Therminator Push or Suck

[Beertk]

I know I am just setting a thread up for innuendos but a few answers would be nice as well.

I have a march pump and a therminator. I normally recirc for 10- 15 minutes left in the boil then turn on the water and begin chill. The setup is Boil kettle> Therminator> Pump> Boil Kettle. This has never been a problem till now. I brewed a light lager(no cracks on this <I'm trying to cross it off the list of things I've brewed>) Normally I uses a hanging hop tool (the large bag suspended by a PVC pipe) however I figured .75 oz of pellet hops should not clog anything... I was wrong. I changed the configuration a bit and had much success. Push the wort. Boil kettle>Pump>Therminator>Boil Kettle. Now I wonder, would I have had the clog either way and if I turned it around it would clear????

So, is there a "Proper" method. It seems that the pull/push would be the same strength just in different directions. What do you do? Push or Pull/Suck.

 

[DustinHickey]

Your boil kettle is not pressurized so it's not the same strength. A standard setup would be to push the beer through the chiller with the pump.

if your pump produces 7'-0" of head, you would need to keep your beer level in your kettle 7'-0" above your pump inlet for it to be equal to the pump outlet. However, in this configuration, since you have 7'-0" at the inlet, the pump would provide 14'-0" of head at the outlet.

Either way you look at it, you will always have more pressure at your pump outlet then at the suction side due to the fact that it is an open loop system and the pump is just boosting the pressure that is being provided from the liquid level above the pump inlet.

-Dustin

 

[samc]

My March pump primes easier and works better if it is fed directly from the BK, so that's what I do.

I've read many posts of people who gravity feed the plate chiller from the BK without using any pumps in the process.

 

[olllllo]

Another push opinion.

 

[Catt22]

It's better to push through the chiller for optimum performance. The less restriction on the suction side of the pump the better it will perform. However, hop debris will likely clog your plate chiller regardless of whether you push or pull with the pump. I would suggest using your paint strainer thingy or some other method to keep the gunk out of your plate chiller.

 

[Beertk]

Thanks. That is what I'll do now. No more sucking.

 

[klyph]

No more sucking.

That's what she said