March 809 purchase options

Hi all,

looking at buying my first March Pump today. Can any one tell me how big of an improvement some of the options really will give me. There is the plastic pump head versus the bronze (March PL vs March BR) and then there is the standard vs the high speed which apparently translates to 4.5 GPM vs. 7.2 GPM. Will this actually be benificial of will I be throttling down with a ball valve to the point where this is not something I really need to worry about. Obviously there is a cost associated with both of these upgrades and I wanted to get hte HBTer's feel for it.

Thanks,
Craig

(The Beer Nook is coming together!!!)

I wouldn't bother with either of those, you'll be slowing the pump down most of the time. I don't think i've ever wished mine would go faster.

Save your money and make a switch for it. Out of the box the pump is a bit 'unfinished'.

I wouldn't call it unfinished. You're buying a pump, a pump is what you get. They're not just for brewing. It is an industrial pump to be integrated in machines. You'll need to come up with controls and mounting.

Id get the highest flow rate I can get for the $$, you will want it someday. Mine is on an outlet that is switched from my panel

The most common brewing march pump is the 809 HS PL - most homebrew retailers will sell you this model. In some cases you'll see the bronze but most brewers prefer to avoid metals like that coming in contact with the wort. The plastic does have the risk of damage, cracking, etc - but the replacements can be found for about $25 on eBay if that happens.

Your other choices are center or inline inlet - all depends on how you'll be mounting it, etc.

If you aren't already aware, you'll also have to make sure the march pumps are below the fluid because these are not self priming models.

Good luck!

Thanks all.

This will be tying into my automated all electric system so switching and plugs and what not are not an issue for me. It will be run using a SSR and a touchscreen/Labjack.

Sounds like I'll go with the plastic HS with the inline. That's what the Pol seems to use and I'll mount it just like he does. I have been copying most of his stuff as it is anyway haha. Thanks the Pol for all the write ups by the way.

Thanks for everyones help. This forum has been so valuable for this build. I will have to get some build pics up here sooner or later. I'm just so busy trying to get the software written and all teh parts together.

I did a wet run of my 5500 watt boil kettle with my software and it went really well so I'm very excited.

Thanks,
Craig

The biggest advantage of the plastic head vs bronze is the chemical resistance. If you ever need to pump caustic or acid for some sort of clean in place you would probably find the chemical reacting with the bronze.

Nice. I'm glad I asked because for some reason my brain wasnt thinking and I was totally going to get the bronze one. Thanks for the save guys!

I got this one:

http://www.tescopumps.com/servlet/the-126/115V%2C-1-fdsh-2%22-MPT-INLET%2C/Detail

Tesco sold it for 119 on ebay $12 to ship it.

Not bad I think. I'll need another one at some point but they are pricey ....

I went to their site as I am also wanting to buy a couple soon and was wondering what the difference is between the 809-PL-HS and the 809 PL-HS-C other than the -C having a base? The reason I ask is that the -C is also cheaper...I would think the base would make it more expensive. Now I see that the -C does not have the inline inlet. Does that make it cheaper?

Any ideas?

I dont know what the -C means, you could look it up on the march website.

C is for center inlet.

So why is it cheaper even though it comes with a base? Just because of the center inlet?

I guess it's only a $5 difference...not too big a deal.

The C denotes a center inlet. The PL-C has a 3/4" MPT and a 3/8" FPT inlet (the female threads are inside the inlet and the male threads outside). The SS-C has only the 3/4" MPT inlet.

The -C also has a slightly higher flow rate.

http://www.marchpump.com/documents/Part Sheets/Hydronic_Pump-Series/0809-0053-1100.pdf

Is there really concern running something like Oxiclean or PBW through the bronze heads? Thats what I have and I'm pretty sure the owner before me knew better if there would have been any problems.

lol... I never had any problems with it. If bronze reacted with acidic solutions I think we brewers would be having some serious problems with all the bulk heads 90% of us use.... Also, many systems, such as Pico brewing systems, use the bronze head and have done so since the 90's.

Bronze head is fine and more durable.

Does the center inlet prime any better than the side in?

The center inlet will force your quick disconnects to be mounted straight off the front of the rig. Either you will need an elbow between the disconnect and the pump, or mount the pump further inside the frame(this would push the outlet port under the frame). I would prefer if the pump inlet piping didn't stick out the front of the frame(especially during storage).

dudasaj said:

The center inlet will force your quick disconnects to be mounted straight off the front of the rig. Either you will need an elbow between the disconnect and the pump, or mount the pump further inside the frame(this would push the outlet port under the frame). I would prefer if the pump inlet piping didn't stick out the front of the frame(especially during storage).

Click to expand...

Why cant you like mount the pump differently. So that the motor is vertical, problem solved.

Or mount it with the pump body running parallel with the front of the stand, so the inlet is right or left, and the outlet up?

Boerderij_Kabouter said:

Or mount it with the pump body running parallel with the front of the stand, so the inlet is right or left, and the outlet up?

Click to expand...

Or.... yes plenty of solutions. I like to mount my pump in different ways each time, it keeps the relationship we have more exciting.

IrregularPulse said:

Is there really concern running something like Oxiclean or PBW through the bronze heads? Thats what I have and I'm pretty sure the owner before me knew better if there would have been any problems.

Click to expand...

No problem with oxiclean or PBW through them. I just wouldn't run caustic through it, not that most people use caustic in their homebrew setups

http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Giant-3-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b8341519

http://cgi.ebay.com/Little-Giant-3-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b81d9dfb

I use 2 of these with absolutely no problems....