# Brown Pump



## argon (18/11/11)

So i bought one of these pumps so i can take a tier off my 3V gravity and to recirc HLT and chiller water... probably won't use it for wort transfer. 








Anyway how are people wiring these up? I chopped up a 12V power supply from old Christmas lights but it won't even pump from the bottom of the keggle to the top. The power supply says it's pushing out 12V, but the wiring is very thin.

All my fittings are 1/2 inch with 1/2 inch silicone hosing. I connect the hose to the pump with a 1/2 inch barb on both inlet and outlet. With the pump primed before turning on (keep the pump below HLT tap, i let the water flow through the pump then lift the hose of the outlet above the pump) it only creates enough flow for the water to rise up about half way up the outlet hose when i turn the pump on. When i turn it off, the water level lowers to the same as the HLT, so i know it's creating flow, but it's piss weak.

So what's going on? can it not push that amount of water up that level? i'm only asking for it to push the liquid up about 1m. From pics of seen of what others have done, they seem fine. Here's my setup. 






I only want fluid to exit the ball valve at the bottom and return via the hose over the lip of the keggle for recirc.

First thoughts are that the power supply is not strong enough, so i'll try and source another enusring it is in fact 12V and 2A

Second thoughts are feck this i'm getting a March 815


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## Tim F (18/11/11)

Sorry if its an obvious question but did you get the polarity right wiring up the power? + / - on the power supply to + / - on the pump? Best to confirm that with a multimeter too. And what's the mAh rating on your supply?
I'm running one of them plumbed the same to recirc from bottom of tun through a 2m coil so they def have enough power to do it.


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## benno1973 (18/11/11)

Was wondering the same thing - what the mA output on that 12V supply?


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## MarkBastard (18/11/11)

Yeah I was thinking not enough amps too.

I have the exact same pump and it's very strong for its size.


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## bignath (18/11/11)

Id throw my money behind an airbubble in your line. My pump will often do the same, but a bit of squeezing of the hose and she fires up. 
I bet your pump is making a whirring noise as its trying to pump?? 
When it gets rid of all the airbubbles the note of the pump will drop to a lower, more consistent and constant hum. 

I am doing the same thing. 50lt keg HLT, recirculating it and then using to transfer hlt to mashtun. Powered by a power supply in the same fashion.

Any money theres an airbubble, even if you cant see it....


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## argon (18/11/11)

Tim F said:


> Sorry if its an obvious question but did you get the polarity right wiring up the power? + / - on the power supply to + / - on the pump? Best to confirm that with a multimeter too. And what's the mAh rating on your supply?
> I'm running one of them plumbed the same to recirc from bottom of tun through a 2m coil so they def have enough power to do it.


Nah, polarity is right and the fluid is moving, just not enough power. Has to be the amperage




Kaiser Soze said:


> Was wondering the same thing - what the mA output on that 12V supply?


I'll have to have a look... but i suspect it's not 2A... maybe .57A?? Obviously not enough. What would you recommend using?




Mark^Bastard said:


> Yeah I was thinking not enough amps too.
> 
> I have the exact same pump and it's very strong for its size.


Good to know it can do it then.




Big Nath said:


> Id throw my money behind an airbubble in your line. My pump will often do the same, but a bit of squeezing of the hose and she fires up.
> I bet your pump is making a whirring noise as its trying to pump??
> When it gets rid of all the airbubbles the note of the pump will drop to a lower, more consistent and constant hum.
> 
> ...


No, definitely no airbubble... I have heard it with an air bubble and it's louder like you say, but in this instance i let it run straight through and it fills up the pump. Very gentle whir once it's primed.

Thanks for the help... confirmed my suspicions... Looks like i'm just going to have to find a bigger power supply. 
:icon_cheers:


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## benno1973 (18/11/11)

I think the rated current on those pumps is 0.57A - is there a reason that you're looking to drive it with a 2A power supply? What's the mA value written on the christmas lights transformer?


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## Spork (18/11/11)

cheap as chips 2 amp / 12v


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## Harry Volting (18/11/11)

+7 power supply. 
My power supply is around 13.8 volts at 1 amp and the little brown beastie can shoot rooster tails.
The pump is lower than fill point to prime and flow rate is adjusted at the top of the mash tun inlet.
Hope this helps.
Harry.


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## argon (18/11/11)

Kaiser Soze said:


> I think the rated current on those pumps is 0.57A - is there a reason that you're looking to drive it with a 2A power supply? What's the mA value written on the christmas lights transformer?


