thought i'd share this, cheap foodgrade pump for sparge ....

[weiht]

Found this on ebay and it looks identical. Although it doesnt say that its foodgrade and its highest temperature is 105c.. Cheaper for outside the UK i believe.

http://cgi.ebay.com.sg/DC12V-Electric-C ... 3a6a775253

Does it choke easily with grains while recirculating or hops if using as a whirpool pump?

[edgars]

[quote="weiht"]Does it choke easily with grains while recirculating or hops if using as a whirpool pump?[/quote]

I have not tested, but it does not make impression that it can handle grains or hops (maybe it could handle hop pellets) for whirpool. I plan to use as whirpool pump, but definatelly I will put some filters in my boil kettle and mash tun.

[dave.wilton]

Sorry all, I have been through the posts and I'm a little confused, probably because I don't really understand things like BSP and the different thread types. I've bought a pump and now need to hook it up.

I can see that some have connected the pump to copper John-Guest-Speedfit-15mm-x-1-2-BSP-Female-Stem-Adaptor
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/John-Guest-Sp ... 500wt_1156

or
JOHN GUEST SPEEDFIT 15 MM X 1/2 INCH BSP FEMALE COUPLE
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/JOHN-GUEST-SPEEDF ... 916wt_1139

What is the purpose of these, is there a reason you can't use the plastic fittings provided with the pump? What hose would connect directly to the pump and what would connect to the above fittings?

[Kev888]

Hi,
You can use the fittings supplied and some people have, but they are only suitable for a range of hose sizes and wall-thicknesses. Unfortunately I don't know what that range is, except that it was below the hose I have, which I suspect is why many people go with the alternatives. I could have found smaller hose to fit of course, but that would then have been awkward for most of my existing fittings (at the other end).

15mm copper pipe can usually take 1/2" internal diameter poly syphon tube (if you make it stretchy by heating the end in boiling water) - you can also just about get the reinforced version on, though its a bit more stubborn. The best I've found to fit it is food grade silicone tubing as this is intrinsically stretchy - its much more costly but also considerably better under heat, more flexible than the poly tube and doesn''t develop those permenent kinks. I found that the 12.7mm (internal diameter) stuff works well on 15mm tube.

Maybe others could say what sizes/types they have that fit, too..

Cheers
Kev

[dave.wilton]

Kev, thanks for the reply. Just so I'm clear the best fit you have found is the 12.7mm which fits on to the 15mm tube. By 15mm tube do you mean the John guest copper stem in the above link?

[Kev888]

Hi
yes, thats the best I've found to fit 15mm tube - either that of the brass stem fitting, or else a small piece of 15mm copper water pipe pushed into the plastic push-fit coupler would achieve a similar thing (if perhaps less elegantly).

You will also need some PTFE tape wrapped several times around the 1/2" BSP pump threads before screwing on the fittings, to stop stuff seeping through them; I've considered the liquid types of pipe thread sealant instead but first I would want to be certain the chemicals in them didn't attack the plastic.

To be clear though, there will also be hoses that can use the fittings supplied with the pump; I just haven't gone there myself (as the 12.7mm pipe is better for the fittings I have on the other end).

Cheers
Kev

[Spud395]

Hi Dave this is what I used with the original fittings if it's of interest to you, it's 9mm internal diameter.

Here's how it looks, just set up temporarily with a battery until I get a variable amp controller

[dave.wilton]

Many thanks Kev and Spud395, both solutions of interest. I need to look more carefully at what I want to hook it up to in future and the connections needed. I think 1/2" may be best for me, at present I have a snaplock on my mash tun which when I measure the external diameter is 1/2".

Cheers

Dave