Thanks I have a March Riptide but am going to get the higher flow Spike pump for cip. I have ordered my Spike Spray ball.
I found that flow is important but so is pressure in order to get a decent spray that dislodges gunk.
I also tried the external reservoir and just recirculating in the fermenter. Advantage to the external reservoir is that it allows the spray to reach all of the vessel VS being somewhat blocked by the liquid level in the cone. So I think having the flow over all surfaces with the external reservoir does a better job because the spray hits everything. Today was the attempt using just liquid recirculating in the fermenter. I put a gallon in and ran it for thirty minutes. Everything above the level of the solution in the cone was nice and clean but when I drained the cone through the dump valve I found debris still stuck to the walls below the level of the solution.
So I'll probably go to a modified reservoir in the future.
As for pressure, the magnetic coupling pumps (chugger etc.) are limited. They flow well but as pressure builds the mag-coupling slips. That's why you can dead-head them without problems. One other thing. The chugger pumps advertise a teflon impeller and PBW says not to use it on teflon. Not sure if it will cause real harm but it is worth knowing.
I tried a cheap "Transfer Pump" from HF (Drummond 63317, 56149). It is a Positive Displacement type as opposed to the centrifugal design, so it has better pressure capability. The Head Lift spec tells the pressure story 42 feet for the transfer pump, 18 feet for the chugger. You can hear the difference in the ball spinning. I also watched it spin with both pumps, a messy proposition. You can see a much more aggressive spray with the transfer pump.
That seems to work very well. The downside is the quality of the pump and the fact that it is not rated for high temp. But it's cheap!
Just my experience thus-far.