Recommendations for external glycol pump?

[beerbeer95648]

Beautiful family just ordered me a brewershardware glycol jacketed 15 gallon fermenter:rockin: Now I am in the process of collection parts for an A/C DIY glycol chiller build. However, I am having a hard time sourcing an inexpensive pump for moving the glycol through the fermenter. I have read through everything I can find but most use a submersible pump. I am looking for something that will be external to the reservoir in an attempt to limit the heating of the solution that you might get from a pond pump (internally I am using a motorized mixer to keep the glycol moving). And it needs to be able to easily pump against the head of the jacket. Anyone have any recommendations?

Cheers.

 

[milldoggy]

Beautiful family just ordered me a brewershardware glycol jacketed 15 gallon fermenter:rockin: Now I am in the process of collection parts for an A/C DIY glycol chiller build. However, I am having a hard time sourcing an inexpensive pump for moving the glycol through the fermenter. I have read through everything I can find but most use a submersible pump. I am looking for something that will be external to the reservoir in an attempt to limit the heating of the solution that you might get from a pond pump (internally I am using a motorized mixer to keep the glycol moving). And it needs to be able to easily pump against the head of the jacket. Anyone have any recommendations?

Cheers.

You have so many spare btus with the ac, might just want to use a submersible one. I use a dc pond pump from ebay for my trunk line and works great. Having it inside the cooler and submerged helps hide the noise too.

This looks nice. Can be used dry, has and internal cooling loop
http://m.ebay.com/itm/131067877921

 

[beerbeer95648]

You have so many spare btus with the ac, might just want to use a submersible one. I use a dc pond pump from ebay for my trunk line and works great. Having it inside the cooler and submerged helps hide the noise too.

This looks nice. Can be used dry, has and internal cooling loop
http://m.ebay.com/itm/131067877921

Interesting. I like the looks of that pump. I am hoping to be able to cold crash with this setup, which is why I was trying to limit the heat. Do you think with the excess cooling power I can maintain mid to upper 20's in the bath with a submersible?

 

[milldoggy]

I have no idea, lots of variables there, but I will guess yes

 

[Chrisl77]

I use a dehumidifier to cool my glycol and have no problems getting it down to -4 c with a submersible pond pump in the cooler. I would imagine any ac unit would put out a lot more btu's then my dehumidifier can so I would imagin you could get it down a lot colder. The coldest I attempted to get a 10 gallon batch down to was 38 degrees with a 25ft stainless steel coil inside my conical. It had little issues getting down to those temps.

 

[WPStrassburg]

I have a march MDXT-3 that I used on my herms that should work pretty good for you. Something with decent head will get you enough to push against the jacket resistance.

http://www.marchpump.com/mdxt-3/

 

[beerbeer95648]

I have a march MDXT-3 that I used on my herms that should work pretty good for you. Something with decent head will get you enough to push against the jacket resistance.

http://www.marchpump.com/mdxt-3/

March would be perfect. I am just having trouble finding one at an affordable price.

 

[rvklein]

If you're using an external pump I'd recommend what the professionals use. A motor attached to a rotary vane pump. The plus side is they are self priming, add no heat to the glycol bath and will run FOREVER. I have one that's been running 24/7 for 5 years now. The minus is that new they can get expensive ($100 for the motor, $150 for the pump) but you can typcially find decent prices on ebay.

 

[mpcluever]

I built a AC glycol system with a submersible pump. Wouldn't do it any different. The heat that pump makes is so negligible, I can't imagine that it makes any significant difference. For the fraction of a cent it takes to run the AC for an extra 3 seconds to overcome that heat it's way worth it to me to have that all contained in one unit rather than paying more for a pump to sit outside the cooler. Keep it simple.

 

[luhrks]

I'd recommend a self priming agitator pump like the Totton SPC-55 (or similar). 2 birds, one stone.

 

[TrickyDick]

For the original poster, what did you go with and how is that working for you?

I had a 1/6 HP sump that died, and another prior to that, both submerged. Looking for solution that will last.

TD