Pump for CFC

[rsoellner]

Good morning all,
Like many of you I am looking to up my efficiency by moving from an immersion chiller to a counter flow. While planning out my build it occurred to me that I don't have a good way of forcing my hot wort through the chiller. My kettle is just a standard 10gal kettle, no valve on the bottom so I will need to pull the hot wort out through the top of the kettle. After some research I have really only found 2 possible solutions for this and wanted to see if anyone else has had this problem.

1. Buy a diaphragm self priming pump and place it on the cold side of the chiller.
https://www.morebeer.com/products/selfpriming-diaphragm-pump-beer-transfers.html

2. Buy a more typical pump and try to use some kind of siphon starter to prime it with.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00MVAIL76/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

Thanks in advance.

Ray

 

[dsniegocki]

Quick note on #1, it is not rated for temperatures high enough that you will able to run 212 degree wort through it, so I don't think this is your answer.

With regard to #2, although it has been a long time since I've tried siphoning hot wort, I do remember it being a royal pain; if I may offer a different suggestion, drilling (or preferably punching) a hole and adding a weldless bulkhead and ball valve to the bottom is not too difficult, and I think will yield you better results. Once I did this the first time, I found it very liberating as I then had the confidence to add additional valves etc to future builds, such as my HLT. You may even be able to gravity feed through your chiller and avoid the pump altogether. I have not used the CFC, but when I used a plate chiller I was able to gravity feed with no issue.

 

[k1ngl1ves]

Yep. Punch a hole in your kettle and install a valve first. Then start thinking about what's next...

 

[stratslinger]

Quick note on #1, it is not rated for temperatures high enough that you will able to run 212 degree wort through it, so I don't think this is your answer.

And before OP goes there - it's rated to only 130F. My CFC almost never chills that low on the first pass. Even if I throttle the valve on the CFC to make more exposure time for the wort to the CFC, that initial pass still comes out HOT!

Unless you're using a ceramic lined (or similar lacquered coating) pot, you'll be amazed how easy it is to pop a hole in the pot and install a weldless fitting. You may also be surprised how inexpensive it is to find a local welder who'll make the holes and install welded bulkheads for you.