I am in the process of upgrading my system and implementing a pump. I currently plan to use it only for recirculating wort back into the kettle while my immersion chiller is chilling the wort. I have a rather tall brewstand and use gravity for taking the hot liquor to the mashtun and running off wort from the mashtun to the kettle.
I see there are polysulfone headed pumps and brass/bronze headed.
I've also been made aware the polysulfone are prone to wear and have fragile threads.
I don't want metallic taste in my beer from the brass. Is this an issue?
Please help me decide which way to go. Pros and cons of both types?
I tend not to want any brass in contact with my wort if I can help it but frankly I've not been able to detect any detracting flavors when using brass ball valves or brass barb fittings on my cooler mashtun or elsewhere in the system to this point.
TIA
Wurf
People have had issues with the plastic head pumps with breaking off the threads.....but we find its more that they are over tightening the fittings when installing them on the pump. We usually recommend 1-2 wraps of Teflon tape....then hand tighten the fitting on but don’t try and crank it down as much as possible by hand.....then when you get it hand tight, give it another 1/4-1/2 turn with a wrench and that should be more then enough. The threads are tapered so the more you tighten it, the more stress you put on the connection as it gets tighter.
As for Brass or plastic....I cant really give you an answer on which is better or not. I can just give you information and you have to make a decision for yourself.
If you go with the brass, the advantages would be the strength most of all....they can take more pressure internally and obviously have stronger threads for fitting connections. But the biggest thing that i just want to make you aware of is that the brass contains up to 6% lead content. Keep in mind that’s the very same thing you have in your home fixtures unless you live in CA where they mandated 0% content few years back. The only difference is that no one drinks the hot water coming out of your home faucet, and the temp really never see above 135* out of you faucet either. So as to what affect that will have on anything i really don’t know. If you wanted a metal pump head, you could go with a stainless version we have. But i know for most people its too expensive and there is a competitor that sells them for way cheaper then us. I have seen them sell a complete pump head for almost as much as we buy just the raw castings for!! And we still need to spend some time machining the parts to our tolerances before final assembly! We strive to try and keep as much as possible made in the US before going elsewhere for parts. Those stainless pump heads are coming out of a foundry in PA. The competition is China...that's why they can sell them for so cheap. If you happen to have an existing 809-HS pump then you could go and buy their stainless pump head and swap it out and have stainless that way....just an option to throw out there for you guys..
Topic: Questions you may have about March Pumps? post them here (Read 85271 times)
