Cheap compact wort pump

[rhoop]

I think the USA is the only country that has 120v system. When I was shocked in other countries using 220v system I could tell it was stronger, but I imagine it was still less then the use of a stun gun (which I have never felt). In other countries I am not sure what the amps are, nor did I bother to ask, but I can only assume that it was at a safe level.

Good comment though, incase someone has an idea with doing a 220 or 440v system here in the USA. I would never try to hook up something like that unless I know what I am doing (which I dont).

Dude, if you don't know what you're doing or talking about, don't talk about it and confuse others who are curious.

Don't worry about being electrocuted with 12v. Ever licked a 6v battery? That's about all your going to get. There's a reason they use 12v dc for these submersible pumps, it's safe.

Here's different explanation for electricity for others. Amps are like water in a pipe. They are what does the work, and what kills you. Voltage is like the pressure that determines how fast the water (amps) flows. The higher the pressure, the more water gets to the destination. Electrical devices can only use so much electricity at a given voltage (or pressure). If you give a device that needs .8A a "pipe" (or power supply) that can supply 1.5A of electricity, that pipe won't be full, only. 8A will flow.

I like the pizza analogy! Never heard that one before.

Just got my black pump, need to test it out this weekend!

 

[tob77]

Don't worry about being electrocuted with 12v. Ever licked a 6v battery?

I wouldn't try that trick with a 12v car battery if you value your tongue 12v will turn salt water into sodium hypochlorite (chlorine) and hydrogen gas with enough amps behind it(this reaction is fairly slow at 12v though). However, I agree that you don't have much to worry about with 12v at 1 amp. I still wouldn't test it out on my tongue though.

The water & pipe analogy is a good one. I have heard and repeated it before. Gotta love the pizza and kettle analogy though!

 

[jhall4]

you need a power supply that matches the VOLTAGE (DC power supply) of the pump. The tan one's power requirements listed on ebay is "Rated voltage: 12V DC. Rated current: 0.8A."

You need to match the voltage and match or exceed the amperage. The motor pulls as much power as it needs, so even if the power supply is able to supply more than .8A, the pump will only draw .8A, without causing any problems.

For example, using a power supply rated at 12v, 1.2A would work just fine.

Brilliant explanation. Thank you for posting!

I recently ordered one of these pumps (waiting for it to be shipped) and have started combing through my junk boxes for unused chargers. I was trying to match the spec exactly and haven't had any luck but hopefully with this newly gained knowledge and expanded search parameters I'll be able to save a few bucks on a power supply!

 

[johns]

thats what i did

 

[revansCAAD8]

I ordered a tan pump from US Solar Pumps (TL-B07/S, 12V, 8L) and the 12V 2.0A power supply from Amazon on Monday (supposed to be delivered today). So sounds like I should be in good shape then

Thanks,
Robert

 

[revansCAAD8]

They're here!

 

[Jersh]

I think you might have them mounted to the 'out' line, I'm pretty sure the inlet is the one in the middle.

They're here!

 

[Jersh]

I think you might have them mounted to the 'out' line, I'm pretty sure the inlet is the one in the middle.

Disregard my comment. I've been thinking about my eHERMs build so much that I confused myself... I'm using a similar little pump and am connecting the INLET directly to the ball-valve off my HLT and using it to recirculate the hot liquor.

You do indeed have the ball-valve mounted to the outlet, so you're good to go.

 

[revansCAAD8]

 

[res291que]

Holy smokes your valve looks bigger than the entire pump.

 

[Spellman]

That's how mine looks too, the connections and valve are also more expensive too! A little side note, I cut off all of the sliding locks on my valves, they always seemed to lock when you are trying to do something. Haven't for once regretted it. Did you get your power supply yet? I had ordered those too and took an ungodly 3 weeks to come, only to find out they have a worthless 3ft long cable. I have since gotten one of those bigger 5a power supplies that I am going to make a little control box with shut off switches for the pumps. That is when spring planting is done. I can't wait to brew again, getting the shakes just thinking about the aroma of the mash!

 

[mattd2]

... A little side note, I cut off all of the sliding locks on my valves, they always seemed to lock when you are trying to do something. Haven't for once regretted it...

