Proud owner of a Chugger pump, but I don't know what the hell to do with it!

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natewv

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So I got a pump and can't seem to find anything on here or google that gives me an overview of where and how exactly I would use it in my brew day. Also, having only 1 pump, where it is most useful and/or less of a necessity. Additionally, I'm not sure exactly what additional components I need (tubing, disconnects) to use it.

My MT cooler and BK have ball valves, my HLT does not, but I could drill one. What do I do now?
 
Pay careful attention to where it and the inlet / outlet are located. Outlet as 12 oclock, and inlet at 6 'oclock. Also, make sure the inlet isn't restricted, i.e., no elbows within a couple inches. These will help prevent priming issues, which suck. There's plenty of threads devoted to this topic.
 
If you don't know how to use a pump with your system, you probably don't need a pump yet. Usually when people buy a pump it's because they're tired of moving water/wort manually. Brew more beer and you'll figure out where you want it in your system. (also there's millions of pictures and examples of how to use a pump both here and on Google)
 
mpcluever said:
If you don't know how to use a pump with your system, you probably don't need a pump yet. Usually when people buy a pump it's because they're tired of moving water/wort manually. Brew more beer and you'll figure out where you want it in your system. (also there's millions of pictures and examples of how to use a pump both here and on Google)
Click to expand...

I've only been brewing all grain for a year or so, so I'm by no means an expert, but of course I don't want to move wort/water manually. I understand what a pump is for. I'm looking for specifics. number of disconnects I'll need, if I need to drill a hole for a valve in my HLT, if I should begin fly sparging now that I have a pump, if I might want to upgrade my chilling procedure, specifically what kinds of disconnects I need, etc. Trust me, I've read a dozen threads here and tried Google.

I guess I don't appreciate how hard it is to express a bit of self-depreciation over the internet, and maybe I could have provided more detail as to my experience, but give me a break. In the amount of time it took you to sound superior, you could have maybe tried to help me by checking out google, etc (i tried) or just moved on to something else.

I'm sorry to sound disrespectful, I just get responses like this far too often and I wonder why people even bother?

/end rant, back to my stir plate build...
 
I'll be picking up a pump soon. I'll use to move water from my HLT to my MT and to move wort from my MT to my BK. everything is on one level so, unless I hump heavy pots around, the pump is for ease of use and SAFETY!
 
Sorry, didn't intend to sound "superior", what I meant was, you're already brewing and it must be working for you. Tons of people brew and don't use a pump at all. Look at your processes and anywhere you're moving liquid, ask yourself if using a pump there would make things easier. There's a lot of quick connects out there. Check out cam locks (my personal favorite). Specific questions will get you the best answers.
 
I'm in the process of setting up something similar. For connections, there are a couple of different ways to go about it, but I decided to go with camlock quick disconnects. Take my advice and go with BobbyM's products. I ordered about half mine before he came out with the new stuff, so the other half are from him, and are much easier (note, it looks like he's down for a few days catching up from the holiday rush, but if you aren't in a hurry, they're worth the wait).

For tubing, you'll need enough silicone to reach to your various implements. I'm planning on at most going from my BK to pump, pump to chiller, chiller back to BK, so I needed three sections of tubing. With the camlocks I can unhook the tubing and go between MT, BK, and HLT as well. For camlocks, I put elbow barbs and type B camlocks on all the hoses (BobbyM's elbow barbs for hoses are great), with the exception of the hose going into the input of the pump. On that hose, I went the BobbyM's "Big C" camlock with the wide hose barb on the end going to the pump (to hopefully cut down on priming problems), and elbow/type B on the other end of the hose.

For the rest of the connections, I've got type F camlocks screwed into ball valves on all my vessels. On the pump, I've got a center inlet so I've got an adaptor to cut down to 1/2" and then a type F without a ball valve. On the outlet, for the time being I've just got a ball valve to regulate flow and a type F camlock, and so far I haven't had any trouble with priming, but if I do I may have to change that around to get the air out.

The rest of your questions are really up to you. I'm upgrading my chilling (IC to CFC) since I've got the pump. I've got coolers for my MT and HLT, so I've already installed valves in them. For the time being I'm going to continue batch sparging, since all my vessels are on the same level, but may think about upgrading to fly if I decide to add a level so I can gravity transfer one vessel. A second pump would make fly sparging easier on a single level, but I'm not quite there yet.

