Best pump for (really small) brewery - 1BBL

[simmeringbrews]

Hey,
I am in the early planning process for starting a brewery and right now am looking at the construction of the brewhouse itself. We have ten Stainless 55 gallon drums that we are going to use for HLT/MLT/BK and are currently working on the rest of the logistics. The one thing that has me stumped is the pump. I see there are a few different kinds out there but I'm certainly not looking to spend $3,000 on one.

Ideally, whatever pump we choose would be able to handle all brewing tasks from hot liquor transfer to transfer of finished beer to brite tank. Although we may end up getting two of them, versatility is probably the most important aspect.

I know that homebrewers use the March 809 and I've considered this for at least some of our tasks but I'm not in love with the fact that its not self-priming. Perusing there website shows they have similar versions with higher output and SS heads, but I believe still not self-priming. Anyway, what would you guys recommend? Since I'm only doing a 1 BBL brewhouse with up to a 3 BBL fermentation, speed is not a huge issue.

[simmeringbrews]

OK, so I'm not looking for particular models or anything. Mostly, I'm wondering about the style that would be best (centrifugal, diaphragm, screw, or other) and also what amount of hp/flow rate would be good.

Does anybody use the homebrew pumps that are out there? Either the diaphragm pump (which can't handle hot liquids) or the March pump (which is not self-priming).

[pennbrew2]

Peristaltic (tubing) pumps are great for your size. The only brand I'm familiar with is Masterflex, you'll want their I/P system. They're sanitary, self-priming and variable speed (depending on the tubing up to about 3 gpm).

Very expensive from Masterflex but if you watch eBay you will find what you need for a few hundred $$ or less.

[GlacierBrewing]

In my homebrewing days, I loved my Little Giant pump. It was only about 1/12 hp but it was quiet and effecient. It operates using a magnetic impeller so there is no "direct link" to the motor and therefore no seals to wear or fail. I used it on a 13 gallon brew system. It might be a little undersized for yours but they may have something bigger.
Prost!
dave

[GrayMGN]

small brewery pump

It would be my recommendation to try a diaphragm (air operated if you have it available) pump. They are perferct for drum unload and transfer and can handle the variety of viscosities you need. Very inexpensive. Let me know if I can help welovebeer@mgnewell.com.
Thanks,
Gray

[simmeringbrews]

Thanks for the responses! I will look into all these pumps. The Giant sounds very similar to the March as it is a magnetic drive pump. I've never heard of using Peristaltic pumps so I will have to do some research there as well.

Thanks again!

[millerag]

One additional place to check is with these guys. http://www.breakerbrewingcompany.com/brewery.html

They have a set up similar to what you are looking at.

[willynilly]

LG pumps are rock solid. I am using the 5-MD-HC pumps. NO they are not self priming, but with the center inlet, they are very easy to gravity prime. Honestly, mine can create their own prime if they get at least 50% fluid and 50% air, they will clear the air from the head and get full flow in seconds.

They are high temp., food safe and reasonably priced (you can get them for under $350 each) and have a flow rating of 1050 GPH.

Just my $.02

March 809s are junk... they are noisy, low flow and are a nightmare to prime compared to my LG pumps. Yes, they are cheap... they are certainly cheap.

[burcher]

I use the march 809 for brewing and one of these:

http://www.williamsbrewing.com/SELF_PRIMING_PUMP_WITH_VARIABL_P1940.cfm

from williams brewing for moving beer around and for kegging via a sanke coupler.

I have had no issues with the march pump other than the learning curve. It is always below the level, or at the level, of prime so i have no issues priming it. I have done about 100 40 gallon batches with it.

[CaptainEBC]

Small brewery pump

The March magnetic drive centrifugal pumps are pretty nice, but may be too slow for a 1BBl. I have 3 of these running the mash tun operations on my 10 gal. system. They have one with a stainless steel head too.

This is probably a pretty good choice for you:
http://www.aspumps.com/products/fsp/index.htm

Peristaltics and diaphragm pumps will not hold up to the temperature requirements. I use a diaphragm pump for doing 10 gal. batch transfers only and it works great.

Stay away from anything self priming for hot water pumping. I have a self priming rotary vane pump as my main pump on my brewery and it has a tendency of cavitating. Its one of my engineering regrets.

There are some pics of my pumps on my website blog.

[Brew Chef]

March pump 809. all the way.

[simmeringbrews]

Update!

Thanks so much to everyone who contributed to this thread. We are getting much closer to opening (still probably a ways off). The brewery plans are now to do 1.5 bbl's twice for a 3 bbl fermentation. We also plan to scale up quickly from this size.

Regarding the pump, we ended up doing three peristaltic pumps using 3/8" ID hose. We found the pump heads used and then rigged up something to make it work. This gives us about 2 gpm per head at max speed. Three working together would yield 6 gpm, of course. If anyone's interested in pics, we have them here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/shadetreebrew/sets/72157626731067801/detail/

Shortly after completing the pump, we lucked into a stainless/teflon double diaphragm pump for an insanely cheap price (we paid less than the price to scrap the SS in it). It's a 1" pump that looks like (from the graph) will do up to 40 gpm, depending on the air compressor size.

Since we have both pumps, we are planning on using both, depending on the task. Our initial plan is to use the peristaltic for mash recirculating, transfer of hot liquor, and brewhouse related tasks. We'd use the diaphragm pump for larger transfers. Moving from BK through chiller to fermentor, from fermentor to brite.

Does this sound like a good plan? Anything I should be concerned with? Also, what's the best way to clean the teflon parts of the diaphragm pump?

[defenestrate]

you probably saw these earlier, but they seem pretty good for a 1 bbl size. i know you have you situation figured out but i figured i'd post it anyways.

http://morebeer.com/view_product/11623/103556/March_Nano_Brewery_Pump

[simmeringbrews]

you probably saw these earlier, but they seem pretty good for a 1 bbl size. i know you have you situation figured out but i figured i'd post it anyways.

http://morebeer.com/view_product/116...o_Brewery_Pump

I haven't seen that. Seems like a pretty good deal actually. Thanks for the link.

[Beachwood]

I still have my 1bbl system from my homebrew days. I have the standard March 809 pump that continues to work flawlessly with hundreds of brew sessions and over 6 years of operation logged. With full 1bbl batches, I was/am able to knockout through my plate heat exchanger (Blichmann) in about 20 minutes depending on the temp of my cold liquor. The March pumps are super easy to service and get replacement parts for. I've even seen them used in 2bbl applications with good success.