Anvil Brewing Pump XP - first impressions?

[ninkwood]

I'm in the market for my first brew pump and I've got my sights set on the new Anvil Brewing Pump XP. It seems to offer everything that comes with the Riptide while being quieter and cheaper. The main trade off is that it's not as powerful. I'm wondering if anyone has had the chance to take one of these new pumps for a spin yet and what their first impressions are.

Or, if you think there's a better option out there for me, I'd be happy to hear it! Quiet operation is important to me and I require a 120v connection.

 

[day_trippr]

I don't see the Blichmann Valve so it's not quite equivalent to a Riptide. That said, I'm not a fan of their fancy valve anyway, and the price of this pump is compelling, compared to the current pricing of the March 815-PL pumps I still use today (a good $80 under the March list price!)

THAT said, the head rating is a bit concerning as it's roughly half that of my 815-PLs...

fwiw: https://www.anvilbrewing.com/brewing-pump-xp

 

[Broken Crow]

Looks like an MP-15RM (AKA; 'Pumpzilla') body with a larger base and integrated power switch and a nicer more useful looking head... I'd imagine performance would be similar.
https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=mp-15rm&iax=images&ia=images

 

[Deadalus]

I know some people like it but I'm not a fan of the Blichmann valve either. The bleeder valve on the Blichmann makes messes too since it is just a hole. I've had a couple March pumps, a Riptide, and a Spike Flow. My March pumps didn't have bleeder valves, although I added them. The March pumps have screws though as well, a minus. They are definitely louder than the Riptide and Flow, which are much quieter. The Flow is slightly quieter than the Riptide. My Riptide has more of a pattern to the sound and that makes it more noticeable as well. I use the Riptide on my HLT so it only spews water when needing to prime and I use the Flow on my MT and BK. I didn't put a valve on my Flow initially but it is helpful when changing hoses where the connections may be level or lower than the pump outlet.

As far as the overall sound level, I find that the Riptide and Flow are pretty quiet. Like I know they are on but barely needing to move the volume on the speaker for music. The rating on the Anvil is a lot lower in comparison.

In terms of flow rate, I run a CIP loop starting at my BK, to the pump, then a CFC, then over to the HERMS coil and back to the BK. This was problematic with my March pumps (but I had a PC instead of a CFC). With the Flow this work fine no issues. I do a final rinse with Better Bottle carboy instead of the BK, and the BB carboy sits on the floor. (That's where the valve on the Flow becomes helpful.) Once in a while this is harder to prime and get going with the Flow but not nearly as much trouble as the March pumps were. Depending on your own system that Anvil might be a bit weak.

*Flow is TC and my other pumps were/are NPT. One of my March pumps had the bigger 3/4" outlet but I just adapted that down to 1/2".

 

[Broken Crow]

Hey @ninkwood ..You really got me thinking about that pump.. Looking at the pics, the impeller doesn't seem any different from the standard MP-15RM, but I do know that the head design can affect the output power. I'd seen the MP-15RM in action in many posts online (mostly from UK, Australian, European and Asian brewers with maybe a couple from the US) so I took a chance and bought one from 'yeabrew---' on ebay (and he's still selling them out of Canada);
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/33439869024...R6QITJ0ajwY2400pNrQ4/z+g==|tkp:Bk9SR7jhxsXUYw
From your other posts I know you have a system based on 10G vessels and I can attest that the MP-15RM is perfectly adequate for a system that size. Here's an older pic of mine with my keggle:

I've been changing things around a bit, but essentially; I mounted the pump with the intake just below the bottom of the keggle and just above the output of the CFC (not seen in pic, but it is there). When reciculating 6G and 12G batches, it does just fine BUT: The CFC is just 3/8" tubing and with the restriction that creates, while it still works OK for the 6G batch, it is weaker than I'd like for the 12G batch, but of course that entirely due to the restriction of the CFC.. If you want to use an external chiller, it should be OK as long as the chiller has a 1/2" path.
If you want to compare all the pumps available so far, I recommend the chart our hardware guru @Bobby_M has on his site:
https://www.brewhardware.com/category_s/1836.htm
*Note: He sells the MP-15RM as the 'Mark II'. The Topsflo TD-5 is the quietest option and looks quite nice, but I have no experience with it myself...I do know that if you want one in Canada, the only place I've found one is the other side of the country: https://store.defalcowines.com/TopsFlo-DC-Pump-with-St-St-Head.html
I mentioned the head design above.. There is a less popular head available on the MP-15RM which isn't shiny and I found one on ebay for only $60 so I bought it to compare and though it doesn't look significantly different, it is noticably less powerful..so much so that it barely whirlpooled a 6G batch through the CFC. Here's the less desirable head:

