don't expect to be leaving it running for all that long in one sitting during normal use (at least initially) but I will be keeping an eye on it, and if it does get to be a problem I'll figure out a way to deal with it.

Funkenjaeger · 02-25-2008, 01:53 PM

The pump worked great yesterday on its first brewing trial. I used it for several purposes: filling the MLT with strike water prior to mashing in, vorlaufing during the mash and sparge, and recirculating during chilling with my immersion chiller.

Note to self, when vorlaufing, make sure the outlet tube is actually held securely in place above the MLT, so it doesn't fall off and hose down your wall/microwave/toaster/shelves with wort... Lesson learned! (that was fun to clean up)

I got some nice clear wort from the mash/sparge, so I consider the vorlaufing to be a success. Pumping the strike water was really not necessary, but I don't have a dedicated HLT with spigot or anything, so my alternative is to either ladle the water in with a small saucepan or pour it over (when I can lift it...), so it's still an improvement.

Where I was really blown away was with the chilling. I know stirring the wort makes a big difference, and generally I use a spoon to gently whirlpool every few minutes... But recirculating during chilling totally blew that away. I was expecting to be able to get some other brews racked into kegs while waiting for this batch to chill, and hardly had time to do one of them... I didn't time the whole chilling process (was busy fumbling with the hoses and things for the first few minutes anyway) but I do recall timing its drop from 115F to 85F in a matter of about 3-4 minutes, and from there to 70F was just a few more minutes.

The pump may not be the biggest one out there, but the flow rate was MORE than adequate for me - I had to throttle it way down with the MLT valve during vorlauf. VERY happy with this addition to my brewing equipment arsenal!

**CodeRage** · 02-25-2008, 01:58 PM

Thats awesome man. I was just about to go and convert my IC to a CF but after hearing your expierience with a pump assisted whirl pool I may just stick with the IC.

I bet that was one hell of a sticky mess though...