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Just got the riptide pump

Beer Gear
#1

So my new riptide pump came yesterday but I had to spend the day at the in laws so I am going to spend some time tomorrow setting it up ( discovering what I forgot to order and what I never thought of). I also want to check that the riptide valve will allow the low flow for fly sparge without having to add another valve on the output.
I have never had a brew pump so in my mind I have the following tasks for it:

  1. Move heated strike water from my boil kettle up into the HLT. ( I bought QD’s and the high temp tubing ).

  2. Fly sparge from the HLT to my mash tun.

  3. After boil and cool down, pump from kettle into fermentor.

Are my expectations in line with reality do you think?

I will be happy not lifting and pouring high quantities of hot liquids any more.

Thanks

Tom

#2

My first impression is that this will work very well for what I have in mind.

Connected it all up this morning in the basement ( it’s -4 deg f here this am), so nothing happening outside other than a Labrador that has to have his walk no matter the weather.

I pumped some water back and forth from my kettle to the HLT , then simulated a very slow fly sparge and it seemed to work very well. Someone who reviewed the riptide on line talked about his issues with dialing in a low flow rate, but I did not see any issue and only used the integral flow valve that it comes with.

No problem with priming as all I had to do was pull up on the integrated bleed valve on the pump housing and it was all primed,
Pump very quiet, nice to have the built in on/ off switch.

Just need a warmer day now to get out and brew a new batch. The Kama citra is going fast.

#3

Looks like a really nice pump. Your list of uses is exactly what I use my old fashion March pump for except I use gravity to go from kettle to fermenter. No flow control on mine so a ball valve on the out side is all there is to slow the flow although I rarely need to.

-4° ouch. It’s 74° here. Spent many winters in central NY so I know the pain.

#4

So we should think you have a valve on all your outputs so you can change from vessel to vessel? When I got my pump, I did just that… after a few times, I sat there, brew in hand, and started to rethink stuff… I came up with a manifold… All stainless steel fitting… Hooked up one time then I could turn valves on and off to redirect where the flow was to go… Sneezles61

#5

The manifold sounds interesting…you are correct I have QD’s on my vessels … But just the HLT and the brew kettle. But I still end up with liquid all over the deck from connecting and disconnecting …spilling a bit of what was in the fitting and end of hose when not careful.

When you guys pump into the HLT for example and you are pumping say 5 gallons or more of strike and sparge water, is there any problem pushing it all up through the bottom fitting on the HLT? I only moved a couple of gallons around this am and wondered if it would have a problem once the HLT had a significant amount of water in it.

I still may need to add another kettle to my collection as I sometimes have a capacity issue trying to squeeze all my sparge water into my spare kettle which is only 5 gal ( my starter used for extract brewing). Once I start the fly sparge into the main boil kettle I have to use the little one to heat sparge water if necessary. I am always amazed at how much hot water I need to add to the HLT if I need to boost the temp a few degrees. And this small kettle has no fittings for attaching a pump, so I end up pouring or dunking my pitcher. I just need more experience to iron out my process wrinkles and eliminate my " panic points" during the brew.

I definitely appreciate all your input!

#6

You lost me here…are you using 3 kettles and a cooler MT? Or are you saying your HLT is only 5 gals?

#7

I may also just use gravity feed into the fermentor. That’s what I do now, but I have to lift the full kettle up onto something higher than my fermentor sitting on the ground. I can just keep doing that. I guess it would be less messy to only pump water rather than wort. I will gravity feed from the mash tun to the boil kettle as well.
It’s a level thing… I just need to figure out how high I need the mash tun and boil kettle to get the kettle valve above the fermentor. Maybe I will think about building a couple of wood " cubes" that can be latched together to give me the levels I need and when not in use they can help store the gear.
Good use of an ice cold day…dreaming up new brew tools.

1 Like
#8

I have a 10 gallon cooler for HLT and 2 boil kettles. One kettle is my SS Brewtech 10 gal, the other is a really cheap 5 gal " pot" .

