Hi everyone-
My last brew day I made an IPA using a hopback. I don't have any fancy racks to do gravity feeding, and everything is at the same level. I am using a march pump to run everything. My setup has the march pump immediately after the boil kettle, then the hopback, CFC, and ultimately pumping up to my conical fermentor.
The problem I am having is: when the pump goes dry, I still have about a gallon of fluid in my lines and hopback, and it is a ROYAL PAIN to get all of this into the fermentor.
Does anyone know if it is possible instead to have the same setup, get rid of the March pump, and instead put a self priming diaphragm pump like this one:
http://morebeer.com/view_product/17305/103556/Self-Priming_Diaphragm_Pump_for_Beer_Transfers
after the CFC and right before the fermentor? It could then suck all of the wort out of the lines and transfer ALL of it into the fermentor? Do I misunderstand the way this pump works? My understanding of the March pump is that it is happier pushing than pulling, which is why I have it hooked in where it is. Is this wrong, or does that sound right? Priming it would also be a nightmare through a hopback and CFC.
My last brew day I made an IPA using a hopback. I don't have any fancy racks to do gravity feeding, and everything is at the same level. I am using a march pump to run everything. My setup has the march pump immediately after the boil kettle, then the hopback, CFC, and ultimately pumping up to my conical fermentor.
The problem I am having is: when the pump goes dry, I still have about a gallon of fluid in my lines and hopback, and it is a ROYAL PAIN to get all of this into the fermentor.
Does anyone know if it is possible instead to have the same setup, get rid of the March pump, and instead put a self priming diaphragm pump like this one:
http://morebeer.com/view_product/17305/103556/Self-Priming_Diaphragm_Pump_for_Beer_Transfers
after the CFC and right before the fermentor? It could then suck all of the wort out of the lines and transfer ALL of it into the fermentor? Do I misunderstand the way this pump works? My understanding of the March pump is that it is happier pushing than pulling, which is why I have it hooked in where it is. Is this wrong, or does that sound right? Priming it would also be a nightmare through a hopback and CFC.