Pump Deal?

[MikShau]

Hi,

Starting to get old and lazy and tired of moving hot liquids by hand.

There's a March AC-2cp-MD on E-Bay

E-bay pump (http://cgi.ebay.com/March-Model-AC-2CP-MD-Magnetic-drive-fan-cooled-pump_W0QQitemZ140025292661QQihZ004QQcategoryZ46547 QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem)

For $25 + $10 shipping.

Any opinions?

[danno]

you may want to verify that 1/4" output, I don't think his description is accurate. if it's a 1/2" output as most of the March pumps are, then it's a steal at $25 (heck, it's a steal at $50...) I'd also ask the seller what the head material is made of, whether it's polypropylene or polysulfone. I have a polypropylene one that's rated to 180º, but I've used it with boiling wort for two years now with no issues. Polysulfone is rated to 250º and would be an even better deal...

[zoom6zoom]

Googling that model number found this link, HERE (http://marchmanufacturing.thomasnet.com/item/march-pumps/series-2-5-5-gpm-ac-electric-motors/ac-2cp-md?&seo=110) , which seems to verify that it's 1/4 inch with polypropylene.

[MikShau]

Thanks,

I does look too good to be true, but PayPal and E-bay are supposed to be pretty good at rooting out scammers.

I'll give it a try and let you know what happens.

[danno]

I emailed the guy, he verified it's a 3/8" inlet, with a 1/4" outlet. may be a bit small, especially if you have an efficient CFC or plate chiller, but if the price is right, let us know how it works out. says he has a bunch of them...

[denver brewhoo]

you know, even if you have the March with the 1/2 outlet, this might be a good second pump.....at this price anyway....for recirculating wort, or for running sparge water from hlt to mlt...

I like to go fast draining the kettle but these other applications, slowness may actually be kind of a virtue.....

[Mad Scientist]

It is not foodsafe....you'll need polysulfone, steel, or pickeled brass to get that....

[Halgarmeister]

Originally posted by MikShau
but PayPal and E-bay are supposed to be pretty good at rooting out scammers.

No, NO they aren't! All they are interested in is collecting their fees.

What they will do is ask you to return the item and them to refund your money, and that's where it ends, neither side can or will be forced to hold thier end of the bargain and it doesn't stop the scammer from doing it to someone else.

Been there, done that...

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by Halgarmeister
No, NO they aren't! All they are interested in is collecting their fees.

What they will do is ask you to return the item and them to refund your money, and that's where it ends, neither side can or will be forced to hold thier end of the bargain and it doesn't stop the scammer from doing it to someone else.

Been there, done that...

Halgar is right.

Ebay and Paypal (owned by ebay) are intersted in making money. They are a business, that is what they do. How ever, they are very good at following up on complaints about fraud, questionable items, etc. The solutions they have in place are good, and generally fair, but they will not do anything on their own, you have to complain. Why? When they remove an it, or void a sale, etc; they have to refund money. There are dedicated people who police ebay, and report auctions to ebay for them to remove.

BTW, IMO, the only reason that ebay polices itself is because if they didn't:
1. ebay would become a place rampant with fraud, and people would stop using it.
2. If ebay did not take steps against fraud, they could be held liable. Even if it would not stand up in court, it would be expensive to have to constantly defend lawsuits.

[danno]

Originally posted by Boerne Brew
It is not foodsafe....you'll need polysulfone, steel, or pickeled brass to get that.... polypropylene is food safe. for instance, every tic-tac box lid is made from it...

[Mill Rat]

both Halgar and Bourne Brew are right, and BB has the more complete explanation. There are two reasons that both exist in the 800-lb gorilla class: They were among the first providers of those particular services that also provided a more trustworthy process than their competitors at the time.

Both sevices are well aware that it is the disinterested evenhandedness of their services and their ability to enforce the terms of or cancel a transaction made through them that allows folks to do business with entities that they have not otherwise heard of. That said, they will not act to provide arbitration unless pushed to do so by one of the parties in the transaction.

[OrionBrew]

Originally posted by MikShau
I does look too good to be true, but PayPal and E-bay are supposed to be pretty good at rooting out scammers.


Use a credit card with PayPal. Even if they will not reimburse you, you can send the item via certified mail back to the seller, and the credit card company will yank that money back from PayPal.

I received an item from ebay that was different than what was described. eBay turned me over to PayPal and PayPal told me that because I received something that there was nothing they would do. In fact the process was automatic, they denied my claim in a matter of seconds. Luckly I used a credit card with PayPal and got my money back. I haven’t used eBay much since then.

[Mad Scientist]

Care and thought need to go into using ebay...espicially for an item like a pump...you never know what has been pumped through it. In my line of work, you would never, ever be able to clean a pump for human consumption related uses once we have made good use of it.