I'm not really... just want to power it with what's appropriate. Just want some feedback from others as to what they're using. The same ebay seller is selling 12V 2A so just assumed that was what is recommended for the pump. It looks as though 0.57A is not working, so will get something a bit bigger.




Harry Volting said:


> +7 power supply.
> My power supply is around 13.8 volts at 1 amp and the little brown beastie can shoot rooster tails.
> The pump is lower than fill point to prime and flow rate is adjusted at the top of the mash tun inlet.
> Hope this helps.
> Harry.



Cool... thanks mate


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## benno1973 (18/11/11)

My local Good Sammy's has a big box of power supplies, 50c each. Good to check out the thrift shops if you're after a power supply for this sort of thing. Otherwise that ebay link is dirt cheap!

:icon_offtopic: 
Is anyone using these for wort transfer? They are food grade and rated to 105C - is it the pH that's the worry?


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## Logman (18/11/11)

Anyone got a link for those pumps ?


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## benno1973 (18/11/11)

Logman said:


> Anyone got a link for those pumps ?



Linky...


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## Logman (18/11/11)

:icon_cheers:


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## argon (18/11/11)

sweet just toddled downstairs to IT and untangled myself 2 power adapters... 1x 12V 1000mA and 1x 12V 1.2A.

Should be sorted now


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## benno1973 (18/11/11)

argon said:


> sweet just toddled downstairs to IT and untangled myself 2 power adapters... 1x 12V 1000mA and 1x 12V 1.2A.



As long as you didn't unplug the network rack or UPS or something to get those power supplies...


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## Tim F (18/11/11)

Kaiser Soze said:


> Is anyone using these for wort transfer? They are food grade and rated to 105C - is it the pH that's the worry?


I am - I'll let you know if/when I die of botulism or cancer from it


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## MarkBastard (18/11/11)

Kaiser Soze said:


> My local Good Sammy's has a big box of power supplies, 50c each. Good to check out the thrift shops if you're after a power supply for this sort of thing. Otherwise that ebay link is dirt cheap!
> 
> :icon_offtopic:
> Is anyone using these for wort transfer? They are food grade and rated to 105C - is it the pH that's the worry?



Yes some people are using them for wort transfer. At least during the mash, not sure if anyone is using them for after boil wort transfer of any kind.

I fully intend to use mine for wort transfer pre-boil.

I will of course pump a PBW solution through it afterwards as part of my cleanup and try to get it to dry out as best as possible. Can't see any issues personally.


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## benno1973 (18/11/11)

Tim F said:


> I am - I'll let you know if/when I die of botulism or cancer from it






Mark^Bastard said:


> Yes some people are using them for wort transfer. At least during the mash, not sure if anyone is using them for after boil wort transfer of any kind.
> 
> I fully intend to use mine for wort transfer pre-boil.
> 
> I will of course pump a PBW solution through it afterwards as part of my cleanup and try to get it to dry out as best as possible. Can't see any issues personally.



Great, might grab one and try the same. Same as you Mark, I just want one for transfer of HLT to Mash tun, recirc and transfer to kettle. No requirement for it to be used post boil...


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## MarkBastard (18/11/11)

Kaiser Soze said:


> As long as you didn't unplug the network rack or UPS or something to get those power supplies...



Or the shitty little Telstra/Optus ADSL modem that the entire site relies on hahahaha.


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## Mister Wilson (18/11/11)

Out of interest, has anyone tested the claimed 6.5L/min?

I just finished setting mine up last night (using a 9V power supply) and didn't get a chance to test. Not being fully up to speed with the issues of using 9V vs 12V I would assume some sort of loss ... not that it is too much of an issue for me.


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## Tim F (18/11/11)

yes, mine took 10 seconds to pump out 1l, and that's with a fair bit of resistance from the coil i'd say


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## MarkBastard (18/11/11)

I haven't done any stop watch tests but mine seemed about that as well with 0.5m head


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## Superoo (18/11/11)

Running it on 9v i would say is not adviseable - do the 12v thing as soon as you can.


just for those who arent sure of this amps stuff...
- You CAN use a higher amp rated supply than the 0.57A, such as a 2, 3 or 5 amp etc, as long as its 12 volts dc.
- You shouldnt try a lower rated supply, or your power supply could burn down your brewery.
- If you hooked it to your car battery (which will happy supply hundreds of amps), the pump will still only use 0.57 amps.