I don't know if the Anvil head design will improve the flow rate or weaken it, but I do like that it comes apart easier. If they decide to sell the head alone as an upgrade option at a decent price, I'd probably buy one for my lesser pump.

 

[ninkwood]

I don't see the Blichmann Valve so it's not quite equivalent to a Riptide. That said, I'm not a fan of their fancy valve anyway.

In my extremely limited experience with valves in general, I'm not much of a fan of the slow closing but precise flow control varieties. These blichmann ones appear to be that style but I've never been hands on so can't comment.

The March pumps have screws though as well, a minus.

I absolutely want something easy to disassemble as I'm a bit of a freak about cleaning

@Broken Crow you've given me lots to think about/compare! I didn't expect to get this much information, but I really appreciate it.

What prompted this thread was some old posts on a different forum about how the Riptides were malfunctioning early in their production. While I know blichmann tends to always fix these issues and is very trustworthy, I'd rather avoid the headaches if such a scenario were to repeat with these XPs.

Y'all have made some suggestions that are over my head and beyond the scope that I'm thinking about. The reality is I've only done two brews on my new equipment and I haven't even finished building out the system yet. I'm taking a break from brewing as it's "landscaping season" up here in the Okanagan Valley (ground isn't covered in snow, and it's also not 32*c everyday like it will be come June). When I return to it, I'll be transitioning from the kitchen stove top to an outdoor burner (wife is kicking me out ) and I want to add the pump as well so that I can actually whirlpool and stop breaking my back when it comes time to clean. I'm still using an immersion chiller and will be for the foreseeable future but I would like to get a CFC at some point.

So all I really need right now is a quiet pump that won't disturb my neighbors, and that can make simple transfers between my kettle and mash tun, recirculate, transfer back again, and complete a whirlpool at the end before transferring to a fermenter. Ill eventually add HERMS or RIMS (haven't decided yet), but again that's a ways away as I'm saving my pennies for a bit.

Thanks for all the guidance!

 

[Deadalus]

You've got time to think about it. I used to brew in my driveway, with my neighbors house no more than 20' away. I seriously doubt they ever noticed my March pumps, perhaps if their windows were open they might hear some buzz. What I think they could hear were random pots clinking or lids clanking. Cleanup is noisier and then rolling my brew table in and out of the garage as the driveway has a bump going into the garage. I try to be done by 10 pm since everything is quieter at night. (I still clean my MT in the driveway usually but brew inside the garage). I'm way louder when I haul out the power saws! (9 or 9:30 max)

I will say though that an IC does interfere with whirlpooling but I could still whirlpool with my March pumps just fine even with a hop spider. I'd recommend however seeking out specific experiences with that pump plus an IC, plus whether there there is an electric element and possibly a hop spider. If you do get that Anvil, keep it level on the table not underneath, as it will waste about a foot of head if pumping up. (Bump this thread down the road.)

 

[day_trippr]

fwiw, my 650cfm squirrel cage exhaust blower totally drowns out my two 815-PLs

 

[ninkwood]

You've got time to think about it. I used to brew in my driveway, with my neighbors house no more than 20' away. I seriously doubt they ever noticed my March pumps, perhaps if their windows were open they might hear some buzz. What I think they could hear were random pots clinking or lids clanking. Cleanup is noisier and then rolling my brew table in and out of the garage as the driveway has a bump going into the garage. I try to be done by 10 pm since everything is quieter at night. (I still clean my MT in the driveway usually but brew inside the garage). I'm way louder when I haul out the power saws! (9 or 9:30 max)

I will say though that an IC does interfere with whirlpooling but I could still whirlpool with my March pumps just fine even with a hop spider. I'd recommend however seeking out specific experiences with that pump plus an IC, plus whether there there is an electric element and possibly a hop spider. If you do get that Anvil, keep it level on the table not underneath, as it will waste about a foot of head if pumping up. (Bump this thread down the road.)

