Cheap compact wort pump

[LittlejohnBrew]

Do you chill in one pass to the fermenter or are you also getting cold break in the brew kettle?

Been doing a lot of NEIPAs lately and cooling to 150ish for hop stand. That's probably contributing. Plan on doing a 5 gal batch of a little sumpin sumpin clone this weekend and will report back if there are any issues.

On another note. My PWM randomly quit working last night for this pump. I have the one in the link below. The switch does nothing. It is full power anytime plugged in. Trying to workout a replacement with the seller. Anyone else using these? I noticed the motors are brushless and the PWM is specified for brushed motors.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/111851538617

 

[MX1]

I am in the market for a stand alone sealed PWM to control my pumps that shipped yesterday.
Right now there will be now way to lace the PWM in the control box as it is a pre-built unit and I dont want to void the warranty.

In the end I need to come up with a mounting system for the pump, plate chiller, and PWM

 

[MX1]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-10-60V-...805933&hash=item1a24138ff7:g:pLcAAOSwLEtYgCjy

These are the 2 I am looking at right now

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-10-60V-...805933&hash=item1a24138ff7:g:pLcAAOSwLEtYgCjy

These are the 2 I am looking at right now

I like the look of these and may consider one as a replacement. For my setup I could attach this externally to my controller box via screws. Since you don't want to void your warranty could you use industrial Velcro to attach to your controller if you have space? Probably not ideal but may work.

I also wired up my pump to the PWM using the plugs below. Also have power into the PWM using one of the plugs. Makes it easy to connect the pump and disconnect for storage.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.com/ulk/itm/122921964452

 

[MX1]

velcro is an option, but I think I will just make a base plate for it all.

would those work for 24v pumps? says 12v in the description

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

Base plate would look a lot neater for sure. When I click the link you posted the item it takes me to says in the title good for 10-60V. Description says 10A at 24v. These motors draw I think 1.8-2.0A.

Edit. Realized you are probably talking about the plugs duh. The wire appears to be 22 awg, but unfortunately i dont see any voltage rating on the insulation or plug. A bud of mine who is a PE electrical engineer seemed to think they would be fine for 24V. I haven't done a full brew day with them but no issues thus far

 

[MX1]

Max Current Rating：5A
* Max Power Rating：60W
* Transmission voltage：1V~38V
* Transmission voltage：1V~38V

 

[LittlejohnBrew]

Max Current Rating：5A
* Max Power Rating：60W
* Transmission voltage：1V~38V
* Transmission voltage：1V~38V

Good find. Only complaint with these is it took a while to get them delivered, but if you're fine waiting it is about 1/3 the price you would pay for with Amazon prime shipping.

Got my PWM back working. I'm an idiot and rewired it backwards when I installed the pigtails.

 

[augiedoggy]

https://www.ebay.com/itm/US-10-60V-...805933&hash=item1a24138ff7:g:pLcAAOSwLEtYgCjy

These are the 2 I am looking at right now

that should work fine... similiar to what I originally used.

I built my controls into my panels as well as the powersupply but something like this is certainly more portable and nice if you dont have an electric setup.

 

[TravPlan]

interesting, the last time I looked at those I messaged the seller they did not claim to be food safe. Please post pictures of the impeller and magnet assembly when you open one up.

The seller has edited their ad, and it now has waaay less info on this pump. I was able to pull up the original ad for the pump from my order history-->

• 100% Brand New
• Dimensions: Approx 9cm x 5cm x 7cm (L x W x H,3.51x 1.95x 2.73inch )
• Color: Black
• Rated voltage: 24V DC.
• Rated current: 1050mA.
• Diameter of Outlet: 20.3mm
• Diameter of Inlet: 20.3mm
• Food-grade: Yes
• Capacity: 960L/H
• Pump head: 6M.
• Noise: <=40dBA/0.5M.
• Working temperature: 0℃ ~ +100℃
• Service life: 20000 hours up.
• Motor: DC brushless motor.
• Pump: Centrifugal pump.
• Waterproof Rate: IP68
• Suitable for: Aquarium, solar-panel circulate system, fountain, electronic refrigerator, water heater etc.
• This water pump can be amphibious.
• Package Content:
• 1 x Centrifugal Water Pump