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## benno1973 (18/11/11)

Thanks Superoo. So basically, running this pump with a 12V 0.6A power supply is the same as running it with a 12V 2A power supply? The unit will only draw 0.57A?

If I want to throttle back the flow of the pump, would it be best to adjust the flow upstream using a ball valve, or can I hook this up to a 12V dimmer switch (i.e. 0-2A or something like that)?


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## Malted (18/11/11)

Kaiser Soze said:


> Thanks Superoo. So basically, running this pump with a 12V 0.6A power supply is the same as running it with a 12V 2A power supply? The unit will only draw 0.57A?
> 
> If I want to throttle back the flow of the pump, would it be best to adjust the flow upstream using a ball valve, or can I hook this up to a 12V dimmer switch (i.e. 0-2A or something like that)?



Downstream. Generally it is best to throttle back these sorts of pumps after the outlet, keeps the mechanism full of liquid and all that...


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## bignath (18/11/11)

Yeah i agree. With the SMALL issue these pumps have with the priming, i don't reckon they would pump anything at all if you throttled pre-pump.


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## nala (18/11/11)

MisterWilson said:


> Out of interest, has anyone tested the claimed 6.5L/min?
> 
> I just finished setting mine up last night (using a 9V power supply) and didn't get a chance to test. Not being fully up to speed with the issues of using 9V vs 12V I would assume some sort of loss ... not that it is too much of an issue for me.


This is the pump in operation - pumping 6 litres/minute at 1 metre head have a plastic control tap in-line to restrict the flow to allow the sparge without disturbing the grainbed.


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## jayahhdee (18/11/11)

Nice looking sparge you've got going there, I ordered one of these pumps the other day and am just waiting on delivery, planning on using it to circulate the wort during a BIAB mash for more consistent temps.


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## kymba (18/11/11)

the brown pump sounds like a sewage solution


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## argon (18/11/11)

So binned the Xmas lights adaptor and wired up the 12V 1.2a. Plumbed it back in, turned it on and it's running like a boss! Easily existing up the full height of the HLT... Single tier here we come!
Cheers all
:beerbang:


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## Tim F (18/11/11)

Big Nath said:


> Yeah i agree. With the SMALL issue these pumps have with the priming, i don't reckon they would pump anything at all if you throttled pre-pump.



You'd be surprised, I've had to throttle mine back before AND after the pump with both ball valves only open a crack to get the flow low enough sometimes!


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## Tanga (19/11/11)

http://www.craftbrewer.com.au/shop/details.asp?PID=4157

Is this the fitting everyone's using?


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## Logman (19/11/11)

I've got the *stainless ones* on my March pump - they are BSP and the brass one are FPT, what's the difference? Do these pumps take the same fittings as a March 805 ?


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## stux (19/11/11)

Logman said:


> I've got the *stainless ones* on my March pump - they are BSP and the brass one are FPT, what's the difference? Do these pumps take the same fittings as a March 805 ?



British Standard Pipe

FPT = female [national (ie USA)] pipe thread

I believe the two pipe threads are compatible on some dimensions like 3/8 and 1/2", the difference being the actual profile of the grooves


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## Tanga (19/11/11)

Stux said:


> British Standard Pipe
> 
> FPT = female [national (ie USA)] pipe thread
> 
> I believe the two pipe threads are compatible on some dimensions like 3/8 and 1/2", the difference being the actual profile of the grooves



Cool. Thanks. Does anyone know if the fittings are the same for this and the march pump? TimF?


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## matho (19/11/11)

1/2" BSP on the brown pump and 1/2" MPT on a march pump, they are not exactly the same but they will take the same fittings, it just happens that 1/2 BSP and 1/2 NPT fit together well enough for low pressure stuff like these pump.

cheers matho


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## Tanga (19/11/11)

Awesome, thanks Matho. Will go with the stainless ones then. Gonna have me some awesome.


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## Feldon (19/11/11)

Here's a technical description I found on the web a while ago re. the compatability between NPT and BSP pipe threads (forget where I got it from - but thanks to however wrote it).


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## Barley Belly (19/11/11)

Would one of these 12volt dimmers work instead of a ball valve to control the flow?


http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/DC-12V-8A-LED-L...=item3cbc9bde10


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## ledgenko (22/11/11)

Hey Guys .. 



