Sparge Arm Size

[rehabs_for_quitters]

Just getting some kit together to build a direct fired 3v setup with 100L pots and going to use a rotating sparge arm setup I am about to build like this http://www.bohack.com/2010/10/how-to-make-a-rotating-fly-sparge-arm-for-all-grain-brewing/

one question I can't seem to find the answer too and it probably doesn't matter in the scheme of things but how big in relation to the pot size should the sparge arm be or does it come down to some form of physics of whether the pump can produce enough pressure to turn the thing, going to be using Chugger or March pumps on it so am I safe to assume they would have enough grunt to turn it if I made it about 3/4 the width of a 50cm wide pot, or is that overkill for size?

 

[roller997]

In the past I have used one of these via a gravity fed HLT and I have not had to use a pump. My setup was the same type of sparge arm dimensions for a 50liter pot.

Someone with engineering knowledge should be able to give you a more accurate answer, however I would expect that the inlet pipe size determines how much water flows in, so as long as you have enough holes on the oposing sides where the water can sprinkle out you could upgrade the pipe size.

Bear in mind that even a minor upgrade in pipe size means a significant upgrade in the water that can flow through the unit. An example is when you upgrade from a 1/2" pipe to a 3/4" pipe, it would appear as only a 50% increase in pipe size, however the water that can flow through that would be dependent on the surface area which is more twice the size for 3/4" pipes than 1/2" pipes.

1/2" pipe has a surface area of 0.196"
3/4" pipe has a surface area of 0.442"