Oh, I also stole this idea and put my pump in a toolbox. I also got a wireless remote for the pump power, and, of course, and GFCI converter for plugging it in. Good luck!
 
Last edited by a moderator:
erikpete18 said:
I'm in the process of setting up something similar. For connections, there are a couple of different ways to go about it, but I decided to go with camlock quick disconnects. Take my advice and go with BobbyM's products. I ordered about half mine before he came out with the new stuff, so the other half are from him, and are much easier (note, it looks like he's down for a few days catching up from the holiday rush, but if you aren't in a hurry, they're worth the wait).

For tubing, you'll need enough silicone to reach to your various implements. I'm planning on at most going from my BK to pump, pump to chiller, chiller back to BK, so I needed three sections of tubing. With the camlocks I can unhook the tubing and go between MT, BK, and HLT as well. For camlocks, I put elbow barbs and type B camlocks on all the hoses (BobbyM's elbow barbs for hoses are great), with the exception of the hose going into the input of the pump. On that hose, I went the BobbyM's "Big C" camlock with the wide hose barb on the end going to the pump (to hopefully cut down on priming problems), and elbow/type B on the other end of the hose.

For the rest of the connections, I've got type F camlocks screwed into ball valves on all my vessels. On the pump, I've got a center inlet so I've got an adaptor to cut down to 1/2" and then a type F without a ball valve. On the outlet, for the time being I've just got a ball valve to regulate flow and a type F camlock, and so far I haven't had any trouble with priming, but if I do I may have to change that around to get the air out.

The rest of your questions are really up to you. I'm upgrading my chilling (IC to CFC) since I've got the pump. I've got coolers for my MT and HLT, so I've already installed valves in them. For the time being I'm going to continue batch sparging, since all my vessels are on the same level, but may think about upgrading to fly if I decide to add a level so I can gravity transfer one vessel. A second pump would make fly sparging easier on a single level, but I'm not quite there yet.

Oh, I also stole this idea and put my pump in a toolbox. I also got a wireless remote for the pump power, and, of course, and GFCI converter for plugging it in. Good luck!
Click to expand...

Thanks for this helpful post. I was putting together my order today to BobbyM for a pump and fittings, so I'm thinking about all of this. So you put elbow barbs on both ends of the hoses? I would think you wouldn't want them on the pump ends. Can you explain?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
smack2000 said:
Thanks for this helpful post. I was putting together my order today to BobbyM for a pump and fittings, so I'm thinking about all of this. So you put elbow barbs on both ends of the hoses? I would think you wouldn't want them on the pump ends. Can you explain?
Click to expand...

Sorry, I didn't catch your explanation of the pump end, but now I see it.
 
smack2000 said:
Sorry, I didn't catch your explanation of the pump end, but now I see it.
Click to expand...

Yeah, that's actually why I was able to go back and order a few things from BobbyM. I'd originally had elbow barbs on all my connections, and only two hoses, since I hadn't taken into account potentially recirculating the chilled wort back into the BK now that I've got a CFC, to faster cool the entire batch. That's the only time when I'll need three hoses. I'm still not sure if I'll always recirculate that way, but it gave me an excuse to pickup a third hose and make one without an elbow at the pump inlet, after worrying about priming issues.
 
Does anyone think it would be a good idea to package something like an "add a pump" kit? I'm thinking pump, ball valve, camlock pairs on the in/out ports, silicone tubing and finally the terminations on each end of the tubing (camlock BL kits). The only thing you'd have to do is make sure your vessels have a cam A or F already.
 
Bzzzzz. Bzzzzz. Winner!

Only BobbyM would think like that.

But, then, only BobbyM puts together just what we need putting our breweries together.

I should be placing an order with you next Friday.
 
Bobby_M said:
Does anyone think it would be a good idea to package something like an "add a pump" kit? I'm thinking pump, ball valve, camlock pairs on the in/out ports, silicone tubing and finally the terminations on each end of the tubing (camlock BL kits). The only thing you'd have to do is make sure your vessels have a cam A or F already.
Click to expand...