I ack that this is a convo on the brown pump .. but after reading all the stuff on pumps and mill motors on here tonight I found this pump system from the big Green shed ... 

Thoughts ???


http://www.bunnings.com.au/products_produc...rden+Irrigation


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## Maheel (22/11/11)

ledgenko said:


> Hey Guys ..
> 
> 
> 
> ...



what are you pumping with it ?

if water i reckon your wasting money as it looks tiny better off with a pond / bilge pump or the brown pump
if anything like wort, dont bother


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## benno1973 (22/11/11)

ledgenko said:


> Hey Guys ..
> 
> 
> 
> ...



Not good for a couple of reasons... Firstly, you need to submerse part of the pump in the liquid you're drawing from. Fine if you just want to pump water through a chiller or something, but what if you want to pump from your mash tun to your kettle? Secondly, it's not food grade or temperature rated, which the brown pumps are.


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## loikar (31/1/12)

Slightly reviving an old thread...

Thinking of getting 4 of these on a single tier.

1 for the HLT > MT
1 for MT > Kettle
1 for Kettle > Fermenter.
1 to recirculate chilled water through a plate chiller.

So, forget about that part, it's irrelevant to my question...

I understand they don't like near boiling Wort and can potentially overheat and stop.
I want to run mine after a plate chiller to avoid searing hot temps.

Just wondering if anyone uses one in this configuration and would it perform better before, after or indifferent regardless of where it was placed after the kettle?

Cheers,

BF


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## argon (31/1/12)

I run boiling water or wort through mine all the time for extended periods. Even did a 3 hour boiling recirc not long ago. Doesn't miss a beat. No problems at all.


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## Nevalicious (31/1/12)

Yep, I used mine over the weekend to recirculate near boiling HLT water for an extended period, then recirculating the mash for over an hour (more or less) and whilst they get bloody warm, they haven't given up yet. Pretty good purchase I reckon. Very happy with mine. 

Maybe others that have had issues in the past might have just got a dud unit?


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## loikar (31/1/12)

That's Even better news then.
Would there be any ill effects running it after the chiller? or a better question;
where is the ideal placement for these pumps after the kettle given a 30 Plate chiller needs to sit in there too?

Thanks lads.

Might be hitting you up later in the year for help with the Build Nev


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## Nevalicious (31/1/12)

I may be wrong, but you could surely place it before or after the chiller. Unless I'm missing something, they should both work. If that is the case, I'd prolly stick it after the chiller. 

As for the build, you know where I normally hang around. It ain't here...


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## blotto (31/1/12)

Gryphon Brewing sell these pumps for a fair price Linky


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## argon (31/1/12)

BeerFingers said:


> That's Even better news then.
> Would there be any ill effects running it after the chiller? or a better question;
> where is the ideal placement for these pumps after the kettle given a 30 Plate chiller needs to sit in there too?
> 
> ...



I put mine between kettle and chiller. If it's on the outlet side of the chiller it's effectively sucking and you can't control the flow rate through the chiller and is potentially more susceptible to cavitation.

Also, as an added piece of future proofing, i can put a Hop Rocket between the pump and chiller, which is what Blichmann recommends.


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## mxd (31/1/12)

some how I've missed these before, good price for food grade, maybe I need another pump so I could try sequential 60 ltr batches,

Could use march for HERMS and HLT to MLT and MLT to kettle, then another kettle to kettle for immersion recirc chilling (to 80 degrees) then to cube. mmm the thoughts I must make em stop.


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## DJR (6/2/12)

I've ordered one of these and have done up a basic schematic for using a transistor to control it on/off. 

Managed to find a transistor with a minimum Hfe of 800 that is not a darlington pair and can be had for $2.50 a pair on Ebay including shipping, which is pretty damned good. Proof will be in the pudding, once i have the control circuit done and tested i'll post it up here if any one is interested. It'll allow you to control the pump with a dedicated 12v supply of 1A or higher (mine is a 1.5A plugpack) and anything that can switch 5v or lower at low power, e.g. Arduino or one-wire systems. My system will use a USB power input and 1-wire (DS2413) input and it is in "reverse" - open the ground to turn it off, and leave the ground disconnected to have the pump turn on.

I'll then use it to pump for my HERMS unit and allow flow to start/stop depending on the mash temp sensor. You could theoretically control the output by limiting the current or voltage, but for the moment I don't have the capability of doing that, I'd need a basic DAC in my system. I think some of the Arduino boards can do that.


