West Coast Brewer Home Brewing Blog

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Installed New Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump Upgrades

 

I initially purchased my March home brewing pumps about 7 years ago, well before stainless steel homebrew pumps were really a thing. Once stainless pumps became more popular, I considered upgrading, but my existing pumps worked fine and I could not justify the cost.  Then Blichmann released their RipTide home brewing pumps which feature a tri-clamp attached head!!! In my opinion that is a big deal because it allows you to easily gain access to the pump cavity for easy cleaning.  As it stood, I had to rely on hot water and PBW to do all of the cleaning unless I wanted to spend an extra 30 minutes breaking down, clean and then reassembling each of my March pumps; which is really not something I wanted to do after a long day of beer brewing.  The one down side was that a new Blichmann Rip Tide home brewing pump will run you $199+. So I waited…..

Then, Blichmann release the RipTide Upgrade Kit! The Rip Tide Upgrade Kit allows you to upgrade some of the most common existing home brewing pumps to a Blichmann Rip Tide, for just $99. With this RipTide Kit, you can upgrade your March or Chugger pump with the Riptide’s Tri-Clamp housing.  The RipTide’s head is made from stainless steel and can rotate 365 degrees to fit almost any home brewing setup. The kit also comes with Blichmann’s  integral linear flow valve, which provides superior control and eliminates the need for an upper ball valve in must situations.

 

Blichmann Rip Tide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Kit

Blichmann Rip Tide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Kit

Here is a list of home brewing pumps that the Blichmann Riptide upgrade kit is compatible with.

More Beer Homebrewing Pumps:

H340, H331, H332, H315HF, H350 and H375

Chugger Homebrew Pumps:

CPSS-CI-1 (115V),CPSS-IN-1 (115V), CPSS-IN-2 (230V), CPSS-CI-2 (230V), CPPS-IN-1 (115V), TCPSS-IN (115/230V) and TCPSS-CI (115/230V)

March Home Brewing Pumps:

809-SS-HS, 809-BR-HS, 809-PL-HS, 809-BR-HS-C, 809-PL-HS-C, 809-SS-HS-C, 809-BR, 809-PL, 809-SS, 809-BR-C, 809-PL-C, 809-SS-C, 815-BR, 815-PL, 815-SS, 815-BR-C, 815-PL-C and 815-SS-C

The Blichmann Riptide Upgrade Kit Can Be Purchased Here for $99

 

After verifying that the Blichmann RipTide Upgrade Kit would work with my current March homebrew pumps, I place my order for two of them.  After placing my order, it took about 8 days for them to arrive. I purchased them from More Beer, but the pumps were shipped directly from Blichmann.

RipTide Homebrew Pump Upgrade Kit

RipTide Homebrew Pump Upgrade Kit

Blichmann RipTide Upgrade Kit Installation Instructions

Next step was to read the instructions (which were relatively simple), make sure I had everything needed (which was just a screwdriver, a couple of wrenches and some PTFE thread seal tape. The instructions from Blichmann came in black and white and unfortunately the contrast made it so that it was difficult to see where the washer was supposed to go, so I included some color photos here to help you out if needed. I began by breaking down my existing march pump per the instructions and removing my existing fittings.  It is important that you just remove the pump head and NOT the magnet collar! The pump head was held on by 4 stainless steel screws in my case.  Here is an image to help:

Blacihmann RipTide Upgrade Instructions

Blacihmann Rip Tide Upgrade Instructions

Next I mounted my home brewing pump on to the included stainless steel pump riser. This was not required in my situation but I like the idea of it because it raised my pump up a couple of inches, bringing it close to my kettles, reducing the amount of tubing that I needed and giving me a little more space to empty the pumps when I had to clear wort from them.  Everyone’s situation is a little different, but it works well on my home brewing rig.  After that you will want to mount the Tri-Clamp adapter bracket on to your pump.  Blichmann includes two sets of screws to use, so make sure that you select the appropriate screws for your pump. Be careful not to over tighten the screws; doing so could crack the bracket or damage the pump. Next, place the impeller housing and the impeller into the pump magnet as shown in the following images:

 

Blichmann Rip Tide Homebrewing Pump Upgrade Instructions

Blichmann Rip Tide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Instructions

Next is where I nearly had a problem.  Install the pump head o-ring and washer to the stainless steel RipTide pump head.  My first kit was missing the washer and the photo quality on the instructions that came with the kit were so bad, I could not tell if I was suppose to use one of the mounting washers.  Something did not seem right and I would have then been missing a mounting washer, so I checked my second pump kit and could see that there was a smaller washer that was intended for the pump head. It thankfully had two in that box, so all was good.  Here is an image to help you see where to place the o-ring and washer into the Blichmann RipTide pump head:

RipTide Upgrade Kit Installation Photos

RipTide Upgrade Kit Installation Photos

Lastly mount the Blichmann RipTide pump head on to your pump using the include stainless steel 3″ Tri-Clamp and attach any fittings that you may have. The entire process took me approximately 30 minutes per pump to upgrade an re-install onto my home brewing stand. Except for the issue with the washer, it was very painless.  Here are a couple of photos of the Blichmann RipTide homebrewing pumps after they were installed on to my homebrewing rig.