I like it! The only variable people would have to figure out is the tubing length, since that's kinda setup-dependent, but otherwise very nice. Or maybe it would just be easier to include a bulk length of tubing (10 feet?) and let them cut it to their specifications. You could even include an option to add the number of cam A/F to the kit that people would need. Maybe include some hose clamps as well, or have the option to add some, depending on what people were already using for their setup.
 
Bobby_M said:
Does anyone think it would be a good idea to package something like an "add a pump" kit? I'm thinking pump, ball valve, camlock pairs on the in/out ports, silicone tubing and finally the terminations on each end of the tubing (camlock BL kits). The only thing you'd have to do is make sure your vessels have a cam A or F already.
Click to expand...

I would buy this kit immediately.
 
Bobby_M said:
Does anyone think it would be a good idea to package something like an "add a pump" kit? I'm thinking pump, ball valve, camlock pairs on the in/out ports, silicone tubing and finally the terminations on each end of the tubing (camlock BL kits). The only thing you'd have to do is make sure your vessels have a cam A or F already.
Click to expand...

Excellent idea, and maybe with an add-on option for a bleeder valve.

I got the parts for one, but after eliminating all the elbows on my pump fittings I may not need it. We'll see on Saturday.
 
Bobby_M said:
Does anyone think it would be a good idea to package something like an "add a pump" kit? I'm thinking pump, ball valve, camlock pairs on the in/out ports, silicone tubing and finally the terminations on each end of the tubing (camlock BL kits). The only thing you'd have to do is make sure your vessels have a cam A or F already.
Click to expand...

Good idea, I'd also offer it without the pump, if that made sense. Like in my case I have the pump but no totally clear idea of what I need to do to most effectively do it.
 
Basically my add-a-pump kit would look like this:
(1) Inline SS head Chugger pump ($140)

(1) Type A camlock male on pump input ($4)

(1) 2pc SS ball valve for "out" port of the pump to control flow speed ($13)

(1) Type F camlock male for the output of the pump valve ($4)

(10) Feet of 1/2" ID ultraclear, high temp silicone tubing $24

(4) Type BigC barbed Female camlocks for each end of tubing $36

(4) SS hose clamps $7.40


Of course, you'll need either camlock type As or Fs on any vessel you want to pump from or to.
 
Bobby_M said:
Basically my add-a-pump kit would look like this:
(1) Inline SS head Chugger pump ($140)

(1) Type A camlock male on pump input ($4)

(1) 2pc SS ball valve for "out" port of the pump to control flow speed ($13)

(1) Type F camlock male for the output of the pump valve ($4)

(10) Feet of 1/2" ID ultraclear, high temp silicone tubing $24

(4) Type BigC barbed Female camlocks for each end of tubing $36

(4) SS hose clamps $7.40


Of course, you'll need either camlock type As or Fs on any vessel you want to pump from or to.
Click to expand...

This looks good to me. This is basically what I ordered from you last week, except I got the Cam Kit BL for the vessel end of my hoses, as you recommended. But it took me some time to figure out exactly what I needed. This would have simplified the process.
 
So I have a really dumb question. I have always batch sparged by pouring all of the sparge water in at once, letting it sit for 20 minutes, and then getting my runnings.

Once I finally get around to drilling a hole into my HLT and using my pump and/or gravity, is it even possible to "batch sparge" or am I essentially fly sparging no matter what? I could totally empty the MT of the first runnings, and then I just feel like it would take 20 minutes to refill it with the sparge water and obviously also the temp would go down in the sparge water as well.
 
20 minutes? These pumps run about 3 gallons a minute and I know you're not sparging with 60 gallons. In a batch sparge, you drain the first runnings, then add the sparge, stir really well and drain that. You don't have to wait 20 minutes.
 
Bobby_M said:
20 minutes? These pumps run about 3 gallons a minute and I know you're not sparging with 60 gallons. In a batch sparge, you drain the first runnings, then add the sparge, stir really well and drain that. You don't have to wait 20 minutes.
Click to expand...


That's why I said dumb question. :)

I guess I couldn't wrap my head around that speed through such a small diameter ball valve, but it's obvious. Next I'd be worried about stopping the pump in time.
 

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