looking for pump input!

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Doesn't work, pump accepts a range of DC voltage and will attempt to compensate. Valve on output works best
 
I bought a Topsflo pump and just tried it out on a kettle with water I brought to near boiling (97C), ran it for an hour and at temp it pumped 2gal/min. Good enough for a whirlpool, I'm happy. I'd recommend buying from the link posted here, I gave a little less but have to use a battery charger and spent a few bucks for alligator clips.

The thing is completely quiet and primes easily, I positioned it about 18" below the kettle and put a ball valve on the outflow although for whirlpooling I'll be running it full out. Just ordered some cam lock QD's so I can switch it out for a drain hose, and use it for both of my kettles.

edited to change 97F to 97C
 
I bought a Topsflo pump and just tried it out on a kettle with water I brought to near boiling (97F), ran it for an hour and at temp it pumped 2gal/min. Good enough for a whirlpool, I'm happy. I'd recommend buying from the link posted here, I gave a little less but have to use a battery charger and spent a few bucks for alligator clips.

The thing is completely quiet and primes easily, I positioned it about 18" below the kettle and put a ball valve on the outflow although for whirlpooling I'll be running it full out. Just ordered some cam lock QD's so I can switch it out for a drain hose, and use it for both of my kettles.

Did you mean 97C?
 
I connected it directly to the kettlevalve and pumped a boiling oxyclean solution for 20 minutes through it and it ran no problem. I'll actually be brewing with it this weekend and I will post my results via YouTube.
 
Those that own this pump, how are the fittings attached? Is it possible to switch the brass to stainless. Looking at using 3 pumps with my automated system is this is a great budget solution.
 
97C, yes sorry.

I can't tell if brass fittings are molded with the Ryton housing or just screwed in. I'm not going to try taking it apart and risk breaking it. You might email one of the suppliers and ask. Greatbrewseh coat the inside of the brass anyway.
 
I connected it directly to the kettlevalve and pumped a boiling oxyclean solution for 20 minutes through it and it ran no problem. I'll actually be brewing with it this weekend and I will post my results via YouTube.
I was very tempted to just screw mine into the kettle valve too, wasn't sure it'd prime properly though. They recommend orienting it a foot under the kettle. I might give it a try when I get my QDs in, just putting it on a camlock and clipping it on/off the kettle.
 
I was very tempted to just screw mine into the kettle valve too, wasn't sure it'd prime properly though. They recommend orienting it a foot under the kettle. I might give it a try when I get my QDs in, just putting it on a camlock and clipping it on/off the kettle.

Lennie,

It prime without issue. I even had it pumping the oxyclean solution through my therminator which was level with the boil kettle. The thing that I like most about this pump is how quite it is.
 
I'll give it a shot, it would really make for a short whirlpool loop this way.

The things are almost silent, I agree. And so small.
 
Is there any kind of mount included with the pump. If not how have you guys mounted these to you brew rigs?
 
No mount for these. They are really small though, fits in the palm of your hand and weighs ounces not pounds. I think you could mount with some metal strapping, the kind with holes that you could bolt/screw to a rig. That or get a decent sized hose clamp and screw it to your rig then tighten it around the circular part of the pump. The pump has a flat back but thats where the wires come out and I think there are also a few vent slats. Or you can just screw it to the valve on your kettle/MLT that would hold it in place. I'm just going to let mine hang from the hose I'm using, then remove and hang it somewhere out of the way when I'm not using it.
 
Well I just ordered one. Kinda strange that they didn't provide any shipping info or tracking number... Also they just assumed my card address was the shipping address. That's fine for me but might screw someone. If the pump shows up I'll be thrilled. I do like to track my orders though..... Hope I didn't just get hosed!
 
Well I just ordered one. Kinda strange that they didn't provide any shipping info or tracking number... Also they just assumed my card address was the shipping address. That's fine for me but might screw someone. If the pump shows up I'll be thrilled. I do like to track my orders though..... Hope I didn't just get hosed!

They'll send the tracking info once it's shipped. They did this for me. However, it took a few days because of the holiday weekend.
 
$14 to ship that tiny thing?!?! Not only is the eBay pump the same thing and less expensive, they ship it free. Hmm, I'm torn...
 
Now even more tempting, however how are they handling grain and hop particals? Curious if I could use throughout entire automated system.

Also I know they are slower, but are they slow enough to fly sparge without throttling as my valves are either open or closed.
 
We actually have 2 other versions of this pump with lower flow rates that could be specifically used for fly sparge but it is just as easy to use a flow restrictor such as a ball valve
 
It's on the right hand side, they are taking pre-orders at same cost. Although they have an ETA of 5 wks.
 