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## matho (7/2/12)

DJR said:


> I've ordered one of these and have done up a basic schematic for using a transistor to control it on/off.
> 
> Managed to find a transistor with a minimum Hfe of 800 that is not a darlington pair and can be had for $2.50 a pair on Ebay including shipping, which is pretty damned good. Proof will be in the pudding, once i have the control circuit done and tested i'll post it up here if any one is interested. It'll allow you to control the pump with a dedicated 12v supply of 1A or higher (mine is a 1.5A plugpack) and anything that can switch 5v or lower at low power, e.g. Arduino or one-wire systems. My system will use a USB power input and 1-wire (DS2413) input and it is in "reverse" - open the ground to turn it off, and leave the ground disconnected to have the pump turn on.
> 
> I'll then use it to pump for my HERMS unit and allow flow to start/stop depending on the mash temp sensor. You could theoretically control the output by limiting the current or voltage, but for the moment I don't have the capability of doing that, I'd need a basic DAC in my system. I think some of the Arduino boards can do that.



sounds good mate, you could try PWM to control the pump but I don't know how well the pump would handle that. Another cheats way of creating a DAC is PWM with a capacitor between the output and ground, but with the load of the pump you would need a large capacitor which would meaan slow charge times, your probably better off with just switching the pump on and off.

cheers


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## gava (7/2/12)

i see theses come in 12VDC or 24VDC any advantage of either?


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## ForkBoy (7/2/12)

Anyone know how these would go with 1.5m of head?


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## blotto (8/2/12)

ForkBoy said:


> Anyone know how these would go with 1.5m of head?



Have a look here ForkBoy there is a bit of detail about them


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## DJR (10/2/12)

ForkBoy said:


> Anyone know how these would go with 1.5m of head?



Says max head is 3m.

Just fired mine up on a test batch of cold water, can't believe how quickly the thing pumps for a 12v pump. Just scotchlocked the connectors onto an old 12v/1A modem power supply. OK, it's not a march but it's still pretty good.

PWM may work with these, as they are DC you could use a pretty high frequency to adjust, otherwise just a matter of enough on/off cycles to make it do what you want.


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## DJR (10/2/12)

matho said:


> sounds good mate, you could try PWM to control the pump but I don't know how well the pump would handle that. Another cheats way of creating a DAC is PWM with a capacitor between the output and ground, but with the load of the pump you would need a large capacitor which would meaan slow charge times, your probably better off with just switching the pump on and off.
> 
> cheers



Just thinking about this you could use an LM317T voltage reg, and PWM into that with something like this that uses a simple op-amp arrangement; http://www.edn.com/article/512537-Control_..._PWM_signal.php

Might be possible as well to have a simple resistor bridge arrangement and use both PIO pins on a 1 wire dual channel switch to run a variable potential divider type thing from the 12v supply, and have three speeds - full off, one on, both on. Not sure if it'd work like that but I can always give it a go, LM317's are cheap and so are resistors


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## loikar (14/2/12)

So getting closer to buying these now
So what's the go, threaded ones or the barbs?

I like the idea of the threads as im thinking of getting cam locks to screw on, but the barbed ones seem simpler.

Thoughts?


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## Nevalicious (14/2/12)

I went the barbed ones mate FWIW, however it also means you need to buy additional fittings

Costly...


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## brucearnold (14/2/12)

Nevalicious said:


> I went the barbed ones mate FWIW, however it also means you need to buy additional fittings
> 
> Costly...


Why would it be more expensive, and what added fittings are you talking about. Only ask as people I know who use March Pumps have barb fittings on these and just push the silicon hose onto the fitting. No clamps required and they hold on fine.


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## Darkman (14/2/12)

BruceA said:


> Why would it be more expensive, and what added fittings are you talking about. Only ask as people I know who use March Pumps have barb fittings on these and just push the silicon hose onto the fitting. No clamps required and they hold on fine.




The inlet barbs on the brown pump is much larger then the outlet barb for some reason. To get around this issue I sqeezed a smaller hose over the smaller barb to make both barbs roughly the same diameter so I could use the same diameter hose for my inlet and outlet. I didn't need to buy any extra fittings.


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## brucearnold (14/2/12)

Darkman said:


> The inlet barbs on the brown pump is much larger then the outlet barb for some reason. To get around this issue I sqeezed a smaller hose over the smaller barb to make both barbs roughly the same diameter so I could use the same diameter hose for my inlet and outlet. I didn't need to buy any extra fittings.


