Cheap nano Pumps?

yeah.... so... I am a poor college engineering student, and I have been slowly but surely designing, buying and building a 1bbl system so my friends and I can have far too much tasty brew in the house. I have almost everything except a pump at this point. I thought pumps would be simple. I was wrong. It was $800 from more beer for one of those nano march pumps, and I need two. SO I did what any engineer would, and looked to steal the cheapest option available elsewhere. While it would be possible to design and fabricate my own pump, I would much rather find a cheap alternative. So, I found this, and I was wondering if anyone might spot any glaring issues that I might have overlooked.

http://www.pexuniverse.com/grundfos-ups15-55suc super brute-circulator-pump-59896781

Seems cheaper, and within the specs I need. Let the comments ensue.

McGolden_Brew said:

yeah.... so... I am a poor college engineering student, and I have been slowly but surely designing, buying and building a 1bbl system so my friends and I can have far too much tasty brew in the house. I have almost everything except a pump at this point. I thought pumps would be simple. I was wrong. It was $800 from more beer for one of those nano march pumps, and I need two. SO I did what any engineer would, and looked to steal the cheapest option available elsewhere. While it would be possible to design and fabricate my own pump, I would much rather find a cheap alternative. So, I found this, and I was wondering if anyone might spot any glaring issues that I might have overlooked.

http://www.pexuniverse.com/grundfos-ups15-55suc super brute-circulator-pump-59896781

Seems cheaper, and within the specs I need. Let the comments ensue.

Click to expand...

You must mean besides the cost.

yeah, not sure what you aren't looking at the tried/true March Pumps, LGs, etc.

Or Chugger Pumps. I couldnt be happier with my Chugger. Dont bother with what youre looking at, Chugger, March, LG is what you want. No reason for you to buy an $800 pump.

He is comparing it to this: http://morebeer.com/view_product/12009//March_Nano_Brewery_Pump_-_Stainless_110V
And this: http://morebeer.com/view_product/12010//March_Nano_Brewery_Pump_-_Stainless_230V

Which in that case this pump is far cheaper.
But the real question is what in your setup needs a 17GPM flow vs a 7GPM or a 27ft head vs an 18ft head? I'm not sure if you really need the high end nano pumps for only 1 barrel.

Well max flow out is 7GPM right? so at 0' of head I get 7GPM. However I am using 55gallon SS drums which are about 3' tall plus the pumps location below the barrels and a grant tank ads a maximum of about 4' or 5'. Because the thrust curves for these motors are mostly linearly related to head distance then at 18' = 0 GPM so slope: m=-7GPM/18'=-0.38888 y=mx+b x=4' or x=5' for my setup b=7GPM so @ 4' head = 5.44GPM @ 5' head = 5.05GPM That means that it would take 11min to fully circulate the wort in the MLT through the HERMS and transfer it over to the BT. Is that an acceptable amount of time?

I brew 30-35 gallon batches and use a March 809/815. I use a HERMS to maintain mash temps. In my system, flow is limited by the grain bed and not the pump. During mash, I get 1-2 gal/min flow. I guess my fear is that you spend big bucks for a pump and you will have to throttle it back to several gallons per minute anyway.

That pump doesnt look to be certified for food applications... it does not have a magnetic coupling. therefore you could be mixing lubricants and contaiminents in with your wort

The one time I brewed at a 1bbl capacity (37 gallons, to be exact), we used my buddy's little giant pumps. Not nano-scale pumps. Just the same scale pumps everyone else is using for 5/10/15 gallon batches, and we were brewing in 55gallon Blichman kettles, and pumped the wort across his garage into his 47 gallon conical, no problem. Never had a problem with insufficient power on the pumps. I can't honestly think of a point in the brew day when we would have wanted to pump any fluids any faster or any higher/farther than we did. As it was, we we were still restricting the pump flow significantly for sparging and less significantly when running through his plate chiller.

Save yourself some dough and keep to the smaller pumps, unless you plan to expand beyond 1bbl capacity.

Excellent advice... I think I am going to go with the chugger. Thank you everyone!

I have the more beer nano pump (non-stainless) and 30 gallon kettles.

As mentioned, it's overkill for recirculating mash. However it's amazing for all other tasks. I went with this pump because I have a brewing partner to split the cost with and we were sick of our pos 809. We always had issues with it from trouble priming it in line with our trub filter and plate chiller, to seizing up on the hot side, and just being a pain in the ass.

For 55 gallon kettles, I say go for something more like the nano pump if you can afford it. I think I have seen that march nano pump in stainless elsewhere in the $500 range.

Edit: Nevermind, I didn't read it correctly.

We use grundfos stainless steel pumps for recirculating domestic hot water in HVAC. I think that would be a good option. Also check out TACO pumps for more options. Some of the grundfos pumps are 3 speed which could be a good option

Look on eBay. I got a little giant 5 series pump( 1" inlet) for under $100 used. I think it's over $800 new. Also there are iwaki mag drive pumps that will work as well, a little less known but available in larger sizes too.

http://shop.solarproject.co.uk/Solar-Project-Pumps-c-2.html

These are used by homebrewers quite a lot in the UK, and Australia. Very cheap. Not amazing flow but it gets the job done.

Little Giant pump on Ebay here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/290777788075?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649

If you are brewing big batches you will want to maximize your flow rate. I've seen people talk of doing so by not using restrictive fittings (making sure their holes are at least as big as the ones in the ports on the pump), making their own or grinding threads off, putting components in the right order, etc., so you should search the forums.