pump placement??

[ElevenBrewCo]

Wheres the best placement and orientation for my chugger pump. Currently i have it bolted laying down horizontal on the bottom of my stand with inlet on left and outlet on the right. I heard it deadhead a couple times today and wondering if it needs to be vertical so inlet is faceing down and outlet facing up?

 

[Scut_Monkey]

Do you have a bleed on it. I have mine oriented with the motor horizontal but the head turned 90 degrees with the inlet down and the outlet up. This has worked fine but I really have limited experience so far.

 

[bobbytuck]

I'm surprised people have so many issues with the March pumps. I've got mine on a top tier -- at the very bottom of the very tall column -- and I use one (of two) to recirc water to the HLT (at the very top of the TT) in my eHERMS setup -- about a 6/7 foot rise. No problems at all.

The secret -- and many folks have mentioned this, but I suspect most of the problems I read about stem from other folks *not* doing this -- is having a bleed on the pump out. I've got a T-fitting with two ball valves on both pumps -- one valve is the output, and one is the bleed off. Once the air is bled away, everything works great -- even when I'm re'circing boiling wort to start a whirlpool.

I bought a third chugger pump last winter and plan to install it in a few weeks and see if it makes any difference in my overall setup. I'll probably swap out a march pump, install the chugger, and keep the second march as a spare.

The only issue I've *ever* had with the March is having the impeller occasionally stopping. A quick soak in oxyclean -- and it starts back up. No worries.

In terms of placement, I do the same -- inlet down, outlet up -- bleed valve on the outlet.

Love those little pumps.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

The only issue I've *ever* had with the March is having the impeller occasionally stopping. A quick soak in oxyclean -- and it starts back up. No worries.

Take your impeller out and drill the ID out with a 17/64 drill bit and you will probably never have that issue again

-Walter

 

[Catt22]

Take your impeller out and drill the ID out with a 17/64 drill bit and you will probably never have that issue again

-Walter

Why is this not done as standard procedure during the manufacturing?

 

[DeeDub76]

My pump is mounted with inlet up and outlet down. No problems priming or pumping at all. My kettles have bottom drains, therefore, gravity is really helping force liquid into the pump.

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

Do you have a bleed on it. I have mine oriented with the motor horizontal but the head turned 90 degrees with the inlet down and the outlet up. This has worked fine but I really have limited experience so far.

No i do not. Shoud i add a tee fitting to it?

Sent from my DROIDX using Home Brew Talk

 

[crlova2]

I may be getting a pump. What exactly do you mean by a bleed off valve on the out. I don't quite understand and can't picture what you mean....

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

I may be getting a pump. What exactly do you mean by a bleed off valve on the out. I don't quite understand and can't picture what you mean....

put a t-fitting on the outside of the pump with a valve so you can bleed off any air thats in the tubes.

 

[crlova2]

put a t-fitting on the outside of the pump with a valve so you can bleed off any air thats in the tubes.

I have never used one of the pumps which is why I am probably still not understand. Wouldn't a t-fitting just make another place for beer to spew out? Do you mean just initial air in the tube before you start pumping or during the entire pumping time?

 

[weirdboy]

I have never used one of the pumps which is why I am probably still not understand. Wouldn't a t-fitting just make another place for beer to spew out? Do you mean just initial air in the tube before you start pumping or during the entire pumping time?

Just the initial air in the tube. You have a T-fitting with one valve that just opens to air (the bleeder valve). When priming the pump you open the drain from the MLT/kettle/wherever, and then open the bleeder valve until the liquid is forced past the pump head, then close it.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Why is this not done as standard procedure during the manufacturing?

Because as I explained in earlier postings through out the forum that "normally" you will rarely run into this situation. Each part that's made has a min and max tolerance. If you happen to get a shaft that at the max and an impeller with an inside bore at the min...then you will have the smallest allowed clearance. With a water application it wont cause any issues. In the case of beer breewers you have solids and sugars in the liquid. If not cleaned out after use those can crystallize or block the clearance between the two and you will have an impeller seizure. If we drilled every impeller out to that size then I would be getting calls from the solar guys that have these mounted inside their homes as to why the pump head is so loud! I have made suggestions with possibly rifle boring the impeller during the molding process or maybe changing the shafts out with fluted style to allow more liquid inside but it has fallen on deaf ears as the ownership is in the "aged" state and are fine with the way things are right now. The younger generation that will eventually take over things along the same lines as I do and will do some nice changes eventually but they don't have any power as of yet!

-Walter

 

[ElevenBrewCo]

This is my setup. The pump is on the bottome there. Should i leave the pump there and just rotate it 90 degrees clockwise so the inlet is faceing up?

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[chuggerpumps]

Some good advise here ...many different opinions on this. We have been struggling with explaining plumbing issues on both March and Chugger pumps. It is never the pump...IT IS THEY WAY IT IS PLUMBED. Not many sellers of Beer pumps know pumps ...example..

"Many years ago MoreBeer! worked with March Pumps to release what is now the standard pump in the homebrewing community, their model 809 (our H315) with a polysulphone head and 6' cord with plug. Thousands and thousands of these pumps have been sold to homebrewers. Talk to most pump owners and they love the pump - except for sporadic problems with cavitation. This is an issue where the impeller spins but fluid does not flow.

The New Design
Now with a slight design modification the new model eliminates almost all of these issues. We've been testing/using the pump with our BrewSculptures for several months now and are extremely happy with the results, so much so that we are completely replacing the H315 with the high flow model.

THEY ARE CALIMING THE LARGER IMPELLER WILL REDUCE CAVITATION!!!! TOTALLY NOT TRUE...IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE !!

