RIMS pump selection


	First, look in the article by Rodney Morris in Zymurgy 1992
Special Issue on Gadgets.  He refers to two pumps available through
W.W. Grainger.  The part numbers he refers to  are no longer the same
pumps, but are equivalent.  They also have many different pumps which
would also be suitable.  The two equivalent pumps are made by Teel and
they also have a wide selection of Little Giant MD-SC and MD-HC pumps.

	I cannot stress enough that it is possible to save some money
by purchasing a pump of low horsepower rating, but that you may regret
it later.  A small jump in price spent at the beginning will allow you
to expand your system and to set it up in many different ways.  The
GPM rating and maximum head are greatly affected by grain bed depth
and false bottoms and if you "underbuy" a pump, you will be severely
limited.

	If you can, get an 1/8hp pump.  Yes, I know they are
expensive, but you will then be able to handle most installations and
10 gal. batches.

	Since the first writing of this article, I have found out that
running a large pump at full bore can compact the grain bed severely.
So, while I still believe in "overbuying" a pump, you can "overpump"
and cause yourself problems.  If you buy too small a pump, you cannot
pump at larger "head", but you can always throttle back a larger
pump.   Several people run 5 gal. RIMS systems with 1/20hp pumps with
success.  You can get by with smaller pumps if you design your system
in such a fashion that you minimize the height you must pump.  If your
pump is right at the bottom of the mash tun and you are just pumping
up to the top, a distance of about 2 feet, this easily accomplished by
a small pump.  If your system is like mine, where the pump is at floor
level and the highest pump outlet is the mash tun return at a height
of over 7 feet, then you will need more pump.