March 815-PL vs. Chugger (SS Inline) real world flow test

[kal]

I really don't think it's possible to give single reasons to choose one over the other that will cover all prospective buyers. Everyone has different expectations, everyone has different setups that behave diffferently and introduce different amounts of restriction, requiring possibly different amounts of static pressure.

One of the important things for me when purchasing was longevity/reliability. March has been around for a while now and is a large company. They are well known and there is years of real-world testing and first hand proof of how well they work or do not work in various setups. It's been well documented on various forums/websites for years (which is the reason I went with the 3/4" front inlet instead of the usual 1/2" bottom inlet, but I digress...).

Chugger on the other hand is new. They are still making design modifications from batch to batch to make things better. Every company is new at one point in time of course, but given the complexities of my setup I figured I'd let someone else do the testing when it came to pumps, so I purchased March. It was one less variable for me to worry about.

These were my requirements, yours will be different. Figure out your own requirements and make the choice yourself. Don't let someone "tell" you which is better for you as, as the saying goes, YMMV.

Kal

 

[rvklein]

Besides, Chuggers are out of stock again so buy a March.

 

[chuggerpumps]

Chuggers Back by 8-18-12 !!!

Besides, Chuggers are out of stock again so buy a March.

 

[rvklein]

Good to hear!

 

[chuggerpumps]

We had them in stock till 3 weeks ago. The demand from US resellers, Canada and Australia was great but unexpected. We are continuing to mfg the pump and improve its design. New inventory due in 8-18-12

Many homebrew suppliers still stock them ...just do a search.. If you have a March and want to upgrade .....we are going to have a SS head giveaway soon!

Watch for it

Mike

call me anytime 800-810-1053

I think it comes down to you can actually purchase a March pump. A Chugger pump is kind of like a Unicorn

Chugger clearly has major supply side planning issues

 

[pearlbeer]

Personally, I have only anecdotal proof, but there have been more than a few tests showing that removing the 90s does increase flow, though I am not sure how competent the testers were.

I'm pretty confident in my flow testing, cwi.

 

[cwi]

Personally, I have only anecdotal proof, but there have been more than a few tests showing that removing the 90s does increase flow, though I am not sure how competent the testers were.

I'm pretty confident in my flow testing, cwi.

Yours was the anecdotal proof, and source for a baseline with just about everything wrong- small id camlocks, pump upside down, 90's, etc.

I can't remember who did the other flow tests where they actually measured things.

Your inline pumps still suck, and you bought at least one of them after I told you about the superiority of the center inlet. But then again, you bought a Mac and an Iphone, so conforming to the collective is the norm.

 

[phoenixs4r]

But then again, you bought a Mac and an Iphone, so conforming to the collective is the norm.

I lol'ed

 

[chuggerpumps]

The data here is not supported by Chugger and is certainly not accurate. The performance specs of the pump are very close to identical. The pumps are not the same design as the Chugger reflects a larger input than the March pump. If you have questions pertaining to the performance of our product please call or email us anytime

MIKE

I recently built an eBrewery. I followed most of Kal's plans but what I didn't follow was the pumps. I went with the latest edition of the Chugger Stainless Steel inline pumps. After two batches I found my flow rate in my mash/tun a bit subpar. Some research led me to believe that the flow should be a bit stronger and my ramp up times for mash-in and mash-out should be better. Also, I found that between the two Chugger pumps (Water & Wort) my Wort pump was anywhere from 5-10% slower.

So I ordered an 815-PL for some comparison testing. My testing showed the 815-PL beat the Chugger each time. Not by a great margin but enough to make a difference in my setup.

According to the Chugger website they are rated at 7GPM with an 18 feet maximum head. According to the March website, the 815-PL is also rated at 7GPM with a 18 feet maximum head.

I performed these tests against my "better" Chugger pump. (Again is some previous testing I found one pump to outperform the other by 5%-10% depending on the test)

I would give the results a +/- 2 seconds for accuracy. I repeated a few of them to get my testing down.

No Coil Test Details:

1) Filled HLT with water
2) Pumped 3.5 gallons into Mash/Tun
3) Connected 2x4' hoses
4) One connected from the HLT into the pump inlet
5) The outlet connected directly to the connection on the top of the Mash/Tun (The inlet on the mash/tun is connected to a 5' long piece of hose. I placed the outlet of the host on the bottle of the kettle (under 3.5Gallons of water). I did in order to add some resistence in the pumping. During my mashing process the host is under 1 inch or so of wort.
6) Prime pump and verify no air in order for a consistent test
7) Close pump valve and turn pump on
8) Open valve and start timer
9) Let the pump move 5 gallons of water into the Mash/Tun and stop timer.
10) Reset

The results between the two pumps. The test consisted of pumping 5 gallons of water directly without the 50' coil inline:

March 815-PL: 1min:17sec
Chugger: 1min:30sec


With Coil Test Details:

1) Filled HLT with water
2) Pumped 3.5 gallons into Mash/Tun
3) Connected 3x4' hoses
4) One connected from the HLT into the pump inlet
5) The outlet connected to the bottom inlet of the HERMs coil
6) The outlet of the HERMs coil is connected to the inlet of the Mash/Tun
7) Prime pump and verify no air in order for a consistent test
8) Close pump valve and turn pump on
9) Open valve and start timer
10) Let the pump move 5 gallons of water into the Mash/Tun and stop timer.
11) Reset

The results between the two pumps. The test consisted of pumping 5 gallons of water with a 50' HERMs coil inline:

March 815-PL: 2min:48sec
Chugger: 3min:10sec


In summary:

The Chugger performed at 85.5% of the speed of the March in the no coil test and 88.4% with the coil. Almost linear. The Chugger pumps ~.5 gallon less per 5 gallons. Again, as this was tested with my better performing Chugger pump, I'm a little curious to what these would numbers would look like against the other one. In my original testing I found a 5%-10% difference in performance.

I'm a bit dissapointed at the performance with the Chugger. I plan to keep the March and use the Chugger as a spare.

As an extra tidbit I also found the March to be better with priming and avoiding cavitating, hands down. It was also quieter.

 

[day_trippr]

Ohhh kayyy then.

"Move along, folks. Nothing to see here."

What the mobile HBT app needs is emoticon support, so I could post an eyeroll right here...

Cheers!

 

[BDB]

I'm very disappointed how this thread ended.

That being said, I own two Chugger pumps and love them.