Pumps: how far can they throw wort?

[slingkong]

I know most uses for pumps are nearby - recirculating mash, etc. I brew in my garage and my fermenter lives in the basement, with a point to point horizontal distance of around 25 feet and net vertical of around 8 feet down. Can a typical brew pump move wort that far?

 

[treebeerd]

Not an expert, nor have I tried to move wort that far with a pump, but since you have gravity working with you the whole way, I wouldn't think your pump would have to work all that hard. Should be fine.

 

[orionol73]

You could probably just gravity feed it the whole way if you really wanted to. That 8ft drop should be enough to create enough of a siphon

 

[slingkong]

Thanks folks. Seems like it's worth a shot.

 

[schematix]

Probably won't gravity feed well in a section that long. I'd pump and when done disconnect in the garage and then walk the hose to the fermenter, coiling as you go, to push the last volume of wort.

 

[jcav]

I know the specs on my March pump is 7 gallons a minute and has a maximum height of 18.6 feet. So it is pretty good at lifting wort. Horizontally is easier and I have used a 20 foot hose to drain my kettles of excess cleaning water (PBW) after testing with a pump, and routed it out the patio door and it worked very well. Your situation may be different but I think you should be fine horizontally.

John

 

[Anyhowe]

I know most uses for pumps are nearby - recirculating mash, etc. I brew in my garage and my fermenter lives in the basement, with a point to point horizontal distance of around 25 feet and net vertical of around 8 feet down. Can a typical brew pump move wort that far?

8 ft drop in 25? Holy moly the Romans would have sacrificed the world for that slope. Gravity alone should be no problem. The bigger diameter line the better.

 

[jmcd105]

Every pump is different, it will depend on the specs of the pump. For the most part, the overall height you are pumping (feet of head) is where most of the resistance for your pump comes from. If you are going downhill you are more than likely going to be fine.

 

[schematix]

It's not just the pump that determines the performance of a system, it's also the piping. Both the pump and the piping have a flow vs head (pressure) curve. It's where those 2 curves intersect that the system will operate.

Going with a larger ID hose will give you less restriction (i.e. less pressure drop), but at the expense of a more expensive hose and a significantly larger volume of potentially wasted wort. You can run a volume calculation very easily to determine how much.

Also you may want to consider cleaning that hose since it's on the cold side. There's no way you're going to get a brush 25' long, so it'll need to be CIP'd. For CIP to be effective you need high flow rates (several feet per second). The larger the hose, the larger the pump you'll need to get the flows.

In your situation i'd look to use 3/8" tubing to minimize the volume in the tubing and increase the linear speed for CIP, and push it with your pump since you have one. It probably will gravity feed but if you have an horizontal or even inclines areas on the path you may run into trouble trapping bubbles, which will really slow you down.

 

[TAK]

I'd be curious to see how it goes for you. I've thought about doing the same (https://www.homebrewtalk.com/showthread.php?t=575571). I think I'm looking at 50+ feet though. It would beat carrying 10+ gallon batches that distance and down stairs.

 

[JonM]

I recently used my March 809 to pump hot water up onto an ice dam over my front door. Definitely more than 8 feet and it handles it with no trouble.

ETA: I see you're pumping down not up - should be no problem at all.

 

[TexasDroughtBrewery]

When you get this thing in action take a video, it would be awesome to see it work.

 

[FireManDan]

Test it with a batch of water?? Then report findings.