Hello everyone. I got a unique opportunity to test 3 popular homebrew pumps side by side and figured I would share what I learned. I had a March 815, a Blichmann Riptide, and the Chugger Mini Max TCPSS-CI. I was surprised about how little info or reviews there were out there regarding the Chugger Mini Max so I hope this helps someone. I didn't focus a ton on getting a bunch of different specific data because I think the specifics will be different for each persons' particular system.
If you like hearing the punchline first here you go... the Chugger Mini Max is the best homebrew pump I have ever used.
I set up my system to get the maximum resistance possible so I was testing all of the pumps under the hardest condition they will see under normal use on my rig. I had 7 gallons of water in my kettle going to the inlet of the pump, then through my counter flow heat exchanger, and into a bucket with volume markings. Everything was plumbed with 1/2" ID silicone tubing. I also used the exact same hoses and the exact same fittings. The March 815 pumped at barely over 2gpm. The Riptide came in at a hair under 3 gpm. The Mini Max was a hair over 3.5 gpm. I didn't do specific flow comparison measurements with no resistance, but I can tell you just going from kettle, to pump, to bucket the mini max was far superior. I got about 6.5 gpm on the mini max. I wasn't holding onto the hose when i started the pump and it had such force that it blew it out of the bucket and soaked me and my entire garage. It also soaked the paper with the time for the riptide. I can tell you the riptide did not blow the hose out of the bucket so that is about as technical as that portion of the test is going to get.
One of the main things I was interested in was the noise level. I started this adventure because the March was so loud I couldn't take it anymore and I just wanted a quite pump. The Riptide is incredibly quiet. I did not have a decibel meter but I would say the Mini Max was just slightly louder than the Riptide but still quiet enough that you aren't annoyed by it at all.
The area where I noticed a huge difference was when trying to do a whirlpool. I used the same setup as discussed above, but routed the hose back to the kettle through the whirlpool fitting (SS brewtech). The March barely made the water turn. The riptide did an OK job but still not enough that I would say it was a decent whirlpool. The Mini Max created a great whirlpool. Didn't get to the point where you could see a deep cone in the middle but it was significantly better than the riptide. I think if I cut the heat exchanger out of the flow path the Mini Max would have created a nice cyclone cone in the middle but maybe I'll try that next time.
Another thing to note, I know the valve on the riptide is supposed to be a selling point, and I know a lot of people like it, but I absolutely hated it. Again this may be a particular nuance with my system and how I used the pump. For my specific application that valve plugged constantly on brew day and was an absolute nightmare. I'm not interested in feedback here so please don't provide it, I'm just sharing my experience. That valve alone was enough for me to box the pump back up and send it back.
So I hope this helps someone. I'm an engineer and deal with this kind of stuff all the time. I fully understand that there are a million variables and people could pick this post apart for days. The point was to give some rough data since I had the opportunity to test them all side by side. I hope this helps someone out there. The Riptide is in a box on its way back to the store and the chugger is here to stay hopefully for a long long time. The riptide is a very nice well built pump that is super quiet but it just didn't work for me. The Mini Max to me was far superior no question about it.
If you like hearing the punchline first here you go... the Chugger Mini Max is the best homebrew pump I have ever used.
I set up my system to get the maximum resistance possible so I was testing all of the pumps under the hardest condition they will see under normal use on my rig. I had 7 gallons of water in my kettle going to the inlet of the pump, then through my counter flow heat exchanger, and into a bucket with volume markings. Everything was plumbed with 1/2" ID silicone tubing. I also used the exact same hoses and the exact same fittings. The March 815 pumped at barely over 2gpm. The Riptide came in at a hair under 3 gpm. The Mini Max was a hair over 3.5 gpm. I didn't do specific flow comparison measurements with no resistance, but I can tell you just going from kettle, to pump, to bucket the mini max was far superior. I got about 6.5 gpm on the mini max. I wasn't holding onto the hose when i started the pump and it had such force that it blew it out of the bucket and soaked me and my entire garage. It also soaked the paper with the time for the riptide. I can tell you the riptide did not blow the hose out of the bucket so that is about as technical as that portion of the test is going to get.
One of the main things I was interested in was the noise level. I started this adventure because the March was so loud I couldn't take it anymore and I just wanted a quite pump. The Riptide is incredibly quiet. I did not have a decibel meter but I would say the Mini Max was just slightly louder than the Riptide but still quiet enough that you aren't annoyed by it at all.
The area where I noticed a huge difference was when trying to do a whirlpool. I used the same setup as discussed above, but routed the hose back to the kettle through the whirlpool fitting (SS brewtech). The March barely made the water turn. The riptide did an OK job but still not enough that I would say it was a decent whirlpool. The Mini Max created a great whirlpool. Didn't get to the point where you could see a deep cone in the middle but it was significantly better than the riptide. I think if I cut the heat exchanger out of the flow path the Mini Max would have created a nice cyclone cone in the middle but maybe I'll try that next time.
Another thing to note, I know the valve on the riptide is supposed to be a selling point, and I know a lot of people like it, but I absolutely hated it. Again this may be a particular nuance with my system and how I used the pump. For my specific application that valve plugged constantly on brew day and was an absolute nightmare. I'm not interested in feedback here so please don't provide it, I'm just sharing my experience. That valve alone was enough for me to box the pump back up and send it back.
So I hope this helps someone. I'm an engineer and deal with this kind of stuff all the time. I fully understand that there are a million variables and people could pick this post apart for days. The point was to give some rough data since I had the opportunity to test them all side by side. I hope this helps someone out there. The Riptide is in a box on its way back to the store and the chugger is here to stay hopefully for a long long time. The riptide is a very nice well built pump that is super quiet but it just didn't work for me. The Mini Max to me was far superior no question about it.