???? 

I understand the hose part, but different sized barbs? On the ebay link they are both M21 ports, just different length threads (14.5 and 20mm). Is this not the case?


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## Nevalicious (14/2/12)

Whoops, my bad... Was supposed to read I have the threaded type. 2 of them, and the associated fitting in stainless cost just over $30 from BeerBelly

Disregard above post. I was at work and distracted!!


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## argon (28/2/12)

Shite! just broke my pump. I was fitting a ball valve to the outlet side. As i was tightening it i must have applied too much torque to the other outlet, which has a ball valve manifold on it and the plastic sheared off at the body. So now i have a thread stuck inside the manifold and a useless pump. 

I'll get another one as i think they're pretty good. Just next time i'll be more careful when tightening any fittings as the plastic is not the strongest.


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## Batz (28/2/12)

argon said:


> Shite! just broke my pump. I was fitting a ball valve to the outlet side. As i was tightening it i must have applied too much torque to the other outlet, which has a ball valve manifold on it and the plastic sheared off at the body. So now i have a thread stuck inside the manifold and a useless pump.
> 
> I'll get another one as i think they're pretty good. Just next time i'll be more careful when tightening any fittings as the plastic is not the strongest.





You would make a good boilermaker 

batz


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## winkle (28/2/12)

argon said:


> Shite! just broke my pump. I was fitting a ball valve to the outlet side. As i was tightening it i must have applied too much torque to the other outlet, which has a ball valve manifold on it and the plastic sheared off at the body. So now i have a thread stuck inside the manifold and a useless pump.
> 
> I'll get another one as i think they're pretty good. Just next time i'll be more careful when tightening any fittings as the plastic is not the strongest.



Brad could have told you that. <_<


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## DKS (28/2/12)

argon said:


> Shite! just broke my pump. I was fitting a ball valve to the outlet side. As i was tightening it i must have applied too much torque to the other outlet, which has a ball valve manifold on it and the plastic sheared off at the body. So now i have a thread stuck inside the manifold and a useless pump.
> 
> I'll get another one as i think they're pretty good. Just next time i'll be more careful when tightening any fittings as the plastic is not the strongest.


Thats bad luck argo. Been following this post with interest and have bought two pumps. Gave them a dummy run last week end to confirm power supply. All went well off one transformer . Point is I havent arranged steel framework as yet so if you would like a pump quickly you could have one of mine and Ill grab a replacement off you when get a replacement for yours.If you are in a hurry. If not Ive got a million questions for ya anyway.
Daz


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## argon (28/2/12)

DKS said:


> Thats bad luck argo. Been following this post with interest and have bought two pumps. Gave them a dummy run last week end to confirm power supply. All went well off one transformer . Point is I havent arranged steel framework as yet so if you would like a pump quickly you could have one of mine and Ill grab a replacement off you when get a replacement for yours.If you are in a hurry. If not Ive got a million questions for ya anyway.
> Daz


Thanks mate, very generous... But I'm in no rush. Won't be brewing for a while. And if I do, I have no problems converting the rig to a gravity setup by way of a couple of milk crates. 

I too just bought 2. My aim is to set it up so I don't have to change hoses, just turn valves. Should keep things nice and clean and simple.


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## brettprevans (11/3/12)

March oump is still acting up. So ive.bought one of these from nev. Will report back. Not happy to read about tge plastic shearing, but I guess thats part of 'get what u pay for'.

Actually im considering one of these as a water tank pump. Obviously its not goinh to give mains pressure but it better than gravity feed.


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## mark0 (14/6/12)

so those of us using this for wort, i'd suggest having the motor at the top with the shaft vertical. this will keep wort out from around your magnet as the air bubble will be trapped in there. I just had to strip mine down when it stopped working.

for those curious, you should be able to remove the whole impellor and rotor by pulling, the stainless steel disc behind the impellor will need to come too. a small flat screwdriver might be needed to pry it off.


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## kjparker (14/6/12)

mark0 said:


> so those of us using this for wort, i'd suggest having the motor at the top with the shaft vertical. this will keep wort out from around your magnet as the air bubble will be trapped in there. I just had to strip mine down when it stopped working.
> 
> for those curious, you should be able to remove the whole impellor and rotor by pulling, the stainless steel disc behind the impellor will need to come too. a small flat screwdriver might be needed to pry it off.



