homemade hop torpedo

[Charlie]

I'd stay away from dimmer switches and AC motors.

You can control the speed of a March pump, to a degree, with a variable transformer. Trade names are Variac and such. I've got a couple of them, and use them on my pumps. The problem is that, if you slow the pump down too much (say less than 70% of full speed), they don't develop enough torque to pull the load. That's a good way to burn up a pump motor.

Another problem with the March pump in this application is that March pumps don't seem to have been made for continuous duty (by which I mean days). They get hot! And there's too much can go wrong to leave one running while you go to work.

I like peristaltic pumps for continuous duty. Here's an image from the wikipedia



Dirt simple, low maintenance, available in a variety of sizes and flow rates, and usually very expensive.

Charlie

[BrewerJ]

Just thought I would chime in before you guys waste to much money on pumps and stainless housings to torpedo with. The main reason they use the torpedo is so they can dry hop without introducing oxygen. As homebrewers we can do this very easily. Just dry hop the keg purge and rack the beer into it. You can create the torpedo effect by flipping the keg every day or so. I like to keep things simple the more parts you have and the more beer movement is just another way to risk infection and oxygenation. However if you just want to build it and have the means to do it I say go for it.

[Quin]

I think Colin mentioned on the last show he did that recirculating the beer through a dry hop canister reduces the time to get peak extraction out of the dry hops. Not as critical for a home brewer though unless you are impatient...

[Charlie]

Just dry hop the keg purge and rack the beer into it. You can create the torpedo effect by flipping the keg every day or so.

That is a great idea!

The beer is still. The yeast is dropped out. So push it through the Torpedo to another keg and dry hop the shit out of it along the way.

Maybe my Torpedo will be useful after all!

Charlie