Electric Fuel Pump for recurc mash tun

I'm building a mash tun out of a keg as so many others have before me. I have an electric fuel pump, Brand new(for those wondering) and was going to try and use it as a transfer pump.

Anybody else tried this?

coderbond said:

I'm building a mash tun out of a keg as so many others have before me. I have an electric fuel pump, Brand new(for those wondering) and was going to try and use it as a transfer pump.

Anybody else tried this?

Click to expand...

My hunch is that a fuel pump is not made of food grade materials by any stretch of the imagination. Do you have any idea what the materials are made of inside that pump?

Liquid coming through it might taste like total crap. Or, worse, make you ill.

Bad idea. There's definitely gonna be some lead and petroleum in there. I always thought fuel pumps were high pressure pumps....not sure though. Maybe you'd be better served using it as a cip pump?

There are 2 basic types of pumps. Low pressure for older cars wanting to fill carbuerators, and high pressure, for fuel injected cars. I think the low pressure ones are like 9 lbs, and high pressure ones go for up to 30 lbs or so (off the top of my head).

The parts certainly "could" be food grade, but you'd have to find out what materials will be contacting the wort and look them up. The pump itself would certainly not be certified as food safe since that is not anywhere near the intended purpose.

I think there is a good chance the housing would be made from Delrin, or Acetal Resin. I believe that is food grade, but look it up to be sure. Some of the parts we make are Acetal and they are used in fuel filler applications, and I am pretty sure the fuel pump housing molds we've worked on used acetal in the manufacturing process.

Taking the build materials out of the equation, there are still many reasons NOT to use a fuel pump. Fuel pumps have smaller orifices (compared to March pumps and the like) and operate at higher pressures (usually 43-60 psi) for EFI motors. The pumps will not function properly with any foreign debris (grain) getting into them. Most fuel pumps have a filter either attached to them or inline with the fuel input to keep the debris out of the pump. Those filters would not fair well trying to run wort through them.

Additionally, most fuel pumps need a pressure regulator (or they have one built in). Running them wide open would be too much flow and restricting them would be too much pressure.

Not gonna work...

Okay, So its made of Derlin and has a rubber diaphram. I purchased it for a carborator application. So I think its low pressure. However the grain going through the pump will pose some serious problems I imagine.

Next question. Is there a cheaper alternative to homebrew pumps?

coderbond said:

Next question. Is there a cheaper alternative to homebrew pumps?

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Nope. The March 809 and Chugger pumps are the cheapest you'll find for this use.