Somebody check out this pump for me please!

[TerapinChef]

Tell me if the specs on this pump look acceptable for a homebrewing situation. I have an opportunity to purchase this for a reasonable price and the specs look good to me, but I am no expert...

Grundfos Pump UP26-96F 1/12 HP Recirculator Pump.
Thanks!

 

[schweaty]

If you don't mind me asking, what is reasonable? That sight you linked to had a $285 purchase price. Are you going to use quick disconnects on soft line or a hard lined plumbing system? I'm not sure how you would connect a ballvalve, from the pictures it kind of looks like you would need clover clamps. The pump is made from cast iron and can withstand temps up to 230 so thats a plus.

 

[Catt22]

That pump doesn't appear to be a mag drive design which most home brewers prefer for sanitation reasons. The mag drive pumps don't have a seal between the pump volute and the motor shaft. A shaft seal is nearly impossible to sanitize. Also, as mentioned above, the pump inlet/outlet connections are flanged making hose connections somewhat more of a hassle than if it had the typical pipe thread style connections. I would not recommend this pump for brewing. IMO, it would be much better to stick with a March or Little Giant pump. I think these are selling for $125 or so.

 

[TerapinChef]

It just looked like it would have looked way more imposing on my stand than a puny little march pump. Cool, thanks guys.

 

[Seabee John]

It just looked like it would have looked way more imposing on my stand than a puny little march pump. Cool, thanks guys.

Oh Man! If you are worried about a "puny little march pump" the 809 is not the biggest they make... so a quick search for "march pump" on ebay. You will find mag drive march pumps large enough to convert your brew rig to a self contained "volunteer fire department".

 

[FSR402]

It just looked like it would have looked way more imposing on my stand than a puny little march pump. Cool, thanks guys.

are you trying to compensate for something?

 

[TerapinChef]

Of course! You think I really need a 6 foot tall 250# brewstand? It makes up for not knowing what I'm doing!

 

[schweaty]

Take it easy on the guy fellas, chicks like big pumps!

 

[SpanishCastleAle]

I use Grundfos pumps like that at work. Our DM Water is 170o F and we use a very similar Grundfos as the circulator pump (3 different systems). I also use them as circulators for some ovens that have cooling. Those pumps are kick ass pumps...very high quality and built to last. But they aren't cheap.

We also use mag-drive March pumps as chiller-loop pumps for a solvent that we want to keep isolated...several locations. I don't really like the March mag-drives. I've had a lot of failures but we run them 24/7/365 (as we do the Grundfos...you almost can't kill a Grundfos).

So...in extreme use the Grundfos kicks the March's ass but for brewing I would think the March is probably more than adequate.

 

[Laughing_Gnome_Invisible]

This is a circulator for things like heating systems.....for entire houses! 27.5 gallons a minute! As SCA said, they are great pumps, but this would be serious overkill. This is enough pump for my 7000 gallon fish pond, but for my beer? Nah.

 

[conpewter]

I actually have a pump very similar to that... including rust inside since it is a cast iron pump.

Instead I bought a taco-bronze circulator pump on ebay. It has stood the test through two brew sessions now, it doesn't prime very easily but once I unsoldered some connections and made it so the inlet is directly below the outlet it worked better. I still need to squeeze the lines sometimes to get the pump going again if I loose prime, but it is workable now.

(I bought it for like $39, not the price of this auction, same guy same pump)
http://cgi.ebay.com/Taco-Bronze-Car...dZViewItemQQptZBI_Pumps?hash=item300290415333

On the other hand if I had to do it again I'd just save up the money and buy a march 809, I spent way too long figuring out how to get this one to work and screwing with it.