Chugger pump

Hey if anyone has a little input I brewed 10 gal of Irish red ale Partial grain today let me start by saying i have a keg outfitted with a counterflow chiller which I made, a Chugger pump from LHBS which i enclosed in a pvc fan ventilated enclosure first time using this pump was a disaster i didn’t know it was not a self priming pump and the dip tube in the kettle clogged I had to siphon the beer out of kettle to 2 5gal fermenters what a pain in the ass, also the chugger pump quit 2 times WHY? not clogged it just stopped is this a pump that cant handle the load or what? thanks guys

I don’t think these pumps (Chugger or March) can take much solids without getting stuck. And the magnets in the magnetic drive don’t work as well at high temps so a little debris could cause it to sieze up. You’ll want to do something to prevent junk from getting to the pump. Hop sock or spider, and whirlpool then let things setlle out good and tight. I personally use a weldless valve on my kettle that I can turn so the dip tube is pulling above the trub level.

Make sure your pump is mounted BELOW the brew kettle and that the air can vent out of the pump and it will start without problems. The easiest way to do this is to have the discharge vented to atmosphere via a hose and then when it starts pumping, put the discharge hose into the fermenter. The other way is to plumb in a tee and a valve to vent out of on the discharge side of the pump. See my picture below for a visual aid.

Ok I set my pump on a small table, the input on the pump was
Slightly higher than the kettle valve I guess that was my first
Problem. Greg I like ur idea with the vent on the discharge side
Of pump I’ll b on that before the next brew. I’m still worried about
The chugger pump I have,as lennie above stated they tend to clog
I ran Pbw through it to clean out lines and CFC the day before
Brew day and the pump stopped about 20 min running. No power
Problem lights on the switches were on and fan in the enclosure
I made was running. the day I purchased the pump they were out
Of the March pump so settled for the chugger could this b a bad
Pump? I was not a happy camper siphoning 10 gals and couldn’t use
My CFC WHEW thanks guys!

Did it get really hot? Maybe the enclosure isn’t a good idea, even ventilated.

I’ve heard a few mixed reports on Chuggers when they first came out, mostly they are fine pumps though. I’d take the head apart and see if there is still some stuff hung up thats affecting the impeller. You’d have the same problem with a March if this is the case. They are basically the same design.

hey Lennie, thanks I did take the top of the enclosure off when the pump stopped it did feel hot to touch, I thought it was normal for a pump to heat up like that when running, I also took the front of the pump apart several times and no signs of any debris. you may be right about the enclosure I made for it, I might have to scrap it, it could be possible thermal overload form heat until it cools down, because it did start up after maybe 15 min. I found this on a you tube vid and it looked great, and easy to make. thanks for input Jim

I put my March pump in a little plastic toolbox but I leave the lid open when I’m running it. These pumps are kind of touchy to use when runing hot wort, but once you get it set up properly it’ll save you loads of time.