Air in March Pump

Have recently moved to a direct fire mash in a keg recirculating with a March pump. I seem to be getting a lot of air in the pump which degrades the pumping capacity. I have to keep jiggling the lines to get it flowing. A picture of my set up is attached. Any suggestions on how to eliminate this? Thanks.

Mike

 

I used to use my pump like you have yours, but have noticed it performs and primes better with the outlet facing up instead of having it laying on the ground.

 

Mount it vertically and cut down the length of hose, especially the inlet hose...

 

This is what you need on the output side of your pump.








It can be configured however you want it (either pump mounted horizontally or vertically). For my setup all I have to do is turn pump on and open the bottom valve to release the excess air in line and prime the pump. Once i have good liquid flow out of the bottom port I shut the valve and there ya have it. No more cavitation. Hope this helps!

 

Thanks. Seems like I need to keep playing with the set up.

 

a quick way to test configurations is to screw the pump into a square of plywood so you can orient the outlet in various positions quickly. i think you will find having the outlet pointing up works best.

 

Exactly what I did. Once satisfied, I moved the setup over to diamond plate alum.

I need to add a T fitting and a second valve though, I think that would solve some of my frustrations.

 

Also, SHORT runs are better. You might also consider attaching the hose to the female thread as opposed to a hose barb (for the inlet side). My best results have been with a SHORT (1') stretch of hose with no barbs on either end. output side is more forgiving with the head pressure after the pump.

 

Definitely put a priming valve on the outlet. But also - reduce the outlet flow until the air is purged from the inlet then you can open it up. It sounds like you could be pulling too fast.