BIAB Recirculation Pump

[user 78027]

I am in the process of, finally, building my electric BIAB electric brewery. I am trying to decide what pump to use for wort recirculation.

I am considering either:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/381929737971?ul_noapp=true
or
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-DC-Qui...555949&hash=item21003f8717:g:sYsAAOSw~gRVwsfp

or something someone else has experience with. My brewery will be controlled by a microcontroller or two and the pump speed will be controlled with a pwm circuit. For this I need to ensure that the pump is a two wire brushless pump. Any suggestions would be helpful.

 

[FatDogBrew]

I have the pump from the 2nd link. It was fine to start, but, not very good. If you can afford it, try and get a march pump. The little brown pump will work, but, be prepared for some issues.

 

[bigdawg86]

This is another option...

https://www.anvilbrewing.com/product-p/ab-500062-00.htm

 

[user 78027]

@ FatDogBrew: I have a marsh pump that I use for pumping the wort for chilling when I need to move the wort as fast as possible. I brew small batches, 2.5 gallons, and I need to reduce the flow for recirculation.

@bigdawg86: I wish they would have left the control off of the cord, does it look like I can cut the control off and just put in a plug? I need to reduce the flow of the pump for recirculation.

 

[bigdawg86]

Yes you can easily cut the plug and wire in whatever you want...if you wanted you could wire in a AC ceiling fan speed controller and likely control flow via AC input instead of valve on output.

 

[Bent-Brewer]

I just bought the tan pump as a hold-me-over and finished my first brew with it a few minutes ago. It worked well enough on my Ss BrewTech kettle- mounted it right to the output and recirculated through the hole at the top just with a silicone hose (keeping it cheap until I upgrade to full electric). It was quiet, recirculated during mash, and helped speed up my immersion chiller. It is by no means a workhorse, and I doubt that it would handle hop particulate very well if at all- I used a hop basket.

Regarding flow control:
I bought this option off Amazon since it came with a 12V adapter and then got a cheap PWM dimmer switch that plugged in-line with it. No cutting needed. The pump definitely got louder when I dialed it back, and it cut out when it got around 8V as the seller mentioned.

(Edited for clarity)

 

[FatDogBrew]

If you are doing small batches, the little brown pump will probably work fine. Just take it apart and clean it regularly.

 

[Hwk-I-St8]

If you have a march pump, is there a reason you can't control the flow with a valve on the output side of the pump?

 

[user 78027]

@Hwk-I-St8: "My brewery will be controlled by a microcontroller or two and the pump speed will be controlled with a pwm circuit" As you can tell by this I am a tinkerer and like playing with technology. My plan is to have the mash process control the flow rate, if I can figure it out.

I use the march pump to feed my wort chiller because I want that to flow as fast as possible.

 

[rkhanso]

My first brew with the brown pump today - the one in the second link above in the first post.....it died on me.
Well, maybe died is a bit strong. It stopped working. I'll have to mess with it to see if it's really dead.

 

[user 78027]

@rkhanso: I talked with others on this forum, one who uses three of these without failure for several years, and his claim is the problem with these pumps is that they need a better power supply then the 12V wall wort style. I don't know if this will help you.

 

[FatDogBrew]

If you have a march pump, is there a reason you can't control the flow with a valve on the output side of the pump?

That's exactly what I do. Works great!

 

[user 78027]

@FatDogBrew: I think I want to control it in the mash control process. I don't know if it is even useful, but I can't seem to change my mind. I also prefer an electronic "automated" process over pinching the tube after the pump. I might end your way, but for now I want to try one of these smaller pumps if they are reliable.

 

[FatDogBrew]

@FatDogBrew: I think I want to control it in the mash control process. I don't know if it is even useful, but I can't seem to change my mind. I also prefer an electronic "automated" process over pinching the tube after the pump. I might end your way, but for now I want to try one of these smaller pumps if they are reliable.

Cool! Let us know how it goes!

 

[rkhanso]

@rkhanso: I talked with others on this forum, one who uses three of these without failure for several years, and his claim is the problem with these pumps is that they need a better power supply then the 12V wall wort style. I don't know if this will help you.

I have a 5a 12v power supply running the Raspberry Pi and brew controller using a Terragady 4.2 board. It's also providing 12v to the pump through a standard Raspberry Pi 10a relay. It's been reliable during test brews, but with today's 90 minute mash, it stopped pumping and the motor doesn't even engage. The indicator on the controller is turning on so the pump should be getting 12v. I'll have to double-check and take some voltage readings.

 

[rkhanso]

The issue with my little brown solar pump when it stopped a couple times is cleanliness. It was pretty sticky with dried wort, or had gunk in it. I took the cover off the impeller and spun it by hand and it started working again. It does just keep on working with a little coaxing sometimes. I've been through 5-6 brews with it so far and when it stops - just take it apart and clean and/or spin it by hand to get it going again.

 

[Cato1507]

I am in the process of, finally, building my electric BIAB electric brewery. I am trying to decide what pump to use for wort recirculation.

I am considering either:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/381929737971?ul_noapp=true
or
https://www.ebay.com/itm/12V-DC-Qui...555949&hash=item21003f8717:g:sYsAAOSw~gRVwsfp

or something someone else has experience with. My brewery will be controlled by a microcontroller or two and the pump speed will be controlled with a pwm circuit. For this I need to ensure that the pump is a two wire brushless pump. Any suggestions would be helpful.

I have the little brown pump for pumping wort to the fermenter, but wanted more flow for whirlpooling.
I got the Blichmann Riptide pump in yesterday and will wet test today for leaks and flow control. The pump has a built in flow control on the output side and I've installed a ball valve on the kettles whirlpool port.