Got a chugger pump, going to use to keg. How to prime?

[Beardown]

So, i got a brand new chugger pump and am going to use it to keg tonight. How would i go about priming the pump if i am pumping from a glass carboy to the keg? The inlet hose will obviusly be pumping from the top of the carboy so i camnot use gravity to get the beer into the pump to prime... should i just go for it and not worry about priming for now? Thanks

 

[schematix]

This is not going to work well.

 

[FunkedOut]

try this out.

set things up like you're ready to pump.
pull the hose out of the keg and fill that hose with sanitizer using a funnel.
keep filling until the pump is primed and the sanitizer level gets as high as possible on the carboy/inlet side.

turn on the pump and direct the outlet hose into a bucket.
hopefully, the flow if the sanitizer will create enough of a suction to pull the wort up and over the mouth of the carboy and fill the pump; then you're good to go.

once wort is flowing out of the hose and the sanitizer is gone, aim the hose into the keg and finish up.

 

[Beardown]

Wont there still be air in the inlet/carboy side hose?

 

[Upthewazzu]

Just my opinion, but it's much easier to push it with CO2 or gravity than to pull it with a pump.

 

[day_trippr]

This idea has bad news written all over it.
CO2 push or even a gravity transfer would be the better way to go...

Cheers!

 

[GPP33]

Yea, don't do this. Let gravity do the work.

 

[jakwi]

The biggest problem I see with using the pump in this way is that if there is even a hint of cavitation you're going to saturate your beer with Oxygen. Just don't do it.

The pump is much more helpful on the brewing side. I use mine for transfer from mash tun to bk, and to recirculate through my counterflow chiller to cool the wort. Once I can afford to get another one I'll switch to a single tier system.

Check out the kegging section of this page for a much better way to transfer to keg using CO2. While I haven't actually bought the stuff to do this, it is on my short list, along with the CIP keg cleaner.

http://onbrewing.com/fermenting-kegging-sankes/

For the moment gravity feed is probably your best bet. Anyway good luck.

 

[govner1]

just my opinion, but it's much easier to push it with co2 or gravity than to pull it with a pump.

this^^^^^^^!!!!

 

[schematix]

The biggest problem I see with using the pump in this way is that if there is even a hint of cavitation you're going to saturate your beer with Oxygen. Just don't do it.

Pump cavitation is pretty much guaranteed in this situation.

But i am curious, where exactly do you think that oxygen going to come from when the pump cavitates? In other words, if the beer, tubing and pump housing didn't have oxygen in it to begin with (or have been flushed out with beer), how is it going to get oxidized further by cavitation?

 

[jakwi]

Pump cavitation is pretty much guaranteed in this situation.

But i am curious, where exactly do you think that oxygen going to come from when the pump cavitates? In other words, if the beer, tubing and pump housing didn't have oxygen in it to begin with (or have been flushed out with beer), how is it going to get oxidized further by cavitation?

I'm assuming an imperfect prime to begin with. Once primed it shouldn't be an issue, unless he fails to turn it off before sucking air. I think the O2 saturation during priming, and at the end when sucking air would well exceed the levels of saturation that might occur during a gravity feed operation. But hey, on my end it's just speculation.

The way I see it in order to pull this off you'd need to use gravity to perfectly prime the pump, leaving no air pockets in the impeller portion, and then be sure to kill the pump before sucking air.

Assuming you achieved that why not just use gravity to siphon it off? In my mind it's not worth the risk, but I guess it would save you a few minutes.

I don't go to extreme measures to avoid oxygen, but I think an impeller pump is just asking for trouble. Certainly if the OP tries it any way, well please share the results. We can all benefit from the results of the experiment failed or successful. Sometimes the results are surprising, like the Australian no chill method.

 

[schematix]

The way I see it in order to pull this off you'd need to use gravity to perfectly prime the pump, leaving no air pockets in the impeller portion, and then be sure to kill the pump before sucking air.

There is no 'sucking air' as you describe it. If after the pump has been primed gas does form in the pump head it's most likely CO2 coming out of solution due to the suction caused by the pump.

But to the point of the OP, a centrifugal pump won't work in this application mainly because it won't self prime, and more importantly the beer isn't going to like the suction. The beer needs to be pushed, not pulled. You could probably do this with a diaphragm or peristaltic pump, but good 'ol CO2 and gravity can do this really effectively.

 

[betarhoalphadelta]

Just my opinion, but it's much easier to push it with CO2 or gravity than to pull it with a pump.

Generally, though, I don't particularly like the idea of pushing with CO2 and a glass carboy. They're not designed for pressure at all. It will probably work without issue, but it's a risk I'd avoid if it were me.

That said, I agree with everyone that a simple siphon with a racking cane is probably a better solution for kegging than a pump.

 

[Konadog]

I think what will most likely happen is, the pumps will cavitate when the pressure changes in the pump head, forcing any CO2 in solution out (CO2 generated during fermentation) and giving your a foam hose into your keg!

As others have said, don't do it!