Does anyone else hate their Chugger pumps?

[-CHRIS-]

I have to tell you, the least satisfying part of my keggle based eHERMS system are the two center inlet chugger pumps. Priming them is a PITA and when changing hoses around it is sometimes very difficult to get them running again. I end up having to take the outlet hose off and moving it below the water level to "burp" the pumps.

Are all food-grade pumps non-priming and a PITA to use? I used to have Iwaki pumps for my reef tanks, which are magnet drive due to the corrosive nature of seawater, and I don't recall them being so difficult to flood and get running.

I think this are Chinese knock-offs of March pumps so I assume they are no better. I am thinking about installing a small bleed valve on the outlet to get them running.

Chris

 

[BigDog007]

I have only one chugger pump but it is below my brew kettle and very easy to prime. I open the ball valve on the BK then open the valve on the outlet of the chugger pump and I hear it prime. I know it sounds weird to "hear it prime" but it's true. I have had zero issues getting liquid moving with it. The only problem I've encountered is when doing BIAB sometimes when I first start recirculation I get plugged up at the BK and have to pull the bag up briefly to remove the suction and then it primes and goes for the full 60-75 minute mash.

I'd be lost without it in my current setup and I love the pump.

 

[blaster_54738]

I've had no problems with either of my center inlet chuggers either but as stated above they are below my keggles so they get primed via gravity. Where is your pump mounted compared to your kettle?

 

[geoffey]

The way you describe "moving" them below the water it sounds like you may not have your pumps mounted below the kettles. That is a must if you expect them to prime. I have two chiggers, but not the center inlet type. I put bleeder valves on the output side and they are a breeze to prime.

 

[sensortech]

Yup, bleeder valves help out tremendously!

 

[Ravenshead]

I'll third the bleeder valve recommendation. My March pumps used to give me fits as well until I installed one.

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure if they aren't both the same pump off the same line with different labels. They sure look the same.

 

[-CHRIS-]

Yup, bleeder valves help out tremendously!

Can you show a photo how you attached a bleeder valve?

My pumps are sitting 3 feet below the kettles, the drain hose is 4' and the return hose is 6'.

It seems that air bubbles get caught in the pump and the pump can't clear the bubble.

Chris

 

[OleBrewing]

Never had a problem with mine, but somtimes it is hard to get a gravity feed through the therminator off the bk.

 

[JKoravos]

Is the pump inlet below the outlet?

 

[fimpster]

I have Chugger center inlet, no problems priming. Mine is mounted about 16 inches below my vessels.

 

[Wheelspin]

I have two Chuggers. Both have bleeder valves and I never have any problems priming them.

 

[Wheelspin]

I have two Chuggers. Both have bleeder valves and I never have any problems priming them.

 

[cantrell00]

Can you show a photo how you attached a bleeder valve?

My pumps are sitting 3 feet below the kettles, the drain hose is 4' and the return hose is 6'.

It seems that air bubbles get caught in the pump and the pump can't clear the bubble.

Chris

 

[shbrewery]

I have 2 chiggers and they are awful. Need a direct drive system. Magnet is just not powerful enough particularly during lautering takes me 40 mins to move 25g. They rated at 7g per minute. Not when moving syrup thru silicon. Going to buy March pumps at 5x the price. Oh well.

 

[sensortech]

Can you show a photo how you attached a bleeder valve?

My pumps are sitting 3 feet below the kettles, the drain hose is 4' and the return hose is 6'.

It seems that air bubbles get caught in the pump and the pump can't clear the bubble.

Chris

Chris I'm at work now and don't have a photo, but all I did was mount a stainless steel Tee to the output, put the bleed valve pointing down, and the flow valve straight. Keep the flow valve closed and open the bleed valve to fill the pump.

 

[-CHRIS-]

I have 2 chiggers and they are awful. Need a direct drive system. Magnet is just not powerful enough particularly during lautering takes me 40 mins to move 25g. They rated at 7g per minute. Not when moving syrup thru silicon. Going to buy March pumps at 5x the price. Oh well.

Sounds painful.

I would love to know if the March pumps are truly better as I have been completely delighted with my keggles, all the hardware from brewhardware.com, the Mypin TD4s and the electricbrewery.com overall design.

I am hoping for something sexier than just a tee plus a valve, but that maybe the only plan. I wonder if I can drill and tap a coupler for a small valve? Unfortunately I have not found reducing tees in stainless steel yet, but I will keep looking.

Here is a shot of my brewery in action.

 

[shbrewery]

What's the unit in the far left of the pic?

 

[ArcaneXor]

I like my Chugger pump - it's treated me well for several years now. It's mounted about a foot below the bottom of the kettles. The input side has a ball valve pointing downward that I use to purge the lines of air or liquid when switching them around, which helps with priming. If it doesn't prime on the first attempt, I just unplug and re-plug it, and it works 99% of the time on the second attempt.

