March or Chugger Pump?

[DakotaRules]

Very cool! thanks for posting. Do you have any kind of fan for the motor?

 

[DakotaRules]

I think I'm going for the chugger! John Deere green is for me!

 

[Spyksman]

here are my picks of my chugger in a toolbox. i picked everthing up from homedepot last night and did the entire project in 2 hours. have not tested yet, but sure it will work. i was thinking of using two switches, one controlling the pump and one controlling another two plug gfic outlet. after thinking about it for a bit, i am not sure why i would need this. if i have something else i need to shut off it will prob be a another pump. so i left mine as one switch. i took the 25foot outdoor ext cord and cut the end off, 10" and ran that out of the switch. then cut another 16" section to go between the outlet and the switch and then the end of the cord comes in the back and into the gfic plug. no need any other wireing, just a few wire end caps and some time. i cut a 2 1/4" hole on the end to put the pump head though and mounted the pump to a short pice of ipe wood. good luck and if you have any question please let me know, very easy project and with the cost of the pump worth protecting and having a nice switch next to it.

with cutting the end off the ext cord i can still use the pump w/ the reg ext end.

Looks very nice but I would be concerened about the cooling of the motor. They have those open frames for a reason. Good idea but you need to think of cooling or you will be buying a motor unless you only run for a short time. not trying to be negative but want to save you some greif down the road. When i installed motors in a wet enviorment i made a doghouse to protect them. Usually open on the botom for cooling.

 

[Spyksman]

Doublepost

 

[jayrodoh]

I ordered a stainless chugger last month, just got everything plumbed up on the stand and had an issue with the pump. I emailed them for support and they replied with a tracking number for the new pump and a spare head for my trouble. That's some serious customer service. I can't speak for the pump yet but with support like that, I don't expect any issues.

 

[hammis]

Guys, thanks for all the great responses. Unfortunately i still havent had a chance to try out my chugger pump (its still sitting in the box), work and life have been insane. I did however just score 2 corny's + CO2 tank + regulator + all hosing for $125. so it seems like everything is coming together nicely. hopefully ill be able to test the pump out and actually brew before Christmas.

 

[Hogcrewer]

I bought a Chugger SS head for my March last month. I cleaned all the machining oil off of it. Looks good and works great. As he stated when he started making these, that the inlet and outlet hole are not centric. But it does not seem to bother the performance of the pump at all. I have my old March head as a backup if I ever need it. His customer support was awesome. Shipping all the way up here to Alaska was quick and cheap. Some people think that Ak is in another country so they stick us pretty good with the shipping. Not this guy.
Bottom line, a great product at a great price. Just like so many of the vendors on here.

 

[Spyksman]

I ordered a stainless chugger last month, just got everything plumbed up on the stand and had an issue with the pump. I emailed them for support and they replied with a tracking number for the new pump and a spare head for my trouble. That's some serious customer service. I can't speak for the pump yet but with support like that, I don't expect any issues.

What sort of an issue did it have?

 

[jayrodoh]

What sort of an issue did it have?

Motor wouldn't spin when attached to the pump. Appears the mag coupler sticks out too far.

The replacement was good to go and absolutely works as advertised. I get plenty of flow from my HLT up through the HERMS and up to the MLT. It's nice and quiet and smooth running. A big thumbs up from me on the performance and cust service!

 

[Spyksman]

Thanks good to know of problems to know common problems. Great they replaced it.

 

[hammis]

used the chugger for the first time yesterday. it worked great, great suction and very very quiet. i would definitely recommend this pump!

 

[drumming102]

SS head Model is only $99 right now.

http://cgi.ebay.com/Chugger-Stainle...ultDomain_0&hash=item33637e1e03#ht_1338wt_905

 

[FireBrew63]

My Chugger should arrive today! Very excited! Thank you to everyone who gave their input about this pump.

 

[Strongbad52]

I bought 2 chuggers and cant wait to get them mounted on my brew rig. Now I just have to finish building my brew rig.

 

[BrewBeemer]

Motor wouldn't spin when attached to the pump. Appears the mag coupler sticks out too far.