[Mill Rat]

Originally posted by Boerne Brew
In my line of work, you would never, ever be able to clean a pump for human consumption related uses once we have made good use of it.
Yeah, and that's only pumping that fine Midland water that you disparaged in another recent post...

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by Mill Rat
Yeah, and that's only pumping that fine Midland water that you disparaged in another recent post...

No, Midland water will ruin a pump the first time out :D

[Jeff]

Originally posted by Boerne Brew
No, Midland water will ruin a pump the first time out

Highjack:

I just worked on a project in a nearby small town that had well water so bad that it had runied a fire sprinkler system at a Nursing Home. If the water ruins black steel, what does it do to your insides?:eek:

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by Jeff
Highjack:

I just worked on a project in a nearby small town that had well water so bad that it had runied a fire sprinkler system at a Nursing Home. If the water ruins black steel, what does it do to your insides?:eek:

Which is why you should consume extra homebrew, it is like taking iodine for radiation poisioning.

2005 Midland water:
Average concentrations in ug/l:
As - 21
Ba - 155
F - 500
NO4 - 880
Se - 17.7
Pb - 2.6
Cu - 267
HAA - 29.2
TTHM - 59.2

Bicarbonate - 118000
Ca - 103000
Chloride - 368000
Hardness - 425000
Fe - 20
Mg - 61500
Na - 343000
SO4 - 284000
Total Alkalinity - 118000
TDS - 1478000
Total Hardness - 510000

[Mill Rat]

BB,

Do you pump that fine Midland water or shovel it? Do you RO that dreck or just go out and buy bottled water of some ilk for your brewing?

[Mad Scientist]

I buy it....I would rather not ruin an expensive home R.O. system in a matter of days....

[matt finish]

i just wanted to rant a bit about ebay/paypal.

as a disclaimer, i haven't used ebay much in about 3 years.

i used to buy and sell quite a bit on ebay. i moved and sold almost all of my belongings, so imagine the amount of auctions i had going. i think i sold 150 cds alone (all individually). i got screwed as a buyer and seller. i would say 10 percent of buyers flake out. i was out fees, and you could recoup them from ebay but it was a pretty circuitous process.

now buying, that was a different story. early int he days of ebay they just wouldn't send your stuff. and ebay would send you on a wild goose chase and then at the end tell you to pay them for an arbitrator. when you're spending less than 100 bucks it's really not worth it.

later, as soon as last christmas, i started seeing a different scam. i was buying electronics that were listed as new but when i got them they were obviously used, as obvious as reeking of smoke or having coffee spilled on them. these distributors will apologize and then turn around and send you a slightly less used product. ebay would do nothing about it. i mean, most of the time you get so worn out dealing with the crooks (both ebay and the sellers) you just give in.

oh, and feedback is a joke. if you leave something bad the recipient will just blast you harder. if ebay cared about anything other than just the appearance of propriety they'd hide feedback until both parties left it.

ebay is not safe in my experience.

sorry for the rant.

[MikShau]

Wow, all the angst is making me want a beer.

Well, $31 + $10 shipping for a $115 item is worth a shot.
I did get a notice that the seller got a shipping label with my address on it. It also has the shippers address. So worse comes to worse, I can send hate mail.

Where the H--- is Bandera TX.?

I was going to use it for moving wort from a gant into the brew kettle, so temperature and GPM shouldn't be an issue. I might also try using another cooler as a HLT and use the pump to move heated water up to it.

I'll post when/if I get it.

[HogieWan]

Originally posted by matt finish

ebay is not safe in my experience.

of course its not. It's buying or selling to/from someone you don't know over the anonymous net. Make sure the price is WELL worth it and don't buy high ticket items. Respect it for what it is and use it accordingly.

[toneyc]

Originally posted by MikShau
Where the H--- is Bandera TX.?


Bandera is about 30 miles south of Kerrville and about 25 miles west of Boerne. See:

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=bandera,+tx&ie=UTF8&z=9&ll=29.726222,-99.07196&spn=1.512152,3.018494&om=1

:D
Toney.

[Mad Scientist]

Originally posted by MikShau
Where the H--- is Bandera TX.?


Hehe, you're gonna loves this....

Bandera is about 25 miles west of Boerne, used to drive through it all the time before I moved. I'm not joking either....

[MikShau]

To put some closure on this thread.

I did receive the pump last Friday. It looked brand new in the original/ unopened box. The March parts list and gaurentee card were both there.

Went to Lowes and got a valve, some fittings and, a 3 prong plug.
put it all together and it moves water at 3 GPM. That's almost faster than I could move the kettle from the burner to the table so I could fill the fermentor.
Unless it blows up in the next few weeks. I'd have to call this a successful E-Bay experiance.

[ontap78]

Keep us posted on how that pump holds up. I am also in the market for one or two.