3 Tier System - Pump Question.

[Sozzled]

Hi all, do any of you use a solar pump?

I'm looking at putting a 3 tier gravity system together, the pots I have already have the holes drilled and they look a bit high.

I'm thinking they won't get all the good stuff out of the mash tun. I also have a couple of solar pumps and was going to use them for recirculating the mash and then pulling the wort from the mash tun to the kettle.

Will I actually need to use these do you think? If I do I don't have a clue what connectors to stick on the pumps :/. Any ideas?

I can post some pictures of the pots later if it's of any help.

Thanks :)

 

[mgkpancake]

Hi all, do any of you use a solar pump?

I'm looking at putting a 3 tier gravity system together, the pots I have already have the holes drilled and they look a bit high.

I'm thinking they won't get all the good stuff out of the mash tun. I also have a couple of solar pumps and was going to use them for recirculating the mash and then pulling the wort from the mash tun to the kettle.

Will I actually need to use these do you think? If I do I don't have a clue what connectors to stick on the pumps :/. Any ideas?

I can post some pictures of the pots later if it's of any help.

Thanks :)

1/2 BSP Cam locks(if your solar pumps are 1/2 BSP thread that is) are a good sanitary choice over a tri-clamp (expensive). I would run male fittings on the pump and female fittings on the hoses.

If you do all gravity, you can do a 3-tier style(HLT->Mash->Kettle) utilizing pump for only recirculating mash and a 3 way valve to send it to kettle when you're done recirculating.

 

[Fil]

Or consider attaching 1 x pump to the hlt valve, and the 2nd to the tun pre valve, and then fit connecting h/w
That way you need only position the kettle for a gravity drain since you can pump the contents of HLT or TUN from any level

fit the tun pre-valve as the pumps respond well to a restricted output and badly to a restricted input. a filter pre pump may be worth considering too though bagging the grain in the tun should eliminate the risk of big bits getting to the pump as well as reduce the risk of sucking the grain bed to a solid 'stuck' mass with the pump.

 

[Sozzled]

Thanks guys,

I've just put an order in for the camlocks (hopefully I've ordered the right bits)

I've only bought two at the moment if they fit I'll go ahead and get the rest. Until then I've always got my trusty BIAB to keep me busy :)

 

[peebee]

... reduce the risk of sucking the grain bed to a solid 'stuck' mass with the pump.

A slip of the tongue Fil? Hardly surprising posting at that time in the morning!

The little "solar" pumps are impeller driven and wont suck. They must be gravity fed (kept low in the circuit) where they'll push liquid up a level.

I have got a pump that will suck but only use it for moving waste. It's a diaphragm pump. Also "self-priming". Not usually used in brewing because the cheapest ones are called... bilge pumps.

 

[Fil]

poorly chosen words perhaps, Im not suggesting a solar pump is self priming but a solar pump if run too fast too soon can draw the grain bed down with the aid of gravity resulting in the worst case scenario.. the suck effect may be minimal but when bolstered with gravity or some hydrodynamic effect im not aware of can have a negative effect.. A gradual increase in flow to the optimum level can help avoid this. Much the same as simply opening a full bore tun valve wide open to drain with gravity can result in a stuck flow.