Harbor Freight pump

Trying to save some cash on a pump...

I was browsing H.F the other day and saw a pump

- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

The thing is, it's DC.

Is there anyway that this can be worked around without killing the value..

use a ac/dc converter Amazon.com: VX 79NP - MULTI-PURPOSE AC TO DC VOLTAGE CONVERTER - 1000MA - COMES WITH MULTIPLE OUTPUT TIPS (1.5, 3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, 9 and 12 Volts): Automotive

if you want to get break out with some soldering and modding skills use this

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EG8RIM/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

its 12v

I'd look into it more even tho the price is minimal. I don;t see anything for a heat rating nor does it say what the impeller material is.

Radio Shack has a 12V power supply used for radios.

You could likely use a small car battery charger for power.
EDIT: Never mind, saw the 7.5a start.

Do a search on HBT it has already been discussed so you can get more info!

Not mag drive so I wouldn't use it for any brew water/wort duties. The power supply amperage requirement makes for an expensive solution.

Its a crappy pump. Loud and the internal pump parts are not wort friendly.

Case closed! :O)

LOL

I wonder if a March pump replacement head would fit on there? This would solve several issues.

Austin Homebrew Supply

This post/thread has some info on the harbor freight pump

https://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/pump-suggestions-95249/#post1174903

arturo7 said:

I wonder if a March pump replacement head would fit on there? This would solve several issues.

Austin Homebrew Supply

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I wondered the samething.

Some info from the other thread;

radtek said:

I have one of those HF 12v marine pumps. I powered it off a motorcycle battery to run my IC ice water recirc. It is noisy and gets hot even with 32F water running through it. I bought a 115v submersible to replace it. Now no worries in that area.

I'm curious as to how well and safe the marine pump works compared to the March 809. The marine pump isn't rated for boiling or even hot temps.

I'm considering a March pump or two...

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Dwain said:

Well, i wrote Harbor Freight about their pump they said:
"The impeller is made of nitrile rubber
The recommended maximum water temperature would be 110 degree F".
I bought one the last time they were on sale because I "just gots to know". I took it apart and it has an impeller of very hard plastic with some fins that I presume are nitrile. The pump face gasket looks pretty cheesy and will get replaced. The o ring behind the impeller looks to be rubber, possibly nitrile or butyl. I did a wikipedia look up on food grade rubber and both as well as viton seem to be a possibility. I plan on pumping some 180F water to see if it will stand up. In the interim, will somebody check with March and see what their impellers are made of. For the size and price of the little marine pumps, there should be a workable solution. I will talk with a couple of machine shops and see what they recommend for materials. When I get squared away, I'll let ya'll know. Dwain

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Acidjazz54 said:

Dwain,

My suggestion would be to replace the nitrile rubber vanes with silicone rubber. You can purchase the rubber from McMaster and it will withstand 250+ Deg F. This should be plenty. You should be able to get the gasket from there as well. I will tear mine apart in the next few days and possibly order the silicone replacements. Still waiting on my parts for my power supply (d*&n china orders).

Dave

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I bought one of these and returned it. Like Bargainfittings pointed out, it is a very loud pump. I don't know what the impeller is made of so I don't know if it's wort friendly or not, but it's not mag drive and therefore shouldn't really be throttled back with a valve. It also requires 7.5A which is quite a bit of current. You'd need a pretty good power supply for it.

Derrin said:

but it's not mag drive and therefore shouldn't really be throttled back with a valve.

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Maybe my ignorance is showing, but aren't all electric motors magnetically driven? I've always thought this was a marketing ploy by March to make their motor seem special.

Magnetic drive "impeller".
The impeller itself is driven magnetically, not mechanically.

arturo7 said:

Maybe my ignorance is showing, but aren't all electric motors magnetically driven? I've always thought this was a marketing ploy by March to make their motor seem special.

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think of it like a stir plate, the impeller isnt connected to the motor it spins because the magnet on the motor is spinning. This is why they are used no shafts or seals that could harbor bacteria

Magnetically driven impeller. Understood, thanks.


Has anyone thought about hooking the March pump head up to a bicycle, ala Gilligan's Island?

Or just me...

arturo7 said:

Magnetically driven impeller. Understood, thanks.


Has anyone thought about hooking the March pump head up to a bicycle, ala Gilligan's Island?