Noise wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm hoping to brew at the crack of dawn (due to the heat as well as scheduling conflicts) so I wanna be able to keep it down as much as possible.

I built a 18" stand for my mash tun that has been required for gravity brewing my first couple batches, and I'm planning on buying a hellfire for the heat source. So no table, but my thought was to leave the pump on the ground with the kettle raised up the height of the hellfire (8-10" by the looks of it?) and the mash tun at the 18" cited earlier. I'm getting the sense that power on the pump is at a premium. Would it be wise to spend the extra $100 on a riptide? I know other pumps have been mentioned too but I'm not familiar with these yet but I'll be adding them to my research before I make a decision because as was mentioned above I have loads of time here

 

[Deadalus]

fwiw, my 650cfm squirrel cage exhaust blower totally drowns out my two 815-PLs

We have two 90 cfm squirrel cage blowers on our fireplace insert and they are louder together than my two 809-PLs were together. I wouldn't say by very much though and the sound was smoother.

 

[Broken Crow]

as I'm a bit of a freak about cleaning

but I would like to get a CFC at some point.

So a bit more to think about :
I'm one of those that considers a total cleaning immediately after a brew to be an important part of the process... I clean out all the 'cat-barf' by hand and spray down everything with hot tap-water from a hose and pump that through every connected part and down the drain, and then fill the BK with 5G of clean water, add my PBW and heat it to 130° and pump it through everything for 20 minutes or so, with the out-valve feeding a bucket in which I have a much more powerful submersible (expensive--NOT pond) pump feeding a CIP ball that I hang from the inside of the keggle lid; an SSBrewtech 1.5"TC Brewbucket lid that's a perfect fit for the 303mm opening. The MP-15RM has nowhere near enough power for the CIP ball.
I mentioned the 3/8" bottleneck of my CFC...most inexpensive CFC's come with that 3/8" interior. If you want one of the 1/2" CFC's, they won't reduce your flow rate, but they're unlikely to fully chill in one pass either. I'm currently building a dual-CFC to replace my single-coil to reduce that bottleneck, but I don't believe my MP-15RM will have enough power to give me a good whirlpool going through that much line, so I bought a Riptide, in part because I found one at a very good price. I'd have preferred a Spike Flow (mainly for the nicer/neater bleeder valve). In testing it through my current setup, it provided an adequate whirlpool of 12G even through the 3/8" CFC so that's a keeper for the uprgades I'm working on...plus; it seems to feed my CIP ball OK. When you consider your potential CFC, first check your ground-water temp. Mine's 58°, so with my approx 33' CFC it drops to pitching temp in one-pass.
Just more fuel for thought.

 

[Broken Crow]

Oh... I totally forgot (brain damage );
The reason I mention the 130° PBW; After the first time I used my electric keggle/pump system, I did that described hot PBW wash and after that, I took apart the pump to 'fine-clean' but found it completely spotless. A few brews later without taking it apart again, I had a really painful day so I left all my cleaning till the next day...did my usual cleaning routine and I was certain the pump would have deposits by now, but hey; I totally swear by 130° PBW....It was still spotless!
Everyone will have a different comfort level on this, and though I consider myself also a 'clean & sanitary freak', I now only take the pump apart once or twice a year, so while TC disassembly is nice, the screws really aren't that big a deal.

 

[ninkwood]

Great info! Especially for someone whose still miles away from where you are. It's borderline impossible for me to be perfectly efficient with these purchases and buy exactly what I will need not only now but also a few years down the road. However, all this info really helps!

I also have a powerful submersible pump that I bought to descale our tankless water heater, but it's a cheapo Amazon one. Might come in handy one day for brewing...