SIMPLE RULE TO FOLLOW .....OVERSIZE YOUR INLET PLUMBING TO NO LESS THAN 1/2" OD ...THE LESS RESTRICTION ON THE INLET SIDE THE BETTER. Next time your drink a milkshake use a cocktail straw ...same principle . Stay away from quickdisconnects on INLET side of pump..they will restrict flow and cause cavitation!!! BEST RESULTS ARE 1/2" CAMLOCK FITTINGS. WE WILL BE POSTING VIDEOS ON THE SCENARIOS MOST BREWERS RUN INOT WITH PUMP PROBLEMS ON CHUGGERPUMPS.COM IN THE VERY NEAR FUTURE ...YOU GUYS ARE HERE TO BREW BEER NOT DEAL WITH PUMP PROBLEMS . WE KNOW THESE PUMPS BETTER THAN ANYONE .....THEY ARE EXTREMELY SIMPLE ...FOLLOW THE PLUMBING GUIDELINES AND THE ONLY THING YOU WILL HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT IS CHUGGING YOUR NEXT BREW

 

[chuggerpumps]

Sorry about the typos ...just frustrated with talking to guys not plumbing these pumps correctly

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

This is my setup. The pump is on the bottome there. Should i leave the pump there and just rotate it 90 degrees clockwise so the inlet is faceing up?

Sent from my DROIDX using Home Brew Talk

Its sorta hard to tell from the pic but is your inlet on the left side and outlet on the right? If so then you can leave it as is. In that configuration the outlet is still at the highest point of the pump and the air should exit freely. The "perfect" setup would be with outlet facing up and inlet on bottom...air will find the highest point and will exit the pump head easiest.


-Walter

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Sorry about the typos ...just frustrated with talking to guys not plumbing these pumps correctly

i get @10 calls a day and 99% of them are plumbing related with these pumps....the other 1% are tyring to pump something way too heavy for this little pump to handle. Maybe we should include a picto-instruction sheet for those that dont want to read

-Walter

 

[chuggerpumps]

make the suction lines as short as possible

 

[drkwoods]

Originally Posted by chuggerpumps
THEY ARE CALIMING THE LARGER IMPELLER WILL REDUCE CAVITATION!!!! TOTALLY NOT TRUE...IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE !!

SIMPLE RULE TO FOLLOW .....OVERSIZE YOUR INLET PLUMBING TO NO LESS THAN 1/2" OD ...THE LESS RESTRICTION ON THE INLET SIDE THE BETTER. Next time your drink a milkshake use a cocktail straw ...same principle . Stay away from quickdisconnects on INLET side of pump..they will restrict flow and cause cavitation!!! BEST RESULTS ARE 1/2" Camlock

My question is what do I do next?.. because I am having cavitation issues with my 809's. They are both mounted outlet up (inlet down) and both are connected with Camlock QD's and everything is true 1/2"id. So Im frustrated. My hoses are pretty short and the Vessels are about 12" higher than the pumps. I did install "burp" release Valves right befor the ball valve on the outlets and still cant figure this one out.. I was going to buy the new March pumps but now Im wondering if this wouldnt help??

 

[chuggerpumps]

send me a pic of your system [email protected]...

 

[Catt22]

Originally Posted by chuggerpumps My question is what do I do next?.. because I am having cavitation issues with my 809's. They are both mounted outlet up (inlet down) and both are connected with Camlock QD's and everything is true 1/2"id. So Im frustrated. My hoses are pretty short and the Vessels are about 12" higher than the pumps. I did install "burp" release Valves right befor the ball valve on the outlets and still cant figure this one out.. I was going to buy the new March pumps but now Im wondering if this wouldnt help??

More information is needed. Under what conditions are you experiencing the cavitation? You do realize that you cannot pump boiling/near boiling wort or water, right? Are you sure that you have no air leaks on the suction side of the pump? A pic of your system with all tubing/piping in place would help us figure out what's going on. I'm running a direct fired RIMS with a single pump and have no problems with priming or cavitation.

 

[WalterAtMarchPump]

Originally Posted by chuggerpumps
THEY ARE CALIMING THE LARGER IMPELLER WILL REDUCE CAVITATION!!!! TOTALLY NOT TRUE...IT WILL MAKE IT WORSE !!

SIMPLE RULE TO FOLLOW .....OVERSIZE YOUR INLET PLUMBING TO NO LESS THAN 1/2" OD ...THE LESS RESTRICTION ON THE INLET SIDE THE BETTER. Next time your drink a milkshake use a cocktail straw ...same principle . Stay away from quickdisconnects on INLET side of pump..they will restrict flow and cause cavitation!!! BEST RESULTS ARE 1/2" Camlock

My question is what do I do next?.. because I am having cavitation issues with my 809's. They are both mounted outlet up (inlet down) and both are connected with Camlock QD's and everything is true 1/2"id. So Im frustrated. My hoses are pretty short and the Vessels are about 12" higher than the pumps. I did install "burp" release Valves right befor the ball valve on the outlets and still cant figure this one out.. I was going to buy the new March pumps but now Im wondering if this wouldnt help??

Give our regional sales guy a call and maybe he can drive out to your place when you have it setup and take a look at it for ya. He lives kinda close to you in Fountain Valley Ca his name is Mark Longobardi and his number is 714-743-8937 he travels all over the place on the west coast and knows his stuff inside and out.

-Walter

 

[drkwoods]

ok Heres my set up a March 809 and Teel pump. and yes I have cavitation probs with the boil being pumped, but I must say I always get it to work.. It just takes burping it several times.. But I also Have cavitation probs with pumping sparge water too. so.....

ps.. there is another 809 out of the pic same set up, but used as a back up because the Teel does more volume it seems. also I have swapped the March Head for the Polysulfone BTW

 

[drkwoods]

thnxx Walt thats very cool!