chinese vs. chugger/mark brew pumps

[swanwick]

What is the concensus on all the chinese brew pumps? There seem to be a bunch in the $65-75 range with 110v, stainless head, 1/2" NPT, 55" cord.

• This one is the top seller on amazon $75: https://www.amazon.com/Ferroday-Magnetic-Temperature-Stainless-Thread/dp/B073P19L8P
• This one seems to be the same thing and is $65: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07F2WCW7N
• And here is one on aliexpress for $54: 54.13US $ 42% OFF|VEVOR Homebrew Pump with Food Grade Stainless Steel Head 1/2" High Temp Magnetic Water Home Brewing Equipment Party Beer Pump|Pumps| - AliExpress

This compares to $150-$200+ for chugger/Mark. Worth it? We don't actually need that much power and flow rate to push water and wort around for brewing so even if they are lesser, isn't it still enough? Inlet side of Chugger is 3/4", but my hoses and fittings are 1/2" anyway so don't see that helping...just means buying an extra reducer.

Anyone tried and works great or tried and been dissatisfied?

 

[Bilsch]

Those MKII type pumps are actually better than the Chugger, at least the head is a nicer design, more compact, quieter and less likely to leak with the 6 screw housing.

 

[swanwick]

Interesting point on the 6 screws. I did not notice that. I wonder if that impacts the ability to rotate the head. Seems that it shouldn't

Here is a US brew supplier who seems to be selling the same (6 screw) chinese ones linked above with a bit more margin $89: Pumpzilla Brewing Pump with Stainless Steel Head

Hopefully they verified works well before stocking.

 

[Bilsch]

I have an actual MKII and a couple of the knockoff ones. They are all about the same.

 

[doug293cz]

Interesting point on the 6 screws. I did not notice that. I wonder if that impacts the ability to rotate the head. Seems that it shouldn't

Here is a US brew supplier who seems to be selling the same (6 screw) chinese ones linked above with a bit more margin $89: Pumpzilla Brewing Pump with Stainless Steel Head

Hopefully they verified works well before stocking.

Looks like you can still rotate the head, but the rotation increments will be 60° rather than 90° like the Chugger and March. You can direct the output straight up or down, but not truly horizontally.

They also appear to use much less current. My Chugger is rated at 1.4A, and the one I looked at on Amazon was rated at 150mA (9 times lower.)

Brew on

 

[Bilsch]

And these things are no slouch at moving liquid, at least the MKII's aren't. People always want the biggest baddest pump and then it spends most of it's time being throttled way back with the valve. By doing that you are simply delivering most of the power of the pump into shear stressing the wort.

 

[belgabrewing]

I have a Chugger and a MKII. The Chugger draws more power but is slightly faster than the MKII.
Both prime about the same.
The Chugger is really picky about being run dry and it is a PIA to take apart, re-expand and smooth the plastic bushing the pump impeller spins on, then reassemble.
The MKII tolerates run dry better.
If I had to choose I would pick the MKII because of the price. You can buy 2 new MKII's for the price of 1 new Chugger. Having 2 pumps is really nice when you are transferring wort from the mash tun to the boil kettle you can be running sparge water with the second pump.

 

[swanwick]

Looks like you can still rotate the head, but the rotation increments will be 60° rather than 90° like the Chugger and March. You can direct the output straight up or down, but not truly horizontally.

They also appear to use much less current. My Chugger is rated at 1.4A, and the one I looked at on Amazon was rated at 150mA (9 times lower.)

Brew on

Not completely horizontal might actually be a feature as I would think it would allow for air to escape the outlet....that's my understanding of why most outlets default to up in the first place.

Re: the amps....does that mean 1/9 the pumping force? That sounds like too little.

 

[Spikybits]

I have the Ferroday I bought for a few bucks cheaper plus a gift card on amazon - it work decently. the flow is on the weak side but i am mainly just using it to recirc BIAB. I have used it to whirlpool - it has much less strength to whirlpool 10+ gallons at near boiling.

mine is mounted vertically.

for a budget option the Ferroday or comparable is decent if youre not trying to make a tight whirlpool cone at flame out

 

[PCABrewing]

Not completely horizontal might actually be a feature as I would think it would allow for air to escape the outlet....that's my understanding of why most outlets default to up in the first place.

Re: the amps....does that mean 1/9 the pumping force? That sounds like too little.

While it has become popular to advertise electric appliances power by their current draw, that is Not necessarily what a high current draw is telling you. It is a better indicator of efficiency of the motor.
If I design the windings and mechanical layout poorly I can have a motor that has less torque and generates more heat than a motor with a lower current draw. Better to assess the lift, head and volume measurements against the current draw. In that case you would select the highest performance numbers of the pump with the lowest current draw (amps).
While it is true that a motor with a higher torque rating will likely have a higher draw, the increased torque is not directly the result of the increased current draw, rather the opposite is true all else being equal.

 

[T Murph]

Interesting point on the 6 screws. I did not notice that. I wonder if that impacts the ability to rotate the head. Seems that it shouldn't

Here is a US brew supplier who seems to be selling the same (6 screw) chinese ones linked above with a bit more margin $89: Pumpzilla Brewing Pump with Stainless Steel Head

Hopefully they verified works well before stocking.

I have a pumpzilla that I use on my HLT and HERMS coil. Because I only pump water through it I don't have to disassemble it to clean it very often. The head is rotatable to position it to suit your specific set up. I like it very much and recommend it for pumping water. For pumping wort I only use a Rip Tide as the TC fittings make for quick, easy and thorough cleaning after each use.