Powering down the sump pump

What would be the best way to cut back the output of my sump for my recirculate chiller? I thought of a dimmer switch but that would probably fry the motor... Any thoughts?

1) put a valve in the output line and use this to regulate the flow. Restricting the flow is just like asking the pump to pump the liquid higher. It'll only pump so high, and output is reduced the higher the hose end is.
2) never use a dimmer with a motor. There is something that looks like a dimmer, a motor speed control, as used for overhead fans, that many motors are compatible with (e.g. my Teel magnetic drive pump I use for my rims circulation). Get them in your local Home Depot where they sell lighting and overhead fans. Your pump motor? Who knows. If it has a thermal cut out, I'd be more inclined to try it, since it should cut out before damaging the motor.

A valve on the output is the standard way to do it. A V-ball or globe valve will give you more precise control than a normal ball valve. If you are running at very low flow rates, it may be a good idea to put in a recirculation line to protect the pump.

I think I am going to try the AC motor controller. I will be recirculating my chilling water, using a picnic cooler as my water closet. I'll try the valve if that doesn't work. Just not to keen on sticking my hand into ice cube water to tweek my flow... lol

When you get around to installing a valve, place it outside the cooler. The valve only needs to control the flow from the outlet side of the pump. The valve does not need to be connected directly to the outlet on the pump. You could use a vise-grip to clamp down on the hose in a pinch.

sump pumps are normally direct drive impellers (vs magnetic drive) which do not like being restricted. you can restrict it partially, which would just be like increased head pressure, but if you close the valve completely you can easily and quickly burn the motor out.

... one of the reasons sump pumps arent meant for precise fluid handling.

do you know what type of pump it specifically is?

You could attach a y hose splitter to the output to control flow to the chiller and drain excess back into your tank to avoid putting pressure on the pump.

http://www.circuitspecialists.com/variac-variable-ac-ps05kva.html

Perhaps this device: (link above)

This is probably obvious, but why are you trying to restrict the flow of cool water through your chiller? I'm just curious.

scone said:

This is probably obvious, but why are you trying to restrict the flow of cool water through your chiller? I'm just curious.

Click to expand...

My thoughts too, if your wort is getting to cold can you make that go quicker?

I purchased a 1 hp sump from Harbor Freight. When I got it home and ran a bench test it is a little much for what I am doing. I have already reduced the out put to a 1/2" (which the instructions said NOT TO DO). I ran it for a 1/2 hour and to over heating or anything. The output flow pressure is VERY high. My concern is blowing off a hose on my IC and getting water into my wort. Hang Glider, that is what I am going for. I think the max draw on the pump is 6a so I will probably need a little bigger one.

HexKrak said:

You could attach a y hose splitter to the output to control flow to the chiller and drain excess back into your tank to avoid putting pressure on the pump.

Click to expand...

I like this idea too - if the pressure is too much, a wye cuts it in half. You could use two or three of them, with the unused side always feeding back to the ice cold reservoir, eventually getting the pressure where you want it.

Are you pumping peanut butter or jelly through it? And it comes out too fast?

You were accidentally shipped a NASA sump pump.

ABORT!!! ABORT!!!!

(also, I am not sure about fermenting peanut butter)

after (re)reading the thread, I think your best option is the splitter. Pump feeds splitter and one part of splitter goes back into the tank while the other part of the splitter gets a valve to control flow through the chiller.

you can ferment peanut butter

1 HP is ridiculous for this use. I'm afraid exchanging it for a 1/8th is more realistic.

Walker said:

after (re)reading the thread, I think your best option is the splitter. Pump feeds splitter and one part of splitter goes back into the tank while the other part of the splitter gets a valve to control flow through the chiller.

Click to expand...

I think putting the control valve on the kick-back line to the tank would make controlling it easier. that line will have hardly any head loss so most will flow through there with no valve, throttle that line back to get more flow through the chiller.

After all this discussion, I think your sump pump is simply over kill. You need maybe an aquarium pump - I've seen them mentioned for chiller recirculation. This is a $10-15 item. I assume you will use a PID controller or other temperature controller to turn the pump on and off.

Use your sump pump for a keg cleaner: http://www.chicohomebrewshop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=16&p=1223#p1223

note - I use a 1/6 hp for a keg cleaner - will run a garden sprinkler, I think. I use a 1/25 hp for my RIMS recirculation only because I plan to do 10 gal plus batches; a 1/50 hp is fine for smaller batches. 1 hp is way overkill - again, check out a little aquarium pump - you don'tneed much flow because you're not trying to change the temperature, just offset drift due to the room temperature differences and heat of fermentation.

I am going to do a "wet" run today with the splitter. If this doesn't work I will have to consider the smaller pump. The Wife gave me the ok for the controller... but after giving it some thought I would like to keep it simple if I can.