Portable March Pump Set-Up

So, as I was conducting my brewcast this morning (thanks to all who tuned in!), I began thinking of ways to improve upon my current rig while still maintaining a high degree of portability. I like to brew in the basement, but I enjoy brewing outside as well when the weather is pleasant- and I like brewing in the company of others, so my rig needs to be compact and easily transported. As such, I haven't designed (and likely won't) any sort of brewstand. However, I've just upgraded my brew kettle to 15 gallons and will also be installing ball-valves on both my BK and my HLT (my previous BK- 10 gallons).

Now my quandry: I want to improve on my chilling setup, pumping wort through a CFC that I have but haven't yet tried using. This is my primary motivation for considering a pump; HLT to MLT to BK transfers are gravy as far as I'm concerned. I suppose it could be as simple as mounting the pump to a box of sorts to protect the housing and make it easy to move about.

Here's the first arrangement of my "brewing board". I'ts been reconfigured since I took this photo. The pump is now centered on the board as well as being tipped vertical. When not in use I can hang the board on the wall. I've replaced the very flexible tubing for the wort chiller with stiffer stuff that doesn't collapse (I was already using that for connecting all the valve fittings). Right now it is set up on one side of my double laundry sink. I heat my mash tun (insulated SS pot) and HLT with two induction cookers that fit on the board. I also added another Tee in front of the pump so I can switch between the mash tun and HLT.

I diassemble and assemble various bits for mashing versus wort chilling (shown). I can take a photo of the curent rig if you'd like.

I already had to haul the toolbox full of brewing gear out every time I brewed anyway...



March 809 Pump Housing - Lustreking Brewing

Steve,

That is a brilliant idea! I think you've just solved my problem.

And it adheres to a core principle of my brewing philosophy- no 'single use' items!

I just screwed my pump to a piece of plywood, and it works fine. Keeps it off the ground, and makes it sturdy enough to keep from tipping over. I think I'll extend this at some point to be a 5 sided box around the pump open on one end for the in/out connections. But for right now this setup works fine for me. As for the rest of my setup, it's done in the "nomad" fashion. All separate pieces, ready to move with me wherever I happen to brew. Also makes it much easier to store in my garage, so I can fit the car AND store the brew equipment in there.

Same deal here...

Mounted mine vertically. The post swivels on the base for convenient hose positioning. Rubber feet on the bottom keep it out of any water on the floor. Pump head in the down position makes priming much easier. Handle on top for easy carrying.

Here is mine:
Nagging Hag Brewing Co.

Pump ordered, it's on!

I'll be drilling my kettle for the sight gauges and bulkheads tomorrow night after I borrow a stepbit from Firebrewer.

And here is my BrewDog,....



It is currently only a prototype, based on a halogen lamp stand.
I brew electronically and I plan on adding a thermometer i the Tee, and then have thermostats and relais on the other side.
(I would not recommend having electronics this close to wet parts unless you know the dangers!)

cheers,
walther

WOOT!

My March pump and the requisite tubing has arrived! Pics to follow.

Stick a plate chiller on one of these setups (with a bypass valve), and you've got a chill wizard!

Here's my toolbox march pump, assembled yesterday:

Ingenious idea with the toolbox! Just make sure you provide airflow when it's running.

You are going to love having a pump. I've had mine for about 5 years and it's a BEAST! :rockin:

flyangler18 said:

Here's my toolbox march pump, assembled yesterday:

Click to expand...

Looks good!

After my previous funky little enclosure started to fall apart (literally!), I found a one gallon gasoline container that's just about perfect as a portable enclosure for a March 809PL pump.

BUILD DETAILS.