 

[-CHRIS-]

What's the unit in the far left of the pic?

My tractor or the Blichmann Therminator?

Chris

 

[wardens355]

I have 2 chiggers and they are awful. Need a direct drive system. Magnet is just not powerful enough particularly during lautering takes me 40 mins to move 25g. They rated at 7g per minute. Not when moving syrup thru silicon. Going to buy March pumps at 5x the price. Oh well.

*Rated at 7 gpm under normal operating conditions. This is a centrifugal pump, if you lauter with a compressed grain bed, you have high suction head and you will not only get low or no flow, you will damage your pump. Most March pumps are mag drive centrifugals with same size motor, so you better make sure you get something that isn't exactly the same as the Chugger if you expect different performance. Not sure if you were just joking, but you will never get 7 gpm with these pumps if you actually pump syrup.

 

[Homercidal]

*Rated at 7 gpm under normal operating conditions. This is a centrifugal pump, if you lauter with a compressed grain bed, you have high suction head and you will not only get low or no flow, you will damage your pump. Most March pumps are mag drive centrifugals with same size motor, so you better make sure you get something that isn't exactly the same as the Chugger if you expect different performance. Not sure if you were just joking, but you will never get 7 gpm with these pumps if you actually pump syrup.

+1. I haven't heard anyone really complain about the Chuggers before, but the March pumps are effectively the same basic design from what I've seen.

With any of these pumps you need to set it up so it can be primed well and easy. THEN you have to make sure you are only limiting the flow on the outlet side. You can't allow it to have restrictions on the inlet side.

I haven't had any issues with my March pump once I figured out to allow the air to get pushed out by the wort to get it primed. I fought with it for a few minutes trying to get wort into it before I realized I needed to open the whole system so the air could get through.

My problem was I had the outlet from the chiller in the boil kettle. I had to pull the hose out of the wort to let the air get out, then it primed immediately.

 

[JKoravos]

I have 2 chiggers and they are awful. Need a direct drive system. Magnet is just not powerful enough particularly during lautering takes me 40 mins to move 25g. They rated at 7g per minute. Not when moving syrup thru silicon. Going to buy March pumps at 5x the price. Oh well.

Something aside from the pump is causing your flow problem. You're severely restricting the inlet if you're getting less than 1gpm from the pump.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

Im not "complaining" so to speak about the chugger pumps, however I do have some observations on their quality.

Cons:

1. Their threading and milling needs a bit more work on the SS Heads, when compared to March Pumps. A little rough on the openings.

2. My pump head was not tightened when it arrived and it started leaking. My March Pump was good to go out of the box. (Very minor I know)

Pros:

1. Seems to be just as powerful as my March pump

2. Pump noise seems to be a little bit less, but perhaps that is because my March is 8 years old.

3. Price. Obviously this is a big factor, but its a good compromise and you get a decent quality product for the SS Head for the the price of a Polysulphonic head from March.

All in all they are fine and I would continue to purchase them should I have a future need.

 

[-CHRIS-]

Cons:

1. Their threading and milling needs a bit more work on the SS Heads, when compared to March Pumps. A little rough on the openings..

The quality certainly leaves a little to be desired, but they are made to a price point.

I forgot to mention since it wasn't relevant to my current discussion, of all my threaded connections on my brewery, the only ones that leaked initially were the ones on the pump head. 3 wraps of teflon tape wouldn't do it, but 4 or 5 did. The threads seem to be undercut and too fat.

Thanks for everyones input, I am fairly certain that the bleeder valve will fix my priming issues!

Chris

 

[bbohanon]

I have a center inlet and an inline chugger steelhead. I like the center inlet one much better than the inline. Seems the inline just has a hard time pushing liquids for some weird reason. The center inlet works like a dream. Again, priming them is key.

 

[shbrewery]

The therminator. What's that do? Any thoughts on a good pump for lautering. I am pulling from a big mash tun. This week had over a 100lbs of Malts/grains. So it gets compressed after the first 10 gallons come out

 

[-CHRIS-]

The therminator. What's that do? Any thoughts on a good pump for lautering. I am pulling from a big mash tun. This week had over a 100lbs of Malts/grains. So it gets compressed after the first 10 gallons come out

The therminator is a plate chiller for cooling the wort down to pitching temperatures after the boil. With my 38 degree tap water, I can chill 5 gallons of boiling wort down to 63 degrees in a few minutes.

Chris

 

[JKoravos]

The therminator. What's that do? Any thoughts on a good pump for lautering. I am pulling from a big mash tun. This week had over a 100lbs of Malts/grains. So it gets compressed after the first 10 gallons come out

How deep is the mash tun? If you're getting the bed compacted it's going to be tough to pull through it with any pump if we're talking 100 lbs of grain. A more powerful pump will likely just plug it solid. You probably want to look at a grant or making the mash tun more shallow. You can also crush coarser and/or add a lautering aid, like rice hulls.

