[denny]

My first thought was take off the head and take it apart. See what's going on with the impeller. Could be junk in there or some other problem binding up the impeller.

That's exactly what happened to mine recently.  Took it apart and cleaned it out and it worked great.

[awiens]

I am trying to determine my need for a pump with my set up. I currently brew 5 gallon batches and use a 10 g HLT, 10 g cooler mash tun, and a 15 g kettle to brew. I'm considering a pump for moving water from my HLT to my cooler. Right now, I have to pick up the 5+ gallons of 150 degree + mash water and dump it into my cooler, and I know it's only a matter of time before I dump this on myself in some capacity. My question is this: Are there effective alternatives to investing in a pump? I don't have the materials to use a gravity fed system to simply drain it down. Any suggestions regarding alternatives or additional info on pumps would be greatly appreciated! Happy brewing!

[TrippleRippleBrewer]

Gravity setup would be quite tall and require a ladder. Pump is nice  but you'll soon discover you want fittings and hoses and clamps. The only other techniques I've heard of involve using pulleys or block and tackle to raise containers full of hot liquor or mash.
Still seems dangerous to me. Personally I like my pump and my setup and don't plan to go back to a gravity setup.

[klickitat jim]

I am trying to determine my need for a pump with my set up. I currently brew 5 gallon batches and use a 10 g HLT, 10 g cooler mash tun, and a 15 g kettle to brew. I'm considering a pump for moving water from my HLT to my cooler. Right now, I have to pick up the 5+ gallons of 150 degree + mash water and dump it into my cooler, and I know it's only a matter of time before I dump this on myself in some capacity. My question is this: Are there effective alternatives to investing in a pump? I don't have the materials to use a gravity fed system to simply drain it down. Any suggestions regarding alternatives or additional info on pumps would be greatly appreciated! Happy brewing!

I have a 2 quart pitcher that I use for sparge water. Pretty low tech.

[denny]

I am trying to determine my need for a pump with my set up. I currently brew 5 gallon batches and use a 10 g HLT, 10 g cooler mash tun, and a 15 g kettle to brew. I'm considering a pump for moving water from my HLT to my cooler. Right now, I have to pick up the 5+ gallons of 150 degree + mash water and dump it into my cooler, and I know it's only a matter of time before I dump this on myself in some capacity. My question is this: Are there effective alternatives to investing in a pump? I don't have the materials to use a gravity fed system to simply drain it down. Any suggestions regarding alternatives or additional info on pumps would be greatly appreciated! Happy brewing!

I have a 2 quart pitcher that I use for sparge water. Pretty low tech.

Yep, same here.  Dip with the pitcher until the kettle is light enough to lift.

[awiens]

I like the pitcher idea! Do you lose much heat? I'm all about simplicity. Every time I've tried to "tech it up," I've ended up making brewing more difficult and created more potential for things to go wrong or leak!

[thebigbaker]

+1 for using a pitcher till the pot is light enough to lift. 

[klickitat jim]

I like the pitcher idea! Do you lose much heat? I'm all about simplicity. Every time I've tried to "tech it up," I've ended up making brewing more difficult and created more potential for things to go wrong or leak!

I have a stainless mash tun. So my mash water starts in the tun. But I heat sparge water in an hlt. I don't notice much temp loss caused by the pitcher  when I transfer that. Its usually 170° when I start and ends up about 160-165 for mash out.

[denny]

I like the pitcher idea! Do you lose much heat? I'm all about simplicity. Every time I've tried to "tech it up," I've ended up making brewing more difficult and created more potential for things to go wrong or leak!

Nah, not enough heat to matter.  If you find you do, you can always bump up the water temp next time to compensate.  Take a look at www.dennybrew.com

[Lowell Brewing Co.]

Walt,
Is it possible to purchase a stainless pump head to replace the plastic one on the 809 HS? Also, is there more risk of trub, etc. clogging/catching in the larger upgraded impeller? Thanks!

Andrew

[walteratmarchpump]

Walt,
Is it possible to purchase a stainless pump head to replace the plastic one on the 809 HS? Also, is there more risk of trub, etc. clogging/catching in the larger upgraded impeller? Thanks!

Andrew

Hi guys, sorry i haven't been on here in a while...not sure why but i don't get notices when there are new postings on the thread...i figured there was no traffic here...
anyway yes you can buy just the stainless head if you like. The part numbers are:
0809-0150-0000 for the center inlet style
and 0809-0211-0000 for the inline version.
you can order one from any of our distributors.
You will also need a different o-ring if you change over as they are different size. that's part# 0809-0165-1000
As for the impeller...that depends on how much debris goes through the pump and how hard/soft it is. Most very soft stuff will get shredded in small amounts and pass right through....other will jam the impeller and decouple the magnets and you will loose all pumping action.

[walteratmarchpump]

I have an 809 that I bought from someone retiring.  It has always run well for me.  This past weekend I had some issues with air locks causing free wheeling.  Whenever this occurred I would immediately shut the pump off.  I then would find it would not restart and I would notice the fan would pulse when the switch was turned on, but it would not turn.  The fan was magnetically held in place.  After a few minutes (potentially as the motor cooled) it would run.

Is there a potential dead spot in the motor windings or could it be overheating?

We would have to see the motor and test it....but from what you said in the posting i would venture to guess the clearance on the impeller ID is too tight and its sticking on the shaft when it heats up. it could be tight from the molding process or you may have sugar buildup from not cleaning it out good enough.....easiest thing you can do is drill the impeller center section out with a 17/64" drill bit to give it more clearance.

[rtemplen]

I have a March Pump 809 HS and I recently started brewing with an Edelmetall 30 gallon kettle. The problem is I don't feel as though I get enough flow from the pump to effectively create a whirlpool using the kettle's built in tangential port. I have tried several experiments to improve the situation (heights of the pump, ensure hoses are short and 5/8", and even a friends chugger pump) but nothing seems to move enough water/wort to really achieve an effective whirlpool.  Any suggestions on options for improving the flow are greatly appreciated!

[Stevie]

What type of fittings are you using? The most important leg in the plumbing is the input, you need to make sure the wort has the best possible path to the pump head.

30 gallons is a large volume. Might need a second pump in series to boost the output pressure.

[rtemplen]

I believe all fittings on the kettle and pump are 5/8" stainless steel barbs.
I am interested in understanding how another pump in series would benefit this situation? Is there a bigger single pump that would improve the situation? Any modifications to the existing pump/head that could be made? Does anyone else have this kettle and have a setup working well for them?

Thank you again for the help!