Has anyone gotten an update on their pump? Originally they were scheduled in by June. Last week they said they would ship by end of this week. Seems like they've over promise under delivered. They still have my money so I'll just sit on my thumbs.
I have read a little of this thread hear and there. Why do people get bent out of shape about a secondary, but say nothing about how ****ty false bottoms and other systems are. Good system no stuck sparge. I built my own with copper and a thousand small holes. I can pump out of a large mash full blast with no problem.
barmyarmy said:I have read a little of this thread hear and there. Why do people get bent out of shape about a secondary, but say nothing about how ****ty false bottoms and other systems are. Good system no stuck sparge. I built my own with copper and a thousand small holes. I can pump out of a large mash full blast with no problem.
BigChas said:Any word on when or if they have started shipping the SS version? I have emailed them and so far no response. The lack of communication is starting to really bother me.
Just wanted to say thank you for the respectable update. I'll admit I even pmed others to see if they got responses. Fingers crossed that I was one for the earlier pre orders. Also offering to refund and re order is top notch, just gotta work on updates Another option would be to take pre order deposits for future offerings, rather than full payment. Might help ease some expectations, as many like myself assumed your countdowns were accurate. Can't wait to get me pumps and review them, as well as look forward to the conical and kettle offerings in the future.
BeerPumpsEtc said:PS.....
Our magnet ended up being coated with an FDA USA approved food GRADE not rated coating which I know was a concern to many. We are happy to say you can put the coating issue to bed...... finally lol
Good to hear, but could you please let us know the name of the product used to coat the magnets?
There are a few examples of FDA-approved stuff that I can think of, which in both my opinion and expert opinion should never have been approved. For instance, BOTH expert panels that reviewed aspartame (which I mentioned earlier) for the FDA's approval process strongly recommended *against* approval, but they rubber-stamped it anyways. And it's no wonder it was recommended against, when it's well-documented - ie NOT a conspiracy theory - that aspartame partially metabolizes to methyl alcohol, aka METHANOL. And this methyl alcohol is oxidized by the liver to the methyl aldehyde, better known as FORMALDEHYDE, by the same enzyme group - alcohol dehydrogenase - that converts the ethyl alcohol which we so love to produce and consume (ethanol), to the ethyl aldehyde, usually referred to as acetaldehyde. They are further oxidized to the methyl and ethyl carboxylic acids, commonly called formic acid and acetic acid (vinegar), respectively. Granted, the methanol is produced in fairly low amounts, but if I'm going to use a sweetener, I'd much rather choose something like Splenda and just avoid the methanol/formaldehyde all together.
So why mention all this? Because I prefer to be an informed consumer. I don't totally ignore the FDA's and Health Canada's product approvals, but I don't just blindly accept them either - they are human organizations, and thus aren't perfect. Sometimes they approve products against expert recommendation (as was the case with aspartame), and other times a product has their approval eventually revoked, even with the writing having been on the wall for a substantial amount of time before this happens. Merely knowing something is considered food grade is not enough to make me feel comfortable about it, when I don't know what the actual product is, thus preventing me from being able to make an informed decision. Usually this isn't an issue though as the law typically requires disclosure of such things in most cases (natural compounds or ingredients in certain types of products are often an exception, unless explicitly specified).
And the thing is, many homebrewers are the same way... far more than the average consumer. Hell, some are homebrewers BECAUSE they are the same way. I am interested in your pumps, but I just can't buy something that exposes me to a product that I don't know, ESPECIALLY when it'll be in contact - at hot temperatures no less - with something that I consume on a regular basis. Obviously it's not proprietary, and I'm quite sure any manufacturer could find the coating or something similar with just a bit of research (you're hardly the first company to coat magnets), so keeping it secret from competitors is hardly a legitimate concern.
Every other pump I've looked into openly lists *all* materials that come into contact with the liquid. Indeed, I have a fairly complex higher-end electronic brewery, with hundreds of components, and I know EVERY single material that touches my wort or beer. And in fact, I can count them all on *one hand*. Again, I'm hardly the only brewer concerned with this all this. MANY brewers spend thousands to put together a brewery with only stainless, glass, and silicone (and often Teflon) coming into contact, and I can assure you that not a single one of them is going to suddenly put an unknown product in their brewery just to save a hundred bucks or so, regardless of whether or not the seller insists it's food-grade. And while I don't personally doubt you (yet), as far as potential buyers are concerned the product might not even be food grade, since all people have to go on is the word of an unfamiliar seller, if you don't disclose the product name.
So help us out here - hell, help *yourself* out here - and just let potential (and realized) buyers know the coating that would be coming in contact with their wort. We don't need an "ingredients" list or a detailed product breakdown... just the name of the product, and those of us that are concerned can do the due diligence necessary to make an informed decision. I'm reasonably certain the product is safe and that there's little to worry about, but I and (again) MANY others are not going to take that chance when such a considerable volume of wort/beer that comes into contact is going to be consumed by us and our loved ones, often on a daily basis. Just a product name to give customers some peace of mind... it really ain't asking much.
CousinDupree said:Inspired by emjay's massive missive, I decided to advance the cause by submitting the coating on my magnet to high-performance liquid chromatography to determine its constituents. Turn out that the coating is aspartame based! Food Grade! Sweet! Confronted with this information, greatbreweh.com indicated that they will be addressing this, and all future concerns by including a free tinfoil hat with each pump purchased.
I recently picked up the ebay solar pump and did a test run with the pump directly attached to the kettle ball valve using cam locks. Also picked up a 12V 1amp wall wort and mating connector form monoprice ($4 + shipping) to power the pump.
Once the pump was primed, I was able to reduce the output flow easily with the kettle ball valve on the input side of the pump. Ideally, this restriction would be created with a second valve on the output side of the pump. I could also fully close the inlet valve, reopen the valve, and the pump would stay primed recirculating water through the plate chiller and back into the kettle. Keep in mind that this test was with room temp water and not boiling wort.
This pump should work great for my application.
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