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Hard wiring pump option
I,ve been using my pump now for about the last 10 batches. Each time I do I change the orientation around because after it pumps good for 30 seconds, the pressure will peter out. I finally got it placed as low as possible w/ the inlet facing down and it works great all the time. Up until now I have been plugging the extension cord in and out of the wall in my garage. With my previous woes this method becamr a huge PITA. My neighbor came over thurs night and decided to try and hardwire it to the brewstand. He brought back from his house a light switch, I gave him a gfci and an old extension cord. Long story short neither of us know what we are doing, after trying every circuit combination and tripping the breaker 10 times, figured a trip to ace hardware was in order. Bumped into a guy in the electrical isle who was licensed and said what we were trying tio do just isnt good, I would have to open up the wall recepticle and jump off that. Discouraged but can't leave a hardware store empty-handed, I bought a wall plate for my bathroom. While in line my buddy spotted a zip strip extension cord and the light bulb went off. After racking our brains trying to mickey mouse something all I had to do was screw the strip to the stand upright, plug my pump into it, plug the strip into the extension cord, and use the switch on the strip surge protected and grounded. Wire tied all the loose ends and I got a nice clean setup, worked great. I had my aeration pump plugged in also and aerated my 1st carboy while pumping the second. Sorry about the long story, and this is probably a very standard practice, but it took a couple homebrew drunk guys an epiphany to make it happen.
The DFH IBA came out smooth yesterday, And i squeezed exactly 10 gal out of a 13 gal boil. My OG was .014 too high, so I either was way too efficient or scaled the recipe a little too high. I left it as is1.085 should give me a nice 9% beer, gives me something to look forward to.
The guy in the electrical section was right. If you plug a switch into an outlet you will be crossing the common and neutral lines of the AC when the switch is on, causing circuit breaker trippage.
The power strip was pretty gangsta though 
i was thinking about wiring the pump (i haven't bought yet) to a switch that i can adjust the voltage for sparging
and wort cycling.
and i was wanting to make a power source like a 10 ga cord that plugs into the wall .
can this be done?
robowobo wrote:
i was thinking about wiring the pump (i haven't bought yet) to a switch that i can adjust the voltage for sparging
and wort cycling.
and i was wanting to make a power source like a 10 ga cord that plugs into the wall .
can this be done?
You can put the pump on a dimmer switch, but bear in mind Ohm's law. Ohm's law states that current is directly proportional to voltage and inversely proportional to resistance.
A dimmer switch is nothing more than a variable resister. As you turn the slider or knob you are changing the amount of resistance that the AC has to travel through to get to the light bulb (or pump in your case)
You will need to know the maximum current draw of the pump and make sure that the dimmer can handle that amount of current. Bear in mind that as you increase resistance on the dimmer, thusly lowering current to the pump, you will also increase the heat builup in the dimmer itself. If the dimmer can not handle that load, it may latch and casue the circuit to trip.
A pump will usually draw more that 60W which is your standard light bulb and what most dimmers are designed for. You may look for dimmers that are designed to dim many lights at one time, much like you would find in a gym or large room. These will be larger current handlers than single bulb dimmers and would probably suit your needs.
Just remember to always wire circuits while they are dead so that you don't become so as well
I think the best way to control pump flow is with a ball valve on the outlet side. Screwing around with the current to the pump may harm the motor in the long run.
Disclaimer: I am a biochemist not an electrician! Although most of the time I wish the opposite were true.
Definately go w/ the control of the ball valve. The pump is magnetic drive, when you take it apart to clean it, all becomes clear. Inside the housing is the impeller w/ is encased in an inner housing. the pump magnet spins outside this housing spinning the magnet inside the housing attached to the impeller. Works just like a stir bar on a stirplate. So controlling the flow w/ the ball valve simply changes the impeller speed, while the pump is spinning at the constant rate w/ no harm. So if you want to sparge slower or use your herms there will be no issues. I probably should put another ball valve on my outlet like brewchez suggested, I only use my pump now to fill my mash tun, which I use boil kettle as HLT, then for cooling from kettle to chiller, so the ball valve on the kettle is all I need for now.
thanks guys probably better off with the valve just got the march pump last week
I now have a ball valve on each one of my transfer vessels. Mash tun, HLT and keggle. I also have one attached to the outlet of the pump. I went through a gazillion configurations when I first got it, I'll try to save you some simple aggravation.
1. Mount the pump below all outlet ports so the liquid HAS to go downhill to get to the pumphead in all applications.
2. Mount the inlet facing down, outlet facing up.
3. To prime, open all valves and let liquid flow as far as possible, after pumphead is full and stable, then turn it on.
4. When you turn the pump off, close the ball valve at the outlet first, then turn off the pump, you will keep the prime.
5. Make sure there are no twists or kinks in the hoses the magnet in the pump slips really easy w/ any resistance. I switched my high temp hoses from vinyl to silicone, well worth the extra couple bucks.
Use a GFCI outlet or switch you will be doing a lot of turning on and off.
SEND PICS always fun
I have too disagree with you Erock, you CAN use a simple light switch if connected correctly..
All you are doing is inturupting one of the wires.... cut say the black, connect too each side...done!!!
No different than say fisically cutting one wire, and twisting it back together when needed 
As fot the dimmer switch...Thats a NO NO.........
They are not made to handle the increased amperage that the pump will draw trying to do what i was designed to ....
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