Circulation Pumps

[Brianatkcdraft]

Greetings to all....I have been considering upgrading to better type of pumps.For over 15 years now I have been building my own using a gear type pump,(teel) and using a 1\3 horse motor. The system works fine, but the parts are starting to get cashy. Would LOVE to have one of MMs units, but at the moment way out of my league. My main concern is reliability, access to replacement parts, and a reasonable cost. My ceiling for price would be in the 4-5hundred bracket. I have heard of a unit called a Maxivac??? Would these be worth taking a look at? Sorry to ask about competitors products, but my Queen is in the hospital and I am in a tight position. Any advice or suggestions would be most grateful. Gotta go, have to make someones day brighter.Talk to you sometime, Brian at K.C. Draft Line Service.

[TAPMAN]

I have been building my own cleaning pumps for years now. I use a 50 gph Procon carbonator pump and a 1/3 hp motor. For the price of rebuilding the gear pumps, you could replace the carb. pump. For the price range you are talking about, you could have two pumps rigged and ready to go. If you send a bad pump back in exchange for a rebuilt pump, it is even cheaper. Check Foxx Equipment for pumps. Tapman

[happytappy]

I'll second the pro-con pump but make sure you have a pressure guage and a valve to adjust it because it will pump hi pressure. I use a 1/3 hp carbonator motor which are easy to find. A filter on the suction line will keep the screen from inside the pro-con pump from plugging.

[TAPMAN]

It doesn't hurt to have a pressure gauge and valve, but with the 50gph, it usually is not an issue. I agree with the filter on the suction line and use them on all my pumps ( I have 7 of them in service ).On my suction line I use 5/16 clear vinyl,connected to the pump with a 5/16 nipple. On the discharge side, I use 3/16 clear vinyl connected to a CO2 shutoff valve on the pump. With the shutoff valve you can control your flow rate if you need to. Tapman

[Brianatkcdraft]

Greetings to all ..........Thanks a lot for the comments. Sorry havent replied but been a little busy.Have a couple of more questions about your procon pumps. How reliable are they, and how noisy are they? With my style pumps,even when properly aligned,they howl like a bitch.Oh, also with the filter assembly, is it placed as a in-line or on the end of the intake line? I agree Tapman, 50gph should be fine, and anyway i have some super long runs on a couple of accounts. Installing the shut off valve should help regulate psi. Do you use beer and co2 lines for use on pump? I have plenty of 1\3 hp motors, so thats no trouble. will start research on suppliers after your replies. Again Ireally appreciate your help and hints. cya, Brianatkcdraft.

[TAPMAN]

The Procon pumps are nice and quiet, in fact, I wish the MM power packs would use them because of the noise issue.Check out Foxx Equipment Co. for everything you need to build these pumps. They have a screen filter that fits onto the end of the suction hose. They also have pumps with built in filters. Some of my pumps have both, some only on the suction line.I can usually get about a year(give or take)out of a pump.
I only use beer line, I use 5/16 clear for all my CO2 lines.In fact, I use only clear beer line.
The 1/3 hp motors that you have may or may not work,the Procon pumps are cabonator pumps and use motors that couple directly.
Something else I do is on a super long run, I don't pump more than 8 lines at a time, due to back pressure. I may pump 4 at a time on a real long run. That way the flow rate can still be there to give the proper friction in the lines for cleaning, Slow the flow rate too much, all you do is put chemical in the line, ( which still works, but not as well ). Good luck, let me know how you make out. Tapman

[Brianatkcdraft]

Greetings to all..... Thanks Tapman for the quick reply. Going to start with Foxx Equip. after I shoot you my reply. When I was on the route today, I seen a procarb pump today. Eyeballed it real close, and now I see that it would probably be easier getting it as one unit. The coupling does look a bit odd, (pump to motor).Also had the chance to hear it run. Quite a difference!!! Definetly doesnt scream like a xwife who hasnt got her check!!!! In regards to long runs, Im still old school and use a two line couplers. Takes longer,I know, but I feel I have a little more control on the situation. Tried a cleaning block one time, and ended up with a cross-contamination fiasco.So, there you go, the chase begins. And hopefully everything will pan out. Appreciate your help and hints again!! Talk to you soon,Brian at K.C.Draft Line Service.

