march pump questions

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Funkenjaeger

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Having recently switched to a keggle, and looking forward to trying some 10gal batches, I'm starting to seriously consider a march pump - especially with christmas around the corner. For 5gal batches it will really help reduce wear and tear on my back, and for 10gal it'll be a godsend.

Ideally I'd like to use it for multiple purposes - vorlauf during mash, recirc during chilling (a la Jamil's whirlpool IC), draining kettle to fermenters, and whatever other miscellaneous tasks I come up with.

I am not using a sculpture or anything like that, I use a propane burner outdoors and usually mash indoors in a cooler, so I would plan on mounting the pump in an easily portable manner - probably inside a plastic box to make it splash-proof, maybe a small toolbox for easy carrying.

How loud are they? Are my roommates going to kill me if I use the pump to vorlauf while mashing indoors?

My biggest concern is hooking the thing up. Since I plan to use it for multiple purposes, I would need to be able to easily switch it from one task to the next.
I know that polysulphone quick disconnects are a convenient choice, but at $15+ for a single male/female pair, outfitting all of my equipment with those disconnects really adds up quick. I am thinking that I could buy some of that nice flexible silicone tubing, and just use it with hose barbs all around - as I hear that it's much easier to use with hose barbs than vinyl tubing. I figure I'd try to stick to plastic hose barbs where possible to reduce wear and tear on the tubing. But having not used silicone tubing before, I don't know for sure.

Is silicone tubing with plastic hose barbs a reasonable solution? Or are quick-disconnects really 'critical' to making a march pump convenient to use?
Any other insight or advice would be greatly appreciated as well.:mug:
 
They are very quiet, so sound shouldn't bother your roommates.

I too am planning on building mine in a toolbox this weekend.

As far as hoses and disconnects go, I follow George Schmidt's advice.
http://www.brewing.schmidt-house.com/QDs_hose.htm

The disconnects aren't super-cheap, but they're a lot less expensive than the polysulphone ones. Having quick disconnects really makes things easier. Also silicone tubing is very stretchy, so I wouldn't put it on a barb without some kind of hose clamp. Otherwise I think it would pop right off.
 
Thanks for the link. Those disconnects really are quite a bit more affordable. Still trying to make my mind up, but it's good to know there's a moderately affordable option.
 
Well, the thread is nearly three years old. Things change on the internet...


Anyway, a lot of people are onto the camlocks now instead of the quick disconnects.
 
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