Steelhead Pumps - Clogging?

[l3lue2010]

Guys, I wanted to get a steel head pump to start using so I can transfer liquids easier however wouldn't it get clogged with the grain and hops when you transfer? How do you avoid this or is this a non-issue? Never used a pump before, pardon my ignorance.

Also what are the benefits of a conical fermenter?

 

[Konadog]

If your using it to transfer your wort from the mashtun to your boil kettle, what i do is run a gallon or so into a pitcher first to set the grain bed and remove most of the loose grain/husks, then connect my pump. You need a valve on the output of the pump to control flow, set this so that you only get a slight trickle of wort at first. Pump this back to the top of your mashtun and open the valve just a bit more. You don't want to run it wide open as it will suck the grain bed down so tight that nothing will pass thru it. I run it this way until the wort is clear and then move the hose to my boil kettle and drain. No grain gets thru this way.

Now if you use it for whirlpooling, then I know that my pump will just push hops (pellet hops) right thru the pump without clogging. Don't run the pump when you add hopps, but run it after they break up. I don't know about flower hops, never used them with my pump.

 

[processhead]

Most pumps for brewing will tolerate moderate amounts of solids suspended in liquid, but a slug of solids all at once will absolutely plug the pump suction line inlet.

You need a way to manage the solids making their way to the pump inlet side. One way is with various coarse screens on the inlet, but they can also clog too.

In a MLT a good false bottom, grain bag, or bazooka-type braided tube are your best bets for catching solids before they can enter a pump

I gravity feed out of my MLT into a grant made from a 5 gallon bucket. The bucket has a small pump installed in the base that transfers wort back up into my boil kettle every 5 minutes or so as the grant slowly fills.

I am running a RIMS so there are zero solids in the crystal clear wort as it enters the grant.

 

[l3lue2010]

I was watching a video of an all grain brew and they were circulating the water, I was just not sure how it didn't just all get clogged because they were not using any grain bag.

What do you mean 'set the grain bed' wouldn't that make all of the grain sit at the bottom right by the spigot at the bottom?

 

[processhead]

I was watching a video of an all grain brew and they were circulating the water, I was just not sure how it didn't just all get clogged because they were not using any grain bag.

What do you mean 'set the grain bed' wouldn't that make all of the grain sit at the bottom right by the spigot at the bottom?

If there is grain, there always some kind of filter between the grain and the outlet spigot, be it a perforated dome or bazooka tube, or slotted tubing array.

Setting the filter bed means establishing enough flow through the filter bed to compact it slightly so that it act as a filter during run off or recirculation.

 

[l3lue2010]

OK I think that is what I was looking for, perforated dome or bazooka tube, or slotted tubing array. Thank you!