can a pump be too strong to use in a diy CIP system?

[nogoer]

Just looking for some advice on a pump i'd like to use for a CIP system. Its an old Ace float switch sump pump rated at 3600GPH and 1/2hp. I bought it years ago when an old house had some seasonal flooding issues and i've been dragging it around ever since. So i thought maybe it would work as a CIP system with a bucket resevoir.

Im planning on using a hose to hook up to the 3" tc port cip ball on the conical and then building a wand to screw the cip ball to for inverting kegs over the top. Im just concerned it might create too much pressure or that it pumps out way too fast for things to drain back in.

Thanks for any thoughts.

 

[day_trippr]

You could stick a tee on the pump output and run one leg through a ball valve discharging back into your reservoir to control the volume/pressure heading to your conical or wand via the other leg of the tee...

Cheers!

 

[nogoer]

You could stick a tee on the pump output and run one leg through a ball valve discharging back into your reservoir to control the volume/pressure heading to your conical or wand via the other leg of the tee...

Cheers!

Thats a great idea, thanks

 

[wilserbrewer]

No pump expert here.

But I think with a valve on the outflow you could cut the flow back to almost a trickle without a problem. Valves etc for a bypass loop seems excessive.

My 2hp lawn sprinkler pump seems just as happy at 1 Gpm out of a hose bib as it does at 27 gpm through 9 sprinkler heads...

As I understand it, the fear is as flow approaches zero the fluid can start to boil inside the pump....this is what you need to avoid. A spray ball won't put you any where near this condition.

Ime a second bypass line and valve may not reduce pressure and volume in the system unless it is of sufficient volume to truly challenge the pump. My guess is that you would remain in the middle of the pump curve and the bypass would make little difference.

 

[day_trippr]

Never having the pleasure of needing one I thought a sump pump would be a positive-displacement type, and the classic way to control those in a closed application is to literally recycle the output back to the input under control of a teed output valve leading back to a teed input. In this case, with an open source, dumping back into the reservoir accomplishes the same effect.

But a bit of Google-Fu suggests most sump pumps are in fact centrifugal, which implies one could apply at least some degree of direct output throttling without bad things happening...

Cheers!

 

[Dcpcooks]

You'll want to ensure you have a large enough return openings. If you have a racking arm and a dump port in your conical you'll be fine. You will be pushing hot liquid into a confined space and gravity will be your return so it's relatively easy to build up pressure or a vacuum inside the conical which could be a problem for you. In general you'll need twice the exit volume. So with a 1/2 input you'll want 1"plus exit space.
While cleaning I have the racking arm open with a drain tube attached that hovers just above the liquid in the bucket. I use a 1" hose on the triclamp bottom dump port for the return. I've not had any problems after I realized I needed to have some form of a breather to manage pressure or vacuum build up in the conical.