When and how to use a pump?!?!

[roggae]

so i am moving soon and i am thinking about my next incarnation of the brewery. i am an AG brewer with two converted kegs and a converted cooler mash tun. right now i am using gravity and a 3 tiered system to get from HLT to carboy. it is a pita. i am thinking since i am moving i might want to go to using a pump, but i am not sure if that would do me well or if i'd need more than one or which kind i'd need. i've seen alot of talk abou them on the interwebs and i know alot of the online brewshops sell them but i dont know much. can you help? lol!

[HogieWan]

I am thinking of adding a pump to my system for vorlauf (recirc) and moving the beer to the fermenter.

[roggae]

i think its a good idea, but it is it a better idea to just build a 3 teir system?

[paulcgi]

I had a 3 tier system and have just moved to a RIMS. My HLT and Mash sit on the same level on a stand that I built. I have a single pump and use it for everything because, as far as I can think of, there are no times when you would be circulating your mash AND pumping something else. There may be, I just can't think of anything right now.
After the mash is done, I shut off the pump, close the valves, un-hook the hose that goes from mash to pump and hook it up to HLT. I then open the valve on the HLT and pump from HLT to mash to sparge and I gravity feed to the boil kettle which is sitting on a "stand-alone" turkey fryer burner. One of the nice things about a setup like this, even if you do not circulate the mash liquor is that you dont have to lift your HLT with 8 gallons of sparge water more than waist high.
I'm not saying that my system is perfect, it is in a state of flux as are most system, I'd imagine.
got lots of pics & a few videos if you want em

oh.. there are also those who use a pump to circulate after a boil and also to transfer from boil kettle to fermenter. I siphon to fermenter and just use a plain ol immersion chiller.
and edit again: just re-read.. as to which pump:, food safe and high temp. little giant, march and a couple others. I have a march 809. this is the one most of the hbs shops sell (b3, nb etc) only thing about them is that they are not self-priming, you must mount them lower than the kettles.

[kujo]

The march 809 (and most centrifugal pumps I've seen sold to homebrewers) are not only not self priming, but you can damage them if you run them dry. You can also damage them by letting wort (or water, or whatever) drip into the housing.

I have a march pump, and considered getting a second one to make my system a one-level system where everything that moved did so via a pump. That was until I discovered (about two days ago) this thing called a 'peristaltic pump'.

I refuse to buy another pump until I can figure out how these things work and how I can find one cheap. They don't appear to be sold as a packaged unit ready-made for the home brewer. You instead buy a motor separate from the head (which is the business end of things). These pumps are insanely fantastic, and have been used by homebrewers since before NB had a website, and they're still used now. Here are a few benefits:

1. completely self priming!! That alone is worth the extra effort of finding one in my book.

2. You can run it completely dry if you want.

3. You can dial in a speed so you can pump water to the mash tun very fast and pump from the mash tun to the boiler very slow.

4. You can reverse the flow on many models with the flip of a switch.

5. Believe it or not, the liquid running through the pump is actually never exposed to any part of the pump directly. You have to see *how* the pump works to believe this. There's a great illustration here --> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peristaltic_pump

6. Some models have "stackable" heads. Each head has and inlet and an outlet, which means you can use the same *motor* with multiple *heads* - say, one that handles moving from HLT to MLT, and another one from MLT to kettle. Here's a pic of what I mean --> http://genome.uiowa.edu/~djtack/brew/tn/Pump.jpg.php

I feel slightly bitter toward the bigger homebrewer sales operations for not finding a way to bring a product to us that works on these principles. However, these units, new, appear to be somewhat expensive, and so that probably plays a big part.

If anyone has links to *exact models* of heads and controllers that can be used together for homebrewing in a 3/8" tubing brewery, let me know!!!! I will not rest until I figure this out!! :-D

[barleyburps]

I have a march model 809. I have a two tier system in that I gravity drain my mash to the lauter tun, then use the pump to recirculate the lauter tun, then to pump back up to my mash/boil kettle. My mssh tun is the same pot as my boil kettle.

I've been using this same pump since 2003 and have been really happy with it. It's magnetically driven, which means the motor turns a magnetic impeller inside the pump housing. This is good in that there is no mechanical seal to leak, and no coupling to wear out. It also means you can throttle the liquid outlet flow with no worry of causing overheating of the motor.

[MichaelM]

Yes there has been some interest in a peristaltic pump in a couple threads now.... why they are so expensive I have NO idea!!! in essence they are a very simple device and someone with alittle machining skill could fab one up pretty easy.... but those buggers run a fortune new/used lol..... Guess it because they are used alot in the medical/laboratory and companies can get away with charging those prices

[kujo]

Yeah, I'm guessing 1/2 the cost comes from the money that the manufacturers have to spend to get the devices the certifications that are required for them to be used in medical field. I guess government-enforced quality control is better than no quality control. :-/

[HogieWan]

I was going to say something similar to kujo there. I plan on building one pretty soon (next couple months)

[roggae]

i have used the peristalic pump in the medical feild. lots of kids who are tube fed use these pumps. this thread is a good one! i'll you all know what i decide. if anyone knows where i can get a cheap 809 please let me know...

thanks