RIP little brown pump

[Sadu]

My little brown pump doesn't look great. Stopped pumping while heating mash water and the pump unit got super hot. I tried breaking it down and unclogging everything but it seems it's dead.

I have been using it for recirculating mashes in 1.5G and 7G batches, nothing else.

So, wondering what the alternative is from here. TBH the timing sucks and I'm on big budget restrictions. I'm sure a chugger is great but I can't afford one.

I do have one of these which I bought for another project...
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Ult...32792939616.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.vbPAPh

Is that going to get me through a 1.5G batch recirculating mash or is that just going to wreck another pump?

Is there something that's a bit better than a little brown pump but not as expensive as a chugger?

Or just get another little brown pump and hope for another 6 months of faithful service like my last one?

Or do I bail on recirculating mashes for the forseeable future and save for a decent pump maybe next Christmas?

 

[Jayjay1976]

Get yourself a KegKing mkII for $69
Plenty of power and flow, super easy to set up and use. Comes with a plastic head that works just fine, but for long term durability you can upgrade to a stainless head.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/k...s3Q91-dJBMtzcIPNC3an8NmTwZhlJWjRoCqngQAvD_BwE

 

[golfindia]

Two of those little 24v pumps have burnt up on me. I only used them for HLT water, and occasional sous vide. I ran the first one on 12v, the second one on 24v. Hour-wise I got a lot of run time out of them, but they definitely are a consumable piece of gear. I bit the bullet and replaced the last one with SS March 315.

 

[Sadu]

Get yourself a KegKing mkII for $69
Plenty of power and flow, super easy to set up and use. Comes with a plastic head that works just fine, but for long term durability you can upgrade to a stainless head.

https://www.morebeer.com/products/k...s3Q91-dJBMtzcIPNC3an8NmTwZhlJWjRoCqngQAvD_BwE

Cool, good advice. That price point sits somewhere in between a little brown pump and a chugger so probably about what I'm looking for.

 

[ch19]

Cool, good advice. That price point sits somewhere in between a little brown pump and a chugger so probably about what I'm looking for.

+1 for the Mark 2 pump.

Brewshop.co.nz have you covered. At $120NZ + shipping and another $55NZ for the stainless head, it’s not in the same price range as the little brown pump, but its well worth it.

 

[Sadu]

Ya was looking at the Brewshop one, looks good.

Interestingly I brewed a blonde ale tonight, using my old 40L/10G pot with BIAB, no pumps, ball valves, or any fancy stuff.

Gotta say it was the easiest brewday for a while. Main inconvenience was having to babysit the kettle bringing it to strike temperature (HERMS is amazing for that), but other than that there's way less cleaning and still ended up with same efficiency as I normally get. Mash temperatures were very stable just with some towels draped over the top.

 

[ch19]

Yup, there’s something to be said for simplicity!