Pond Pump for IC

Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum

Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

cmw6300

Well-Known Member
Joined
Mar 11, 2011
Messages
83
Reaction score
0
Location
Roxborough
Like the title says, I'm looking for a pond pump to use with my IC so I can recirculate water and not have to waste as much. I found one at Home Depot and it has a max of 80 gph. Is this enough? If not, what would some of you fine chaps recommend as a good gph?

Thanks guys,
Chad
:rockin:
 
80 GPH doesn't sound like much.. That's a little over a gallon a minute... I really don't know.. it just sounds pretty underpowered to me...

And that's probably little or no head.. You're gonna be pushing it up to and then through 25-50' of copper tubing, so that 80 GPH is probably gonna be a fraction of that if it can push it through the tubing at all...

But even if you were able to get 80 GPH to flow through the tubing, it still sounds like too little flow...
 
Go to a pet store and buy an aquarium pump. You should be able to get a 300-400 gph pump for around $30
 
Go to a pet store and buy an aquarium pump. You should be able to get a 300-400 gph pump for around $30

Thanks o4 srt, I'll have to look in to that.

I also see that you are in Lancaster, PA. I actually used to live in Lititz. Small world!
 
cmw6300 said:
Thanks o4 srt, I'll have to look in to that.

I also see that you are in Lancaster, PA. I actually used to live in Lititz. Small world!

No ****? I live in neffsville. Small world, indeed.

Craft beer is getting big in the area, 2 breweries have opened within the past 2 years. One of them just opened a brewpub right next to central market.
 
No ****? I live in neffsville. Small world, indeed.

Craft beer is getting big in the area, 2 breweries have opened within the past 2 years. One of them just opened a brewpub right next to central market.

That's awesome, my parents live in Neffsville. Right off of Buch Avenue back in those townhomes, Cobblestone is the name of the subdivision actually.

That's cool that the craft beer scene is coming up in the area. I'm lucky enough to live out here in Colorado where it is definitely alive and kicking!!
 
cmw6300 said:
Thanks o4 srt, I'll have to look in to that.

I also see that you are in Lancaster, PA. I actually used to live in Lititz. Small world!

I was born in Manheim and all my family lives in Lancaster or Lititz!

As for your original question I picked up a 1400 GPH pump from Harbor Freight for $60 and it works like a charm. The 3/8" copper seems to restrict the flow so I was planning to try making an IC with 1/2" copper since the pump has the power.
 
I was born in Manheim and all my family lives in Lancaster or Lititz!

As for your original question I picked up a 1400 GPH pump from Harbor Freight for $60 and it works like a charm. The 3/8" copper seems to restrict the flow so I was planning to try making an IC with 1/2" copper since the pump has the power.

Geez, truly a small world! I never even thought of Harbor Freight. I found another one at Home Depot that is a 325 gph for $50. Its not like I will be running it continuously so the Harbor Freight pump may just do the trick.

Thanks guys!
 
I bought a pump from Northern Tool that I was using to remove water from my cellar during heavy rains. I have used it on my chiller to recirculate the water, and it works VERY well. It is Northern's item number 10898, and lists at $39.99 plus shipping. It comes equipped with a standard male hose fitting. I bought some tubing at the hardware and cobbled up an adaptor to fit. Works like a charm in both situations. It is submersible, and pumps over 21 gallons per minute.

glenn514:mug:
 
i just picked up a cheap one from walmart or petsmart... works like a champ. put ice and water in a bucket and let it rip.
 
I use this and it works great with my 25 ft chiller:
http://www.harborfreight.com/258-gph-submersible-fountain-pump-47117.html

The pump sometimes goes on sale for <$20. Be sure to get a coupon.

Thats the same Pump i have. Throw ice and water in a bucket and let it ride.
I also picked up a small 60 gph pump to recircutle the water. The large pump shoots the water through the chiller and into the sink where more ice and the small oump are. the small pump shoots the water from the sink back into the bucket. Saves a lot of water.
 
Thats the same Pump i have. Throw ice and water in a bucket and let it ride.
I also picked up a small 60 gph pump to recircutle the water. The large pump shoots the water through the chiller and into the sink where more ice and the small oump are. the small pump shoots the water from the sink back into the bucket. Saves a lot of water.

Good idea.

Yea, I have a hard time finding ways to get rid of my chill water as is (cleaning, watering garden, etc.) I don't think I could deal with 1500 gpm blasting out my outflow.

Cant wait till summer, I am going to use the pool to chill down to 120ish, then switch to ice water in a bucket. All outflow will go back into the pool.
 
Anyone out there pump through a 3/8" IC? Or do most of you have a 1/2" IC. I have a 3/8" by 50' chiller and am hoping to recirculate at some point in the future.
 
At $40 for a good submersible, I say just keep saving and get a March pump. Sure, it's another $100, but once you've got it, you're good to go. I use mine for pumping around a single-tier and recirculating ice water through a 25' IC.
The first time I cooled with it, I was thrilled. My tap water is almost 70F, so I can't get too cool with it. I let about 5 gallons trickle through the IC and brought the temp down to 100F. Then I started pumping ice water from my 5 gallon cooler through the IC and back into the cooler. 5 gallons of 100F wort and 5 gallons of 34F water evened out to about 69F in a bit under half an hour. If I'd had another bag of ice, I would have gotten to bed before midnight.
So, I used 10 gallons to cool, and I'm able to find plenty of use for 10 gallons of water.
 
At $40 for a good submersible, I say just keep saving and get a March pump. Sure, it's another $100, but once you've got it, you're good to go. I use mine for pumping around a single-tier and recirculating ice water through a 25' IC.
The first time I cooled with it, I was thrilled. My tap water is almost 70F, so I can't get too cool with it. I let about 5 gallons trickle through the IC and brought the temp down to 100F. Then I started pumping ice water from my 5 gallon cooler through the IC and back into the cooler. 5 gallons of 100F wort and 5 gallons of 34F water evened out to about 69F in a bit under half an hour. If I'd had another bag of ice, I would have gotten to bed before midnight.
So, I used 10 gallons to cool, and I'm able to find plenty of use for 10 gallons of water.

If I had a march pump, I would be using that to recirculate/whirlpool the wort while using the 10 dollar HF pond pump to push ice water through the IC, but thats just me. I hate having to stir the wort constantly with a spoon while cooling. I almost wish I had a kid so I could have him/her stir for me while I did other tasks. Nevermind, a March pump is much cheaper.
 
kpr121 said:
If I had a march pump, I would be using that to recirculate/whirlpool the wort while using the 10 dollar HF pond pump to push ice water through the IC, but thats just me. I hate having to stir the wort constantly with a spoon while cooling. I almost wish I had a kid so I could have him/her stir for me while I did other tasks. Nevermind, a March pump is much cheaper.

Excellent point. My kids do cost more than a pump and they don't work past 8 o'clock.
 
I have a 20ft 3/8 immersion chiller and can cool a full 5gal boil in about 20min with that $10 harbor freight pump.

cool it down to what?
takes me about 20 minutes to get to 86 ish.
My tap water in the spring and summer is about 80*
 
I use water from the hose (which last time was about 65 deg) to knock the heat down to 80- 85 or so. Then recirculate ice water from a cooler using the pump. I whirlpool the immersion chiller some as well.
 
Back
Top