Pump or no pump

[Speyedr]

Being as concerned about the end of civilization as I am (you know, when the oil runs out) I think that being ABLE to utilize gravity for the whole brewing process is important. However, once you know how to live without them, there is no reason to go without unless you have to.

I do 5gal batches for now, so no pump. However, as soon as I go to 10gal or higher I'm pumpin'!

[Steve]

Being as concerned about the end of civilization as I am (you know, when the oil runs out) I think that being ABLE to utilize gravity for the whole brewing process is important. However, once you know how to live without them, there is no reason to go without unless you have to.

I do 5gal batches for now, so no pump. However, as soon as I go to 10gal or higher I'm pumpin'!

I think I can understand your need for a pump. Are you aiming at haveing a more compact brewery? Or, as stated in some earlier post, are you hopeing a pump will help in making your brewery more portable? I find that so many that chime into this post offer a mix of reasons as to why THEY need a pump I'm just curious as to yours. I've seen many a snappy brewery out there many that require a pump. I believe it has also been suggested that a few of us with back problems require a pump to move the water and wort around their brewery. I don't know your conditions as to where and what it is you want to achieve in your brew sessions but would enjoy hearing about it.
Steve

[Speyedr]

Steve,

It looks like I misspoke on this issue. I am being exhiled from the kitchen, and frankly I am surprised it took this long Since I am going to the Garage I ordered a B3-1000, NO pump. That said, I may get one in the future for the following reasons:

1 - Recirculate the mash more easily until clear. Currently I put an 8qt pot into my brewpot, and use a 3.5qt pot to "ladel" the wort back onto the mash carefully so as not to disturb the grain bed or aerate the hot wort. I don't MIND doing it this way, but if I can make it easier I will.
2 - Make a RIMS system, SMART system or something like it where I recirculate the mash through an immerssion chiller in the HL tank and raise the Mash temp without fire. That way I will be less likely to over shoot temps. This can be further automated with controllers to maintain mash temps within a couple of degrees, just like Gucci can do on his 1550.
3 - Pump through a counterflow chiller and into a conical, if I ever get one or both of those

Finally, your point about compacting the system is true also. My system will be 8ft tall or so with the HL tank in place. With a pump you can lower that down by a couple feet or more, even make all kettles the same height... but then you can't brew when the oil runs out... Unless you hook an excercise bike up to the thing to drive the pump...

Rob

[zymurgest]

Whether or not to use a pump depends largely upon what kind of brewery that you have. If you have a three tier gravity fed system, then no pump is needed. If you have a split level system, then a bernoulli/venturi pump setup would accomodate nicely (see http://www.wortwizard.com for the details). For any other type of system setup, then you'd be needing some kind of positive displacement (aka pump) equipment to move your liquids around. In my current build for example, I'm going to need *both* a wort wizard *and* a pump to properly move my brews around (as it's a floor level three tier compact setup --> 1'6"D X 3'W X 4'H). Hope this helps clarify the question a bit as things (re)circulate.

Slainte!

Michel

[Speyedr]

I have a 3-tier gravity system, and no pump is NEEDED to move the wort, but it can be useful for recirculating the mash and heating it up, rather than through flame.

And Michel, I see you mentioned a venturi pump. I used to be a big reefer (not the smoking kind, the FISH kind) and I was under the impression that a bernouli or a venturi pump sucks air into the solution. They were used in protein skimmers to add bubbles and thereby remove proteins from the reef system. I don't think you want to be adding O2 to hot wort... maybe to aerate the cool wort....

Rob

[Big Chooch]

And Michel, I see you mentioned a venturi pump. I used to be a big reefer (not the smoking kind, the FISH kind) and I was under the impression that a bernouli or a venturi pump sucks air into the solution. They were used in protein skimmers to add bubbles and thereby remove proteins from the reef system. I don't think you want to be adding O2 to hot wort... maybe to aerate the cool wort....

I just looked at the product that he linked to. It's actually a really cool little gizmo. It should be noted that the wort doesn't actually flow through the inductor. The inductor is used to create negative pressure in the carboy, sucking the wort from the racking hose/cane.

[Speyedr]

And Michel, I see you mentioned a venturi pump. I used to be a big reefer (not the smoking kind, the FISH kind) and I was under the impression that a bernouli or a venturi pump sucks air into the solution. They were used in protein skimmers to add bubbles and thereby remove proteins from the reef system. I don't think you want to be adding O2 to hot wort... maybe to aerate the cool wort....

I just looked at the product that he linked to. It's actually a really cool little gizmo. It should be noted that the wort doesn't actually flow through the inductor. The inductor is used to create negative pressure in the carboy, sucking the wort from the racking hose/cane.

OK, well if I had actually checked the link then I would have a clue It is pretty cool, and for use with the cool wort as I thought. However, check out Brew Monkey for the study on Wort Aeration Methods... seems that shaking the crap out of the carboy and aerating with pure O2 are the two best methods...[/url]

[zymurgest]

Glad to see that you looked at the url; I thought it would save time from a lengthy explanation. It actually works quite well, and DO meter shows 12ppm O2 dissolved after 10 minutes, and 15ppm at KO. As always, YMMV Whatever works for you is what counts as long as you are making good beer!

Prost!

Michel