Do I really need this or am I just being impulsive?

I'm now doing 5 gal all-grain batches and I've come across a good deal on pumps $125 or so....but I'm also getting camlocks, another valve...etc.

Do I really need this or am I okay with gravity and swirling my immersion chiller..etc. It'll be real easy fro me to spend $200 just in the pump and the connections. I don't have a brew stand...etc. or a real dedicated place for this yet. Am I getting ahead of myself here or what?

I just spent $200 on a mill and some grain.

HELP Please...

 

A pump on its own won't buy you much. It's really only useful in concert with a nice plate chiller. If I were in your shoes, I'd spend the money elsewhere for now.

 

Are you currently controlling your fermentation temps? Everyone tells me that it makes a huge difference in your resulting beer, and it is where I'm currently spending my money.

 

IMHO a pump for five gallons is not needed at all to make great beer. If its something you want to have fun with, well then by all means go for it!

May as well add a controller and recirculate. $$$$

A $2 Rubbermaid 1 gallon pitcher makes a nice "pump" hahahahah just kidding but serious as well.

Some like to upgrade to the nth degree, yet others prefer to stay as basic as possible, great end results can be achieved both routes IMHO cheers!

 

Spend your money on the fermentation side. Temperature control is the single thing that will take your brewing to the next level. A pump is nice, but will not really help you make better beer, just make the same beer with slightly less work or time.

I have plate chiller and do not have a pump (and don't plan on getting one any time soon).

If you already have a handle on the fermentation side and the money is burning a hole, get the necessary equipment for yeast starters and harvesting. This is one area that *might* save you money long term.

If I were you, I would just spend the money on grain and hops (in bulk now that you have a mill).

 

I bought a pump on sale at that price over a year ago. It is still sitting unused even though I keep brewing. I didn't really think it through... with a pump you also need to spend the money for drilling holes, weldless fittings, expensive tubing, some sort of secure connections, misc. parts, at least two valves and since I wanted RIMS, another $175 for the heating, sensing and controlling equipment.

I look at my pump as if it were a boat. If I want to use it, I better be prepared to throw twice as much money at it to get it going as it cost to buy the pump.

I still want the RIMS though. I'm looking foward to Bobby_M's new RIMS offering.

But if I was still experiencing the steep learning curve that new brewer's face, I would never counsel you to buy a pump unless you had a bad back and a fat wallet.

 

So would I have any need for camlocks and such then if I decided to forgo the pump?

Boy...a part of me want to get it and another part says - why...since I don't brew that much to begin with. I was trying to make it easier on myself with not having to lift stuff...etc. It's not that I have a bad back or anything - maybe more on the safety side of things. It was also partly because of the recirculation article I read on how to cool the wort as fast as a plate chiller using an immersion chiller with recirculation. Our water is usually in the 50s maybe in the low 60s in the summer. I guess I wanted to cut down on water usage too.

 

I fully disagree that you need a plate chiller to benefit from a pump. A pump is the single best purchase I've made. Mostly for what Yooper says, less (wo)manual labor. I whirlpool with my pump at the end of every boil and run the tubing at a 45 degree angle to the coils of my IC and it mimics the action of a counterflow chiller. Cooling water rotates in one direction, wort rotates in the other. I frequently have 6G batches of ale down to pitch temp in 20 minutes using this method and none other. Also, it cools all the wort as once rather then having some of it sit at 160f+ while it waits for it's turn into the plate chiller.

I highly encourage you to buy at least one pump. it's great for recirculating the mash/vorlaufing and even doughing in too.

 

You can cool with that method and that temp of groundwater VERY quickly using a recirc/IC combination with a pump.

Again, I realize it's NOT my money I'm spending here, but I would buy at least one pump at that price. Pumps kick ass.

 

Check out this thread: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f11/cheap-compact-wort-pump-375904/

I ordered the pump and all necessary fittings for a whirlpool. The fittings etc. cost as much as 4-5 pumps I'm excited to try it out once it arrives.

EDIT: I'm doing 5 gal batches too.

 

My first reaction was get it. Then I read all the posts. The pump is a luxury. I got mine after about 45 batches. I was making good beer without it, but my back was always killing me at the end of a brew day. I had to upgrade my kettle as someone mentioned. Love the pump. Saved my back. But not a necessary purchase to make good beer. To quote Suze Oreman, "Denied!"

 

That was my intention on what to use it for. More so than any other thing was the whirlpooling and chilling.

Maybe I'm just a cheap bastard I help out at a local brewery (only a few hrs a week) and get paid...it's not a lot but it's enough to do my own brewing...as long as I don't get carried away.

Personally I just want to be able to enjoy styles (english, belgian, and hefe's) that are not really offered around here unless I get it out of a bottle due to the over abundance of hoppy beer on the market. No offense to those that love hoppy beer - my palate just doesn't care for it that much. Plus I would like to get my feet wet with a couple homebrew competitions. More of a way for me to learn and better develop my palate.

 

I don't know what you mash in, but if you ever find yourself wanting to do a rims/herms, a pump will be critical, and I use it on the mash in conjunction with a direct fire SS mash tun to do step mashes/mash outs as well. It's just such a versatile tool. I'm sympathetic to the money issue, but I don't think you're being impulsive based on the experience I've had since buying my first pump. (I now own two).

Edit: I don't want to oversell this though. The people here telling you that you don't NEED a pump to make great beer are 100% right. It just makes my brewday much more enjoyable and convenient so I'm a big proponent.

 

Yes.

 

I bought a pump to move around the wort while I chill. It does work great, but it's another thing I have to clean. I only use it when it's hot out, otherwise I just stir.

 

My method: I put a weak PBW solution in the HLT, and run it through the pump in place. I collect that solution in a bucket and pour it into my BK for soaking/scrubbing, and put clean h20 in the HLT. I run that through the pump as well into a bucket, add that (I'm talking 2.5Gs at a time for my 10G kettles) to the BK as well with a bit more PBW. Pump is clean, HLT is clean, BK is soaking.

 

I don't plan on getting a pump unless I have some sort of stand built... and I don't really plan on having a stand. They're great and convenient, but gravity works just fine. With good length trailer hoses you shouldn't need to lift much until the fermenter is full, usually just the mash tun.

 

As someone else eluded to, the fermentation side is where you get your bang for your buck. But a pump can do a lot for you. I love whirlpool chilling. Cools fast and I can admire the big debris pile in the center of my kettle when I'm done. Sure you can stir, but I get a lot of cleanup done during that time as well. I also use it for recirculating my mashes, and being that my back isn't what it used to be, it's handy just to move liquid around.

You don't necessarily need stand or camlocks either, their handy but you can still get what you want out of a pump without them.

 

I have about the most basic AG setup you can do. Cooler with SS braid and a turkey fryer. I use a 2 qt pitcher to move liquids and the only time I lift anything heavy is when I pour the cooled wort from the kettle into the bucket.
If you use an IC, get a pond pump and a spare bucket/cooler. Use groundwater through the IC while stirring to get it below 125 then use the pond pump to recirculate ice water through the IC. a half decent pond pump might set you back about $20. For easy ice, I just fill emptied milk jugs and freeze them in my deep freezer. On brew day when it's time to chill, smash em with a hammer and cut em open.
So, all in all, I guess what I'm saying is, no you don't need a pump. It is a luxury item that goes along with brew stands that are themselves a luxury