Loosen up the allen set screw on the drive magnet but leave a little drag on the motor shaft, install the pump hand tight against the pump motor connecting adapter to push the drive magnet towards the motor, remove the pump then push the mag coupling back app another .040" to clear the pump rear housing. Good to go.

 

[akthor]

What happened??? I am finally about to get a brew stand and now there are no more chuggers for sale???

 

[Hermit]

What happened??? I am finally about to get a brew stand and now there are no more chuggers for sale???

I'm under the impression that they were selling off their test run from the looks of the thing. Couldn't even get the pump holes concentric on the casting.

 

[drumming102]

Looks like they only sell march pumps on their site now. Knew it was too good to last

 

[BrewBeemer]

I'm under the impression that they were selling off their test run from the looks of the thing. Couldn't even get the pump holes concentric on the casting.

Not being concentric on the inlet and outlet vs the hose bibs has nothing to due with the pump performance at all.
With any production items small details to improve the item, pump head in this case can be done yourself, removing sharp edges as well burrs and metal flashing a Dremel can take care of quickly
I should know as I was lucky to have a SS head Chugger pump shipped to me free as shipping paid by Chugger. What more can one ask? I have respect for Chugger with this great offer. There may be issues why we do not see Chugger pumps available on ebay anymore, time will tell as that SS head is a step forward vs plastic headed pumps. I hope to see these SS heads offered in the future, I broke a March 809 head a stupid moment on my part. Don't forget the March HF impeller upgrade that's available will fit Chugger and March, good things come to those that wait.

 

[JonW]

Michael from Chugger openly stated here on the forums that those were the first run and they were making improvements for the next version. That was why he was blowing them out and GAVE AWAY so many of them.

 

[JMichael]

Michael from Chugger openly stated here on the forums that those were the first run and they were making improvements for the next version. That was why he was blowing them out and GAVE AWAY so many of them.

yeah, Michael is really awesome. He really goes out of his way to make sure an issues is corrected. I had an issue with my first pumps and he replaced them no questions asked.

 

[H-ost]

So pretty much what it sounds like is that the biggest difference is price and 3' of cord?

 

[rekoob]

not much of a price difference anymore, unless i have just been lucky enough to only find the higher priced ones.

 

[Dale_3rd]

I recently (today) got my Chugger pump and I have to say, it seems to be a really nice pump. I ran home lunchtime, disassembled the head and scrubbed it out in the sink, then threw some fittings on, filled up the Boilermaker with about 4 gallons of water and primed the head. I was rather surprised that having only about 5-6" of difference between the outlet and pump, basically the pot sitting on the floor burner and the pump sitting on the floor, that with a small draw on the hose to pull a little water into the pump head that it picked up the liquid and pumped full force immediately. I was also surprised that it's not nearly as loud as all the videos I've watched online. Tonight I'll fit out the pump correctly and run hot UBC through it and then I can't wait to brew a batch of beer this weekend just to play with the pump and kegcowboy 40 plate chiller. LOL

 

[jimmayhugh]

Have both, happy with both...

 

[jtlawlor]

Can I ask which model of Chugger pump you bought? The website currently has the Macerator Pump as the "home brew" pump.

 

[KuntyBrew]

the Macerator Pump is not suitable for home brewing. their website has been a little iffy lately

 

[hammis]

not sure what the macerator pump is, but im very happy with my green chugger i bought last year

 

[gratliff]

Max Flow4.5 GPM

10.3 LPM



Max Head

4.3 FT

0.92 M



Power

0.01 HP

0.0070 KW



Electrical

115V 50/60HZ or 230V 50/60HZ



Submersible

No

 

[gratliff]

Dont know if this will help anyone but here are the specs on two different pumps from their web sites:

http://www.marchpump.com/series-809/
March 809-PL
Max Flow 4.5 GPM
Max Head 4.3 FT
Power 0.01 HP
Electrical 115V 50/60HZ or 230V 50/60HZ
Plastic Housing
Submersible No

http://www.chuggerpumps.com/product.php?prodid=99
Chugger Model : SS INLINE BREWING PUMP
Max Flow 7 GPM 22.7 LPM
Max Head 18.6 FT 4.1 M
Power .04 HP .029 KW
Electrical 115V 50/60HZ
SS Housing
Non-Submersible
60HZ 50HZ