Pump for recirculating cooling water

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ShortSnoutBrewing

Kwanesum Chinook Illahee
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So I picked up a CFC with the last AHS HBT sale. I want to be able to recirculate the cold water I'm using to chill the wort. I just hate wasting all that water so I plan to fill a small tub with ice/water and recirculate that. What should I look for in a pump? They vary in prices from $18 to over $100 and since I'm cheap I want to go with the $18, but will that work? Here's one from HD:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs...langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100046313
 
60 gallons per hour is not enough. I picked up a 200 GPH pump at Lowes for $39 and it came with the garden hose adapters as well. The cheap ones will still need adapters & clamps which add up the price.

I'm very happy with the performance of my Lowes pump.

Chiller1.jpg

Chiller5.jpg
 
If you're gravity draining the wort through the CFC, I'd recommend seeing if you really need icewater now. Sure, in the summertime you likely will, but what is your tap water temp right now?

It's likely that your water usage will be cheaper than making or buying the ice.

At the current 40F tap temp, I use 20 gallons to cool 12g of wort.
 
Bobby-
Yeah, I will be gravity feeding the wort through the CFC. Should I just maintain a slow rate with both the wort and water? Just felt like I was using a ton of water with the immersion chiller for 20 - 30 minutes.
 
You won't use anywhere near the same amount of water in a CFC, much more efficient. Full flow the wort (slow enough on gravity alone) and adjust tap flow so the output wort is at your desired pitching temp. No way it will be full rate if your tap is cold. Make sure you are truly counterflowing, tap goes in on wort output side.
 
Thanks again Bobby. Maybe I'll give it a test run on this weekend's batch without the pump and see what results it gives me.
 
I suspect you'll be presently surprised at how well the CFC works.

If you do end up buying a pump, go for about 200 gpm and a 4-5 ft lift, as the CFC does have a fair amount of flow resistance.
 
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