I just got a new 20 gallon mash tun from SS brew tech. I have it set up on a three tier system, I was testing it out today before I brew tomorrow. Right now I was testing the voularf arm, I have the ball valve hooked up to a 1/2 hose, running to the pump, back to the voularf arm. When I open the valve from the mash tun, so the water will feed into the pump, nothing comes out. What am I doing wrong? When its not hooked up to the pump, the water flows fine. Even when the pump was on, it still didn't work. Any suggestions?
Do you have the pump out oriented up? That helps to let the air out, as the pumps (March or Chugger) are not self priming. Some also have a ball valve on the output to throttle the flow. Also, a bleed valve is used by some, but not me. Make sure you have a way for the air to get out from the sparge arm, or let the air out of the hose before you connect to the sparge arm.
