Oil transfer pump for wine transfer ?

[Rice_Guy]

Wine is a food that we consume. It is important to use materials/ tools which are rated as food grade. If you use brass or iron impellers this introduces metals which catalyze. oxidation chemistry. Plastics and stainless are best.
I am in the same boat as @balatonwine for home use slower is better. If I am in a food plant moving 10,000 liters a pump is useful. If I am moving to a higher level pumping is useful BUT the ability to dial in a slower flow rate makes better racking.

I sin and collect toys, ,,, which could be done without, ,,, at least on the current work assignment. I would not run one pump feeding another, ,,,, to work well the flows have to be the same. There is a principle called cavitation which happens if the second pump is faster. Your second pump will restrict flow and damage the first pump if it is slower.

 

[ratflinger]

Eventually I purchased this:

https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/2950676...mOHVWwPIdkViS-gSvWV-IQUDUVHk15P4aAtyLEALw_wcB
Magnetic drive, diaphragm pump. It is very heavy, seems to be well made and it works very well...when it starts pumping.
Problem is that it is not self-priming...oh boy, what a battle it was !
But when inlet hose and pump fills with fluid, it pumps fast, completely silent, no any vibration, very nice.

So priming... :-(
(Manual syphoning sucks).
To solve that trouble, I got this:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/285182726491?var=587058849669and this:
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/144977976089
I am going to put first-yellow, manual one or second (12V self-priming pump) in front of main one.

I will report more as soon as I test the whole "installation".

It is not hard to find a self priming pump at that price. A priming pump tied to the main pump is just poor engineering. I understand what you are trying to do, but this is not the way to go about it. Being in Oz, AIO may not be able to ship to you, however, Pentair Sureflo makes a nice line of food grade, rebuildable, and cleanable self-priming pumps.

 

[Fruit]

Whilst I understand and respect "slower is better" rule, I am simply too busy to accept and follow it.

I was tired, frustrated, in rush and eventually desperate to rack-pump 150 liters from kegs and another 60 liters from smaller carboys.
Also, I can't lift about 65-70kg heavy kegs from the ground...long story that battle.

Siphoning sucks, it is last and worse option to me: not always works, easily disturbs wine and so lifts sediment and worst scenario also happened to me: "new" (smaller) carboy was nearly full and not much wine left in "old" carboy-not enough to "pump" and start siphon again when there is not much wine left and very close to all that mess on the bottom which I definitely do not want to lift...no siphons for me, thank you !

It is strange that I did not find Sureflo when I was googling for wine pumps !
Poor marketing of them, no online marketing... I will have to let them know and make them suck their marketing person ;-)

First pump I bought above is a "pro" pump, stainless steel, made to transfer wine and beer.
No fluid contact with motor/impeller, in fact there is no impeller there, it works like solenoid and diaphragm is driven electromagnetically, not mechanically.

I will experiment and try to connect main pump and self-priming pump in parallel rather than serial, with manual valve and perhaps one-way valve...there will be two "inlet" hoses placed into wine to be transferred. Initially self-priming pump will fill the main pump and its inlet hose (and so pumping back into tank)...when this is done, main pump will start to transfer my wine and self-priming pump will be no longer needed (manual valve will cut the flow off and a switch to stop pump motor). Thus the self-priming pump will work for several seconds only and main pump flow will not go through self-priming pump.
This will have to do the job until my plum trees deliver lot of new babies next season, then I will perhaps end up buying Sureflo pump...

I secured stainless steel, 4 mm dia rod together with inlet hose, steel rod is about 25-30mm longer than hose.
That goes into tank until steel rod stops on the bottom of tank so hose will not suck or upset the sediment.

 

[Rice_Guy]

A thought. ,,, I sanitize tubing therefore I try not to duplicate product lines. Much of my racking is 4mm poly tubing (1/4” ID) and 7mm silicone (OD on 3/8” acrylic racking canes). With these sizes it is possible to stick a nylon “T” fitting or three way valve at the target carboy or in your case SS pump and suck the wine up to the target. My low tech valve if using a T is to pinch the tubing with a spring clamp.