 

[LandoLincoln]

I have to tell you, the least satisfying part of my keggle based eHERMS system are the two center inlet chugger pumps. Priming them is a PITA and when changing hoses around it is sometimes very difficult to get them running again. I end up having to take the outlet hose off and moving it below the water level to "burp" the pumps.

Are all food-grade pumps non-priming and a PITA to use? I used to have Iwaki pumps for my reef tanks, which are magnet drive due to the corrosive nature of seawater, and I don't recall them being so difficult to flood and get running.

I think this are Chinese knock-offs of March pumps so I assume they are no better. I am thinking about installing a small bleed valve on the outlet to get them running.

Chris

I have a March and a Chugger and they both have the same problem if air is in the line. I've worked with center inlet and bottom inlet. Same problems. With more experience you'll get better at dealing with it.

 

[shbrewery]

It's about 3ft tall, 19" diameter . 40g stout kettle mash tun with False bottom,maybe I am impatient. That batch pulled about 25g to brew kettle. About 32g went in does that sound right on 100lb of grain. This is a new big batch system for us. So I just don't know what to expect.

 

[eric19312]

It's about 3ft tall, 19" diameter . 40g stout kettle mash tun with False bottom,maybe I am impatient. That batch pulled about 25g to brew kettle. About 32g went in does that sound right on 100lb of grain. This is a new big batch system for us. So I just don't know what to expect.

I think range for grain absorption is 0.1 - 0.2 gallons per pound of grain. That would be 10-20 gallons of water for 100 pounds of grain. Sounds like you sucked that grain dry if you got out all but 7 gallons.

In my batch this weekend I used 17.5 gallons of water to get 14 gallons wort to the brew kettle. 28 pounds of grain in the batch which puts me right at 0.125 gallons per pound of grain. The grain was still damp to the touch when I cleaned the mash tun, I suppose an aggressive squeeze could have dried it better but I don't do that to my false bottom or pump.

 

[eric19312]

Here is a shot of my brewery in action.

Wow that's a lot of hoses Chris. Are they really all necessary? As in are they all in use at same time ever? If not perhaps a few can be multipurposed.

PS I have the same pump on my two tier direct fire RIMS system. Have one connection that needs a bleeder valve but the rest prime fine just using gravity. Problem I run into is if I suck too hard on the brew kettle when wort is very hot. I think it boils in the silicon tube and creates a big bubble which the pump cant clear. Trick is to go slow and not get greedy until the kettle temp drops a bit.

 

[-CHRIS-]

Wow that's a lot of hoses Chris. Are they really all necessary? As in are they all in use at same time ever?

Pretty much, there is only 7 hoses in that photo. I need 2 to recirculate my HLT, 3 to recirculate the MLT through the HERMS coil and 1 to feed the plate chiller and 1 to dump from the plate chiller to the fermenter.

During sparging I use 5 hoses simultaneously.

I use the Blichmann connectors on the plate chiller and they are not compatible with the quick disconnects I use everywhere else. I may consider cutting them shorter once my brewery is in a more permanent spot.

Chris

 

[jddevinn]

I'll copy what a few others have said and suggest bleeder valves. I was having issues priming for a while and added a tee and a 1/4" valve. Since I took the picture I've added barbs and a small amount of discharge hose, but most of the time the bleed does not make a large mess.

 

[jddevinn]

I am hoping for something sexier than just a tee plus a valve, but that maybe the only plan. I wonder if I can drill and tap a coupler for a small valve? Unfortunately I have not found reducing tees in stainless steel yet, but I will keep looking.

Instead of a reducing tee I used a regular tee, reducing bushing, nipple, valve.
Reducing bushing can be bought from mcmaster http://www.mcmaster.com/#4452k165/=wqkz5i

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

For the life of me I don't know why anyone doesnt make a SS version of the brass valves with an integrated bleeder valve. There is certainly a market for them.

 

[MilkStout]

Bleeder valves and mounted below kettles. No problems with my two Chuggers. I wouldn't brew without them.

 

[shbrewery]

Thanks good info. I will add that into my Calcs next time. We had a SG .070 its a hellis so we are shooting for .009 two weeks in conical and two weeks in brite tank. The wort had good flavor and smell. Little sweet but that's the style.

 

[at3brew9]

Same as the others--no issues with my center inlet Chugger with a T and bleeder valve on the outlet side of the pump. I usually place a Pyrex measuring cup under the bleeder outlet, open the inlet valves and bleeder valve, and let it rip for a couple seconds. Never had any issues.

I don't think I'd use one of those ball valves with the built in bleeder screw, though. End up with hot, sticky wort on your hands or the floor as they tend to spray everywhere.

 

[Bowtiebrewery]

bleeder valves can operate without taking off the entire cap... you just need to loosen it... As soon as it starts to gurgle you just quickly tighten it back down... I used to use them on my pumps before I switched to SS and never had a mishap.