Transfer from fermenter with a pump

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There is another popular beer pump on the market, as Wes said you would be asking for trouble using any type of centripetal pump.
Flojet pumps are another type of gas driven diaphragm pump, I know Andale stock them and they are even available on eBay.
Mark.
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SPS and Fraser_John, I can see why a Peristaltic pump would be the best, my biggest problem is with the low flow rate. As I generally try and do 80 to 100L batches it's just going to make transferring to the keg quite a slow process.

Florian, I love the simplicity of it. :D Unfortunately It's a about 800L freezer and there are shelves above it. -_-
 
Two good reasons, the first is the one Wes brought up, centripetal pumps (nearly all of the inexpensive electric pumps) create suction internally, the dissolved CO2 in the beer will come out of solution and you will get buckets of foam. This can be a major pain in the arse.

The other is what we call Sanitary, pumps are a great place for bugs to lurk, centripetal pumps are full of odd shapes and crevices, ones that are designed to be easily cleaned and sterilised (sanitary) are not cheap and will still give foaming problems.

Leaves you with Peristaltic and Diaphragm pumps as the only reasonably priced and available alternatives. A peri that will do the job quickly (i.e. 10-15 minutes) will set you back a $K or more, of the two gas powered pumps mentioned so far, I like the Flojet, its very compact has pretty good performance, and the little rubber feet for me make it really easy to use (yes I have one and use it occasionally) I haven't used the Shurflo but would be more than happy to take Wes's advice that it will do the job.

Had a look in the cold-room at Foghorn the other day, all the beer is delivered through Flojet pumps (~14 of them), I suspect it comes down to who you shop with I am a fan of Andale and they sell the Flojet, if you go to Lancer I suspect they sell something else likely the Shurflo, not a right wrong thing just a choice of supplier.

Mark
 
Thanks Mark for your comprehensive reply. :beer:

I will definitely be going for a diaphragm pump because of the exact reason that you have stated, ie. foam, sanitation and $$$. Sorry, I don't think I asked my question properly before. What I was asking if if there is reason to go for an air driven diaphragm pump as opposed to a mechanically driven diaphragm pump? I would imagine that for serving beer air driven would be much better as it is much more start and stop of small amounts, ie schooners etc and therefore it would not be start stop on a motor. For what I want it would be constantly on while I filled my kegs.

Thanks again for all the replies.

Ps. Foghorn Brewhouse looks fantastic. I'm going to have to come up soon to check out all of Newcastle's watering holes. :beerbang:
 
I don't know of an inexpensive electrically driven diaphragm pump - do you? If so I would be interested.
Mark
 
MHB said:
I don't know of an inexpensive electrically driven diaphragm pump - do you? If so I would be interested.
Mark
What do you think of this one? I know this doesn't say that it is "Food Grade", but it does mention "Beverage Transfer", I do know that we can't believe everything we read on ebay. :unsure: I'd probably try and get a variable transformer because 17L a minute might be a little fast. There are plenty that transfer at 4L a minute which might be a better option to give me time to put the lid on the full one and purge before the next one is filled.

There are lots of diaphragm pumps on ebay that are designed for water, as there will only be minimal contact is there any reason you couldn't use them for beer?

Cheers,
Richard
 
Looks OK, but haven't used one so I'm guessing, says in the blurb that there are AC ones available to, might be worth asking to avoid extra expense.

Also says suitable for food and beverage, the concern being whether or not it will cause foaming, keeping the pump as low as possible and having large bore inlet plumbing (1/2") will minimise suction and should reduce foaming (called Break Out).
If you get one let us know how it goes.
Mark
 
I had a similar problem a few years ago when I bought a 60L fermenter and was unable to lift it onto the bench for kegging or bottling. Talking about plastic here, I drilled the lid and fitted a bulkhead to take a "naked" gas line onto a John Guest fitting, and used CO2 pressure to transfer beer to kegs. Worked a treat.

For SS you would need, of course, a method of sealing the lid plus a dip tube to get the beer out, but I guess even if you need to take the lids to a SS guy and get them drilled you could get away with it cheaper than buying a pump. Might not even need a bulkhead, and I know that they are expensive as I bought one for my SS BrewBucket, but maybe you could get away with grommets.

ed: and if your pots are all the same size you'd only need to mod one lid.
 