What I have been doing is first getting my mash water to temp, then dump it into the mash tun ( which was also a 10 gal cooler but just upgraded to the SS Brewtech insulated mash tun). Then when I am mashing I start heating sparge water. I have been using the small kettle for that. But as I think about it it may be more of an inefficient process on my part… I can prob still use the big kettle during the mash to heat the sparge water. My only concern is I have had a couple of instances where I took a temp reading on my sparge water before starting and found I needed to raise it up 5 deg or so, and then need to heat a fair amount of the water to accomplish that. I just need a better technique / strategy to ensure I have my sparge water. It’s definitely cockpit error… I need to think it through.

#9

Yea sounds like you just need to dial in a process that works for you. You’ll figure it out. I use two 16 gal kettles for HLT and MT/BK. I’d try to think in terms of where you want your system to go and whether you’ll want to do bigger batches at some point. You and your son brew together right? At some point 10 gal batches may be a better alternative for you. Then you’ll want bigger kettles.

Regarding your previous post, you have a pump why bother with moving stuff up and down to get gravity flow? Just pump it. I do as little lifting as possible during my brew day.

#10

A friend has a 2 vessel system… HLT/BK and Mash-tun… He has the full volume of strike water in the HLT… half is used for dough-in mashing… When done, he collects as much as will run out, in a 5 gallon bucket… Now he empties the rest of strike water into the mash-tun… HLT now becomes a BK… He dumps the first runnings into the BK then collects the second runnings… Make sense? Sneezles61

2 Likes
#11

Thanks, yes at some point I may need 10 gal batches. I am trying to convince my sister in law to get her husband a kegerator. They have an awesome man cave with a bar in the basement. I have been making them batches of chinnook IPA but I am getting tired of bottling… I may have to look into a counter pressure bottle filler, but reviews seem to be mixed on these. It would help a little anyway.
Can a 10 gallon mash tun handle the grain bill for a 10 gal batch?

Maybe I will start looking at 20 gal boil kettles. Ha it just never stops does it.

1 Like
#12

I did a couple of 10 gallon batches in a round Gott water cooler… Each one was stuck… If that aint a PITA…:weary: I would believe the rectangle coolers would be best… minimizing head pressure, which wouldn’t collapse the area for the wort to drain out… Kegging is the way to go… We just bottled 12 bombers from the keg… very simple… 20 gallon kettle for 10 gallon batches… Sneezles61

#13

I have false bottoms in the mash tuns but I am sure you do as well. Maybe I will stretch to an 8 gallon batch first and see how it goes. Have not even looked at how much sparge water I would then need…it will be quite a load of spring water from the grocery store I guess.

#14

I have a blichmann beer gun I’d sell cheap.

I have 16 gallon kettles. Plenty big enough for the 11 gallon batches I turn out. My process is a modified BIAB with sparge.

#15

I have just started looking at bottle fillers, which version of the blichmann do you have? I am not all that sure what the upgrade was all about.

#16

Have you seen this calculator. Might help out with mash tun sizing.
Green Bay Rackers--Mash Calculators

#17

Never saw that before flars , thank you ! I must say since my wife just bought me the very nice 10 gallon stainless insulated mash tun from SS Brewtech for Christmas , I think she would be dissapointed if I start looking at 20 gallon units. It may take some time. For larger batches I can prob survive with 8 gallon batches split between 2 kegs. For now anyway.

#18

You should employ that new gizmo… Maybe have to brew a few more times, honing your skills, experimenting, sampling… Keeping it to about 8 gallon brew days then… Sneezles61

#19

I have the original. The v2 has a better stopper setup but I think the rest is just cosmetic. I’d sell it for $30 plus shipping just to get it off the shelf. I think I paid about 100 and used it twice. I just don’t bottle anymore. When I need bottles or growlers I fill off the taps.

#20

I may take you up on that offer … I don’t expect to do a lot of bottling but as long as it works pretty well it would save me some time and trouble.
Th original model may be less problematic than the new one as I looked at some reviews about leaks in the grip etc.

Not sure if there is a way to private email… but if you want to let me know how to get a check to you you can let it clear then send it to me. Maybe we can just estimate shipping is 10 bucks and make it 40 bucks. Up to you.

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