Pump/Chiller all-in-one build

Two Wheeler · April 07, 2015, 02:31:54 PM

I bought a 12 volt brew pump a year ago and haven't really had a chance to use it much. I bought a plate chiller at the same time, and then realized that the plate chiller worked fine with just gravity feed.

Now that I have the FastFerment conical, it stands too tall for gravity to work, so I needed to get the pump running. I brew on my patio, and chill in the kitchen so I needed something that was portable and easy to move. I got some help from JamesC to solder together a recirculation arm to allow me to run boiling wort through the pump and chiller during the boil to sanitize.

For the unit, I bought a $10 tool box at CT and used a handful of fittings to rig it up. The threads on this pump are not NPT so it required some jimmy-rigging. I drilled 4 holes in the back of the box and used zip ties to attach my chiller to the toolbox. Worried about the heat melting the plastic, I used some reflectix shielding that I had left over to protect the box.

Used this last night and it worked like a charm! Water was coming out of the tap at 51f. I recirculated the wort through the chiller and back into the kettle for about 5 mins and got it down to about 120f. Then I did a final pass through the chiller into the fermenter. In 10 mins I had the wort down to 62f and into the fermenter.

This will take longer in the summer with warmer ground water, but I'm quite happy with this after one run.

blisster · April 07, 2015, 03:48:26 PM

What's with the Moosehead Light rug?

Awesome build! I like how the chiller is built in with the pump case!

pliny · April 07, 2015, 03:53:23 PM

Looks neat @Two Wheeler. The position of the pump is good? You don't need to prime it? It's great that you're taking advantage of all your stuff and you have less of it to lug around because it's a in one unit.

Two Wheeler · April 07, 2015, 03:56:38 PM

Quote from: blisster on April 07, 2015, 03:48:26 PM
What's with the Moosehead Light rug?

Haha... I'll admit I used to put back a lot of Moose Light

. I got a few of these towels one summer and they are great for brew days.

@pliny - With this positioning, the inlet is below the outlet. With the pump downhill from the kettle, it primed no problem. I do want to get a purge valve on there soon though.

Al-Loves-Wine · April 07, 2015, 09:41:18 PM

I was quite happy with the plate chiller, worked a lot better than I had anticipated. Thats a perfect little compact setup.

Scott · April 08, 2015, 10:27:49 AM

nice build Jordan, looks great

Two Wheeler · April 22, 2015, 09:33:25 AM

2 brews in and I killed this unit

I was done brewing and in the cleaning stage (thankfully), but I went to plug in the pump. The 12v adapter's prong broke as I was plugging it into the extension cord, and it sparked and smoked and tripped the breaker. Then the pump wouldn't work. I tried a few different 12v adapters and none of them will spin the pump now, so I think it's fried.

So no, looking at a chugger. Center vs Side inlet? Any preferred place to buy?

Jake · April 22, 2015, 10:48:19 AM

We have a couple chuggers and they're awesome. We work em hard on our 30 gallon systems and no problems yet ... other than we (DAN) dropped one and broke it ... then Roger took it home and fixed it ... thanks Rog! You won't regret this purchase

Al-Loves-Wine · April 22, 2015, 12:28:11 PM

Quote from: Two Wheeler on April 22, 2015, 09:33:25 AM
2 brews in and I killed this unit

I was done brewing and in the cleaning stage (thankfully), but I went to plug in the pump. The 12v adapter's prong broke as I was plugging it into the extension cord, and it sparked and smoked and tripped the breaker. Then the pump wouldn't work. I tried a few different 12v adapters and none of them will spin the pump now, so I think it's fried.

So no, looking at a chugger. Center vs Side inlet? Any preferred place to buy?

I just bought the all in one cam-lock package from OBK with the side inlet, it works like a champ. Best purchase yet! And with the plate chillers we bought I can bring down 12 gallons to 65F in about 25 minutes. I do recommend a ball valve on your chiller outlet so you can control your flow.

DeMerch · April 22, 2015, 02:41:10 PM

As you know my chugger has been a bit of a PITA, but that's likely operator error.

blisster · April 22, 2015, 03:29:13 PM

Quote from: DeMerch on April 22, 2015, 02:41:10 PM
As you know my chugger has been a bit of a PITA, but that's likely operator error.

You're right, there is nothing wrong with the pump... It's probably just not plugged in all the way.

He just wants an excuse for the next time you outscore him at a brewing competition.