March Veterans

[mike77]

Hi all ,
I have a 3 vessel 100 ltr beerbelly style brewery. I am about to install a march pump on a rims system . I wasn't going to use a herms style system at the moment. That being said I would appreciate any tips you guys might have on cleaning procedures for the pump and hoses etc.
Also i like to fly sparge rather than batch sparge, do you see any problems with that once the pump is installed.
Any march pump advice would be great!
Cheers mike

 

[Kai]

You shouldn't have any problems with a fly sparge but you might need to have a valve downstream from the pump for governing runoff speed.

Easiest way to clean your pump (and all your tubing) is to recirculated whatever cleaning solution your use out of and back into a vessel of your choice.

 

[mike77]

Thanks for that kai. So a valve on the out-let side of the pump to contol flow?

 

[Kai]

Yep, a valve on the outlet side of the pump would be a good idea.

 

[chappo1970]

I HERMS not RIMS but they are pretty simular-ish and I guess you can adapt the following procedure to your equipment and brewery design.

My cleaning procedure is fairly simple.

1. Once I have finished my mash and sparging. I connect the pump directly to the HLT, run the HLT up to boiling and then run run about 3-5lt of fresh near boiling water through the system back into the mash tun.
2. I then empty the mash tun and give it a good scrub a dub-dub. Refill the mash tun with 80C plus water and add sodium percarbonate or PBW.
3. I then hook up everything but the kettle and recirculate at 80C for about half an hour or longer. So it's hooked like this March Pump > HE > Mash Tun > Plate Chiller > March Pump. If you follow? Usually by this stage I have finished the boil and have dropped the brew to the fermenters via the plate chiller hence why it's included in my procedure.
4. Then it's dropped out to kettle, again filled with 70C and saniclean recirc again. Flush with fresh water.
5. I then flush the kettle and boil up the hoses with a bit more Sodium Perc or PBW then saniclean then fresh water rinse.
6. Hoses are hung up to air dry hot and the kettle is drained and flushed with water.

It sounds like alot but it's done throughout the brew day as it keeps the boredom at bay and keeps you busy.

:angry: And before any of you mongrels comment I usually don't bother when I have guests as you lot get in the road. LOL! Plus I'm usually mildly entertained :icon_cheers: .

Yep, a valve on the outlet side of the pump would be a good idea.

+1

Mine is mounted to the HE inlet so I can adjust flow but also isolate the system and keep the pump primed whilst changing over hoses to different vessels. It's a major PITA to keep priming that pump all brew day hence it's mounted at the lowest point in the brewery rig.

Hope this helps?

Chappo

EDIT: BTW I'm not a veteran pumper as I've only done 7 brews with the new system so disregard my comments as you see fit.

 

[mike77]

Thanks chappo, i was hoping someone like yourself might reply. Anyway i understood all your cleaning tips ( nothing wrong with being clean when it comes to brewing as you know )

Also in regards to your system desighn im not quite sure what you mean when you say: your pump is mounted on the inlet side of your HE. Any chance you can explain a little more for us dumbdumbs

cheers mike

 

[chappo1970]

No worries Mike. I think pictures might be better than words?



The march pump is mounted right down the bottom (right hand side). You see the left hand side of the pump has the return hose off it and the outlet side (right) has a hose feeding to the HE via a ball valve.

Here's a close up of the ball valve HE config



The ball valve controls the rate of flow thru the HE and can completely stop wort flow if needed like in the case of a stuck sparge.



This just shows the HE coil arrangement. The bottom is where the cooler wort enters the system and exits at the top.



Now Screwy is going to kill me for having a temp gauge on the HE but I find it useful just to monitor what the HE is doing and also watching return to equilibrium when wort temp has been reached.

I think with your RIMS you want to think about vessel placement but also where in your system you will be taking measurements from.

Chap Chap

 

[fraser_john]

Just make sure that there is a low point after pump outlet or pump inlet that can be used as a drainage point to ensure all fluids are drained from the system after cleaning/rinsing, helps prevent build up of nasty stuff when there is no fluid lying around in the tubes/pipes etc.

 

[mike77]

Great brew rig chappo the pics say it all. I think a herms will be added down the track!

A couple more questions if you don't mind?

1: so i take it there is no problem using a valve to restrict outlet-flow on the pump?

2: I notice you quite a bit of "solid pipe work" in your plumbing. I don't want sound like a tossa but I'd love plumb my rig with all ss or copper rather than hose.But I just don't see it being possible because of pump priming issues and any nastys being stuck in the pipe work. Do I that make any sense to you?

Mike

 

[mike77]

I should really read my own replys before I send them!

 

[chappo1970]

Great brew rig chappo the pics say it all. I think a herms will be added down the track!

A couple more questions if you don't mind?

1: so i take it there is no problem using a valve to restrict outlet-flow on the pump?

2: I notice you quite a bit of "solid pipe work" in your plumbing. I don't want sound like a tossa but I'd love plumb my rig with all ss or copper rather than hose.But I just don't see it being possible because of pump priming issues and any nastys being stuck in the pipe work. Do I that make any sense to you?

Mike

Perfectly Mike :icon_cheers:

1. None. Pump doesn't even feel it
2. I will go to solid SS piping when I am happy with the set up but only partly as a fully hardwired system IMO will be a PITA because of the nature of me keeping Sherman a 3 tier.

Chappo