I'd assume though running it that way would potentially cause a priming issue?


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## Wolfy (14/6/12)

mark0 said:


> for those curious, you should be able to remove the whole impellor and rotor by pulling, the stainless steel disc behind the impellor will need to come too. a small flat screwdriver might be needed to pry it off.


This is what mine looked like when pulled apart:





Not sure if they're all the same internally, but they all look the same from the outside.


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## brad81 (14/6/12)

Wolfy said:


> Not sure if they're all the same internally, but they all look the same from the outside.



Strangely enough, I was expecting pink.


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## Truman42 (14/6/12)

clueless said:


> I'd assume though running it that way would potentially cause a priming issue?



No it doesnt and I can vouch for what marko is saying. I had a problem with mine and it stopped working. When I pulled it apart there was dried wort and crap inbetween the brass bush and its outer housing (that toothed gear looking thing next to the shaft in Wolfys photo)

The brass sleeve acts like a bush to take any lateral movement of the shaft. When shit gets in there it causes the whole toothed gear to twist slightly and pushes the magnet up against the inner housing which slows and eventually stops the pump.

If you run the pump with the inlet facing down but have it higher up so gravity forces wort up into it you shouldnt have any problems priming it. If you must run it the other way I would make sure you give it a good running through with PBW and hot water for awhile to clean it out, or keep it wet in an enclosed loop.


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## Yorg (25/7/12)

So does anyone have any reports on how these brown pumps are performing.
They seem almost too good to be true.

I heard from Wolfy that his seized once he paused it at boiling temp, and wouldn't start again until it cooled down.
I thought they were made to run at 100C.
Any one else experiencing performance or reliability issues?


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## mark0 (25/7/12)

Yorg said:


> Any one else experiencing performance or reliability issues?



Yep. brown pump has been removed from my BIAB rig for simplicity. but nothing ventured, nothing gained. :lol: 

not sure that the orientation of the pump really helped me with reliability in the end, the last brew i did, i dismantled it at least 4 or 5 times to clean/check. it would run for a bit then die. 

do you want to buy it?


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## Wolfy (25/7/12)

Yorg said:


> So does anyone have any reports on how these brown pumps are performing.
> They seem almost too good to be true.
> 
> I heard from Wolfy that his seized once he paused it at boiling temp, and wouldn't start again until it cooled down.
> ...


Both have refused to switch back on after having ~80-100degC wort/water recirculated through them and then being switched off momentarily to change hose-output-location. However, both worked fine again after a long cool down period.

I find they work as expected (for such an inexpensive piece of gear) however, the flow-rate is quite low (in the model(s) I have) so when used in my HERMS system the grain-bed-temperature tends to lag behind the mash-temperature more than I'd say is 'ideal'.


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## Fat Bastard (25/7/12)

Wolfy said:


> I find they work as expected (for such an inexpensive piece of gear) however, the flow-rate is quite low (in the model(s) I have) so when used in my HERMS system the grain-bed-temperature tends to lag behind the mash-temperature more than I'd say is 'ideal'.



I thought the critical thing was the liquor temperature as that's where most of the conversion takes place, and that the grain bed temp was irrelevant, hence the placement of the temp probe in the outlet rather than the bed itself. I find the temp coming out of the return lags a couple of degrees behind the temp on the outlet, but equalises within a few minutes of reaching temperature. This is not in a HERMS system though, so I may be talking out of my arse.

I do agree that the flow rate is quite low, too low to pull the heavier stuff out of the bottom though. It did have enough guts to drain the wort from under the bag and scorch my element on a 9kg grain bill, so too much flow may not necessarily be a good thing!


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## Wolfy (25/7/12)

Fat Bastard said:


> I thought the critical thing was the liquor temperature as that's where most of the conversion takes place, and that the grain bed temp was irrelevant, hence the placement of the temp probe in the outlet rather than the bed itself. I find the temp coming out of the return lags a couple of degrees behind the temp on the outlet, but equalises within a few minutes of reaching temperature. This is not in a HERMS system though, so I may be talking out of my arse.


Sounds about right to me.

Mash-in with 20L of water and at 3L/min, it takes about 5mins for the pump to circulate all that liquid through the mash, and the lag (between mash temperature changes and the temperature probe at the HERMS outlet) is noticeable when ramping up temps for a step-mash.
In comparison, a march pump would circulate the entire mash volume in about 1 min, and (I presume) the mash temperature would change just as quickly.


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