I have had some questions about reducing the flow rate with these pumps, I have found by reducing the voltage to the pump you can control the flow. How you reduce the voltage other may be more qualified to answer that, I was able to test it with a weak battery. On my setup i restrict the flow with a valve very easily without cavitation problems like other pumps.
 
I got to test mine out yeserday, whirlpooled a 15gal batch in a keggle. It did a decent job and helped get the temp down with my IC without stirring. I also used the same whirlpool line to pump the chilled wort to carboys.
 
March, Little Giant and Chugger aren't specifically designed for brewing either, they are just magnetically coupled high temp pumps with food-grade materials. Personally I think March 809 pumps are over priced (look closely at yours, simple motor and no high tech materials)and even if (or should I say when) they hit $200+ people will buy them.

Just my opinion but I can recommend the 12V solar pumps, I haven't had any trouble other than mounting them as they are intended to be plumbed inline with pipe. They are small and quiet.


Thanks or the insight Kevin. I have been looking at pumps and the 809's are the most readilly available of the bunch. The price is as you say, or even a little bit of an insult but if you want one you gotta pay their price. I am ashamed to say I spent over 200.00, but I also got all stainless camlock connections for my entire brew rig and enough hose to hook it up any way I want or need to. Chuggers seem to be less pricey, but if you can find one in stock anywhere is a good question. Little giants have had a bad rep with me for years due to some lanscape and pond work I used to do. So I bit the bullet and spent the cash. So now I have to save up again for my next improvement. You would think that a 40 or 50 dollar pump would sell for a reasonable price.... but alas that is not the case with anything brew related.
Bob
 
I like the shaped impeller, I like that it is small enough to (easily) be mounted inline, and being DC driven you could use a PWM to drive this pump at different speeds. If I recently had not come into a march and a chugger, I would be looking very closely at these.
 
I like the shaped impeller, I like that it is small enough to (easily) be mounted inline, and being DC driven you could use a PWM to drive this pump at different speeds. If I recently had not come into a march and a chugger, I would be looking very closely at these.

I think the low flow rate on these pumps makes it unnecessary to modulate the rate.
 
I really like the idea of these mainly due to their size and being able to mount them directly to the ball valve or with a CamLock. Going to keep an eye on these and may have a chugger and 809 for sale soon.
 
Just received them today. I will hopefully be brewing in the next day or two. I'll post some pics and video as soon as I can.
 
I did clog my pickup tube with pellet hop material yesterday and there was some hop junk in the line going to the pump. Of course the flow stopped. Once we moved the pickup up and out of the trub the pump cleared the material in the line and went on its merry way. So it won't pump trub real well, but it will deal with the occasional bit of glop.
 
Note on tracking,

we are using paypal or our direct terminal for processing payments, when it is paypal we always list the tracking info with paypal, just log into your account to view tracking info, also we ship to the paypal address!

Orders we process manually without paypal we do verify address with credit card. Thanks.

I don't have an account just a cc. When I ordered it just pushed me through to the receipt page. Its fine for me because my cc and shipping address are the same. How to I track it if I don't have a Pay Pal account? Also, how did the pump ship? ups? usps? just so I know what to look for!
 
I got mine in the mail yesterday and got cam locks on and a few other fittings, I'v run star San and boiling water threw with no issues. I did not buy a valve for the output side wanted to see flow rate and threw my 1/2" line it moves more than I expected and so quite. A few photos:

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image-3611452878.jpg
 
I got mine in the mail yesterday and got cam locks on and a few other fittings, I'v run star San and boiling water threw with no issues. I did not buy a valve for the output side wanted to see flow rate and threw my 1/2" line it moves more than I expected and so quite. A few photos:

Thanks for the pics!
 
What are peoples thoughts on using these for a glycol pump for tap lines? Says they are brushless with 30000 hours of life. Temp protected, etc. Probably would work good. Not sure if it is worth the price for glycol. There are similar pumps on ebay for 22 and since I do not care about it being food safe, they might work fine.
 
What are peoples thoughts on using these for a glycol pump for tap lines? Says they are brushless with 30000 hours of life. Temp protected, etc. Probably would work good. Not sure if it is worth the price for glycol. There are similar pumps on ebay for 22 and since I do not care about it being food safe, they might work fine.

You're probably correct. It doesn't matter if they are food safe or not.

Either way, they are so small that it's nice for any use.
 
I've seen the videos from their site and it looked promising. I was looking for a video of someone using them in an actual brewing application though.
 
Hopefully I'll have some soon. As time permits, I should be brewing within days.

If I do, I will post some other pics.
 
A friend was looking at these and noticed they have bsp threads which he told me is not truly compatible with npt threads due to the various differences in the thread pitch and cut. With enough Teflon tape I'm sure they would be fine, but has anyone else noticed this?
 
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