[Draught Prophet]

OK boys this may sound a bit from left field but here goes....
If you have a long run with lets say 10-20 lines, can you put a beer pump in the middle (say faucet 10) hooked up to a cO2 tank to help move the solution through?
I haven't tried this, but am considering it on a couple of accounts with long runs.
Brian, what is the cross-contamination that you talk about?

[Brianatkcdraft]

Greetings to all, and to you wise Prophet. I dont really know about your theory. I guess if you used a regulator before you spliced to your pump to prevent bursting your lines maybe so. I could be wrong, but isnt max pressure around 40-50 lbs? Also, if you applied too much co2 through your solution wouldnt it put too many air bubbles or air pockets in your pump? Therefore causing too much friction in the pump and frying the gear sets or impeller vanes?Had a so- called helper that had a bad habit of not priming the pumps. The little anal orfice cooked two of my pumps, and cost me bookoo bucks.Its worth a try if you have a account that isnt afraid of a little experimentation. Who knows, you may invent a better mousetrap! In regards to cross contamination,2-3years ago,I had a account that had Murphys Irish and Bud Light side by side. The Murphys was blowing corn flakes and snot all over the place!Took it all apart, flushed with Penetrate pumped from shank to 5gal bucket in walkin. Ran 55gal of water through it till no impurities were visible. Hooked it up and every flowed great. Next week,poured a glass, no floaters.Took faucet apart,no snot or floaters around faucet valve.So,hooked up Murphys Bud light together,and cycled till water was cold . everything worked fine, no floaters. Two days later, customer calls, bud light is doing what murphys was doing. Beat feet up there, checked temps 38-40 deg.Ok checked glycol level,it was fine.performed same thing on bud light as i did murphys turned out ok. Found out later from Murphy rep that keg wasnt sterilized properly. Dont know if brewery did a cultcer of product in keg or what.So what he told me it was a case of cross-contamination.Scott, if you have a better idea on this Im all ears(kinda-sorta).Going to close now, my hands have cramps!!!!! Talk to you soon,Brian at K.C.Draft Line Service

[TAPMAN]

Draught Prophet, don't know about the beer pump idea,I personally don't like them, but in a cleaning situation,it might work.
Brian, I have been working on taps for 24 years, and in all that time I have seen maybe 4 or 5 kegs that, as you said blew cornflakes and snot out out of them.If you take the coupler off off of the keg, usually you could see the chunks coming out from around the ball on top of the keg. I can't see this as a normal problem to worry about. If you keep things clean, and something likes this arises, the first thing I look for is a keg problem.Very rare, but doodoo occurs.
Also, these pumps are a lot more forgiving than the gear pumps. I still prime first, but I don't think it is a neccessity.But, like the other pumps, don't let them freeze in the winter. Tapman

[Brianatkcdraft]

Greetings to all.........Howdy Tapman!Still shopping and pricing.Been mainly workingthe route and taking care of my Queen.But still have the ball rolling.In regards to the so called cross contamination,the keg valve was clean,also was a G system keg valve,similar as a Bass Ale top.Its been a long time ago, so bear with me.Like i said before, I am just going by what the distributor rep was telling us, improper sanitizing of the interior of the keg.But I know one thing for sure,I still have that account,and that line is operating properly.It has Blue Moon on it,and I have never seen another keg of Murphys on anywhere on my route(100+accounts).so my gut tells me that it is probably a brewery problem.This is my 15th year in the buisness,and this is the only time ive seen this instance.So your guess is as good as mine!i guess this is why I like this job, you never know what your going to fall in too.Take care, will keep you posted on my other project. stay in touch,cya Brian at KCDraft Line Service.

[Larry Tapper]

Been cleaning and building beer systems for over 28 yrs, I use a procon pump that is 15 to 140 gph in stainless steel set the relief valve at 90psi. clean 2 line at a time, I have a 4 way valve that i reverse the flow with 1/4 turn of the handle, I like to think that to clean the systems you should get a flow rate that is faster than beer. clean the 2 facuets while cleaning the 2 lines then to the next pair. slow but does thebest job.