Any experience with US Solar Pumps? Only $50.

[Chugmaster]

Did these guys get their fittings straightened out? Can I attach a 1/2" NPT fittings on them?

 

[Face Eater]

I haven't checked the threads but if I remember right they looked like npt. I'll check it out and let you know.

 

[BigJim_inFLA]

Mine takes 1/2" NPT no problems, no leaks.

 

[slarkin712]

What's a good way to mount these? They don't have any kind of bracket.

 

[slarkin712]

Well I found this:

http://www.siliconeintakes.com/prod...d=713&osCsid=57b95f0e5bea08130d6bc145195687b9

Don't know if that is the correct size. Just need to measure the diameter and choose the right size. They have a range of diameters available.

 

[inhousebrew]

Well, just got mine in the mail. Don't know what I was expecting but this thing is tiny. I dug up a couple old wall warts from cell phones and other miscellaneous items but no 12v.... Looks like it's time to hit up the store so I can rig this up and see how it works.

 

[Brickout]

Looks like the BreatBrewEh pump is exactly the same as the US Solar pump. They're even using the same picture. It's also cheaper to buy from BreatBrewEh, even with shipping. They also include the power supply.

Max working temperature: 110°C (230° F)

So could we use these off the BK into a chiller?

 

[Chugmaster]

Using one of these pumps from a BK to a chiller was my original intention, though I'm upgrading to a HERMS system and will likely use one to recirculate my wort.

Haven't had a chance to test either yet.

I'm curious to hear how well these pumps work before I buy another one for my setup.

I hesitate giving these guys anymore business since they are terrible at customer service.

 

[jCOSbrew]

This pump is very small and light so you can mount it directly to the kettle outlet valve using other cam locks or similar quick connection. On the fittings, my US Solar version is labeled NPT but some have reported BSP fittings from other suppliers.

 

[Chugmaster]

Mounting it directly on a valve isn't a bad idea at all!

 

[Chugmaster]

Does anyone know how many amps each one of these pumps draws?

 

[inhousebrew]

Does anyone know how many amps each one of these pumps draws?

On the instructions I received it says min start-up power consumption less than 2 watts. Also that it's rated at 12VDC

 

[bja]

On the instructions I received it says min start-up power consumption less than 2 watts. Also that it's rated at 12VDC

That's .167 amps or 167 milliamps.

 

[wolfman_48442]

It's a soft start. Max draw is 15 watts for the fastest (3GPM) model.

 

[inhousebrew]

So I grabbed a phone charger or some kind of power source from Savers the other day on a whim while not really thinking about it. It's output is 12VAC, 1.25A. I don't know much if anything about electronics but the pump is 12VDC so does that mean I need a DC source? Don't want to mess anything up trying to power up this little guy

 

[bja]

So I grabbed a phone charger or some kind of power source from Savers the other day on a whim while not really thinking about it. It's output is 12VAC, 1.25A. I don't know much if anything about electronics but the pump is 12VDC so does that mean I need a DC source? Don't want to mess anything up trying to power up this little guy

Yes. Do not use that 12VAC power supply.

 

[inhousebrew]

Alright, after another trip to Savers I found another charger/power supply/whatever it was, checked to make sure it was 12VDC, spent another whopping $1.99 and then came home to wire it up. I wasn't sure what the best way to go about this was so I cut the tip off the charger stripped the wires at staggered lengths, crimped them together with some butt splices and then wrapped it in heat shrink to help seal everything up. I tested it and it works fine. Didn't bother to see how many gallons per minute but it was moving fast enough for my purposes. All in all not bad. And now I don't have to lift my pot of boiling wort to gravity feed through a chiller and can recirculate through my BIAB stovetop batches.

 

[LizardRuss]

I've used these pumps for 2 batches now, and here's my experience.

My stand uses 2 pumps (one from greatbreweh & one from us solar). One recirculates hot and cold water through my CFC for heating the mash & chilling, and the other is used for mash recirculation, wort transfer, and whirlpool chilling.

For whirl pooling, I wish it had more power so that I could get a better trub cone. I may try stirring with a sanitized spoon after everything is chilled to see if its really a lack of power in the pump or if it's just the way my kettle is shaped.

I've found that the pump that handles wort needs regular disassembly and cleaning. I'll figure out what it is that is getting stuck in the pump head next time I clean it, since I haven't cleaned it between circulating the mash & circulating for whirlpool. I don't think grain husks can make it through my mash tun screen, so I suspect its expanded bits from pellet hops.

I've tried cleaning these in place by recirculating hot PBW through them, but it wasn't enough to clear the stuck debris. I'll look at the plumbing in my system to see if can be configured to back flush one pump using the other.

For anyone with a march pump, do you find that disassembling the pump head for cleaning is a needed chore?

 

[RichBenn]

I have one of these pumps. If you want it to work well, you need a 2 amp 12V power supply (for the one that does 3 gpm, the one that works the best).

I tried with a solar panel that does supposedly 18 watts(a little lower than 1.5 amps), but reality is it doesn't get the pump going full bore.

You can buy the 2 amp 12V power supply on ebay for about $10 or so. Or you can use an old PC power supply if you don't care about wasting energy and having a big, ugly beast near your brewing station. They typically have lots of amps at 12V.

 

[wbarber69]

Get one of these http://bit.ly/1eHd4EI

Mount it in your control panel and use lighted toggle switches to turn your pumps on and off. It makes it look so much cooler.

 

[Travestian]

I just got one of these pumps for my birthday. I bought this power supply off of Amazon for it and intend to use it through a standard light switch in a junction box. Ideally I'll be purchasing another one of these and using the same power supply for both (through a second switch of course). Although they both wouldn't be running at the same time. Anyone see issues with that?

 

[wbarber69]

Should be alright. As long as it's not lieing about the specs.

 

[bja]

Should be alright. As long as it's not lieing about the specs.

I trust Amazon a whole lot more than anything on ebay.

 

[fc36]

Subbed...Just bought a 2.2 GPM US Solar one on sale and it arrived today. I'm thinking about using it for my recirc pump on my eBIAB and hooking it directly to the outlet valve. Then I'll buy another 3.2 GPM GreatBreweh one as a booster pump for my plate chiller.

 

[augiedoggy]

I trust Amazon a whole lot more than anything on ebay.

Same sellers use them both to push their product so it doesn't really matter much.
I used amazon to get my us solar topsflo pump for 28 bucks but now they are all at least $50

 

[wbarber69]

Check out the new TD-5 ussolar pump. That thing is a beast


Sent from my iPhone using Home Brew

 

[Travestian]

How have any of you mounted these pumps to your stands? I saw the fuel pump mount earlier in this thread but I'm interested in seeing other people's ideas.

 

[wbarber69]

I mounted inline

 

[lousbrews]

Ill post pics later but I mine for ebiab recirculation.

 

[Woodbrews]

I'd also like to see how others are mounting their pumps. I use mine inline with a BIAB setup, but I've had problems with priming and am thinking that it should be mounted below my kettle like most people have their March pumps.