Score! (I think...)

Yuri_Rage · Oct 15, 2007

I just won a March pump on eBay for $9.99! It's used, the listing didn't mention much about it, and there wasn't time to ask the seller about it before bidding.

So, I might have just spent 10 bucks on a broken pump that was used to pump sewage. On the other hand, perhaps it's a SCORE!

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=300160754809

rdwj · Oct 15, 2007

well, for $10, it seems like a good gamble. Even if it's no good to you, you could probably resell it for what you paid

the_bird · Oct 15, 2007

You'll find something to do with it!

Even if it wasn't food-grade, you could re-sell it to someone for probably $40 - $50 to push ice water through an immersion chiller, for example.

kladue · Oct 15, 2007

You could replace the pump head with the higher temperature plastic model as a worst case if motor and magnet are okay.

Yuri_Rage · Oct 15, 2007

I've been wanting a second pump specifically to recirculate cold water through my currently unused CFC. I figured a second March pump would be a good bet since I could probably use it elsewhere in the brewing process.

Hopefully the gamble pays off, but you guys have all mentioned great ways of mitigating the risk. I'll let you know how it turns out!

Seabee John · Oct 16, 2007

I got all exited and went to ebay looking for a ten buck pump... found one too... guy used it to transfer oil to his trucks.... Hmmm what to do? Anyone know if you can buy new heads for these things?... how much?

Yuri_Rage · Oct 17, 2007

Yeah, I saw that one. I opted for the unknown rather than motor oil. You can buy new pump heads, but I think they're the expensive part of a March pump (somebody else prove me wrong?).

A REALLY REALLY thorough cleaning with some solvent followed by a REALLY REALLY thorough detergent wash followed by a REALLY REALLY thorough rinse might bring that one back to brew status. I'm not sure that it's worth it.

drost · Oct 17, 2007

Here's a head for the March pump usually used for brewing. Even at $27, you still have a pretty cheap pump:

http://morebeer.com/view_product/17313/

the_Roqk · Oct 17, 2007

Looks like you got a deal! I'd email the seller and atleast get an idea of what it was used for. Nice score.

Seabee John · Oct 23, 2007

Hey Yuri, Got my new "used" 26 dollar (shipping incl.) march pump in the mail today...works great, and that 27 dollar head is now on the way...

26+27=53 Bucks for a partly new march pump

Score!

BTW I picked up a free Keggle today as well... god I love craigslist

Yuri_Rage · Oct 23, 2007

Mine hasn't arrived yet - soon, I hope! Congrats on the keggle!

Seabee John · Oct 23, 2007

Yuri_Rage said:
Mine hasn't arrived yet - soon, I hope! Congrats on the keggle!

The Keggle is a little dented ... kinda leans to one side. Needs a weldless valve installed and a sight glass. Even if I do need to spend a little to get it going... Free is a cool price to pay.

Yuri_Rage · Oct 29, 2007

Well, I have to report similar success on the pump, Seabee. The pump arrived today, and it looks and smells like it was used to pump potting soil in a previous life. The filthy pump head is also cracked, making it quite useless to me at the moment.

However, the motor runs, and i can get a new pump head for about $30! So, I'll have a working March pump at about 1/3 the price of a new one. SCORE!

EDIT:
Well, maybe that pump head will be more like $60. That $27 one posted above is just the outside cover. The entire "wet end" is twice the price. Still, that's not too terribly bad for a mag drive pump.

Seabee John · Oct 29, 2007

Yuri_Rage said:
Well, I have to report similar success on the pump, Seabee. The pump arrived today, and it looks and smells like it was used to pump potting soil in a previous life. The filthy pump head is also cracked, making it quite useless to me at the moment.

However, the motor runs, and i can get a new pump head for about $30! So, I'll have a working March pump at about 1/3 the price of a new one. SCORE!

EDIT:
Well, maybe that pump head will be more like $60. That $27 one posted above is just the outside cover. The entire "wet end" is twice the price. Still, that's not too terribly bad for a mag drive pump.

OK, Maybe our big "SCORE" celebrations may have been a little premature... I received my pump the other day only to find that they don't make a high temp head for my pump... So here's what I figure, I can use the pump to run my ice bath for my IC, OR I can do what ever I deem necessary to clean and sanitize the pump head I have and just take a chance on it being able to handle the temps. I thought about going the "dawn" rout (my pump was used to transfer clean oil) and then use a sanitizer. What do you think?

I figure a good detergent will get rid of the oil...

Score! (I think...)

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Score! (I think...)

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