I just noticed that it appears the took the head casting from a chugger pump and mounted it on the pump... the mounting holes appear as if they would line right up from the pics.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009Z1014A/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20
it also appearsthere are two companies in china making the same pumps or they are manufacturing for each other to sell under their own names.
here you can see the tan ones I use sold as topsflo pumps. at least they have the "FDA" approval everyone was looking for earlier in the thread. unlike the stainless TD5? (possibly because its new to the market?)
http://www.buyneto.com/?ua=ncG1vJloZrCvp2OurbXEsaernaOoe6S7zGiqraeimnxyf5JraHFt
I have to say If it where me who had the choice between these little centrifugal pumps and a chugger for less I would take the chugger... these pumps are nice but they usually have a shorter lifespanwhen turned on and off often. They have no replacement parts and the fact that they are like half the power for more money AND require an additional power supply to function = additional costs...
Dont get me wrong I love my DC pumps they work great especially with my $6 pwm speed controllers the flow is just about perfect for my setup... But I use three permanently mounted pumps while brewing and have a 4th for a spare and they were under $20 shipped a piece... not $140...It would cost me over $400 to have the same functionality and ability to brew withour removing or changing any lines or pumps like I do...
I have no real desire to upgrade except if I had wanted to whirlpool but I use a stir bar for that.
That is a good point about no having AC near the brew but since I am an electric brewer that would be my least concern, plus I would use a GFCI outlet to avoid any problems...
I think if topsflo really wants to make these sell for this use they would need more competitive pricing...
wbarber69, I see your using your pump with a 12v power supply, In case you didnt notice the TD5 is a 24v pump that requires 17v (native voltage I believe from many solar panels including mine) to pump at the advertised capacity..(since the pump was originally for solar I believe its designed to boost the varying weaker voltage or buck it and create more working amps kind of like a MPPT solar charger) to use power directly from solar panels to power the pump (likely with a 555 chip). At 12v it appears it pumps closer to 3 gpm although the information is sketchy and different sites post different flow rates for the same pump. something to consider checking into if you find yourself looking for more power for things like whirl pooling.
theres a lot going on for sure in the circuitry of these pumps... hopefully that doesn't effect reliability much.