That is a good idea, since they are there to padlock out the valve to make sure they arn't opened/closed by someone else (i.e. on industrial sites) I don't think they are necesary in a home brewery

 

[revansCAAD8]

That's how mine looks too, the connections and valve are also more expensive too! A little side note, I cut off all of the sliding locks on my valves, they always seemed to lock when you are trying to do something. Haven't for once regretted it. Did you get your power supply yet? I had ordered those too and took an ungodly 3 weeks to come, only to find out they have a worthless 3ft long cable. I have since gotten one of those bigger 5a power supplies that I am going to make a little control box with shut off switches for the pumps. That is when spring planting is done. I can't wait to brew again, getting the shakes just thinking about the aroma of the mash!

Yeah the disconnects and valves certainly add expense but wanted good quality that would last even if the pump doesn't. Also, thank you for your post & pictures! How hard was it to get the 'sliding locks' off? I think I may do the same as the valve lock on my Mash Tun drives me crazy.
Yep, received the power supply within a couple days but does have a very short cable (45" long). I think I can make do with it as I plan to also add a on/off switch inline but is disappointing! Guess I should have read the ad more closely

Look forward giving all the new stuff a try but unfortunately it may be a bit longer than I hoped as I have suddenly developed some physical health issues.

Brew On!
Robert

 

[Spellman]

I used a dremel with a cutoff wheel and it took maybe a minute or less each if i remember right. Just attack it from the side edge and it will fall off pretty easy. Something as simple as this will make your brew day that much easier! Hope to see you back brewing again soon.

 

[Rys06Tbss]

I got my cam locks in on Friday. Half way through my mash I decided to build it. I have a black pump. This little thing is awesome. I set the grain bed with it, transfered my wort to the brew pot and sparged with it. What a great little pump

 

[tre9er]

Received my pump yesterday. Ordered it May 9th, so 11 days to arrive from Hong Kong.

Used it with a 9.5v power supply I had laying around and it did OK but I have some issues with my valve setup that need rectified first, which add air bubbles into the mix and don't help matters much. It was heavier than I expected, and I'm going to see how well the 9.5v PSU works for the time being before getting a 12v. Just using for a CFC, so lower flow is fine for me.

More camlock stuff ordered yesterday, so perhaps by this weekend I'll be ready to give it all a go.

 

[Jersh]

I just pulled the trigger on one of these. I'm in the process of building a portable HERMS system and will be using this to recirculate hot liquor in my eHLT, and then also to move the hot liquor for fly sparging.

My pump came with yesterday's mail. I'm impressed that it took less than 2 weeks to get here from China. I picked up 12V-2.0A max power supply from the Goodwill Store for $1 the other day, wired it up last night and she fired right up. I know you're not supposed to run these dry, I just plugged it in for literally 2 seconds to make sure I had it wired correctly.

 

[tre9er]

Planning to finish sweating my CFC tonight or tomorrow then I have to drill another hole for my sight gauge in the kettle. Currently I have it in a tee with the valve, which creates the aforementioned air bubbles, even when I "plug" the sight gauge. Bubbles=no good for pumping, but were fine for racking to FV.

Anyway hoping by this weekend I can do a trial run with the CFC and the 9.5* PSU. Camlocks should be delivered today or tomorrow.

 

[mattd2]

Planning to finish sweating my CFC tonight or tomorrow then I have to drill another hole for my sight gauge in the kettle. Currently I have it in a tee with the valve, which creates the aforementioned air bubbles, even when I "plug" the sight gauge. Bubbles=no good for pumping, but were fine for racking to FV.

Anyway hoping by this weekend I can do a trial run with the CFC and the 9.5* PSU. Camlocks should be delivered today or tomorrow.

Was the sightglass sucking dry with that arangment? I don't have sightglasses but was thinking about putting one on the wort return port, but was worried that the wort would flow up and out the sightglass instead of into the vessel

 

[mendozer]

I'd prefer the UK vs china product.

I'm just going to use it to suck from kettle to plate chiller when gravity siphon fails (which has happened more often than I'd like)

 

[Indian_villager]

I'd prefer the UK vs china product.