Or just me...

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You'd have to add magnets to the bike... but I think that could actually work! You'd want it on the highest gear ratio, or add bigger/smaller gears.

conpewter said:

You'd have to add magnets to the bike... but I think that could actually work! You'd want it on the highest gear ratio, or add bigger/smaller gears.

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I don't think the magnets would be necessary. Unlike the fixed motor speed of the Marsh, you would be controlling the impeller speed by how fast you pedal.

Also, I'm thinking you can get the March impeller and mount it on a second-hand motor. Maybe put a rudimentary voltage control on the motor. The issue with this is torque limitation on the motor at low speeds. A servo motor would solve this but i don't think such a motor would come cheap.

I've been trying to a high-heat FDA impeller on the webz but haven't had any luck. MMC doesn't offer one.

Derrin said:

I bought one of these and returned it. Like Bargainfittings pointed out, it is a very loud pump. I don't know what the impeller is made of so I don't know if it's wort friendly or not, but it's not mag drive and therefore shouldn't really be throttled back with a valve. It also requires 7.5A which is quite a bit of current. You'd need a pretty good power supply for it.

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I don't think that the style of drive coupling affects whether or not it can be throttled with valve. Essentially by throttling you are just choking the flow to add additional headloss to the system. the extra head loss cause the pump to run back on its curve (the same as running through more tubing). The pump is designed to do this over its operating range. i think this is kosher as long as you don't run off the curve.

Additionally, Nitrile is the same as Buna-N, which has a temperature rating of 250 F to 275 F

"Buna-N: Color code Blue. Buna-N is standard. It is generally recommended for petroleum derivatives, natural or slightly acidic salt solutions, alcohols, ethers,glycols, fats, oils, and greases. This compound should give good serviceFrom -40° to +250° F."


I forgot to add this earlier, but pumps are typically louder when the run off there curve. does anyone who bought one of these have a curve or operating points?

I don't have a curve for one of these. I haven't asked but I will. Also, since we can find out the necessary information, someone on here should be able to calculate the parameters. And, here is the reply I received when I asked if the 110F temperarue was for the motor, o ring or impeller:

Due to the nitrile impeller

Thank you
Ellen Marie Piles
Customer Service

Please attach any previous correspondence

-----Original Message-----
From: EBay
Sent: Monday, February 16, 2009 11:23 AM
To: Ellen Piles
Subject: FW: FW: HARBOR FREIGHT 12 Volt Marine Utility Pump

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Sjlammer, according to your post as well as a Google of buna-n, it looks like they should be fine, temp wise. Also, there was a note on one of the posts about using silicone, maybe that's an idea.
FYI, I bought a power supply from ebay. It's actually big enough to run 2 of these pumps. It was ~$32 shipped.
My original plan was to "po boy" my operation. I had planned on getting 2 of these pumps and the power supply for less than $100 and make them work. However, in the interest of time, and the amount of work I needed to do to get my single tier in production and building a fermentation chamber, I went with a March and tabled my idea. However, obviously I am monitoring this thread and WE WILL figure out a way to make the cheap pump work. - Dwain

So we know the housing is stainless, and the impeller is Nitrile, or Buna-N. as long as the rings and seals can handle the heat, i think we are a go. Dwain, can you scan any info that comes with the pump so i can take a peak?

Grundfos 59896341 - $69.95 - Grundfos - UPS15-58FC, 3-Speed Circulator Pump, 1/25 HP, 115 volt

or something like it....

My plan was to use a computer power supply, I have an extra 400W power supply, they put out 12 volts.

sjlammer said:

Grundfos*59896341 - $69.95 - Grundfos - UPS15-58FC, 3-Speed Circulator Pump, 1/25 HP, 115 volt

or something like it....

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Looks interesting. Three speeds. You could probably use a ball valve to manage flow within one of the available speed ranges.

The one thing that caught my eye is the minimum pressure requirements. It calls out 4.0 psi @ 190F. I'm reading this to mean an input pressure of 4psi is required to operate at 190F.

I saw that, im just not sure why it would have a requirement that high... you wouldn't figure that a pump that small would have a net positive suction head (NPSH) requirement of 18 psi (4psi gauge + 14 psi atm).

I was hoping that would touch off a google a thon for circulator pumps