Selecting a Brew Pump 101

[RPh_Guy]

Let's see how my research holds up to peer review...

For the sake of discussion let's ignore the ultra cheap poorly made pumps and any with plastic heads.

Generally homebrew pumps are magnetically driven centrifugal action, allowing flow to be safely restricted by a valve on the output. All of these need to be primed.
Diaphragm pumps aren't great for brewing and peristaltic pumps are more expensive.

MKII:
The least expensive pump (I see one for under $80 USD with stainless head).
Reasonable flow rate, capable of whirlpooling 5 gal and mash recirculation.
Somewhat splash resistant.
Fairly quiet.

Topsflo TD5:
Pay more money for it to be even quieter and smaller.
DC power is nice since it's less likely to kill you.
Maybe a little more flow than MKII.
Cons:
The included mounting bracket is a joke.

Chugger series:
Pay more money for higher flow rate.
One version has a run dry protection to prevent the motor from burning out, which is nice if you don't pay attention.
Cons:
Louder than the MKII.

March:
Same as Chugger but more expensive.
Quieter than the corresponding Chugger (may be model dependent).

Riptide by Blichmann:
Premium price for the most features.
Higher flow rate.
Easier cleaning/drying.
More water resistant.
On/Off switch. Seriously, wouldn't you expect they'd all have this?
Built in valve to aid priming.
Built in flow control, so a ball valve isn't needed.
The built in valve is less likely to clog than a ball valve.
Cons:
Larger than the other options.
Louder than MKII but quieter than Chugger and March.
Small parts may be easy to lose.

Why use a brew pump?
Easier to move wort or "hot liquor" between vessels on brew day.
Mash recirculation required for RIMS or HERMS mash temperature control.
Faster chilling via recirculation.
Whirlpool increases hop utilization, and decreases trub going into kettle.
Reliable flow through CFC and plate chillers.

 

[augiedoggy]

I just learned recently that chuggers are actually Chinese clones of march pumps. Not that it's a big deal but worth mentioning since the march pumps are made in the usa.. the blichmann branded riptide is made by march btw.
Theres a cheaper option I use as well as a couple td5 pumps and a riptide and others..
At home I use a few 24v tan fda compliant DC pumps. They pump 3.2gpm not as strong as the td5 but still plenty for home brewing imo. I use the bigger pumps at my nanobrewery but have no desire to upgrade the pumps at home. I dont whirlpool ar home otherwise I would need something stronger.

 

[satph]

Looks pretty thorough to me.

Comparing the March/Chugger to the Riptide: The Riptide is a lot bigger. It's 9 pounds 3 ounces. A plastic headed March 809 is 4 pounds 10 ounces. By the time you add two valves to a Chugger for bleeding and flow control and spend some time wiring up a switch, the Riptide isn't that much more expensive. Especially if you get one on sale or when eBay has a 20% off everything sale. If I had a built out March/Chugger I wouldn't replace it (but I would install a switch nearby). If I was buying new, I'd get the Riptide.

If you're pumping hot wort, you need hoses, I think you want silicone. Then you need to decide between quick disconnects and camlocks. And you're going to spend another $70 connecting it.

I got the March used a few years ago. I would bet it's more than 10 years old. But, it says it was assembled in Mexico. The box from the Riptide says it was assembled in the USA from US and global components.

 

[RPh_Guy]

Thanks guys. I haven't used any of these yet, just trying to compare before I buy.

From a quality standpoint, I haven't heard Chugger is any worse than March.
Bobby over at brewhardware.com specifically praises their customer service and quality.

I'm still having trouble wrapping my head around what fittings to use. I was thinking of starting with simple hose barbs and butterfly clamps for somewhat quick switching. Any recommendations on that front?

 

[day_trippr]

1/2" camlocks.
Males on the kettle valves and pump in and outs, females on all hose ends.
Get the wide bore versions Bobby_M sells.
Never look back.

btw, the motors March uses are considerably quieter than Chugger for similar models...at least in the 809/815 class...

Cheers!