I'm just going to use it to suck from kettle to plate chiller when gravity siphon fails (which has happened more often than I'd like)

If you are talking about the tan pumps, I'm fairly confident that they are manufactured at the same place in China. Just sold under different distributors.

 

[Schlomo]

I used my Tan pump yesterday to transfer and recirc and I'm so very happy with it, i'm going to buy another one. I've been lifting my full keggle from the floor to my brewstand and with the Tan it saves my back.

 

[tre9er]

Was the sightglass sucking dry with that arangment? I don't have sightglasses but was thinking about putting one on the wort return port, but was worried that the wort would flow up and out the sightglass instead of into the vessel

what happens is that the sight glass works perfectly fine, but when you go to drain the kettle, since the valve is attached to the sight glass, air enters the flow. Great, a nice venturi effect, right? Well it's VERY slow to drain, so I made a plug of sorts for the sight glass. That helps but the flow is still interrupted by passing by an open cavity (the sight glass), so it's disrupted and there are still some bubbles to be had.

 

[tre9er]

OK, tested things last night after a lot of cursing due to sweating copper issues with CFC. In short, the water-soluble lead-free flux is crap. The regular old flux worked for this amateur without fail.

Anyway, I used the 9.5v PSU and recirc'd through the CFC at about a 2.5' head. Flow was slow, but this was just to mock the sanitation step. I also had the valve on pump output only about 1/3 to 1/2 open. I wanted to make sure there was plenty of resistance.

Then I ran my 200* water through the CFC using the pump with the valve 1/3 open. I got "wort" into the "fermenter" (a small bucket in this case) down to about 75*. That's not pitching temp, but I only have a 20' CFC and my ground water is about 60-65* right now. I can either use my 50' IC as a pre-chiller in an ice bucket, which probably is overkill, or I can close the valve even more, just a crack open, and go slower. I've also thought of recircing the first few minutes to cool the kettle down then start racking direct to FV. This also would bring the temps down so my hop additions weren't sitting in 200* wort for 10 minutes while the kettle empties. I also don't really want to have to run the valve 1/3 or less open because hop debris might get stuck in the valve. I'd rather run it more like 1/2 or more open and recirc for a minute, bringing kettle temps down to the 170's or so, then run straight to the FV.

Thoughts? BTW, I love the pump for the price and it does just what I need.

 

[Spellman]

I built myself a cfc like yours as well and have had good results with it. Mine was somewhere between 20-25 ft as well, so very comparative. I did put an inline temp thermometer on the end though (http://www.brewhardware.com/thermometers/153-probecompression2). I have a cheap digital thermometer that is a bit slow to register temps so I ran it back into the kettle until it read the desired temps. That usually took maybe a minute or two to accomplish, but I'm sure the wort was to the right temp much before that (just a matter of the thermometer catching up to the temp it actually was). On my cfc I put a valve on the in side of cold water to throttle if I need to, and may put one on the wort out if I need to, which may come in handy if splitting a batch. Things are starting to look ridiculous with this many ball valves, but they offer a vast amount of control to every step and situation that may pop up. I ran them both wide open (my water was probably about 55*-60* at the time I did my last brew). Even if you find you have to run it back into the kettle for a few minutes as the summer months and warmer water get under way, I think it should still be fine and much faster than a immersion chiller.

On another note I have also started using a ss hop spider to keep hop debris from going through the pump. I'm not sure how these little guys would like it over a period of time. It has done a great job at keeping sludge out of the wort. I admit I haven't had a chance yet to see how well it utilized the hop oils though. Fingers crossed on that one!

 

[tre9er]

I built myself a cfc like yours as well and have had good results with it. Mine was somewhere between 20-25 ft as well, so very comparative. I did put an inline temp thermometer on the end though (http://www.brewhardware.com/thermometers/153-probecompression2). I have a cheap digital thermometer that is a bit slow to register temps so I ran it back into the kettle until it read the desired temps. That usually took maybe a minute or two to accomplish, but I'm sure the wort was to the right temp much before that (just a matter of the thermometer catching up to the temp it actually was). On my cfc I put a valve on the in side of cold water to throttle if I need to, and may put one on the wort out if I need to, which may come in handy if splitting a batch. Things are starting to look ridiculous with this many ball valves, but they offer a vast amount of control to every step and situation that may pop up. I ran them both wide open (my water was probably about 55*-60* at the time I did my last brew). Even if you find you have to run it back into the kettle for a few minutes as the summer months and warmer water get under way, I think it should still be fine and much faster than a immersion chiller.

