Would I benefit from a pump with my current setup?

[dierythmus]

• I’m an all-grain brewer. I heat my strike water in a 15 gallon kettle (via propane) that is elevated slightly higher than my mash tun. Once I hit my strike temp, I drain it out into my pre-heated converted cooler mash tun.
• While mashing, I heat my sparge water in my kettle via propane burner.
• After mashing, I lift the cooler onto a chair, and drain my first runnings into a bucket. I then put the mash tun back on the ground, move the hot kettle with sparge water to the elevated position (one part I don’t particularly like), and drain my second runnings into another bucket.
• I then pour both runnings back into the kettle, and lift the kettle back onto my burner (another part I don’t like)

All of this being said, my main concern is cooling. I am currently cooling with a nice CFC that is gravity fed. It doesn’t flow very fast (but it cools well), and the kettle doesn’t quite drain all of the way (underneath the inside spout is hard to get through the chiller). Is my setup pump-worthy?

 

[LandoLincoln]

Any time you have to elevate large volumes of really hot liquids is a good time to consider getting a pump. That's an accident waiting to happen.

A pump definitely speeds up the chilling process using a CFC.

Sounds like you should get a dip tube installed into your BK first.

 

[wardens355]

...I heat my strike water in a 15 gallon kettle (via propane) that is elevated slightly higher than my mash tun
...I lift the cooler onto a chair
...I then put the mash tun back on the ground,
...move the hot kettle with sparge water to the elevated position
...and lift the kettle back onto my burner.

Yes, because of all the bold above. I don't use a CFC, so cannot comment on that. +1 to the dip tube.

I use a dedicated hot water kettle and separate boil kettle, so I don't have to transfer runnings into a temporary holding container. I recommend the same, but it does cost more. I no longer move any of my kettles or cooler mash tun until I am done. My pumps handle all of the moving liquids after I dump clean water from my Better Bottles into my hot water kettle. Lifting that mash tun full of grain and water, as well as the boil kettle full of water, was too big of an injury risk IMO. Of course, the $$$ spent on equipment between those days and now have been substantial.

 

[dierythmus]

Thanks!

Would a simple cheap-o Ebay pump work for this, or do I need to go the $$ Chugger Pump route?

 

[Onkel_Udo]

Thanks!

Would a simple cheap-o Ebay pump work for this, or do I need to go the $$ Chugger Pump route?

It all depends on how you plan to re-configure. The 12V Solar pump are great for moving hot water (up to about 180F). They should be fine for moving hot wort from the mash tun to the boiler (some debate on this). Unless they have come out with something new, they are not so great for moving boiling anything.

So if you move your burner to a location low enough to gravity drain to you fermentor you have to pump hot water up tot he mash tun...good here. You also still have to capture you wort coming out of the mash tun and if you do that in the boil kettle it needs to be on the burner...so how do you get the hot water up for your sparge and have some place to capture you first running where it does not have be moved by hand.

Me, I would get a second burner, a second kettle and a cheap Solar pump...of course at that point you could even more easily go all gravity fed like I am. Of course that does not help with your CFC, either.