I have used one of these kits attached to my Grainfather Conical to circulate cold water from an insulated picnic box since March 2021. I do not use it all the time but I use it during the warmer months for Ales to avoid overheating and whenever I brew lager (mostly through winter), it works well if I change the ice packs in the box regularly.
Mid September I decided to brew a lager style beer using W34/70 and discovered that the pump could not maintain its normal flow rate, I took it apart (four screws on the end) to find that the rotor was clogged with what looked suspiciously like cat hairs (I have two cats that like to supervise my brewing).
The point of this posting is to advise anyone with this kit to periodically take the pump apart and check the rotor for fouling - especially if you have a brewery cat (or dog I suppose}.
I didn't do this routine maintenance and the pump motor became strained beyond repair.
I found an identical replacement pump on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C5JQFTQJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
This came directly from China and took 3-4 weeks to arrive so my W34/70 had to work at the ambient temperature (14-17 deg C).
I have connected it up and it works perfectly.
I found another one on ebay that is not the same pump and also took 3-4 weeks to arrive - it is not as powerful and struggles a bit to maintain an adequate flow rate.
Anyone who has this kit and relies on it for temperature control might want to think about ordering a spare to have as back up.
Mid September I decided to brew a lager style beer using W34/70 and discovered that the pump could not maintain its normal flow rate, I took it apart (four screws on the end) to find that the rotor was clogged with what looked suspiciously like cat hairs (I have two cats that like to supervise my brewing).
The point of this posting is to advise anyone with this kit to periodically take the pump apart and check the rotor for fouling - especially if you have a brewery cat (or dog I suppose}.
I didn't do this routine maintenance and the pump motor became strained beyond repair.
I found an identical replacement pump on Amazon:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0C5JQFTQJ?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details&th=1
This came directly from China and took 3-4 weeks to arrive so my W34/70 had to work at the ambient temperature (14-17 deg C).
I have connected it up and it works perfectly.
I found another one on ebay that is not the same pump and also took 3-4 weeks to arrive - it is not as powerful and struggles a bit to maintain an adequate flow rate.
Anyone who has this kit and relies on it for temperature control might want to think about ordering a spare to have as back up.
