shur-flo vs. flo-jet beer pumps

[gitchegumee]

Considering both for new cooler project. Have used Flo-jet in the past with good success. Anybody have experiences they would share with either one, or preferably both?

[Frankentrostjim]

I am not a fan of pumps, if a co2/nitrogen blender can be used, it is a cleaner and less moving part install. If pumps have to be used, I prefer the flojet with the flow reversal valve which allows for pump cleaning. I am not aware that Shurflo has that option.

[John Dean]

Beer Pumps

I have used both and prefer the Shur-Flo pumps for their auto-shutoff feature. The Flo-Jet will continue to cycle after the serving vessel is empty, depleating your Co2 supply. The Flo-Jets cleaning valve is a nice feature. We clean straight through the Shur-Flo pumps. They both seem to have the same life span which for us is two years. We have 35 feet of vertical rise to our tap towers out of old grundy tanks, the pumps get the beer there with no foaming issues.

Cheers,
John Dean

[gitchegumee]

I did know that Flo-jet would continue to cycle without a FOB on the outlet. I did NOT know that Shur-flo wouldn't. That, the better beer inlet/outlet geometry (and the associated tubing layout), and the fact that I haven't used them before has me leaning toward the Shur-flo. And I still don't know why use a "flow reversal valve". When a tank blows, shut down the pump and prepare to clean both tank and lines. Drop the beer line tail in a bucket of cleaner, turn on the air to the pump and then go to each tap to open the flow and clean everything in the circuit. Why a flow reversal valve? Anyway, thanks for the help! Always great to reap the benefits of others' experience here on Probrewer! Cheers!!

[Jephro]

I have used flojets and they worked well for that application. 1 and 2 story vertical rise, i don't recall the distance but they kept the Co2 from breaking out of solution on the climb. I was also going to mention the ease of line cleaning but you already touched on that (drop the line in a bucket and you're off - i really miss that, no fountains of caustic or acid b/c you fouled up a connection on a keg or didn't blow off all the pressure....

I don't remember ours continuing to run after we blew a tank, (i could be wrong, i will have to call my buddy that still works there). I know the soda-style units have the auto-purge function to remove air, but i swear ours would stop as soon as the line pressure hit the setpoint weather it was air or liquid. Otherwise you could just use an FOB between the BBT/keg and the flojet which would replicate an empty soda bag triggering the auto shutoff feature they all have.

If you're using Co2 and they do in fact continue to run it could lead to a very dangerous scenerio (unless your busboys/barbacks are arsenic-based, Co2 breathing, black mold eating furry creatures from Mars). We ran ours with an air compressor, and why not, they just need compressed air, of some sort, to operate. The air that powers the diaphram does not come in contact with the product side of the unit - Save your money and Co2 and buy a small air-compressor.

[gitchegumee]

Second the use of compressed air. CO2 would just be a waste. Not very green either.

[Frankentrostjim]

Flow reversal is necessary for reverse/recirculating pump cleaning. Yes, you can static clean by putting the line in a bucket but recirculation cleaning is far superior.

[bcofresi]

I've had beer pumps going for the last eleven years, previously shur-flo but now switching to Flo-jet as the shur-flo s fail. The shur-flo pumps have a significant flaw in the design of a port for the co2/air inside the diaphram housing. A simple chamfer of the sharp edge of the port would prevent a hole from wearing through the very tough diaphram material. When this happens beer leaks out of the pump co2/air exhaust. I really don't like coming into the brewery in the morning and seeing beer on the floor running to the drain. The shur-flo pumps I've had, have often worn through in less than the warranty. I've gotten free replacement pumps but the beer is still down the drain. Some have worn out after three years. Shur-flo pumps that I modified, prior to service, have run a very long time, but they are still much noisier than the Flo-jets. My chiller technician recommended flo-jets hands down and started me on the path of happy beer pump living. Also a friend of mine who runs a local fountain repair/service business for a large cola company (they like the color red a lot) and who deals with thousands of nearly identical syrup pumps (that's why we can get them so cheap) every year, says that the Flo-jets are the best.
As for run on, I've found that they both run on if the co2 pressure drops, like when I'm filtering and really pulling the co2 tank down with all the purging and carbonating going on. Also when my bb tank blows empty, the pumps will start pumping really fast when the co2 from the bbt starts coming through, but they stop in a minute or less when the bartender closes the faucet after his foam shower.