It does sound like the Riptide would help future proof my setup. I wouldn't say I am desperate to get a CFC though. My IC is a bit slow, but atleast part of that is due to the lack of flow within the kettle. Once I get a pump that should improve some. And while I understand the IC will hurt the whirlpool action, I'm hoping to be able to find a workaround for that. For instance, I could continue the whirlpool without the chiller once the wort is cooled in order to concentrate all the trub. I'm sure this is either a pita or doesn't work in practice, but it's my plan for now

Our groundwater here ranges from about 9*c to 14*c depending on the time of year. I don't plan to brew as much in summer though.

 

[Deadalus]

Noise wouldn't be a big deal, but I'm hoping to brew at the crack of dawn (due to the heat as well as scheduling conflicts) so I wanna be able to keep it down as much as possible.

I built a 18" stand for my mash tun that has been required for gravity brewing my first couple batches, and I'm planning on buying a hellfire for the heat source. So no table, but my thought was to leave the pump on the ground with the kettle raised up the height of the hellfire (8-10" by the looks of it?) and the mash tun at the 18" cited earlier. I'm getting the sense that power on the pump is at a premium. Would it be wise to spend the extra $100 on a riptide? I know other pumps have been mentioned too but I'm not familiar with these yet but I'll be adding them to my research before I make a decision because as was mentioned above I have loads of time here

I'm extrapolating outside my range of experience with the several pumps I've used as to the power level on the Anvil but the max head of 10ft is much lower than what I have used. It's other features though are nice. I have a 3 vessel two pump EHERMS. I think this Anvil would work just fine running the water side on my HLT. That's where I have the Riptide, on a shelf around one foot below the table top. If you were planning for a HERMS system with 2 pumps, it could be ok if you got the Anvil and it wasn't as strong as you needed perhaps but I know you are still considering RIMS or HERMS for down the road. The Anvil XP has a slightly lower max head, 1 ft less, than the Kegland MKII 25 watt (I think the SS one listed in the Brewhardware table is the 65 watt). So perhaps compare to other users of the 25 watt although check the other specs too. You could perhaps put a shelf on your MT stand to keep the pump raised. I started using a pump when my system was gas fired (no HERMS coil) and I disliked it being on the ground. I don't recommend the Riptide because of the bleeder valve and I don't like the valve. I would recommend the Flow. Spike says it's easier to adjust the output if needed at the kettle with a valve. I agree and I do that but I still ended up putting a valve on the output port, so that would cost you if you felt you needed it.

Both the Riptide and the Flow were capable of running a long CIP loop (no ball involved) from my BK>pump>CFC>HERMS coil>BK. My March 809 would have some trouble priming that loop and I had a plate chiller then. It had the most trouble running a final rinse where the rinse water was on the ground in a bucket. It was more the priming that was trouble than the pumping. I would be using all of my hoses and the length wasn't perfect for reaching a bucket on the table and juggling the primed hose with the bucket. The Riptide and Flow though when connected by QDs are a snap as they sit under the brew table. Open the valves on the kettle and they are generally good to go once the hose fills with just a quick bleed if necessary. And they are a little stronger than the 809 and prime easier so a bucket on the ground is most times an easy start.

 

[Broken Crow]

If money weren't an issue, I'd choose a Spike Flow over a Riptide.. It doesn't have the output valve, but that's no deal-breaker for me..The Flow's bleeder valve won't spray hot wort all over the place, but Canada's official Spike distributor seems not to have them in stock yet. Here's the best prices/availablity I can find;
Flow: https://torontobrewing.ca/products/spike-brewing-flow-brew-pump?variant=39977400467502
Chuggers (with varying prices and options): https://www.ontariobeerkegs.com/Brew-Pumps_c_1446.html
Riptide (*-only with TC fittings): https://goldsteam.com/shop/beer-brewing-equipment/pumps-siphons-and-tubing/riptide-brewing-pump/
Goldsteam is great to deal with and does carry Anvil inventory, so though it's not listed on the site yet, you can inquire.
And if you think in future you may want more than one pump; An MP15-RM is perfectly adequate for recirculating a 10G mash tun and at only $89.99 CAD, may be worth having around and possibly starting out with so you can better judge your needs for yourself. : https://www.ebay.ca/itm/33439869024...d=&campid=5338413729&toolid=10001&mpt=3828385