I think the advantage of the air/gas driven pump is you could adjust flow/pressure, via the the pressure applied to the pump, with the electrical one you would create foam if you were to gate the flow. Though it maybe possible to use pwm to slow the pump rate, you may not get down to desired speed without stalling.
 
Thanks for the replies gentlemen.

Mark, I'll definitely let everyone know which way I end up going, take some pics and a write up. I'm sure there are a few people on here that are sick of lifting their FVs. I haven't been avle to find a AC one at a reasonable price, but I'll search a little longer ;)

Bridie G, I was thinking about trying something like this. I am just concerned about trying to get a decent seal with the lids. Maybe silicone hose cut etc, for the gasket, clamps around the pot lips, pickup tube and co2 inlet. I just think it'll be a massive PITA. Wish I would have originally got some 50L kegs to ferment in, but you don't see them for sale legally very often. ( I'm not willing to steal them as I believe Karma would make my beer taste terrible. :blink: )

MasterBrewery, an interesting youtube review on a diaphragm water pump Appears like there is very little air in the tubing. For the $24 I'm half tempted. I have also email a supplier in the states about the shurflow beer ace II to find out if there might be a discount when buying more than on as the postage is almost the same as the pump. Do I hear mini bulk buy??? :D I am starting to lean a little towards the air driven due to the control that have. I also get Co2 at $45 for 22kg, or I can get a small compressor. :D
 
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If bulk purchase would reduce postage to something reasonable I'd be interested and I'm sure others would be too
 
I found them even cheaper at ABS in the states. They don't appear to do international shipping so I have emails them, I'll report back when I have any details.
 
I've got 6 of those flojet beer pumps.
I bought them a few years back for a project I never went through with. Keeping them for another "one day" project though.
But the benefits are that they can pump dry with no issue.
They self prime.
They're sanitary.
Can be used in wet areas with no risk (no electricity)
Easily controlled by varying the pressure.
They feed off the head pressure to opperate - ie if too much head pressure builds they stop using your "pumping" gas (for most of us this will just be compressed air from a workshop compressor)
If feeding to a tap you can control the flow with out affecting the carbonation.
 
They definitely sound like the best pump for the job. If you decide you only need 5 for you "one day" project let me know. ;)
 
Dusted my Flojet off today, had a troublesome AIPA that wouldn't go through a gravity filter fast enough (too many hops and a shed load of yeast), the first 10L took nearly an hour, hooked up the pump and got the next 50L through the filter in about 15 minutes, very happy - haven't used it for a while and sort of forgot how good it was.

The beer started at 1.072 and got down to 1.008 in 7 days, 6 packets of US-05 in 60L, it was really the hops that was causing trouble, 250ish grams dry hoped. Smelling and tasting pretty good.
Mark
 
Cheap electrical diaphragm pump available from boat shop for potable water on a boat have used in past to push beer through a water filter just need a charged 12v battery or a big transformer u can even control flow with a variable resistor. Only used twice i found beer tastes better with a bit of haze.
 
osprey brewday said:
Cheap electrical diaphragm pump available from boat shop for potable water on a boat have used in past to push beer through a water filter just need a charged 12v battery or a big transformer u can even control flow with a variable resistor. Only used twice i found beer tastes better with a bit of haze.
ImageUploadedByAussie Home Brewer1433842424.882036.jpg
 
MHB said:
Dusted my Flojet off today, had a troublesome AIPA that wouldn't go through a gravity filter fast enough (too many hops and a shed load of yeast), the first 10L took nearly an hour, hooked up the pump and got the next 50L through the filter in about 15 minutes, very happy - haven't used it for a while and sort of forgot how good it was.

The beer started at 1.072 and got down to 1.008 in 7 days, 6 packets of US-05 in 60L, it was really the hops that was causing trouble, 250ish grams dry hoped. Smelling and tasting pretty good.
Mark
I noticed the like and thought, hell we need an envy button. :beerbang:
 

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