I've searched for this but have yet to find a good thread on it. I'm looking for a do's and dont's thread. Does anyone know of a thread that walks you through everything you need to know about adding a pump to your system. Most of what I have found is rig specific and I'm looking for more general information. Thanks
Pump Addition Help
- Thread starter CPORT546
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
You'd probably get some ideas by looking at some of the "Show Us Your Brew Sculpture" threads, but here are a few general tips:
- for the most part, the only appropriate pumps are magnetically coupled, using high-temperature tolerant materials that are also "food grade" (or at least "generally recognized as safe" around consumables)
- mount the pump well below vessels to ease priming
- regardless of the motor orientation, the ideal pump head orientation is to end up with the outlet port pointing to 12 O'Clock. Next best is with the outlet pointing at 3 O'Clock
- sizing your inlet plumbing path, from pickup to pump inlet, to match or exceed the pump inlet ID, will help avoid cavitation
- provide a way to let air bleed out of the pump head when priming - very important
- avoid sharp bends immediately before the pump inlet. A couple/few inches of straight shot into the inlet will benefit pump performance
- never control pump flow from the inlet side; "throttling" with a valve must be done on the output side
- never run a pump dry for more than seconds; it is the liquid that lubricates the pump head/impeller; without liquid flowing, bad things happen
- provide a splash/drip shield over the pump motor; if you drown the motor in water or wort, you can forget benefiting from any warranty service
- make sure the pump is electrically grounded for safety, and ideally ends up at a GFCI device
I'm sure there are more tips out there...
Cheers!
- for the most part, the only appropriate pumps are magnetically coupled, using high-temperature tolerant materials that are also "food grade" (or at least "generally recognized as safe" around consumables)
- mount the pump well below vessels to ease priming
- regardless of the motor orientation, the ideal pump head orientation is to end up with the outlet port pointing to 12 O'Clock. Next best is with the outlet pointing at 3 O'Clock
- sizing your inlet plumbing path, from pickup to pump inlet, to match or exceed the pump inlet ID, will help avoid cavitation
- provide a way to let air bleed out of the pump head when priming - very important
- avoid sharp bends immediately before the pump inlet. A couple/few inches of straight shot into the inlet will benefit pump performance
- never control pump flow from the inlet side; "throttling" with a valve must be done on the output side
- never run a pump dry for more than seconds; it is the liquid that lubricates the pump head/impeller; without liquid flowing, bad things happen
- provide a splash/drip shield over the pump motor; if you drown the motor in water or wort, you can forget benefiting from any warranty service
- make sure the pump is electrically grounded for safety, and ideally ends up at a GFCI device
I'm sure there are more tips out there...
Cheers!
OneHoppyGuy
Well-Known Member
Tripper did an excellent job of covering it... can't think of anything else
Junkster
Well-Known Member
As with any new equipment purchase, RTFM (Read The F*****g Manual)!! 
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