 

[Deadalus]

So a bit more to think about :
I'm one of those that considers a total cleaning immediately after a brew to be an important part of the process... I clean out all the 'cat-barf' by hand and spray down everything with hot tap-water from a hose and pump that through every connected part and down the drain, and then fill the BK with 5G of clean water, add my PBW and heat it to 130° and pump it through everything for 20 minutes or so, with the out-valve feeding a bucket in which I have a much more powerful submersible (expensive--NOT pond) pump feeding a CIP ball that I hang from the inside of the keggle lid; an SSBrewtech 1.5"TC Brewbucket lid that's a perfect fit for the 303mm opening. The MP-15RM has nowhere near enough power for the CIP ball.
I mentioned the 3/8" bottleneck of my CFC...most inexpensive CFC's come with that 3/8" interior. If you want one of the 1/2" CFC's, they won't reduce your flow rate, but they're unlikely to fully chill in one pass either. I'm currently building a dual-CFC to replace my single-coil to reduce that bottleneck, but I don't believe my MP-15RM will have enough power to give me a good whirlpool going through that much line, so I bought a Riptide, in part because I found one at a very good price. I'd have preferred a Spike Flow (mainly for the nicer/neater bleeder valve). In testing it through my current setup, it provided an adequate whirlpool of 12G even through the 3/8" CFC so that's a keeper for the uprgades I'm working on...plus; it seems to feed my CIP ball OK. When you consider your potential CFC, first check your ground-water temp. Mine's 58°, so with my approx 33' CFC it drops to pitching temp in one-pass.
Just more fuel for thought.

I have an internal 1/2" (British size BTW) copper CFC. I'd say in general it does cool in one pass and quick at that. Most times I whirlpool hops though and then a good mix are lagers. The whirlpool requires an intial pass through the CFC. Both the Riptide and Flow can whirlpool through my CFC no problem. I don't bother to switch out the CFC for the whirlpool. I do an initial cooling that is a recirculation for lagers then switch the connection to the fermenter. I'd say it depends on time of year as far as how low I can get the lager temps. It's a really fast time to drop to whirlpool temp. I have hopstopper now so I don't pay attention to the speed to full cool down but it is on par with a plate chiller and definitely faster than an IC.

@ninkwood There's whirlpooling hops and then whirlpooling for trub. I wouldn't want to take my IC out while whirlpooling hops, especially outside as you would need to put it back in but the wort is no longer boiling. As far as trub, I've done it a few times but I'm in the camp that it's not a big deal to have the trub in there. I didn't find that it worked that well with my March but my view is that it takes slightly more time than I've been willing to spend at the end of the brewday. My keggle pickup tube also extends out into the bottom. I will dump it out of my uni now however!

 

[ninkwood]

I have a 3 vessel two pump EHERMS. I think this Anvil would work just fine running the water side on my HLT. That's where I have the Riptide, on a shelf around one foot below the table top. If you were planning for a HERMS system with 2 pumps, it could be ok if you got the Anvil and it wasn't as strong as you needed perhaps but I know you are still considering RIMS or HERMS for down the road.

Ideally I go HERMS, but my concern is the efficiency as I will have to rely on a 120v element for this. My plan in theory is to have my BK on the hellfire, preheat the sparge water and transfer it over to the MT (insulated) to preheat that. While the MT preheats, I'll heat the strike water, then move the sparge water to the HLT if you can call it that, and set the 120v element to maintain mash temps and sparge at the end. The reason I may decide to go RIMS is because the 120v will be more efficient than it will be in a HERMS configuration. But that's a problem for another day. I like the idea of buying the Anvil for now and then buying a better second pump down the road if I feel I'll need the power. Could you not use two pumps in your cleaning loop, or does that cause a problem?

Spike says it's easier to adjust the output if needed at the kettle with a valve. I agree and I do that but I still ended up putting a valve on the output port, so that would cost you if you felt you needed it.

