march pump, high temp tubing: hard to see end of liquid

Hello-

This is my first brew using a march pump. I use high temp to transfer from mash tun to boil kettle. I know you can't prime a march pump dry, but what happens if a few bubbles go through it when it is operating? If you can't see the water level and can't see the water through the tubing, how do you know when to turn it off? Thank you in advance.

-Matt

pennisim said:

Hello-

This is my first brew using a march pump. I use high temp to transfer from mash tun to boil kettle. I know you can't prime a march pump dry, but what happens if a few bubbles go through it when it is operating? If you can't see the water level and can't see the water through the tubing, how do you know when to turn it off? Thank you in advance.

-Matt

Click to expand...

You will learn to listen


God Bless
Swagman

I am assuming you mean that you can tell the difference between when it is pumping water and not pumping water, but my question is: does not pumping water damage the march pump? Thanks again.

Best,
Matt

pennisim said:

I am assuming you mean that you can tell the difference between when it is pumping water and not pumping water, but my question is: does not pumping water damage the march pump? Thanks again.

Best,
Matt

Click to expand...

Don't want to pump dry for long periods. Its a mag drive so short time dry won't hurt. But over time you will learn to hear the change in the pump sound when it has finish what you pumping.

Brew Beer don't worry

God Bless
Swagman

pennisim said:

I am assuming you mean that you can tell the difference between when it is pumping water and not pumping water, but my question is: does not pumping water damage the march pump? Thanks again.

Best,
Matt

Click to expand...

Running a March pump dry can damage it, but it does not happen instantly. IOW, a few seconds running dry won't harm the pump and probably much longer than that. No need to worry at all about a few air or vapor bubbles passing through the pump. The pump impeller rotates on a shaft and is lubricated by whatever fluid is being pumped. The danger is that if the pump runs dry, the impeller will be turning without lubrication. There will be a distinct difference in the sound of the pump when it is no longer pumping liquids. The hum from the motor will change pitch as it is under much less load and often you will hear the impeller rattle some due to lack of lubrication. No need to panic when this happens and it will probably happen every time you use the pump.

Thank you all so much for the quick replies. I am just using the march pump to transfer wort to BK and BK to fermenter. I will also try whirlpooling with it today. I was wondering if there are any other good tricks for a march pump? I only have a regular pot with no ball lock to drain the water so I can't pump that water to my mash tun yet. Are there any other tricks to using a march pump? Or things that it is useful for (for brewing)? Thank you.

Also, could I use the march pump to transfer from one carboy to another or since I need to have the tube to transfer filled with wort to start a siphon and prime the pump. Thanks again.
-Matt
-Matt

The first thing I would do is add a drain port and valve to your kettle. This is a must do IMO. Not absolutely necessary, of course, but it sure makes things easier.

Using a pump to transfer beer is more trouble than it is worth IMO. You must be sure that the pump is clean and sanitized in order to avoid contamination problems and then you must clean it again after you are finished. You also must prime the pump as usual and this can be a hassle without a drain port such as with a carboy. IOW, it's usually faster and easier to simply siphon beer from fermenter to fermenter or from fermenter to keg etc. Pushing the beer with CO2 also works well, but this requires a tank and regulator which you may or may not have on hand. So, the pump is very handy and useful when actually brewing, but less so for other misc transfer tasks IMO.

What do you use to attach the CO2 to a universal carboy cap (2 hole cap) ?? For transferring under pressure. Thank you very much. Sorry - a little drunk. Great brew day. Missed my target gravity by 0.001 on my IPA only.

pennisim said:

What do you use to attach the CO2 to a universal carboy cap (2 hole cap) ?? For transferring under pressure. Thank you very much. Sorry - a little drunk. Great brew day. Missed my target gravity by 0.001 on my IPA only.

Click to expand...

I made up this fitting. It's 1/4" barb x 1/4" flare. The barb end fits the carboy cap nipple and the male flare fits my CO2 gas line from the cylinder. I bought the parts at my local hardware store.