Happy pumpin'!

[beermkr]

That flow reversal valve is key when you end up with loose hops in your brite tank and it plugs the pump up

R/

[gitchegumee]

Thanks for the heads-up Brian! The flow-jets are a bit more compact, but the inlet/outlet configuration of hose barbs facing down for each would be better with swivel 90s like the Shur-flo. I've got to pack 24 of these pumps on a panel and space is at a premium. Anybody know if these removable straight hose barb fittings can be replaced with 90s? Can't find them for sale. Still like the idea of Shur-flos stopping on a blown tank. The Flo-jets will run on and on if no FOB is installed. BTW--FOB should be installed AFTER the pump, not before. I'd rather not use a FOB. Once a tank is blown, I have no desire to keep the beer line packed. On the contrary, I'd like to exhaust the last liquid in the line before I clean the tank and beer line. One more thing: Frankentrostjim, the flow reversal valve must be used with two nearby taps at a time, right? Not the best in my situation as I normally blow one tank, and therefore subsequently clean one tank, at a time. This usually happens every other week to each tank, so my lines stay very clean--even with unfiltered beers. I've had great success cleaning using only the Flo-jets to circulate cleaner--think I'll stick with that. And BTW, didn't we attend the Draft Beer Institute together in Machesney Park fall of '06? It's a bit hazy...

[Frankentrostjim]

I did go to Micro Matic but thinking it was May 2006, lots of beer then, and since then!

[Rosie]

On your question about 90 degree bends for the flo jets. If we are talking about the same flo jets, we replace the barb fittings with 3/8 john guest males. If you did that you could just go with a john guest 90 onto that fitting, no?

Cheers,
Jeff

[Natrat]

90 to straight

I think the 90* barbs are just 1/4" npt to barb fittings. Should be able to order straight stainless fittings from just about anywhere. Or 45's, or 30's, or anything you want, really.

The FloJets are probably a better bet for pumping beer, IMHO, but I like the ShurFlow because it can handle fluids with high viscosity and bits of junk. I use it to pump liquid invert at room temp. (no, I don't use the invert in beer...yet...)

Nat

[gitchegumee]

As I remember, the Flo-jets have a special c-clip that holds an o-ringed fitting in the pump body. Would be hard to change that unless they are made for that pump.

[Natrat]

Yup, you're right...the Flo Jet beer pumps do. I have 3 here...one is a soda syrup pump, and it uses 1/4" npt fittings. The other two (G56 1202E) have proprietary barbs...but there are two straights and two 90's in the box. The gas in barb is straight, but I'm sure I have seen 90's and offset valves online before.

The internals for both seem identical, though the diaphragm material for the soda syrup pump is a different color, and seems a bit more rigid...not sure if that is due to age or if it is for pumping material with a higher viscosity. The invert I pump is a little under 1000 centipoise at room temp. The Flo Jet can handle it, but the ShurFlow has been less trouble. And I have a box of parts for it...I've broken the gas barb on it twice, now.

I haven't used the two beer pumps I have. Bought them on sale "just in case" a year or two ago. Never opened the box until now, thought they were the same as my backup pump!

You should have seen the pd sanitary drum pump they tried to sell me when I started using the invert...50 lbs of stainless, almost eleven thousand dollars! Very nice, and could pump to 25000 centipoise or something, but my fifty dollar syrup pump seems to work great. Quiet, too.

Anyone ever used a BIB pump for beer? I've seen them for under twenty bucks, and it really does seem to be the same beast.