March May 809-PL-HS or alternatives?

[Kev888]

They are very good and helpful...most of the time. When I enquired about the 809 I asked about a model with greater flow rates (like the 815) they quoted me over £400 :shock: :lol:
So, are you going for it

£400 - ouch..

Yes I think I will go for an 815, though I need to decide from where. I'd been wanting to buy from the UK, but it seems considerably cheaper from the US even with the import taxes/charges applied.

I calculate that the ones from tescopumps on ebay about £180 including delivery, VAT and handling charge (maybe not import tax if thats not waived, though). I'd very much prefer someone more accessible in case of problems, but it does seem to save about £90 which is significant..

Cheers
Kev

 

[Kev888]

Although...

in answering another post I notice that hop and grape are doing an interesting looking pump here. Previously they did what looked like the stuart turner RG550 but this looks different (and more expensive) now.

Takes 100c, but is self priming and apparantly bi-directional (potential for cleaning plate chillers perhaps), so a bit different to the normal offerings. Its probably comparable in price to importing a MM 815, from local retailers who are usually good on service. But I wanted magnetic coupling (for easy/surer cleaning as much as anything else) and there are few specs on it - I have no idea how loud this one is; my suspicion is that being self-priming it could be louder.

Cheers
Kev

 

[Vossy1]

I was having a look at the new morebeer site the other day, they have a good few pumps which are food for thought.

 

[Kev888]

Hmm yes, most interesting, thanks!

(BTW, I emailed H&G about their stainless pump and John responded promptly, but I think he's still waiting for the manufacturers to supply the info).

Cheers
Kev

 

[Kev888]

Heard back from John at H&G about their new stainless pumps:

flow/height 5l/min @ 27m to 28litres/min@ 1m head.
pipe-fitting sizes 20mm
reversing switch.
noise levels within the permitted limits.
375 watt 0.5hp.
It is capable of drawing from 4metres providing the pump is primed initially but will not draw dry.
Max liquid temperature 100degC
Protection IPx4

So it looks most interesting, not dissimilar in price from a march 815 imported from the states, but has the benefit of being from a local, trusted retailer and it also has some different features that could work better in some applications. Pity the noise levels aren't specified more precisely though (I've asked if he happens to know) as this looks quite a beast and its difficult to gauge in that respect.

Cheers
Kev

 

[akka lakka]

Hi all, Been reading this post and it has made me think,what if my little solar pump packs up like kevs did, I should have a spare pump. So do I get another solar pump or get a more powerful pump? {I cant afford march pump though} Been reading about diaphragm pump they do not get blocked up easily. Does anyone else use them, or have any info on them?

cheers joe

 

[Kev888]

The air-operated flo-jet type pumps are diaphram ones (e.g. here). I believe people have used them for homebrewing, though I don't know much about them. There may be others, I just haven't come across them myself.

Cheers
kev

 

[akka lakka]

Thanks Kev, I have seen a million pumps on ebay today from a few quid to hundreds of quids. It seems to me its like when you buy a cheap pair of shoes they dont last very long. So one way or another I am going to get one of those march pumps at the right price.

Cheers
Joe

 

[Kev888]

Well the deal is done - I've ordered the 815PL inline pump (240v) from Tescopumps. £ouch! It had better be the bees knees..

Thanks for all the advice Vossy and others!

Cheers
Kev

 

[Vossy1]

:party: ...let us know what the charges are Kev if it gets stopped :hmm:

 

[Kev888]

Yep, will do! If it gets stopped then I'm 'expecting' about £30 import VAT and £15 handling charges, so that would total around £180, but only time will tell. Technically its also due for Customs Duty, but as I'm only just over the £limit of when it applies I'm hoping it will be waived.

:hmm: When you add it all up I've probably been a bit rash with the cash.. but its too late now, and I already have a 'dispatched' notice from ebay and a message from the USPS, so at least they're quick off the mark :party:

Cheers
Kev

 

[Kev888]

...let us know what the charges are Kev if it gets stopped :hmm:

Well, it got stopped; I had a letter from parcelforce awaiting me today. They're asking me for Import VAT and Clearance Fee - the former is about £27 (20% of the total, item+P&P, cost as expected), but the latter is only £8 so slightly less than I thought.

Thats £35 on top of the original ebay transaction, so overall (with exchange rates current at the time) the 815 PL has cost me almost exactly £170, which is about £97 less than buying the same thing direct from the UK branch. The main downside of importing it being longer delivery time (I'm estimating 3-weeks before its with me) and having to hope that it doesn't need returning etc for any reason :pray:

Still seems £huge to me, but is in the same ball park as many of the alternatives so I guess it depends how you judge these things really. Can't wait to get my mitts on it now :-)

(Oh, and Parcel Force will allow me to spend another £12 to get it delivered on a Saturday..)

