Cheap compact wort pump

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Anybody have issues with the impeller getting stuck? I use mine to push hot wort through a cfc and flush with fresh water after. I recently had an issue with the impeller getting stuck I opened it and managed to get it free but any ideas what is causing it? Any advice?
 
Is it hops getting in there? I have gotten a hop spider so that I can keep them out. I figured there was no way it would be able to churn through all the sludge from pellet hops. Even if I had one of the bigger pumps I don't think I would want it going through them either. I'm going to be doing 3 batches tomorrow, so we'll see how well it works, I've only done boiling water through the cfc in a test so far. Wish me luck!
 
I bought one of the tan pumps. I used it today and it worked pretty good but there were a couple times when the pump wouldn't prime. However I think that was more user error than the pumps fault. It was also the first time I used a typical cooler type mash tun. In the past I would mash in a bag and double batch sparge. Since moving to ten gallon batches pouring or using gravity became quite the task. So I set everything up with cam-locks. It was a successful brew day. I'm glad I got the pump. I used it for transfer from the HLT to the mash tun. Then to recirculate the mash until clear to set the grain bed. Then transfer to the keggle for boil. Same process for the batch sparge. I then used it to recirculate the wort while using my immersion cooler. Lastly I used it to transfer to the fermentor. This was my second time brewing a ten gallon batch and with this equipment it was a pretty easy brew day.
 
I'm sorry, I know there was some discussion about this earlier in the thread, but did we ever figure out if these pumps will respond to a PWM controller? I'm already building one to control my SSR, so if I can just switch the signal over to this and control the pump flow it would really make the project easier.
 
I got a chance to recirculate with mine this weekend. Here is a video. I am pumping boiling wort to sterilize everything here.



When combined with my immersion chiller, I cooled a 3-gal batch from a full boil to 70 in 12 minutes. Not too bad. I then used the pump to transfer to my primary. All in all, very happy with this tiny investment!
 
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I ordered a black one, just got here. I will hook it up sometime this week and see what it can do. Hopefully can transfer from hlt to mlt with about a 4' rise.
 
I tried PWM at 680 Hz which worked but the motor whined unpleasantly. I also tried PWM at 20 KHz which didn't work.
 
wbyrd01 said:
This is what I ordered for a power supply. Hope it works!

http://www.ebay.com/itm/151013314886?ssPageName=STRK:MEBOFFX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1432.l2649
Click to expand...

Good find, I just ordered one of these too!

Here is a shot of my mlt, and yes the multiple valves look overkill and is a bit over weighted. As you can see for fly sparging the valve is nearly closed to get it to trickle.

2013-04-27 17.34.08a.jpg


I reused a barbed fitting screwed onto a male camlock to make myself a little spray nozzle. The female camlocks tend to be a bit messy with low pressure wort coming out of them.

2013-04-27 17.34.27a.jpg


Overall I am still impressed with these pumps for the money. I did 3 batches over the weekend, 2 10g batches and 1 5g. Big day for 2 people and these were a big help. With the way I have them setup I did however have a heck of a time getting them primed. I'm sure if I had them screwed directly into the ball valve of the vessels they might be a bit easier. I don't really want to do that because I would like to take them off to keep from damaging them when transporting and storing. I think my new plan is to drop them down below with another hose line. I'm hoping that should allow air to exit and liquid to pour down in and get it primed. Most pumps on brew sculptures have the pump down low, so I'll give that a whack. My plan is to make a little power control box so that I can switch them on and off easily.

Nothing is ever finished...
 
I would attach the pump below the vessel using the backplate. You want to avoid stress on the screw threads because poeple have reported that they can snap off.
 
Spellman said:
Good find, I just ordered one of these too!

...
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My pump came in yesterday and that power supply showed up today. For eleven bucks it works pretty well, the voltage adjustment doesn't come down very much though. I'm going to brew on Saturday, I'll take some pictures of my setup and report back on how it goes.
 
another question about these pumps. What kind of tubing is everyone using here and where can it be found. A few places sell the 1/2 variety, but its only rated to about 175f. I was thinking to make it effective and not flow restrictive 3/4 inch hi temp silicone, but I am not sure where to look for this. Any ideas?
 
johns said:
another question about these pumps. What kind of tubing is everyone using here and where can it be found. A few places sell the 1/2 variety, but its only rated to about 175f. I was thinking to make it effective and not flow restrictive 3/4 inch hi temp silicone, but I am not sure where to look for this. Any ideas?
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Get some high-temp silicone tubing from BargainFittings.com (or another vendor that is active here). It's nice, and pretty cheap.
 
