Magnetic Pump From AliExpress...

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MplsUgly said:
$31 shipping makes this close to a chugger. I have been interested in the little food grade plastic pumps for HLT recirculating but I don't think I would put wort through one of those.

https://www.ebay.com/p/DC-24v-Brush...ith-9m-Total-Head/1466323554?iid=292291681970
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Im not sure how much you can get a chugger pump for, but here in Canada (where everything is more expensive for some dumb reason) they are about $190 plus shipping and taxes. The pump on AliExpress is $91 shipped to my door!!
 
hmm, looks identical. Noticed that he states it has a lower output then the name brand ones. Curious if Max flow rate; 5 gal/minute at zero head is enough.
 
I do. I used a 24v little brown pump but felt it was too loud. The MK II like pump is quiet and more powerful, although I don’t need that power.
 
I have this exact pump and it works great. I use it for the boil recirc through my CFC as it's compatible with the temperatures. I've had it for two years now which was before it became available via several sellers here in the US. The bare pump price was about 1/2 that of even a Chugger but the shipping made up the rest with a delivered price of about $100... now that it's available from sellers, I've seen it as low as $80 with sales and such. I got it as I wanted a SS pump head and the Chugger for the inline or center inlet was a LOT more. I've used it at least a half dozen times and no issues. Btw, this motor is sealed rather then the cage motor that is open from Chugger or March so less worries about drips. Plenty of flow and pressure for the application.
 
Zmanwithdog said:
I have this exact pump and it works great. I use it for the boil recirc through my CFC as it's compatible with the temperatures. I've had it for two years now which was before it became available via several sellers here in the US. The bare pump price was about 1/2 that of even a Chugger but the shipping made up the rest with a delivered price of about $100... now that it's available from sellers, I've seen it as low as $80 with sales and such. I got it as I wanted a SS pump head and the Chugger for the inline or center inlet was a LOT more. I've used it at least a half dozen times and no issues. Btw, this motor is sealed rather then the cage motor that is open from Chugger or March so less worries about drips. Plenty of flow and pressure for the application.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the review! I would rather buy it from a North American business any day of the week but once I factor in the exchange rate and shipping to my door, unless i pick it up at the border, its still considerably cheaper to get it off AliExpress. I will have to do some more searching and see if anyone close has these, now that I know they exist.

My system will be a 2 tier system with the mash tun using gravity to drain back down to the boil kettle, sounds like the pump will still handle the job.
 
I remember reading something like that this AliExpress seller split ties with the company that produces the Mark II pump, so he took his supply to AliExpress. Apparently it's the same pump as the Mark II, just unbranded, and without any business backing it if issues do arise.

My SS Mark II has been a real treat to use, especially with the Black Friday pricing I got it for.
 
I have the KegKingdom mark II that looks the same. Works really well. The plastic threads of the Mark I was a pain for stripping when you put fittings on them but the Mark II is near perfect. My tip is to unscrew rotate the head so the exit port (the side on) exits between the top two sets of screws. It means your outflow is at a bit of an angle but it makes priming the pump MUCH easier. I've replaced the plugs on mine with RCD plugs too just in case. The plastic at the back hides some electrical connections and isn't sealed. I don't plan on chucking too much liquid over my pumps but it's better to be safe than sorry.
 
One is still getting the same pump from China whether you buy it on eBay, from Williams Brewing, Brewer's Hardware, etc... Just to clarify, the pump is not 100% Sealed for submerging in water but rather splash resistant where Chugger and March have exposed copper windings under the cage which is why some put a "cover" over the pump motor of the Chugger and March pumps. Btw, I use a small 24V beige pump off of Amazon for mash recirculation. Specifically a
Yosoo Solar DC 12V 24V Hot Water Circulation Pump Brushless Motor Water Pump 3M 5M Low Noise csf (DC 24V) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00DWORE6E/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20 which works great. This beige pump however is not temperature rated for actual boiling liquids which is why I got this SS pump.
 
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Btw, my system is technically a three tier electric system and is for 5 gallon sizes. All major wattage heating is done on my 3100W electric stove top. I heat 4 gal of mash water in a 5 gallon pot on the stove and gravity grains to the mash tun which sits on a bench next to the stove. I have a 5 gallon cooler with a false dome bottom which hoses over to the beige pump which pumps through a RIMS tube and back to the top of the cooler. The mash then gravity drains to the boil pot which sits on the floor until filled to boil volume. Once done, I clear out the water pot and the mash stuff and lift the boil pot onto the stove. It takes about 35-40min to get to the boil. Once boiled, I set the SS pump next to the pot on the stove top, connect my CFC and recirc without any concerns of plastic pumps. Attached are my basic design sketches of what I have. Again, the pump in question is great and have not had any issues. I recommend it regardless of where you get it from. Happy Brewing
 

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Thanks for the help everyone, I will be going with one of these pumps. Last big piece for my electric set up!
 
tripleD said:
I found this and it seemed too good to be true.
$55 with the stainless head. These are all made in China and rebranded by a dozen different companies. Doubtful that there is any appreciable difference in the QC between the different brands.
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Guess I'll find out...