I do take the above specs with a grain of salt, but the pump body does seem to be acetal/delrin or maybe glass-impregnated nylon. I did do a mash recirculation, ran the pump during the whole boil, and whirlpooling afterward. It seemed to work well the whole time, other than slight cavitation if the boil got too vigorous.
I will inspect the "used" pump, and compare it to the new pump disassembled. Ill take some pictures of the inside of the pump, impeller, armature and stator side by side and see if there is anything out of the norm.

 

[augiedoggy]

The seller has edited their ad, and it now has waaay less info on this pump. I was able to pull up the original ad for the pump from my order history-->

• 100% Brand New
• Dimensions: Approx 9cm x 5cm x 7cm (L x W x H,3.51x 1.95x 2.73inch )
• Color: Black
• Rated voltage: 24V DC.
• Rated current: 1050mA.
• Diameter of Outlet: 20.3mm
• Diameter of Inlet: 20.3mm
• Food-grade: Yes
• Capacity: 960L/H
• Pump head: 6M.
• Noise: <=40dBA/0.5M.
• Working temperature: 0℃ ~ +100℃
• Service life: 20000 hours up.
• Motor: DC brushless motor.
• Pump: Centrifugal pump.
• Waterproof Rate: IP68
• Suitable for: Aquarium, solar-panel circulate system, fountain, electronic refrigerator, water heater etc.
• This water pump can be amphibious.
• Package Content:
• 1 x Centrifugal Water Pump

I do take the above specs with a grain of salt, but the pump body does seem to be acetal/delrin or maybe glass-impregnated nylon. I did do a mash recirculation, ran the pump during the whole boil, and whirlpooling afterward. It seemed to work well the whole time, other than slight cavitation if the boil got too vigorous.
I will inspect the "used" pump, and compare it to the new pump disassembled. Ill take some pictures of the inside of the pump, impeller, armature and stator side by side and see if there is anything out of the norm.

This is the pump that Brau supply used to sell with their systems btw.

 

[MX1]

Pumps showed up yesterday
24v

Anyone know what the name of this connector is so I can get it's mate

Thanks

 

[NGD]

Pumps showed up yesterday
24v
View attachment 577296

Anyone know what the name of this connector is so I can get it's mate

View attachment 577297
Thanks

That looks quite a bit like a female 2-pin JST connector, but I’ve only ised those for PC connectors

 

[MX1]

Thanks

Not keen on them, might cut them off and wire something else

 

[TenaCJed]

I cut mine off and crimped on DC Power Pigtail Cable, 12V 5A Male & Female Connectors.

 

[MX1]

mine are the 24v pumps, will those still work?

 

[cbier60]

mine are the 24v pumps, will those still work?

Yes. 24V is still low voltage; these could probably handle 50 VDC with no issue. The more important rating is the current, which at 5A, is much more than the pump will ever pull. [Besides being a homebrewer, I'm an electrical engineer who designs similar equipment, not just some guy handing out "advice".]

 

[MX1]

LOL!!!!

Thanks, I am just a dumb-ass retired Army Cop that brews beers....all my advice should be ignored!!

 

[augiedoggy]

Thanks

Not keen on them, might cut them off and wire something else

I wired a long cord with aviation connectors at my control panel end for mine.. I also used some of the connectors mentioned above for things and as mentioned they are used for all sorts of dc voltages including older laptop chargers and such.. As Cbier mentioned the current is the important factor and these pumps draw less than 2amps a piece.

The plug that comes with the pump is likely due to whatever oem purpose they were originally designed for which I believe was a drinking fountain or gas station capachino machines where the pump likely plugged right into the control board.