I'm going to have a valve on every port except my recirculation port on the MT, but I'll also have one on the pump out.

The Flow's bleeder valve won't spray hot wort all over the place

Id like to avoid this as well lol

https://torontobrewing.ca/products/spike-brewing-flow-brew-pump?variant=39977400467502

I'm pretty sure they're the only place to get spike in Canada. They're the only ones I've seen with much stock anyway

Riptide (*-only with TC fittings): https://goldsteam.com/shop/beer-brewing-equipment/pumps-siphons-and-tubing/riptide-brewing-pump/

My LHBS is a Blichmann sales rep, so I go through him for everything blichmann and anvil. It's a bit more $ but he stocks a ton of good malts so I want to make sure he stays in business

An MP15-RM is perfectly adequate for recirculating a 10G mash tun and at only $89.99 CAD, may be worth having around and possibly starting out with so you can better judge your needs for yourself. : https://www.ebay.ca/itm/33439869024...d=&campid=5338413729&toolid=10001&mpt=3828385

I've been considering this as well (cheaper pump as my starter) so that I can get a lay of the land. I might take @Deadalus's suggestion and go Anvil and up but I need to do more research on these other models still.

@ninkwood There's whirlpooling hops and then whirlpooling for trub. I wouldn't want to take my IC out while whirlpooling hops, especially outside as you would need to put it back in but the wort is no longer boiling. As far as trub, I've done it a few times but I'm in the camp that it's not a big deal to have the trub in there. I didn't find that it worked that well with my March but my view is that it takes slightly more time than I've been willing to spend at the end of the brewday. My keggle pickup tube also extends out into the bottom. I will dump it out of my uni now however!

Noted!

I would probably cool first, whirlpool second to avoid the sanitation issue you mentioned. And I'm also not too concerned about trub getting into the fermenter. I mostly just want to get as much of the liquid out as I can so that I'm not wasting any. Ive made some decent beers where I was just dumping the entirety of the BK into the fermenter so it doesn't seem to be an issue to me. Clear wort sure is pretty though!

 

[Yesfan]

I don't see the Blichmann Valve so it's not quite equivalent to a Riptide. That said, I'm not a fan of their fancy valve anyway, and the price of this pump is compelling, compared to the current pricing of the March 815-PL pumps I still use today (a good $80 under the March list price!)

THAT said, the head rating is a bit concerning as it's roughly half that of my 815-PLs...

fwiw: https://www.anvilbrewing.com/brewing-pump-xp

How important is that head rating? I have the older Chugger and it's head rating is 18ft compared to the Anvil's 10ft. The GPM of the Chugger is 7. The Anvil, 6. Is the head rating more important for 3 vessel brewers, especially those using gravity in a three tier setup?

 

[day_trippr]

Read "head", think "oomph" The more resistance one sticks in the pumped path the more "oomph" required to maintain a given flow rate. I have a 50' 1/2" hex in my hlt so "head" in that context is kind of meaningless but the ability to keep a good flow rate with that beast in the path is important to me...

Cheers!

 

[ninkwood]

I'm seeing the same prv on the anvil as I see on the Riptide. Is that prv the "bleeder" valve that is prone to leaking? Does that happen when attempting to purge air from the pump while priming or does it have a tendency to spit out wort occasionally during use?

 

[Deadalus]

I'm seeing the same prv on the anvil as I see on the Riptide. Is that prv the "bleeder" valve that is prone to leaking? Does that happen when attempting to purge air from the pump while priming or does it have a tendency to spit out wort occasionally during use?

The Riptide has just a small hole on the side of the prv to let fluid out while the Anvil pump has a stem for the fluid to drain from. The stem is barbed on the Anvil to accept a tube. My Riptide doesn't leak but when bleeding air the fluid goes wherever.

 

[ninkwood]

The Riptide has just a small hole on the side of the prv to let fluid out while the Anvil pump has a stem for the fluid to drain from. The stem is barbed on the Anvil to accept a tube. My Riptide doesn't leak but when bleeding air the fluid goes wherever.

Oh okay that makes sense, thank you!

