Ace Hardware Sub Pump?

I was at my local Ace Hardware today and I was looking at Submersible Pumps that I could use to attach to my wort chiller to save water.

Ace Hardware has one that is 1/6 HP rated at 950GPH for $69.99 but it says it is an oil-filled motor.

I had a few questions about this from people who are more experienced with this kind of stuff. First, I plan on using pool water to drop the temperature as low as possible, then use a bucket of ice water to drop the temperature to pitching. Will chlorine hurt the pump or the copper chiller? I plan on rinsing well after use.

Second, it says it is an oil filled motor, if this thing fails can it possibly leak oil into the pool? That has bad news written all over it, and I don't want to risk that if it is the case.

I would say yes, its a bad idea.

Now look at Harbor Freight- i got my sub pump for $22 and it works like a dream. 2 buckets of ice water and 15 minutes, you have a pitchable batch-o-wort

And honeestly dude, my 258gph pumps too fast, if i were to purchase again, i would get something like the 145 or 190gph pump. The 958 will be waaaaay too powerful, even if you can regulate it. Just sayin.

What size chiller do you have? I recall reading some threads on here where 500 gph was lackluster for their setup. Im only running a 50ft 3/8" chiller for now, but may possibly set up a 20-50ft prechiller for hotter months in FL..

Im using a 1/4 inch @ 25 ft with about another 6ft of rubber hose (to recirculate). I had to put a clip on one end to regulate it further- if your water is moving too fast it wont pick up any heat, therefore defeating the purpose.

It depends how the pump was rated. IIRC, the pond pumps I've seen at Home Depot were rated at 1' head. I think mine is like 585gph @ 1' head and it's a bit on the slow side but workable.

Faster moving water is faster chilling and it's especially better when your source is an endless supply (pool). I'd be taking a look at the lower power utility pumps at Harbor Freight and use a 20% coupon. Maybe something like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-hp-115-volt-submersible-water-pump-98342.html Something that comes with a garden hose output or adapter is convenient.

<snarky correction of terms> "sump" pump as in a pump that you place into a sump (pit).

I just bought the pump that Bobby linked to above and it works AWESOME. I believe it is rated at 1400 GPH (23 GPM) and the flow is just right through my 50' IC. This past weekend I used water from the hose to get the wort down to around 100F and then hooked this thing up. One 10lb bag of ice in a bucket with water and the wort was down to 60F in about 10 min. This is a must-have down here in the south.

Jason

Kahler said:

if your water is moving too fast it wont pick up any heat, therefore defeating the purpose.

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Bobby already commented on this but I want to emphasis again because it seems a lot of people believe this and it is completely untrue. It may be inefficient with regards to total water use, but it is most efficient cooling wise having the water run as fast as possible. The greater temperature differential between the wort and the cooling water, the faster the cooling. If that water is heating up at the end of the coils, its not cooling as quickly as it was at the beginning. To combat this, you run the water faster or chill the inlet water or do both

ArtVandelay said:

Bobby already commented on this but I want to emphasis again because it seems a lot of people believe this and it is completely untrue. It may be inefficient with regards to total water use, but it is most efficient cooling wise having the water run as fast as possible. The greater temperature differential between the wort and the cooling water, the faster the cooling. If that water is heating up at the end of the coils, its not cooling as quickly as it was at the beginning. To combat this, you run the water faster or chill the inlet water or do both

Click to expand...

What he said. I know the heat transfer crap all to well.

Bobby_M said:

Faster moving water is faster chilling and it's especially better when your source is an endless supply (pool). I'd be taking a look at the lower power utility pumps at Harbor Freight and use a 20% coupon. Maybe something like this: http://www.harborfreight.com/1-4-quarter-hp-115-volt-submersible-water-pump-98342.html Something that comes with a garden hose output or adapter is convenient.

<snarky correction of terms> "sump" pump as in a pump that you place into a sump (pit).

Click to expand...

This is perfect Bobby, thanks a ton for the link. I will be picking one of these up asap