So I just got my tan P38i pump this week and hooked it up for a practice run today. I powered it at 12v using a homemade power supply I built from an old computer PSU. Here are some quantitative data for those that care:

At basically zero head (just a few inches from the height of the kettle volume to the lip of the bucket into which I was pumping) I averaged 42.67 seconds per gallon over 3 gallons, or 1.4 gallons per minute.

At 4' head, starting only with the pump at ground level and the output at full height (primed to just a few inches above the pump) it had trouble even getting any flow. It would move the water, but it was just at a trickle. BUT. . . .

When I started the pump from ground level with the output at a low height, then raised it once the flow was going, I got a kind of siphon effect that kept drawing as the hose was raised up to 48" where I then positioned it and started timing. I was able to maintain a good flow after this. Through this method, I got 68.36 seconds per gallon, or 0.88 gallons per minute. Still a decent flow, though I don't know how one would practically get this sort of "pumped siphon" action going.

As a cheap pump for a single-tier system, this thing still seems to be a fine choice.
 
I thought of that also, but the the inside diamater that they sell on barginfittings might not fit on my black pump with a 3/4 inch (or near to there) OD. I am using the proflow dynamics cam locks. How do you squeeze 1/2 inch tubing onto a 3/4 inch OD? Or maybe just get larger tubing?
 
johns said:
I thought of that also, but the the inside diamater that they sell on barginfittings might not fit on my black pump with a 3/4 inch (or near to there) OD. I am using the proflow dynamics cam locks. How do you squeeze 1/2 inch tubing onto a 3/4 inch OD? Or maybe just get larger tubing?
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What camlocks are you using? 3/4" OD of the threads sounds like 1/2" NPT/BSP. Most setups have a camlock screwed into the pump input/output, then a camlock with a hose tail (or threaded camlock with hosetail/elbow threaded into it) on the hose side.
Can you explain what you are doing?
 
I dont fully understand the head height vs friction math, but if I needed consistent flow at 4' head, I could achieve this with 3/8 tubing vs 1/2 as there would be less mass to push up correct? Or would friction negate any gains?
 
rhoop said:
I dont fully understand the head height vs friction math, but if I needed consistent flow at 4' head, I could achieve this with 3/8 tubing vs 1/2 as there would be less mass to push up correct? Or would friction negate any gains?
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The head pressure of the liquid is only proportional to the change in height:
Pressure = density (constant) x 9.81 (gravity constant) x height (variable). The higher you go the more pressure the pump must supply to get it there. Going to 3/8 tubing would make things worst as there is more resistance in smaller tube at a given flow - this would "rob" some of the pressure that is trying to get the liquid up high :D
 
johns said:
I thought of that also, but the the inside diamater that they sell on barginfittings might not fit on my black pump with a 3/4 inch (or near to there) OD. I am using the proflow dynamics cam locks. How do you squeeze 1/2 inch tubing onto a 3/4 inch OD? Or maybe just get larger tubing?
Click to expand...

Take a Dremel and dull the threads on your camlocks then just stretch the hose over. It's not too hard. I've never even put clamps on mine and they hold perfectly. Or you can buy hose nipples, just make sure you get the 5/8 or you'll restrict the flow. Most of us just stretch the hose over.
 
Just talked with wayne over at barginfittings.com and he said the same thing, only he also said that its possible to stretch it over a 7/8 fitting which is more than I need. Just placed an order for 5 feet!!
 
I just pulled the trigger on one of these. I'm in the process of building a portable HERMS system and will be using this to recirculate hot liquor in my eHLT, and then also to move the hot liquor for fly sparging.
 
