I just realized my water pressure in my new apartment is too slow for my wort chiller. They are "working on it"...so who knows how long until it's fixed. Anyways, would be better off getting a pump in the end since I'm no longer doing extract and my FL ambient temp never got the wort cooler than 100F in a decent amount of time. I always just topped off with cold water. Not trying to break the bank here, but I think this pump will be sufficient: http://www.homedepot.com/p/Beckett-150-GPH-Auto-Shut-Off-Fountain-Pump-M130AS I can get some 1/2 ID tubing while I'm there, though my chiller is 3/8 OD so it's a bit too large, but I think a tight hose clamp will be sufficient to stop any leakage. I don't see any mention of clamping onto the pump itself, I don't see a barb or anything. I'm probably going to have to get a clamp for that as well. Anyways, never done this before and could use any feedback. Don't wanna buy some 150 dollar pump.
Link is busted =/ http://www.homedepot.com/p/Beckett-...Pump-M130AS/202563429?quantity=1&str_nbr=0208
I got this pump and it has worked really well. http://www.amazon.com/Superior-Pump-91250-Thermoplastic-Submersible/dp/B000X05G1A/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1397842197&sr=8-1&keywords=sub pump You just need a female hose piece on one of the ends of your wort chiller tubing assuming you are using an outdoor spigot and a small length of hose to attach to the pump. I also suggest getting a quick disconnect to go on top of the pump. Screwing a hose on to it each time was some what of a pita.
that pump can produce 2.5gpm. probably free flowing with zero head. mediocre. more importantly, a pump is not going to make your flow rate increase. if the bottle neck is at the primary source, no pump is going to make more water come out. you should know that local code invariably stipulates a minimum flow rate from potable sources. might not be worth pissing off your landlord, but you are paying for it. the landlord is obliged to provide what you are paying for. Cheers.
Interesting...I'll check into the flow rate. I won't be pumping water from my pipes, it will be from a 6.5 gallon bucket filled with tap. Then after the first run I will fill the bucket again with ice water for better cooling than tap. Awesome, looks like it just has a standard male GHT right? My wort chiller has a standard female GHT so that could definitely work.
Damn all I can find is the maximum flow rate allowed, no minimum define for Broward, or I can't find it at least.
Yes, it's a male end on top of the pump. And to clarify my pervious statement since it sounded a little confusing when I reread it. You only need one hose if you are hooking up to an out door spigot first and then switching to the pump. But you could probably just hook the chiller right to the pump if you are brewing indoors. Just wait to add ice to the container the pump is in until it gets under 100 or you will go through a lot of ice. During the summer I hook up to spigot until it is under 100 and then switch to the pump with ice. It takes around 10lbs of ice to get down to 65 quickly.
Sounds perfect, nothing in stock locally though. I found a comparable one for 85 bucks, damn man...that markup. Might just ice bath this batch tomorrow and order that pump online to save some cash...but damned if I don't hate ice baths. Gotta boil tomorrow though, don't want the mash to get much more sour. Maybe I'll just bite the bullet and drop some extra cash.
If you search Amazon for "submersible aquarium pump" you see many models, usually under 25 bucks. Most of these (and your HD link) have a couple of "smooth" couplers" of varying diameter . . . one end fits into the female input of the pump and the male-stub is mated to your vinyl hose with friction. Normally 2 or 3 couplers are included so you can mate different size hose diameters. At the pressures you are talking about simply using friction to mate the hose works okay. When I used an immersion chiller I never fooled with garden hose fittings. I used the pump in a picnic cooler (initially with tap water) until the wort cooled some, then switched to another cooler with an ice slurry. So I never disconnected any hoses, just leapfrogged the pump. I also chill with Florida water and found that as the wort got to 80-90 range the return water from the chiller was cooler than the input tap water. At that point I vented the chiller output to the picnic cooler (closed system).
Did you use one like this with good results? The replies above have me concerned about the slow flow.
Yes, my simple pump moved water through the chiller and was as effective as 80+ inlet water allowed. Just looked and rating is not listed, but remember it somewhere around 250-300 gph. It is similar to this one (many of the reviews are from homebrewers). A bigger pump will obviously move more water and cool faster, but I found it was diminishing returns. My pump has a variable flow setting and I normally left in on the lowest value.
