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docmoran · 01-20-2009, 02:26 PM

hate to beat a dead horse but can a pump that is well below source be positioned with input/output left/right or horizontal as oppossed to vertical with input facing ground in regards to air etc -- will it work just as good as long as its below source?

MNBugeater · 01-20-2009, 03:23 PM

I have the input of the pump facing down. That is common as most are not self-priming pumps. This way gravity pushes enough liquid into the housing to prime it.

You can place the pump in any orientation that you want, but you will have priming issues and will find yourself squeezing the hose frequently just to get the pump primed.

I believe others have their orientation horizontal. Hopefully they will chime in as to the effectiveness.

missing link · 01-20-2009, 05:48 PM

Mine is only a few inches below my mash tun and the connections are horizontal. I just switch the pump on and off a few times and I get a prime right away.

Linc

**BrewBeemer** · 01-20-2009, 06:15 PM

This pump issue especially the March series has been going on for years.
Instead of hear say from members of this forum with all due respect to them has anyone gone directly to the March company and talked to their engineers and their factory product sales representatives? They should know their product best besides the best position and elevation for which is best for their pump operating under our keggles or pots for our brewing applications.
JMO's what I would do. I ran an old shaft seal rubber impeller pump on the cheap for years that would self prime being a positive displacement type pump just had to keep the impeller wet preventing burning up the impeller, it was built like an outboard motor water pump.

**ShortSnoutBrewing** · 01-20-2009, 06:38 PM

I place mine on the ground, maybe 3" - 4" below the keggle, so I have it horizontal. Never had a problem getting it primed and having the beer shoot up the out side a good three feet before even turning it on.

FlyGuy · 01-20-2009, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BrewBeemer

...Instead of hear say from members of this forum...

I would call it "experience" not "hearsay" -- that's highly valuable to me.

I think the consensus is that you can't position the input of the pump such that you create an air block in the tubing between your wort and the impeller. As long as the input doesn't point down, mine works fine in any position (albeit sometimes with a bit of fiddling). Oh, you also have to make sure that any air downstream of the pump can easily be pushed out, too (e.g., don't drop a recirc tube in liquid until the pump is primed and running).