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I have a 36" liebig arm,28" is 3/4 " pipe, I want to recirculate cooling water from a round cooler , im trying to figure our how big of a submersible pump I need..looking at a couple , one is 158 gph with a 4.5 max lift and one is 264 gph with 5.5 gph another is 200 gph, oddly the 264 gph is lower priced than the 264 gph.... I think I only need 3-4 ft of lift..just want some opinions, thanks

http://www.lg-outdoor.com/p/continuous- ... p-pe-1h-pw" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

I got a Brewhaus cheapie which crapped out (runs intermittently). Then I got a direct drive 170gph which has more than enough power for my Liebig which is a dual 36”, as well as my Nixon / stone condensor

I'm looking at the 264 gph, it's a harbor freight pond pump, I think it would work

demon00 wrote:I'm looking at the 264 gph, it's a harbor freight pond pump, I think it would work

Link? Could very well work

m.harborfreight.com/264-gph-submersible-pond-pump-63313.html

Im guessing this one
https://m.harborfreight.com/264-gph-sub ... 63313.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow
I had that HF pump for a while. It worked fine, though at some point the plastic connections broke off, so its far from indestructible. It was a little slow keeping up when pumping from aboit 3'up to 7' or so to the top of my reflux tower, but elevating the reservoir helped a lot.

Which brings up the question of your rig. 1. Must coolers are too small to use for recirculating reservoirs for most stills. Unless you use ice but if you are using ice it probably takes more resources to buy or make ice than just running tap water to waste
2. Your pump needs to match not just your condenser design, but your head height and power input.

This is only a 5 gallon pot still with a short 3/4 " wide collum, 6 inches tall , I have a 20 gallon cooler that is also my mash tun... The plan is to have it raised enough so I don't need but 3 to 3.5 ft of lift, plan to have the pump on a piece of cinder block so it's about 8" off the bottom..The liebig is 3/4 outter jacket with a 1/2 inner ..

It doesn't say what the 264 gph's head height is. And given Harbor Freight's reputation, I'd be hesitant. The rule of "never leave your still unattended" goes double when you're relying on a part from Harbor Freight for something as critical as cooling.

Harbor Freight is great for buying things that either 1) can't break, like hammers, or 2) you only need to use for one or two jobs before they break, like carpet installation tools.

Demon, pretty sure head height is defined as from water surface not pump height. Meaning having the pump at the bottom of the res is the same as in the middle or near the top, you can do without the cinder block.

And yes, harbor freight stuff can be iffy, but I was happy with the pump for the price. I never leave unattended, and have the coolant return to the res so it splashes, giving audible confirmation it is flowing (and a convenient place to stick your hand to measure outlet temp).

Went with this one on my rig.
Nice quiet hum so you know it's working. (My silent Brewhaus pump failed mid distill, and only my keen eye caught it.)
Good and powerful: 920GPH. 60W. Max Lift Height: 9.8ft. Free shipping.

Even cheaper on Amazon Smile if you have it.

demon00 wrote:m.harborfreight.com/264-gph-submersible-pond-pump-63313.html

that's the one I have and been using it a cpl of years now

With my newest still I don't use a submersible accept on my essential oil still. But when I was running my VM I bought a pond pump from Fred Meyer. The key was finding one that had the vertical lift. The one I bought and used for years was rated for 12'.

I definitely know about harbor freights lack of quality but I'm low on cash and if this one gets me through a few runs I'll have my money's worth outta it lol I also have a friend that works there so if it goes down she'll just give me another one more than once lol if the head height is measured from the top of the water surface I should be ok, I'm gonna have it raised so I can see it and hear the water splash when it hits the water going back in and I'm short, so my still isn't set up high any way lol I don't plan on leaving it unattended either... This has given me a LOT if information to WOW !!!!! U guys NEVER disappoint , EVER !!!!

Above and beyond the call of duty. Mag drive. Rock solid.

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Pondmaster-S ... 3=&veh=sem" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;" rel="nofollow

BS.