 

[bstacy1974]

Talk about cheap. The wife came home with a new coffee maker a few weeks ago. This retired our 1st generation Keurig. It was starting to act up.
I decided to pull it apart to check what type of pump was in there.
Works well to just circulate the hot water for my make shift HERMS coil during the mash. I get just under 1 liter per min. And this is with a 9vdc power supply. It may pump a little stronger with a 12vdc supply.

 

[bstacy1974]

Just ordered the 24v 20L/min version of this pump through AliExpress. Looking at coverting to a RIMS system this winter.

 

[augiedoggy]

Just a heads up I have yet to find a 24v 20l version of this pump even though I have ordered 2 from 2 different sellers they were identical in every way to the 12l 24v pumps including draw and flow. I would be interested to here of your results. I have 5 of these I ordered from all different sellers and they are all the despit color variations.

 

[sillbeer]

These are the pumps I have and I don't use them anymore. They are just collecting dust. I have 3 pumps and 3 24v power supplies. Almost free if someone wants them.

http://shop.solarproject.co.uk/cata...id=29&osCsid=fdcc1829953b74c551c2592175f9781c

 

[JoeyChestnutFan]

I feel this is probably the best place to post this..... it should not matter if the ferrite is exposed to the liquid or not. Sr or Ba ferrites (aka cheap motor ferrites) are not toxic and they don't corrode very easily (they are already an oxide). If they do have a "clear coating" on it (seems like some did apparently after reading through all the threads), it is probably to protect the brittle ferrite from mechanical abrasion and/or seal the surface if it is porous. I might disassemble my broken tan pump (my fault it broke) and investigate what is inside.

 

[JoeyChestnutFan]

Ok, after some more investigation.... I opened up the tan pump which I bought this year. Inside the plastic coating was the magnet which has some sort of epoxy (I'm guessing) coating which filled with typical paint fillers (Ti/Al oxide). The magnet seems to be NdFeB, with what looked like some of the following: Ce, La, or Ba. All of those are pretty benign as far as I know, as with most REE. Most of the hazards are when handling the dusts (inhalation and/or explosion), or chronic exposures with large amount of bioaccumulation, both of which are not relevant here. Also, there was a brass (Copper/Tin alloy, no Lead) bushing after the magnet, and before the impeller.

I am putting this here in case others have gone down this same rabbit hole:

From what I can tell from browsing Alibaba, it seems that there are about 2 actual manufacturers that make the majority of these pumps. Shenpeng (swirl mark, dgshenpeng.com/spminipump.com) and ZKSJ (triangle mark, microdcpump.com). ZKSJ seems to use exposed ferrite based magnets on their rotors and their 3 phase pumps have an external box with circuitry. Their products seem to follow the following naming convention: DC10, DC20, DC30, etc. Shenpeng, seems to be the manufacturer of the tan pump, all topsflo pumps, and most of the other pumps I've seen posted on this forum. Their naming convention seems to be P25, P30, etc. For most of their pumps, and the TD5 pump, say they are using some imported magnet from Japan. The TD5 seems to be a custom version of Shenpeng P6017 pump (open rotor vs closed rotor). The magnet could be either just a normal NdFeB magnet with a coating, or an epoxy and NdFeB powder composite. NdFeB magnets will corrode without protection, so it seems that Shenpeng has tried to find a coating over the past years to do this. Because there was a user that had material flaking off, I am guessing they have not had much success in that regard, hence the PPS encased tan pump magnet. I do not have a TD5 pump, but I am guessing that they switched to an epoxy NdFeB composite, hence the food grade claims and seemingly not having corrosion problems. Or they finally found a suitable coating. If someone with a TD5 would take some close up pictures and some notes that would be awesome.

I'll probably add some more stuff later with an edit.