Thanks for the link!
 
Will do.
If it's a decent pump, you can't beat $65 shipped for a SS head. Will see...
 
Ya seems like the same pump just a different color. Another good deal.

I just bought the one from AliExpress. Got it for $85 CDN shipped to my house. With 3 to 7 day shipping....we shall see about that.
 
My employer has been using these in our plate processing equipment (that I service) for years.. they are/ have been used used in light industrial and equipment for years. They work well and do what they are supposed to, you can also buy a stainless head for them separate for about $25-30 shipped.. I have had no reason to upgrade from the tan 24V dc ones mentioned above and like having the speed control so I havent tried one of these for brewing.
 
:off:
augiedoggy said:
I have had no reason to upgrade from the tan 24V dc ones mentioned above and like having the speed control so I havent tried one of these for brewing.
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I'm very curious about the speed control you mention--where can I find more?

Back to your regularly scheduled program now
 
balrog said:
:off:


I'm very curious about the speed control you mention--where can I find more?

Back to your regularly scheduled program now
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:off:
Theres a thread about them called "Cheap wort pump"

I use 3 of these DC pumps that are plumbed inline into my brewing system permanently
https://www.ebay.com/itm/DC-24V-Cer...025395?hash=item25e25536f3:g:Lu4AAOSwE9JZ4GAD they are designed for drinking fountain and coffee machines and such and truly are food grade with encapsulated magnets and high temp stable PPS unlike most of the other DC pumps which were designed as pond or utility pumps to run off solar panels that are being remarketed for brewing.

I used to use a pwm speed controller with a manual knob like this to control the speed of the pump instead of adjusting ball valves.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/6V-90V-15A...273193&hash=item2a722e4821:g:ZRUAAOSwLF1X9dHk

now I use adruino based brucontrol software to do everything via touchscreen so I switched to these,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1X-Red-IRF...004650?hash=item2a9a56c6aa:g:HBUAAOSwp5JWaOjr.
 
just to add now that the tan pumps have been mentioned.
the MKII pumps mentioned in this thread pump up to 5gpm in optimum conditions.. The 24 tan pumps only pump like 3.2gpm in optimum conditions.. also the MKII should be able to deal with grain getting into the pump more effectively. I find in my use that im almost always throttling down the tan pumps I use and I use a second braided filter under my MT false bottom so grain stays out of my pumps so I didnt need the advantages of the bigger pump but I think these would work better in certain setups. I didnt want to move any hoses around while brewing with less pumps either so the tan ones had the advantage there.. a lot less mess when you only have a couple 3 way valves to turn vs swapping hoses and recovering wort from them.

Also I dont understand why more people dont go with the 240v option if they are using them with a 240v electric control panel... The amps drawn is cut in half this way vs 120v wiring and it helps balance the load
 
I'm interested in adding a pump to my system as I'm upgrading from 5 gallon batches to 10 gallon batches and don't feel that lugging around a kettle full of 10 gallons of liquid is very safe.

I'm looking at this MKII style pump as the price seems to be very reasonable. However, I'm not 100% familiar with pumps. Whats the difference between these magnetic drive pumps and something like a chugger pump? I'm planning on using the pump to transfer from kettle to fermenter, would this magnetic drive style work for me?
 
All Chugger, March, Beige Pumps, etc... are all mag drive pumps. The pumps as used for home brewing are more or less all centrifugal pumps... centrifugal pumps are the lowest cost style of pump for any application. Mag drive pumps use a magnet embedded in the head to spin the impeller (aka, propeller) that generates pressure and thus flow... if/ when one ever steps up to major "commercial" brewing, they use pumps that have mechanical seals... the best price I've seen on this ss head pump is from https://eastcoastbrewparts.com/prod...15r-stainless-head-homebrew-wort-chiller-beer
 
I have one. It works good for my 2 vessel system. Just make sure if you order one from aliexpress that the thread is one you want.
Different sellers may have npt, bspt, or bspp version.
 
augiedoggy said:
FYI this appears to be either a march clone or oem direct setup... I have one on order now. they have the smaller ones too. literally 1/3 the price ive seen them elswhere.

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338413729&icep_item=253999327538

http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/711-5...0001&campid=5338413729&icep_item=253999327563
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Links appear to be dead?

