March Pumps At G&g

[Batz]

I see in Grain and Grapes newsletter they now sell March pumps

http://www.grainandgrape.com.au/news_ltrs/nltr_04_oct.htm

 

[Justin]

Yep. They're $260+postage. Exactly the same price as Process Pumps. I also noted that Morebeer have upped the price of their pumps to US$129 (for the 120V model) and US$159 for the 240V model :angry:. Didn't they used to be the same price and used to be $109 or $115?

FWIW I went to the Riverside Morebeer retail store last week to buy some goodies, no pumps, no CFWC in stock, no tap handles that I wanted etc. Spewing. They did have 1 5Gallon brewing system with all the bells and whistle that was very nice but for the most part I was pretty disapointed with their range in that store. Some nice kettles etc though.

Cheers, JD

 

[pint of lager]

Are the March pumps self priming? If so, what length input and what head will they self prime from?

Would they be a good option for syphoning out of a fermenter with no tap?

 

[Justin]

I don't think they are self priming. For syphoning you could look at getting one of those autosyphons that the US brewshops sell. Might be a good option.

Hope it helps.

JD

 

[user 384]

PoL

The March pumps are not self priming nor are they suited for siphoning a vessel without a tap. The attached image showing the correct use is from the March website.

Cheers
MAH

 

[pint of lager]

Thanks MAH and Justin for clarifying that.

Just for anyone who hasn't had much to do with pumps, whether they self prime or not is very important. Many pumps will not self prime, that is pick up suction with an unfilled pipe, and they sit there spinning with no fluid flowing, very quickly heat up bearings and melt/burn/self destruct.

Has anyone seen the pumps that attach to drills? I did see one in I think a Grundfoss catalogue.

 

[jayse]

I have a drill powered 'gear' pump lager it used to work a treat and iam sure if i fixed the seals it would work great again, i threw it in the corner of the shed one nite after it sprayed half a tun of first runnings out everywhere.
Anyway that one was found on top of a scrap metal pile, i got nearly 50 brews out of it, and iam sure given one in good order it should last forever.
Pic below


As for priming other pumps i just lay the outlet hose on the ground and wait for wort to flow through it before turning it on, its ussually that simple.

 

[pint of lager]

Ouch, I keep reading about bad brew days where people loose first runnings, or all the runnings, including your tale when the mates burnt the brewshed door, you all drank too much beer and you lost one batch on the shed floor.

I was thinking about when the pump is unprimed and above the level of the fluid being pumped, this is when priming is an issue. Some pumps will happily run "dry," others will self destruct.

Most of the time, gravity is my friend, but from time to time, maybe a pump would be very useful.

 

[jayse]

One way i discovered of priming a pump above the liquid level if it was mounted in place was simply hook a water hose up and fill the pump and lines with water. works great.

My old groundfos pumps didn't like running dry or not being primed properly at all, just ask anyone who happened to see foot high flames coming out of one of mine at the g-spot one day.

Like you at the moment iam quite happy with gravity, but a march pump is going to happen hopefully sooner than later.

What i think you need lager is.....GAS BURNERS! B)



jayse

 

[big d]

R.I.P
jayses pump fom a brewday at goliaths
it blew on the day.

 

[sosman]

I picked up a march pump from process pumps for $250 a couple of weeks ago. Just asked for the home brewers discount

 

[Snow]

Pint of Lager,

if you want to siphon from a vessel with no tap, I recommend you get a racking cane. I got mine from my brewshop 2 years ago and it has worked a treat for me every brew! It's great for those brews that get giant yeast cakes that fill the fermenter tap and you waste litres of beer throwing out the crud when you transfer to secondary.

- Snow.