 

[augiedoggy]

Ok, after some more investigation.... I opened up the tan pump which I bought this year. Inside the plastic coating was the magnet which has some sort of epoxy (I'm guessing) coating which filled with typical paint fillers (Ti/Al oxide). The magnet seems to be NdFeB, with what looked like some of the following: Ce, La, or Ba. All of those are pretty benign as far as I know, as with most REE. Most of the hazards are when handling the dusts (inhalation and/or explosion), or chronic exposures with large amount of bioaccumulation, both of which are not relevant here. Also, there was a brass (Copper/Tin alloy, no Lead) bushing after the magnet, and before the impeller.

I am putting this here in case others have gone down this same rabbit hole:

From what I can tell from browsing Alibaba, it seems that there are about 2 actual manufacturers that make the majority of these pumps. Shenpeng (swirl mark, dgshenpeng.com/spminipump.com) and ZKSJ (triangle mark, microdcpump.com). ZKSJ seems to use exposed ferrite based magnets on their rotors and their 3 phase pumps have an external box with circuitry. Their products seem to follow the following naming convention: DC10, DC20, DC30, etc. Shenpeng, seems to be the manufacturer of the tan pump, all topsflo pumps, and most of the other pumps I've seen posted on this forum. Their naming convention seems to be P25, P30, etc. For most of their pumps, and the TD5 pump, say they are using some imported magnet from Japan. The TD5 seems to be a custom version of Shenpeng P6017 pump (open rotor vs closed rotor). The magnet could be either just a normal NdFeB magnet with a coating, or an epoxy and NdFeB powder composite. NdFeB magnets will corrode without protection, so it seems that Shenpeng has tried to find a coating over the past years to do this. Because there was a user that had material flaking off, I am guessing they have not had much success in that regard, hence the PPS encased tan pump magnet. I do not have a TD5 pump, but I am guessing that they switched to an epoxy NdFeB composite, hence the food grade claims and seemingly not having corrosion problems. Or they finally found a suitable coating. If someone with a TD5 would take some close up pictures and some notes that would be awesome.

I'll probably add some more stuff later with an edit.

I have examples of the pumps mentioned in this post from all three companies including the black abs plastic pumps with the swirl mark logo and many tan food grade pps pumps with the encased magnets.
I also own a couple TD5 units (the ones specifically sold for brewing with the pwm speed controllers that brewpi sells and not the ones everyone ales carries which are meant for solar hot water applications with mppt optimizers built in that actually counteract the pwm speed control)
The TD5 does in fact have an exposed ferrite magnet. (as does the march made Riptide I own) Honestly if it wasnt for the size and power differences I would prefer the tan pumps because of this over the td5. the riptide is a nice pump but costly and has to be manually controlled as far as flow.

 

[JoeyChestnutFan]

I have examples of the pumps mentioned in this post from all three companies including the black abs plastic pumps with the swirl mark logo and many tan food grade pps pumps with the encased magnets.
I also own a couple TD5 units (the ones specifically sold for brewing with the pwm speed controllers that brewpi sells and not the ones everyone ales carries which are meant for solar hot water applications with mppt optimizers built in that actually counteract the pwm speed control)
The TD5 does in fact have an exposed ferrite magnet. (as does the march made Riptide I own) Honestly if it wasnt for the size and power differences I would prefer the tan pumps because of this over the td5. the riptide is a nice pump but costly and has to be manually controlled as far as flow.

Are you sure the TD5 magnet is a ferrite? A ferrite is a specific class of material, basically iron oxide with another element. As I mentioned above, the tan pump used a neodymium magnet (not a ferrite, but an alloy of NdFeB). I analyzed it in a lab (I'm a materials scientist). Does the magnet feel like plastic or a rock?

 

[augiedoggy]

Are you sure the TD5 magnet is a ferrite? A ferrite is a specific class of material, basically iron oxide with another element. As I mentioned above, the tan pump used a neodymium magnet (not a ferrite, but an alloy of NdFeB). I analyzed it in a lab (I'm a materials scientist). Does the magnet feel like plastic or a rock?

Im not sure. ill have to check