 

Finished Images Of The Blichmann RipTide Pump Upgrade Kit

Blichmann RipTide Home brewing Pumps On My Homebrewing Rig

Blichmann RipTide Home brewing Pumps On My Homebrewing Rig

Close up Image of the Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump

Close up Image of the Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump

After that I tested the RipTide home brewing pumps for leaks and checked to make sure all of the ball valve connections were free from leaks as well.  All was good and I also took a short video in case anyone was curious about the type of pressure or flow rate that you could expect from the RipTide upgrade kit.

Blichmann RipTide Pump Video

 

If you are looking to purchase a Blichmann RipTide Home Brewing Pump Upgrade Kit, they can be purchased here for $99

 

Best Deals on Home Brewing Quick Disconnects

Home Brewing Quick Disconnects

Home Brewing Quick Disconnects

 

 

 

Home Brewing stainless steel quick disconnects and quick connects can save you time and lower frustration levels on brew day. As the name suggests, quick disconnects allow a home brewer to quickly, safely and easily disconnect a home brewing pump or transfer tube and connect it to another item.  They are easy to install and can make clean up a snap as well. Here are the best deals that I have been able to track down on some of the most popular 1/2″ stainless steel home brewing quick connects and quick disconnects.

 

 

Stainless Homebrew Quick Disconnect Bundle

Stainless Homebrew Quick Disconnect Bundle

Stainless Steel Quick Disconnect Set for Homebrewers $14.99
Purchase Here

 

Home_Brewing_Quick_Disconnects

 

Stainless Steel 1/2″ Barbed Male Quick Disconnect $5.99
Purchase Here

 

Home Brew Quick Disconnect

Home Brew Quick Disconnect

Stainless Steel Female Quick Disconnect with 1/2″ Barb for Homebrewing $9.99
Purchase Here

 

Stainless Quick Disconnect for Homebrewing

Stainless Quick Disconnect for Homebrewing

 

Stainless Steel Male Quick Disconnect 1/2″ MPT for Home brewing $7.99
Purchase Here

 

Homebrew Quick Disconnects

Homebrew Quick Disconnects

 

Stainless Steel Female Quick Disconnect 1/2″ MPT for Home Beer Brewing $9.99
Purchase Here

 

 

Stainless Steel Conical Fermenters for $395

Stainless Steel Conical Homebrewing Fermenters

Stainless Steel Conical Homebrewing Fermenters

 

Rejoice home brewers, right now you can pick up a high end SS BrewTech 7 gallon stainless steel conical fermenter for just $395! These are high end and well build stainless steel conical homebrewing fermenters, not some Alibaba knock off with leaky valves.

 

Here are some of the standard features on this conical fermenter:

  • Certified Food Grade 304 Stainless Steel Construction
  • Patent Pending Stainless Steel Rotating Racking Arm
  • 7 Gallon Capacity
  • 1.5” Tri Clamp bottom with Elbow and 3 piece Ball Valve
  • Stackable design minimizes footprint and maximizes ferment space!
  • Molded Silicone Gasket for airtight Lid seal.
  • Six Spring-Loaded Lid Clamps hold Lid in place
  • Volume Markers inside for easy volume assessment
  • TIG Sanitary Welds – Easy to Clean, Long-lasting!

 

Click Here For the 7 Gallon Stainless Steel Fermenter

 

These stainless steel conical fermenters are loaded with features and I personally have two of them, a 7 gallon and a 14 gallon. I also have 2 of their 7 gallon brew bucket stainless steel fermenters which are also great.  In my opinion they are the best fermenters out there for the money.  I would recommend upgrading the racking arm on the unit to the MoreBeer Racking Arm system which you can find here for $75 and is shown in the above image on my fermenter.

 

I cut down the legs in this 7 gallon conical fermenter so that it could fit in my fermentation chamber / chest freezer. My 14 gallon conical fermenter has an internal temperature control system.  The 14 gallon unit is currently on sale for $495 and is available here.

 

7 Gallon Conical Fermenter

7 Gallon Conical Fermenter