Announcement

**dick murton** · 03-16-2010, 04:18 PM

Pump sizing is based on the flow rate you need, hl / hr or gallons / hr what ever units you are using, against the head pressure. So you need to tell the supplier how much liquid in what time, and if there are any constraints - such as supplying a sprayball which requires 1.5 bar pressure, the sprayball being 15 ft / 5 metres above the pump, so you need a bit over 2 bar output at the sprayball flow rate. For cleaning pipework, aim for 1.5 to 2 metres / second flow rate. Wort transfer should ideally be no more than 1.5 metres / second, but anything up to 2.2 is normally considered OK. Allow for head pressure in a vessel when you are filling it. You also need to state teh temperature of the liquids you are moving as if they are hot (perhaps 60 C +) you are more likely to suffer gas breakout on the inlet to the pump.

A centrifugal pump can be used for most duties apart from high solids materials such as thick yeast slurries, mash or high solids trub

Generally, the slower the pump rotation, the less damage the pump will cause. The motor speed will be largely dependant on the power supply you have available unless you use a variable speed (frequency) drive. This may be relatively expensive, but will make the pump much more useful for a wider range of duties.

As for who you get one from, the first priority is for it to be hygienic, and to be able to clean it without stripping down - a recipe for disaster, and then to be able to maintain / repair / service it, though a pump should never require much in the way of servicing, much work, so a local agent is higher priority than getting a preferred brand name which is not supported locally.

And finally, check the noise rating. You don't want to have to wear ear defenders for the sake of a single pump, though generally they are now all pretty quiet, especially if you specify a noise reduction hood

Cheers

Announcement

pumps

pumps

Comment