pumps

Has anyone had any experience with diaphragm pumps I was given a brand new surflo pump and wondered if it could be used for wort transfer it is a potable water pump

Got a picture? My experience with diaphragm pumps is through chemical injection. How fast can it pump?

It says it can pump 2.8 gallons per min I was told it was for a rv's potable water system I just wonder if it can handle the high temp of wort

Just for curiosity I tried pumping 10 gallon of 210 deg. Water through it had no issues and only took about 4 min..also I restricted the flow down to about 10% and the pump seemed to function fine

Sounds like it works then. Most diaphragm pumps I work with are like 0.3 gallons per HOUR lol. Maybe see if you can find the manufactureers manual online.

Sounds like this is a pretty common pump it is used in a lot of on demand systems for RV's and boats found that they are about the same price as a march pump but I got this one for free

If it has the tag on it with the model I would Google it and find the specs. I looked into using motorhome pumps a long time ago and none of them were suitable for high temps. It may work for awhile but I wouldn't trust it to last. The high temps may also cause it to leach chemicals and off flavors.

mrrshotshot said:

Sounds like it works then. Most diaphragm pumps I work with are like 0.3 gallons per HOUR lol. Maybe see if you can find the manufactureers manual online.

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+1 on finding the manual and specs.

I work (production not engineer) at a chemical manufacturing facility and we use diaphragm pumps in different applications through out the plant. The working part of the pump is a plastic/rubber like bladder, some are rated for temperature and some are rated for the chemicals that are transfered. The highest temperature that any of ours are rated for is 200f but in our facility we don't move anything that hot with a diaphragm pump. If the pump that you have is for an RV I would be concerned about the temperature rating.

If you are using the same sureflo pump that I am for my glycol system, it is no good for high temperature. the fact that it didnt explode or melt from your test is no indication that it should be used to pump high temp wort.

Would the concern be with the pump not lasting or the chance of getting off flavors from the hot plastic

tlg779 said:

Would the concern be with the pump not lasting or the chance of getting off flavors from the hot plastic

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I would say yes to both. And throw in the possible harmful effects of whatever chemical(s) would cause those flavors.