Cheap pumps

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PeeBee
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Re: Cheap pumps

Post by PeeBee » Sat Oct 07, 2017 10:20 pm

A word of warning to anyone using, or thinking of using, one of those cheap 12V pumps to recirculate the mashtun or pump wort from the kettle ... or even pump beer from the fermenter.

I've always been doubtful about using one of those pumps to handle debris laden wort and limited them to clear water. Except I did use a Topsflo pump to transfer beer from the fermenter to the casks/kegs.

I've already had problems due to using whole hops for dry hopping in the fermenter (see my earlier post in this thread). Lesson learnt, no damage done. But the Topsflo pump is clogging up again - just clear (ish) beer. I suspected airlocks - yes they existed, but the pump continued to bung up for some other reason. Finally I've figured it. I've changed yeast to White Labs WLP002, a yeast renowned for its flocculent nature. The pump's impeller is bunging up with ... yeast!

(EDIT: The impeller in many Topsflo pumps is of the "closed" type making for very small, and easily clogged, channels for the beer to flow though - but otherwise very efficient, not that that is any consolation when they bung up).

I've got to sort this out or I've 45L of beer I can't get into kegs. Meanwhile, it's a warning to anyone, 12V solar style pumps are NOT suitable for pumping anything but clear water. Topsflo have made this a policy recently, although they do now offer a purpose built pump for home-brewing (not "cheap" though).
Last edited by PeeBee on Sun Oct 08, 2017 9:35 am, edited 1 time in total.
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

sbond10
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Re: Cheap pumps

Post by sbond10 » Sun Oct 08, 2017 8:47 am

Yea most pumps that are built for dealing and being able to strip down after wort has ran thru it your looking at 60 quid plus.

Not see the new top flo pump you got a link ?

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PeeBee
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Re: Cheap pumps

Post by PeeBee » Sun Oct 08, 2017 9:28 am

sbond10 wrote:
Sun Oct 08, 2017 8:47 am
Yea most pumps that are built for dealing and being able to strip down after wort has ran thru it your looking at 60 quid plus.

Not see the new top flo pump you got a link ?
Yeap; but you're not going to be happy!

http://www.angelhomebrew.co.uk/en/pumps ... ype-4.html

I notice you can still get the older TD5 at half the price from some stores ... you can tell they are the old ones because they run on 12V not 24V (and are most likely not as reliable).
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

sbond10
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Re: Cheap pumps

Post by sbond10 » Sun Oct 08, 2017 9:44 am

That should come with a warning person to be sitting down before viewing price.
Looks like they've added an ss head and upped the voltage ?

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PeeBee
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Re: Cheap pumps

Post by PeeBee » Sun Oct 08, 2017 4:46 pm

sbond10 wrote:
Thu Sep 21, 2017 12:11 pm
Some one on here recommend the topflo pumps as a better alternative to the solar ones. Flicking thru ebay I can only find one supplier of the genuine topflo one for 26.50. Whilst looking there s a lot of Chinese ones for between 10-15 quid that look bloody identical same flo rates etc. So is the extra money worth it or should I just buy 2 cheap ones and see how I go on

https://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/DC-12V-18W-Bre ... Ciid%253A2

Edit it appears the one seller of the top flo job s has stopped selling um any other cheap suggestions
The link looks very similar (is the same?) as a Topsflo pump. It probably has an "enclosed" impeller (see my earlier post). The so-called brown "solar" pumps are possibly more reliable in debris laden beer for that reason? They have simple "paddle" like impellors.

Apart from that Topsflo one I previously linked there is the older version of the TD5 as I mentioned: https://www.brewuk.co.uk/ts5-mini-pump.html. And even more expensive (but cheaper than the new TD5) there's: https://www.themaltmiller.co.uk/index.p ... uctId=3197.

But neither fall in the "cheap" camp.
Cask-conditioned style ale out of a keg/Cornie (the "treatise"): https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwzEv5 ... rDKRMjcO1g
Water report demystified (the "Defuddler"; removes the nonsense!): https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

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