Cheers,
Kev

 

[Vossy1]

Bugger, but not a surprise :? Glad it's here safely :party: ...just such a shame March can't sell them here cheaper. I asked the guys at March what it would take to sell cheaper in the U.K, they said higher volume sales as 300 ish units a year didn't constitute 'bulk'
I'm a firm believer in you get what you pay for, I don't think you'll be disappointed Kev

 

[Kev888]

Thanks! Yes, with their track-record in brewing its pretty likely that I'll be happy. Of the pumps at this sort of spec, none of them seemed quite as well designed for what I want and aren't especially cheaper (than importing one) so I'm convinced that its a pretty good decision.

Just been online to pay for the charges so hopefully it should be here in a few days! :party:

Cheers
Kev

 

[Kev888]

It arrived today, so I bunged a plug on and tested it; first impressions are very pleasing :party:

Its not a proper test yet, but it seems to shift water very well - at low heads slightly faster than my totton GP 20/12 and about 2-3 times as fast as my 14watt solar pumps. Its noticably quieter than the 20/12 and has less of a whine to its tone; its far from silent but its quiet enough that its unlikely to become annoying/intrusive to work with, which was my concern.

It also feels quite robust; a pressed metal cage around the motor with built in foot included (although fairly open to water ingress), and the pumping gubbins look chunky and pretty hygenic in their design. It has a more modest max head than the 20/12 (hopefully not too much of an issue for a recirculating system..) but the pump head is much simpler, and a lot easier to assemble and disassemble.

Its not outstripping all competition in every perameter but (on the face of it), may at last bring most of what I'm looking for together in the same pump. Its very costly, no two ways about it, but then I've probably spent almost as much on cheaper pumps over the last few years trying to avoid an expensive one. So I'm hopeful that this will conclude my search - time will tell! :pray:

Thanks for all the help choosing it!

Cheers
Kev

 

[LeithR]

After reading this thread I dropped march may a note requesting availability and cost. Here's their reply just received.

Hi Leith,

Unfortunately, we have recently discovered that the 809-PL-HS is not CE marked so it's illegal for us to sell it in the EU for homebrewing.

Instead, we would suggest our SS-4R-MD manufactured from Ryton, a high temperature plastic.

The SS-4R-MD is also a magnetically driven centrifugal pump and will deliver about 30 litres/minute at 1-2 metres head.

Net Price £ 111.54
Delivery within the UK £ 15.00

VAT 20% £ 25.31

Total £ 151.85


Unfortunately, we don't take credit cards as our sales are mainly to industrial users who have credit accounts with us. Most people make a BACS payment (account details attached) then we will despatch the pump to you. Please ensure that you give us a full delivery address including postcode for an address that someone will be at during the normal working day.


I'm going to go back and ask if they plan to have it CE certified

 

[mabrungard]

Be aware that the 809HS can be easily upgraded to the 815 by swapping impellers. The 815 impeller has a slightly larger diameter, but the pump heads for either pump are identical. I've upgraded my old 809HS with the 815 impeller about a year ago. The cost was around $35US. Be sure to get several of the little teflon washers for the pump shaft while you're ordering.

 

[Vossy1]

@ LR :lol: ...wonder when they noticed that :shock: ...someone's in trouble...waiting for my recall letter

Be aware that the 809HS can be easily upgraded to the 815 by swapping impellers. The 815 impeller has a slightly larger diameter, but the pump heads for either pump are identical. I've upgraded my old 809HS with the 815 impeller about a year ago. The cost was around $35US. Be sure to get several of the little teflon washers for the pump shaft while you're ordering.

Top tip m, I'll be trying that myself, have you got a linky :hmm: FWIW when the Teflon washers do wear the pump can seize up/fail to rotate, it's happened to me and March sent out new washers foc. I also like those stainless heads but not sure I'll be getting them...not yet anyway :P :whistle:

EDIT...found em, 1 on the way :party:

 

[LeithR]

Hi there Bilal,
Thanks, does March May expect to get the 809 CE certified? If so, in what sort of timescales.
I'm interested in buying and I'm a member of the Home Brew Forum where your pump has been the subject of discussion. There are a number of other members also interested in purchasing this pump.
Regards
Leith Robertson

March May

13:37 (1 hour ago)

to me
Hi Leith,

We don't think that there are any plans in getting the motor for the 809 pump certified, as the sales are in fact very low by motor manufacturing standards. Hence our decision to sell the SS-4R-MD a unit that is based on a pump that we have sold for over 10 years to commercial micro breweries.

Al,
above is the response back from March May.

 

[Vossy1]

Instead, we would suggest our SS-4R-MD manufactured from Ryton, a high temperature plastic.The SS-4R-MD is also a magnetically driven centrifugal pump and will deliver about 30 litres/minute at 1-2 metres head.

Sounds quite reasonable and it'd give the flexibility of having higher flow rates if you want them The low volume sales were a few hundred PA when I talked MM, quite a good figure if you ask me. For the price of the SS-4R it'd work out about the same importing a 809/815 from the US.