I had been following this thread for the first hundred or so posts. There was talk about PWM, and other ways of controlling flow. I'm wondering, of those who actually have one of the tan Buy In Coins pumps, is there a consensus on the best way to control flow? I was just planning on a ball valve on output side, using this mostly for a CFC, so mainly only controlling flow if wort temp was too hot coming out full throttle. Will just using the valve be OK or are there any concerns?
 
tre9er said:
I had been following this thread for the first hundred or so posts. There was talk about PWM, and other ways of controlling flow. I'm wondering, of those who actually have one of the tan Buy In Coins pumps, is there a consensus on the best way to control flow? I was just planning on a ball valve on output side, using this mostly for a CFC, so mainly only controlling flow if wort temp was too hot coming out full throttle. Will just using the valve be OK or are there any concerns?
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I have the tan one from buyincoins and bought one of these from lowes
APXFF1212S.jpg
(APXFF1212S Size: 1/2" PEX x 1/2" FPT Female Swivel Valve)
Its on the output side and regulates the flow just fine for me to fly sparge. It fits the threads better than my npt fittings too. I think it would be fine for a CFC.
 
Thanks. I ordered another 1/2" ball valve from BF, camlock fittings, etc. for this. Now I'm trying to figure out how most people are going from 1/2" to 3/8" from pump to CFC...Thinking of just putting a bit of 3/8" tubing on the CFC inlet then slipping the 1/2" silicone over that...OR getting a reducer. I'll figure something out.
 
nothing else is needed,,,just plug and play...to regulate the flow (if needed), use the ball valve, like brooks said (shawshank redemption) easey peasey japanesey.

I have the black one and I run it though a 20 foot CFC with no problems, Only difference is I use 1.6 amp power supply I found laying around somewhere, cut the ends off and attach it to the wires.
 
johns said:
nothing else is needed,,,just plug and play...to regulate the flow (if needed), use the ball valve, like brooks said (shawshank redemption) easey peasey japanesey.

I have the black one and I run it though a 20 foot CFC with no problems, Only difference is I use 1.6 amp power supply I found laying around somewhere, cut the ends off and attach it to the wires.
Click to expand...

So there is a power cord, its just not displayed?
 
I guess its everything pictured. I just found and old powersupply unit from an old labtop and it works perfectly. I just cut the ends off and attach it to the pump.

If you buy that its ok, If you want to find an old labtop PS unit, or even some cell phone chargers will work (or so its been posted here).

Requirements would be at least 1.2 amps. Less than this I think affects power output. 1.6 amps works well and someone on this thread also recommend this type of amperage. 2 or more amp i guess would also work, but I guess it affects the life of the pump. 20 USD is not alot, so I would not worry about it, relative to buying a march or a chugger pump. Like you, I have no background in any type of electronics, so for me to hook it up was really nice. I would not worry about electrictuion. 1.5 amps is nothing. I have been shocked with 220 volts and still alive to talk about it (the connection was not wet).
 
First, don't listen to Johns, he doesn't know what he's talking about.

Second, you need a power supply that matches the VOLTAGE (DC power supply) of the pump. The tan one's power requirements listed on ebay is "Rated voltage: 12V DC. Rated current: 0.8A."

You need to match the voltage and match or exceed the amperage. The motor pulls as much power as it needs, so even if the power supply is able to supply more than .8A, the pump will only draw .8A, without causing any problems.

For example, using a power supply rated at 12v, 1.2A would work just fine.


johns said:
I guess its everything pictured. I just found and old powersupply unit from an old labtop and it works perfectly. I just cut the ends off and attach it to the pump.

If you buy that its ok, If you want to find an old labtop PS unit, or even some cell phone chargers will work (or so its been posted here).

Requirements would be at least 1.2 amps. Less than this I think affects power output. 1.6 amps works well and someone on this thread also recommend this type of amperage. 2 or more amp i guess would also work, but I guess it affects the life of the pump. 20 USD is not alot, so I would not worry about it, relative to buying a march or a chugger pump. Like you, I have no background in any type of electronics, so for me to hook it up was really nice. I would not worry about electrictuion. 1.5 amps is nothing. I have been shocked with 220 volts and still alive to talk about it (the connection was not wet).
Click to expand...
 

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