Kegkingdom Brewpump 3000

[darren996]

Firstly, thanks to Matt from KegKingdom for sending the pump and offering the 5% discount to NHC Members.

After using a good few solar pumps and not being satisfied with A. performance and B. durability I started looking for alternative mains power pumps.
I wanted something that would be robust and have a good flow rate.  By the time I stopped flaffing around and trying cheaper options I could have bought a chugger.  Luckily I was able to get my hands on a second hand chugger and this is the business if not overkill for what I use it for, but its better to have and not want and all that.

When looking for mains powered pumps I was considering getting the grainfather pump, but could only get these from China, didn't want to take the gamble with import duties or if the pump arrived dead or developed an issue.  The one I was most interested in was the MKII high Temp pump from KegKing, but I could only get these from Austrailia.  These pumps have great reviews.

While browsing for kegging gear i came across the brewpump 3000 and it looks identical to the Kegking MKII pump.  After contacting Matt from Kegkindom kindly sent me the brewpump 3000 for review.

The pump arrived well packed.  I got it delivered to parcelmotel, it was a medium sized package.  After unpacking the pump my first impressions were that it was a solid pump, great build quality.  There are no exposed areas on this pump so no need to worry about spilling liquid on it and there is a good weight to it about 1.5kg and solid.  Overall very impressed with look and feel.

Some unpacking picks attached, pics 1 to 3.
Image 5 is a side by side with the chugger.  Chugger is heavier due to the body and stainless head,  and it is bit fatter, ohhhh.

Down to performance.
All I can say is that this pump is a beast.  I was very very surprised and impressed with the flow rate and performance.  At 19L/M it is not far off the chugger performance, it shifts a lot of liquid (rated to 120 degrees) and can be totally chocked back by attaching a ball valve to the pump outlet.  It is very quite in operation, you can barely hear it, but one of the things I love about the chugger is the reassuring sound that it makes when it is on.

I opened the pump and the impeller is the same as the topsflo TS5, see pic 6 and 7.
The vital information is in pic 8.
Pic 9 sees the pump with some fittings and ready for action.  The bsp fittings were a very tight fit so watch the threads.
Pic 10 is the pump in place with my system. I did a brew day with it and it performed great.  I had a total balls up of a brew day with a stuck mash, grain over flowed into the kettle from the malt pipe but the pump kept going.

Here is a quick vid of the flow rate and flow rate control.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5ZCXCyzR6_E

I did a quick whirlpool test and chucked a cup full of grain in.  Whirlpool started off well but died off near the end.  I thought the pump had clogged and was a bit pissed but it had pulled the grain through the ball valve outlet on the kettle so fast that it clogged my tap, I opened the pump and there was no grain in it.  A guick blow on the pipe and the ball valve unclogged.
Quick vid of the whirlpool
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jEKxvxH8Qw

I will try and do a post of a complete brew day with the pump, but from my initial tests this is a great magnetic drive pump, not much dearer than a ts5, with performance not quite chugger but not far off,  It is very quiet in operation for those indoor, in the house brewers.

If you are considering a pump I would highly recommend this pump.  It costs slightly more than the topsflo ts5 from brewbuilder or angelhomebrew but is a far superior pump and is roughly a third of the price of a chugger,

Future tests will be trying to clog the pump with pellet hop . 
I will empty a 25 litre kettle with the chugger and do the same test with the brewpump 3000, and time both to see how they go.

Any other tests you want carried out, let me know and I will try to get around to it.



Link to the pump
http://www.kegkingdom.co.uk/products/brew-pump-3000
Cheers

[Qs]

Great review cheers.

I like cameo from the beagle having a good sniff around in the background too. 

[darren996]

Great review cheers.

I like cameo from the beagle having a good sniff around in the background too. 

He is a total diva, loves the limelight

[Damofto]

Thanks for the very thorough review Darren.  I think I will get one of these for my Bulldog, the pump that came with it blew a couple of weeks ago and I'd say I'll be forever buying cheap replacements otherwise.   

[darren996]

No hassle, learn from my mistake and buy something a bit beefier.  I just got word that their might be a stainless head upgrade on these pumps in the future

[Frequent Sequence]

Nice review. Stainless head version here.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Magnetic-Drive-Pump-15R-With-Stainless-Steel-Head-homebrew-with-250V-European-Plug/32756831447.html

[SkiBeagle]

Thanks Darren for a great review, vids + photos. I just bought the TS5 so I hope I won't be sorry. BTW, BobbyM is giving the TD5 some good lovin'. Wonder how these two would compare?

[darren996]

TS5 is a great pump as well, had one before, you won't have any regrets

[Damofto]

Great service from Keg Kingdom, I ordered Tuesday night and received into my Parcel Motel Saturday morning. If you use the code the TOM at checkout you get 10% off the price of the pump.
Just wondering what's the best way to prep it before first use, it smells a little oily if you know what I mean, maybe run some Oxy through it for a while?

[darren996]

Yeah, run some warm oxy through it, that's what I did , left it run for about 20 minutes. I used it on a brew day and I didn't get any off flavours or infection so it did the trick

[Damofto]

Great stuff, Thanks.

[TheSumOfAllBeers]

Be really careful when attaching metal threaded adapters or ball valves to the plastic threads on this pump. I tried to put a ball valve straight on and damaged the outlet threads on my new pump. You will need 2x 1/2" bps female hose barbs when you buy this pump.

[Damofto]

Ok Thanks a million for the heads up, I have some NPT ones on order from the Homebrew Company but will pop onto Ebay tonight to see if I can get a couple of BSP ones.

[Spud395]

Do these weigh in under the 1kg, £3 shipping to all the UK and does that include parcel motel N Ireland?

[Damofto]

Shipping cost me £10.50 to Parcel Motel