 

[satph]

You can watch Bobby's video on pumps and connections here. The March I got from a club member came with plastic barbs. They worked. But I like the camlocks I got from Bobby. I basically have the set I linked to earlier.

 

[augiedoggy]

I also second the stainless camlocks... got most of mine from https://www.bargainfittings.com/index.php?route=product/category&path=51_54 and ebay though for my little $20 pumps.. Same with hose. honestly if you price them out they can be purchased for much less than the kit. Not that I have any problems with Bobbys prices or products. He is one of the most honest vendors here IMO. I just dont see any point in flow speeds higher than 6-7 gallons per minute to pump 5-10 gallons of wort is all but then again I throttle my little 3.2gpm pumps down for sparging , chilling and recirculation so..

You dont need the valves with the dc pumps if you buy the right models. The speed can be controlled with a knob. Brewpi sells the newest version of the td5 which is actually designed to be a brewing pump and not run off solar panels like the older version most others are still selling with the mppt board in it . this version comes with the speed controller and a 24v wall wort power supply plugs right in. I use two of them at the brewery, one for transfering water from my 3bbl HLT and one for transferring beer from our conicals to the brite tanks where the faster speed of the regular impeller and throttling of the valve would "beat up the beer" so ive read which is not good for it.
https://store.brewpi.com/td5-24v-brewing-pump these came to around $140 US each and shipped to me in like 2 days.

at home I use inexpensive pwm speed control board installed in my control panel for the cheap tan pumps.

 

[Gravity]

I have 2 chuggers - one of the best investments you can make for a nanobrewery.

 

[augiedoggy]

I have a riptide and a 17gpm chugger clone which I bought new for 150 shipped from Ebay as well as the larger 48gpm sanitary pumps they sell on Ebay for 275 which works amazing for cip.

 

[RainierViewBrewing]

I went with the MKII’s on my 3V single tier stand after considering all of the pumps out there. A YouTube video I saw actually steered me from the RipTide making a claim that there are no markings anywhere regarding being UL compliant. I don’t know if this is true, but I wasn’t willing to put that to test should a fire occur where my insurance could say, “those pumps aren’t UL compliant, so we aren’t covering your loss.” As for the performance of the MKII’s, I couldn’t be happier. They are quiet and I can whirlpool 12 gallons of wort in a 20 gallon kettle and finish with a perfect cone. They may be a little slower in the GPM criteria, but it sure beats gravity feeding kettles and conical fermenters.
My decision on fittings came after watching Bobby’s video referenced up in another post, and went with the cam lock fittings in the high flow model. Still practicing a one handed connection and disconnect with them, but not a big concern. I just practice a saying I read in one of my first homebrew books... “Relax, and have a homebrew”!
Cheers

 

[spanosspanos]

I have 2 chuggers - one of the best investments you can make for a nanobrewery.

Hey Gravity! Wondering what model chuggers you have for your nano brewery...and what sized system are you brewing on?

Thanks! [emoji482]

 

[augiedoggy]

I went with the MKII’s on my 3V single tier stand after considering all of the pumps out there. A YouTube video I saw actually steered me from the RipTide making a claim that there are no markings anywhere regarding being UL compliant. I don’t know if this is true, but I wasn’t willing to put that to test should a fire occur where my insurance could say, “those pumps aren’t UL compliant, so we aren’t covering your loss.” As for the performance of the MKII’s, I couldn’t be happier. They are quiet and I can whirlpool 12 gallons of wort in a 20 gallon kettle and finish with a perfect cone. They may be a little slower in the GPM criteria, but it sure beats gravity feeding kettles and conical fermenters.
My decision on fittings came after watching Bobby’s video referenced up in another post, and went with the cam lock fittings in the high flow model. Still practicing a one handed connection and disconnect with them, but not a big concern. I just practice a saying I read in one of my first homebrew books... “Relax, and have a homebrew”!
Cheers

The riptide pump is made for blichmann in the USA by march so I dont see why it wouldnt be ul or etl compliant. I will have to check mine now.
besides that though its a moot point because I use a control panel to brew with electric and NON of those sold or made for homebrewing are UL listed so...