looking for pump input!

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they use the little pumps a lot in england and australia and have been for quite awhile and i haven't heard of anyone getting sick, or complaints of bad tasting beer. What exactly is "food safe"? In brewing forums that term is like "healthy" and "low fat" elsewhere in discussions. Are the big name pumps we use for brewing made for home brewing? Not actually, they are adaptations of chemicals pumps hence why they can withstand high temp and being magnetically coupled keeps high temps and chemicals away from motor seals.
Many homes have galvanized water pipes but we won't use them in brewing. Most of frown on aluminum but go into any commercial kitchen and they are used for everything including acidic foods. Most brass contains some lead but we use it in home brewing without saying a word. Pvc pipe has chemicals that can leach into water/beer at higher than rated temps but we use it in mash tun manifolds without a huge debate. The last time you ordered a beer did you ask if the tap and faucet shank were stainless or chrome plated brass? Our food comes in coated tin cans but god we won't use anything like that in brewing. There is silicone sealant that is "fda approved" but don't think i'd put it on my breakfast cereal. How safe is styrofoam? We drink hot coffee out of cups made of it. It's a debate that will go on forever but is stupid if you ask me. How many home brewers use nothing but 304 or 316 stainless throughout the brewing process including hard piped with no hoses? Food safe means it won't make you sick under normal use and or contact plain and simple. Does it mean it won't add off flavors? Nope. Does it mean it won't cause cancer at some point, who knows. Only true pump that is truly food safe, high temp resistant is a lab style peristaltic pump. Wort never touches anything but inside the silicone or tygon hose.

March and chugger pumps are great, i use one myself but they can be out of reach for some financially and if these 12v pumps work and don't affect the taste of your beer then why not? Just recirculating from drain to top of kettle then do you really need a $160 pump plus fittings? One thing these little 12v pumps do have over any other pump is they are actually quiet!!! I'm considering trying one just for that reason as i brew in an apartment and i'm sure my neighbors would appreciate a quieter wort recirculating pump during a 90 minute mash.

Prost!
 
@Kevin509....:mug:
As I read this I can't help but think about the fact we are talking about how we all like to make booze, maybe even have a smoke or 2 while we pound down some of our home brew. I drive too fast, ride a motorcycle with no helmet, scuba and skydive, eat crappy (not always), don't exercise enough, and am in the military with occassional "trips" to the "Sand Box" over yonder where everyone wants us to die as all good enfidels should. I have this pump and could give a rats ass about its make up!!! It pumps great and is affordable....this makes me happy. Cheers.
 
Just received my 3 little pumps for my single tier design, I modeled the pump in Google sketchup so I could use it my piping layouts.

See it here

lilpump-M.png


If you go to the google sketchup warehouse and search "beer pump", it's the first one that comes up. The dimensions are close enough for design purposes, but not exact. If I get some time, I'll grab my micrometer and tune up the model.

Enjoy!
 
There is a fairly simple answer to this 'debate'. What is the coating on the magnets? To date, not one of the manufacturers or retailers has been able or willing to answer this. GreatBrewEh didn't even answer my email when I asked. And when asked earlier on HBT they responded with a generic answer again. No details have been offered as to what the temperature limits of the coating are, what it's made of, etc. To further my concern, the 'FDA food rating' would only apply under certain temperatures and circumstances and those have not been disclosed either. For example, the March pump heads are rated FDA food compliant with the disclosure of "can handle liquids of 250F intermittently."

I'm not an employee of March or Chugger and have no vested interest in either operation, but I remain skeptical of these cheap little pumps in our application until someone can give me a full 'ingredient list'. March and Chugger both do so willingly, and if the pump is legit there is no reason someone shouldn't be able to do it for these as well.

And for the record, I've had great experiences with both March and Chugger. I have not used one of these, and will not do so until I know what my product will contact during brewing.

The 12V pumps from solarprojects.co.uk are made from Fortron aka polyphenylene sulfide.

Here's a picture of exactly what is inside:

solar-pump-innards.jpg
 
Wrecked said:
Just curious if those using the GreatBrewEh pump are still happy with it?
I have the same pump from US Solar and I love it! You have to use a hop spider when using leaf hops because it will clog easily, but that's it.
 
I have the great brewah one and I really wanted to like it but if I had to do it again I would get another march 809. It is quiet and works well for recirculating but it has crapped out on me 3 times after recirculating through my herms and trying to go to chill through my chillzilla after the boil. I don't know if I overheat it or what but it got really annoying the 3rd time. A few hours later it kicks back on so I think it is a heat issue. Not really bulletproof like my march pump.
 
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