Choosing a brewing pump

[4of7]

I’m looking to buy a brewing pump to transfer hot wort post boil between the boil kettle and the plate chiller and then into fermentation tank. I currently use a 15 gallon keggle with ball valves. This will be my first “real” brewing pump. After doing weeks of research I am struggling to find a good brewing pump that will last a long time. My biggest fear is getting a brewing pump that breaks after the 2-3 time in use or fails mid wort transfer. I was looking for a pump under $200 (obviously cheaper the better) and wanted to know what your guys experienced have been. Most pumps on amazon have reviews about the pump over heating after 10 min of boiling water usage.

pump.inline carb

 

[4of7]

I’m looking to buy a brewing pump to transfer hot wort post boil between the boil kettle and the plate chiller and then into fermentation tank. I currently use a 15 gallon keggle with ball valves. This will be my first “real” brewing pump. After doing weeks of research I am struggling to find a good brewing pump that will last a long time. My biggest fear is getting a brewing pump that breaks after the 2-3 time in use or fails mid wort transfer. I was looking for a pump under $200 (obviously cheaper the better) and wanted to know what your guys experienced have been. Most pumps on amazon have reviews about the pump over heating after 10 min of boiling water usage.

pump keg washing

 

[4of7]

I’m looking to buy a brewing pump to transfer hot wort post boil between the boil kettle and the plate chiller and then into fermentation tank. I currently use a 15 gallon keggle with ball valves. This will be my first “real” brewing pump. After doing weeks of research I am struggling to find a good brewing pump that will last a long time. My biggest fear is getting a brewing pump that breaks after the 2-3 time in use or fails mid wort transfer. I was looking for a pump under $200 (obviously cheaper the better) and wanted to know what your guys experienced have been. Most pumps on amazon have reviews about the pump over heating after 10 min of boiling water usage.

pump during mash recirculation

 

[4of7]

I’m looking to buy a brewing pump to transfer hot wort post boil between the boil kettle and the plate chiller and then into fermentation tank. I currently use a 15 gallon keggle with ball valves. This will be my first “real” brewing pump. After doing weeks of research I am struggling to find a good brewing pump that will last a long time. My biggest fear is getting a brewing pump that breaks after the 2-3 time in use or fails mid wort transfer. I was looking for a pump under $200 (obviously cheaper the better) and wanted to know what your guys experienced have been. Most pumps on amazon have reviews about the pump over heating after 10 min of boiling water usage.

pump with chiller plate

 

[Camshaft27]

I have about 8 of the little tan dc ones in both 24v and 12v (24v are better) I also have 2 of the better td5 pumps with the included speed control that are actually designed for brewing (also 24v dc) and a blichmann riptide (Made by march)... all these pumps work great and have different advantages. First off the tan $20 pumps are in fact very reliable but need prefiltering or plug easily. the td5 is great but pricey for a little 24v pump especially with real speed control to gently transfer beer without the whipping action of beating it with the impeller.(most nanao and pro breweries use pumps with VFD controllers to get this speed control to prevent oxidizing the beer when transfering to kegs or brite tanks but its not really discussed in the Home brewing world yet).

The blichmann is a bit more powerful than the td5 and has the nice feature of coming apart easily to clean But they also have this nice little washer that falls off the shaft and easily gets lost to ensure you keep giving blichmann more money even after you own the pump. (I found nylon replacements at the hardware store myself rather than paying the high fees and shipping for a washer.)

the anvil pump (made by mkII manufacturer) is the lower powered motor version of the mkII pumps avaliable for as little as $62 (lion brewing) so my advice is to just buy the full size mkII if this pump is for transfering.

none of the homebrewing pumps that I know of are self priming. slower diaphragm pumps are.

Hi augiedoggy,

How do you pre-filter when using the "little tan" BLDC pumps?

I recently picked up 8 Topsflow TL-B10 (A12-0905) pumps for a good deal with one of the applications being vorlauf and transfer from my mash tun to the BK in what will someday be an automated system. I did not realize until doing some testing that the impeller is very easy to plug with grain, and they don't lend themselves to PWM speed regulation very well. My mash tun is a 10gal orange round cooler with a false bottom. I don't get much grain that passes through, but this tiny closed impeller has zero tolerance. I'm debating going to a grain-tolerant pump if the little BLDC pump is too much hassle or unreliable. Any input is appreciated!

Thanks,
Cam

 

[cmac62]

Hi augiedoggy,

How do you pre-filter when using the "little tan" BLDC pumps?

I recently picked up 8 Topsflow TL-B10 (A12-0905) pumps for a good deal with one of the applications being vorlauf and transfer from my mash tun to the BK in what will someday be an automated system. I did not realize until doing some testing that the impeller is very easy to plug with grain, and they don't lend themselves to PWM speed regulation very well. My mash tun is a 10gal orange round cooler with a false bottom. I don't get much grain that passes through, but this tiny closed impeller has zero tolerance. I'm debating going to a grain-tolerant pump if the little BLDC pump is too much hassle or unreliable. Any input is appreciated!

Thanks,
Cam

Cam this is a bit of a necro thread. If you don't get a response you may want to look for something more current.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

You're responding to some older posts here so I wouldn't expect a quicker answer if any.

I brew all grain in a cooler mashtun and use a "filtering grant" I built. It's a quarter barrel with a 300 mesh filtering basket inside. From the mashtun I use it as an accumulator into the brew kettle and then again from the brew kettle through the plate chiller then into the fermenter.

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

Here it is in action:

 

[OakIslandBrewery]

I forgot, the pumps I use are March, an 809 and an 815. They are magnetic drive and to me are built proof. Both are many years old, I rebuilt the 815 with a larger impeller. Chugger pumps are used by many folks.

 

[day_trippr]

I came across the original receipt from 2004 for my pair of 815pl pumps that still run great. Just have to replace the thrust washer occasionally (bought a bunch) and put a few oil drips in the bearings but otherwise they just do their thing...

Cheers!

 

[Camshaft27]

Thanks for the replys! Sorry for the Necro thread, I'm new to posting on here so I don't know what I'm doing yet haha. I wasn't able to find much detail on what people do to keep the popular "little tan" pumps from plugging up, would that question be appropriate for a new thread of it's own?

Thanks,
Cam

 

[day_trippr]

Sure, have at it

Cheers!