 

[Broken Crow]

At about 3:50 into the vid, you can see where the wort goes:

The holes are annoyingly in a couple directions and I haven't yet figured out an ideal deflector. Both the Spike Flow and the Anvil have nicely addressed this by keeping inside a hose barb.

 

[ninkwood]

At about 3:50 into the vid, you can see where the wort goes:

The holes are annoyingly in a couple directions and I haven't yet figured out an ideal deflector. Both the Spike Flow and the Anvil have nicely addressed this by keeping inside a hose barb.

Great video, thanks for including that!

I wonder if you could seal up one of the two holes so that it only shoots out in one direction?

This doesn't seem like a big deal if it only has to be primed once (with water) but I can definitely see how in practice that would not be the case. Definitely wouldn't be kitchen-friendly.

 

[k-daddy]

Topsflo from Brewhardware https://www.brewhardware.com/product_p/topsfloss.htm. Had the Riptide but needed a smaller design for my brew space. I’m a big fan of this pump. Small, powerful (7 GPM) and much quieter than the Blichmann.

 

[Indian_villager]

It looks like a center inlet version of this.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/k...nline-head-stainless-steel-5-gpm-25-watt.html

 

[mrcastellino]

I may be in the minority but I love my Riptide. Ive used March and Chugger pumps for years and the Riptide has been a huge improvement. Not sure why so many dislike the valve but for me I see it as a benefit as I can easily dissemble and clean and I dont have to mount a separate outlet valve. I also never have to use the bleeder but if I did i would put a towel/rag around it when I pulled the ring to bleed air.

 

[ninkwood]

I may be in the minority but I love my Riptide. Ive used March and Chugger pumps for years and the Riptide has been a huge improvement. Not sure why so many dislike the valve but for me I see it as a benefit as I can easily dissemble and clean and I dont have to mount a separate outlet valve. I also never have to use the bleeder but if I did i would put a towel/rag around it when I pulled the ring to bleed air.

Nice to hear from the other side! From what I've read, you're not supposed to use the bleeder when the pump is on anyways, just with open valves and gravity. So I wouldn't think spillage would be too severe unless you're brewing in the kitchen or something... But who makes beer and doesn't spill a few drops here and there during the course of the day?!

The big caveat is theory and practice are very different things and that's ultimately why I'm here asking for feedback. I know that reality likely won't match up with what I'm expecting

 

[Deadalus]

I may be in the minority but I love my Riptide. Ive used March and Chugger pumps for years and the Riptide has been a huge improvement. Not sure why so many dislike the valve but for me I see it as a benefit as I can easily dissemble and clean and I dont have to mount a separate outlet valve. I also never have to use the bleeder but if I did i would put a towel/rag around it when I pulled the ring to bleed air.

I don't hate the Riptide but the Flow has slightly better specs than the Riptide, just no valve. Spike and Anvil have realized that a bleeder valve bleeds and have put a barb on it to direct the flow better. It is nearly impossible to not get the mop out on brewday but I don't like liquid spraying weird and unnecessary places and potentially hot sticky liquid at that. If Blichmann simply fixed that they would be a more even competitor. What I don't like about Blichmann's valve is it has a short range of effect on the dial but the dial keeps going and going. Spike saves their own money by not putting a valve there as the two pumps are generally about the same price. It's ok that the valve is on the Riptide. I still use it.

The Riptide is a big improvement over my March pumps in every respect, same for the Flow.

 

[ninkwood]

For anyone in Canada following this thread live, BrewHQ has a great deal on the Riptide right now. It would cost me $293 including tax and shipping right now for the npt version! I'd be all over this as it's about $90 cheaper than my LHBS but I owe the guy a sale on a larger item and I've already committed to buying locally.

I'm torn between the two still. I'd probably get the flow if it was competitively priced in Canada but it's about $60 more than the Riptide's MSRP here of approximately $380 CAD as the only retailer that carries it charges for shipping while the other online/local dealers offer free pickup or free shipping over $100/$150.

I do think I'll try the XP to save a few $. If I feel I need an upgrade down the road I can upgrade then.