Never mind I found them searching the item number.. the big stainless head pump looks to be a good deal.. the smaller ones after shipping are about the same as a chugger..
 
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After using the little brown pumps in both 12v and 24v, I decided to jump to one of these pumps for my system. The little pumps are great for recirculating wort or water in RIMS/HERMS setups, but they lack the velocity to get the whirlpool I'm looking for in my boil kettle.
I'm also hoping to go back to kettle hopping without a hop spider.
I found one for $66 including shipping on AliExpress.
 
Btw, the pumping power of the pump is based on the outlet pressure capability of the pump. This is more or less called out in xxx feet/inches/meters of "head"... aka, a pump can lift water-like fluid xxx high before it stalls out... IF you wanted a more "powerful" whirlpool, one could put two pumps in series one after another.... the resultant flow of the two would be the highest of the two but the resultant pressure would be the addition of the two pressures. Aka, the combined pressure means more force to whirlpool harder. One will notice a marked improvement of the whirlpool...
 
Zmanwithdog said:
Btw, the pumping power of the pump is based on the outlet pressure capability of the pump. This is more or less called out in xxx feet/inches/meters of "head"... aka, a pump can lift water-like fluid xxx high before it stalls out... IF you wanted a more "powerful" whirlpool, one could put two pumps in series one after another.... the resultant flow of the two would be the highest of the two but the resultant pressure would be the addition of the two pressures. Aka, the combined pressure means more force to whirlpool harder. One will notice a marked improvement of the whirlpool...
Click to expand...
I tried this with two tan 24v pumps and totally seized up one of the pumps this way.. the motor actually overheated and burned so bad it smelled like it was charred... I assume from cavitation. its worked real well up until it didnt.
 
augiedoggy said:
I tried this with two tan 24v pumps and totally seized up one of the pumps this way.. the motor actually overheated and burned so bad it smelled like it was charred... I assume from cavitation. its worked real well up until it didnt.
Click to expand...

I bust 2 of the brown pumps in on me night trying to get them clean in hot water. Every time i used them they stopped and had to be taken apart. I know have the same one as the OP and really happy with it. I bought 5 cheap pumps before that and they were all rubbish.
 
I run two ss pumps in series and have never had an issue... as whether there is a quirck to the cheap beige pumps, I can not speak to that
 
I am currently running a chugger pre chiller and a mkii type post chiller for whirlpool. It works but not as well as I would like.. no issue with cavitation at all since the chugger is slightly higher gpm it pushes a little more than the mkii. I am thinking about trying a chugger max pre chiller with no pump post chiller to see how that works..
 
Beer666 said:
I bust 2 of the brown pumps in on me night trying to get them clean in hot water. Every time i used them they stopped and had to be taken apart. I know have the same one as the OP and really happy with it. I bought 5 cheap pumps before that and they were all rubbish.
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other than the pump I burned up by connecting it directly to another pump in a series and the one I dropped and broke, Ive been using the same 24v pumps for about 4 years now with no issues and the 12v ones before that.
I could be off base here but if BOTH of yours stopped working its likely because you tried submersing them in very hot water which the manufacturer says is a no no because they will overheat that way and things will warp, or (and this is the most common reason for complaints) the power supply was not correct for the pump. often I see people try to use too low of amperage or voltage rated power supplies wich may be enough to power them but not correctly.
I have 4 of these I bought from 4 different suppliers permanently plumbed into my system any have brewed with them many many times.
 
augiedoggy said:
other than the pump I burned up by connecting it directly to another pump in a series and the one I dropped and broke, Ive been using the same 24v pumps for about 4 years now with no issues and the 12v ones before that.
I could be off base here but if BOTH of yours stopped working its likely because you tried submersing them in very hot water which the manufacturer says is a no no because they will overheat that way and things will warp, or (and this is the most common reason for complaints) the power supply was not correct for the pump. often I see people try to use too low of amperage or voltage rated power supplies wich may be enough to power them but not correctly.
I have 4 of these I bought from 4 different suppliers permanently plumbed into my system any have brewed with them many many times.
Click to expand...

The problems i encountered were from blockages. I ended up taking the cover of all of them to get the going again and whatever i did never seemed to help much. They still kept stopping randomly. I only ever used them for mashing but one night after too many i put 2 of them in very hot water and like you say they warped. I know many people who use them and love them but unfortunately i can be rather heavy handed.
I had a cheap black one as well. Actually about half the price of the one i have now and that was totally useless. The impeller on that had very small holes in that sucked water through so blocked immediately. I cringe when i think of the amount of stuff i have broken. I need a beer. :)
 

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