Doing some research on pumps and trying to decide on one to upgrade some features of my homebrewing setup. Does anyone have opinions on the march pumps vs. chugger pump, or another brand? I like the idea of a SS head if its not too pricey. Need it to withstand boiling temps.
I have a march pump and it works fine. I don’t know that there is much of a difference between the march pump and the chugger pump.
All of them will handle boiling temps, even with the plastic head. I’ve had one with the plastic head for years and it’s been great. I’m sure the stainless head is cool and looks nice, but it’s definitely not necessary.
Agreed. I use the standard March 809 HS and it’s worked great for me.
i used as a trial a pump out of a keurig machine. not great for big volumes and it is not self priming. but it worked. i dont think that most of us would need anything but a basic march pump
Also here after a sharp learning curve. Think carefully though- do you need a pump or just want one because it seems like a logical upgrade and others have one or several? It’ll take specific type tubing and connects, ball valves etc… So it just isn’t as simple as buying a “pump”. You’ll have to learn how to use and integrate a pump into one’s system, maintain and keep clean. Troubleshoot when it doesn’t behave. Unseen impacts like needing hop-bags for whole hops. For me it’s sole use is to pump hot water into my mash-tun when I used to use a pitcher.
I own both a March pump and a Chugger pump. They both work about the same. I like the Chugger head more because of it’s stainless steel construction and the impeller is larger than the march pump. I use it mainly for recirculating my mash.
The plastic threads on the plastic pump head are far too easy to cross thread. Ask me how I know. Not sure it’s worth the price of Stainless, just a warning to be very careful.
Steve
Thanks for the suggestions. Most of these upgrades are aimed at eventually building a brewstand and I think the pump would be a solid addition, not to mention save my back moving large pots of hot wort up and down various levels. The convenience factor would be a plus. It seems the chugger SS models is not too much more than the march pump so all things being equal maybe that’s the way to go.
yup. i set up the little pump system with the idea of making a rims. really not worth the effort for me. pitcher works fine.
I also like the Chugger pumps because of the stainless steel head. I have 2 of them on my new single level system and 1 March pump (so old it has the brass head) on my old 3 tier set-up. I even ran that one upside down for years without any problems. :o
Preaching to choir on that one… lol
I owned my March pump for probably 3+ years before purchasing a Chugger head for it earlier this year because of that same problem. Now I have a March pump w/Chugger head and a Chugger pump. I use the Chugger pump for my RIMS and have the March pump as a spare…
I have a portable March pump that I lightly bumped on a table edge and broke the impellar housing. Actually hit the S/S on/off valve attached to the pump. Luckily Williams Brewing sells new housings so it was repaired. I am always tweeking my setup so the threads on my housings have been accidently crosss threaded. Can’t seem to get them back to straight again. That said I went to all Chugger pumps this year. Like them better for these reasons. Make sure you buy the 1/2 inch inlet/outlet.
I bought my first pump simply to eliminate an elevated HLT. It was a good upgrade and made my setup easier to use and safer to be around. I’d like to think that every thing I upgraded or changed led to an improved process or product, but there are a lot of things that are just nice to have.
One of my pumps is a March with a Chugger stainless head added. The stainless is sure nicer, but there is no benefit to the process itself as the poly heads work the same. If it weren’t for a generous friend giving me the stainless head, I’d still have the poly and be working just fine.
I use two March 809 pumps on my brewstand. They have performed well for me over the last 2 years. I have no experience with the Chugger pumps so I can’t comment on them, but I know many brewers that use the March pump with great success as well.
+1
I use a single Chugger Pump on my brewstand. The pump is great! Quiet and reliable. The stainless steel head is easy to disassemble and clean. I will be purchasing another for the stand.
just ordered the chugger pump. What is your current set up for your brew stand with the single pump. I am trying to figure out what would be best for my stand I am getting ready to build
I just upgraded my pumps (809HS) to the larger March 815 impeller. Highly suggested as it has reduced the cavitation and sometimes they even prime and pump hard on the initial power-up.
Dean, did you get the 815 impeller directly from March?
I bought my new impeller from tescopumps.com. Good prices and fast shipping. I also bought 2 new thrust washers for them, my old one was pretty shot and figured it would be good to have a spare on hand.
http://www.tescopumps.com/servlet/the-226/809-815-march-pump/Detail
http://www.tescopumps.com/servlet/the-288/809-815-march-pump/Detail