On another note I have also started using a ss hop spider to keep hop debris from going through the pump. I'm not sure how these little guys would like it over a period of time. It has done a great job at keeping sludge out of the wort. I admit I haven't had a chance yet to see how well it utilized the hop oils though. Fingers crossed on that one!

I plan to simply open the valve on the pump output if the wort comes out too cold for some reason. The faster wort flows through the less time it has in contact with the water, etc. I don't know if recirc'ing for a minute is going to be necessary but I'll probably do it just to bring the kettle temp down a bit so my 5 minute hop additions don't turn out like 10 minute, etc.

If the wort output is in the low 70's that's still fine for me. I've never had a problem pitching slightly above where I want to ferment. The yeast companies recommend it this way, though I have done it above, at, and even below ferm temps with no ill effects. I oxygenate with pure O2 through a 0.5 micron stone these days too, so the yeast get's lots of air and food for a healthy lag phase. I'll probably recirc for a minute then start racking and see how that affects the wort output temp after the initial minute. Goal would be around 65. I tend to ferment ales around 64 for the first 3-5 days.

 

[el_loco]

I just ordered the $22.00 eBay pump. I'll update with wait time and performance impressions once I have it in hand.

 

[funnycreature]

I plan to simply open the valve on the pump output if the wort comes out too cold for some reason. The faster wort flows through the less time it has in contact with the water, etc. I don't know if recirc'ing for a minute is going to be necessary but I'll probably do it just to bring the kettle temp down a bit so my 5 minute hop additions don't turn out like 10 minute, etc.

If the wort output is in the low 70's that's still fine for me. I've never had a problem pitching slightly above where I want to ferment. The yeast companies recommend it this way, though I have done it above, at, and even below ferm temps with no ill effects. I oxygenate with pure O2 through a 0.5 micron stone these days too, so the yeast get's lots of air and food for a healthy lag phase. I'll probably recirc for a minute then start racking and see how that affects the wort output temp after the initial minute. Goal would be around 65. I tend to ferment ales around 64 for the first 3-5 days.

I was thinking about getting this pump to get my cold break under control using it for whirlpooling inside the IC (e.g. like here). I have a few questions though:

1. What's the best tubing to use for boiling wort and where to get it cheap?
2. The camlocks are 1/2" right? I like the idea of having quick connect/disconnect abilities.
3. Is the second valve at the pump output really necessary? Is it to control the flow instead of using less volts?

Thanks so much!

 

[mendozer]

I like this $22 pump, but after putting stainless NPTs on there and barbs (or camlocks) I'm looking at close to 40. That Topsflo (or BrewEh) is only 70 without a power supply and it's stainless, bigger, pumps more....

anyone else have experience with it?

I'm only looking into it for transferring, I don't recirculate. I'm a cooler brewer.

 

[tre9er]

I like this $22 pump, but after putting stainless NPTs on there and barbs (or camlocks) I'm looking at close to 40. That Topsflo (or BrewEh) is only 70 without a power supply and it's stainless, bigger, pumps more....

anyone else have experience with it?

I'm only looking into it for transferring, I don't recirculate. I'm a cooler brewer.

I paid $4.99 for each of my grooved fittings, wrapped the BSP threads on the pump 3x with PTFE tape and haven't had a leak one. You probably don't even need any of the fittings or valve, honestly. I'm sure you could stretch the silicone hose over the threads and lightly clamp with hose-clamp and be fine. Even a slight leak wouldn't cost you more than a few ounces.

Of course I took this opportunity to upgrade everything to camlock fittings, fixed an issue with my sight gauge and added a valve to the pump output. Oh, and built a CFC and now I'm also putting a thermometer on the output side of that...

It can get as expensive as you want it to...or as cheap as you want.

If I had the money, I'd get a chugger SS center inlet. They're on amazon for about $127 shipped right now.