I ended up with the NPT, mostly because when I ordered I didn't know the difference and have never used tri clamps. I will say that with the NPT make sure you use quick disconnect on both ends of every connection so you can easily swap the hoses around during brew day.
A great product variation of the original Blichmann RipTide NPT pump! If TC is your desire its a winner. The flow performance difference was minimal. The camlock fitted hoses on a homebrew scale can take far more punishment and abuse for the operation, handling, and cleanup than TC fittings. Great video!
I guess another consideration to go TC would be if your kettles are already fitted with welded with TC fittings, otherwise we’re still dealing threads on the valves to adapt?
Great video Brian. I just wish Blichmann would sell the Tri-Clamp head separately since I already have 2 Riptide pumps can’t justify getting a third one just to get the tri-clamps. Plus the pumps are on back order till July. Hopefully they will soon.
You should recommend 1/2" fittings for 1/2" hose not 3/4 ". Your idea sounded plausible and I tried it, but high quality 3/4 fittings do not fit high quality hose and 1/2" do fit (and seal with clamps). Thanks for the video info
The tri-clamp nipple bottleneck is easiely fixed. Either by using a 1/2" npt tri clamp, or getting a nipple that’s the correct size. Or go full tri-clamp metal pipes.
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers almost done watching through your content library while I’m building my control panel. Awesome stuff. Do you have a discord good sir?
B is the TC connection, higher pressure? My riptide pump just arrived, now need a brew coil and controller for my new G2 kettle. But the brew commander controller is sold out almost everywhere.
Whilst the narrower opening on the Tri Clamp pump fitting will introduce an additional pressure drop, the NPT fitting, as you rightly pointed out, will also have a pressure drop due to the thread exposure causing turbulence. Did you use the same motor and impeller set up, and swap the housings, or did you use two identical pumps with different housings? I mention this, because there is variability in performance and power in individual pumps even if it is small. Your test showed that there was a marginal difference in flow rate which could be due to other factors. Pressure drop is inversely proportional to the pipe diameter but also proportional to the pipe length. The TriClover fitting length is tiny compared to the length of tubing. I wouldnt expect a huge difference in pressure drop unless the TriClover hole diameter was significantly smaller than the NPT opening. (say half the diameter, then you basically have an Orifice pressure drop calculation which is usually used in industry to determine flowrate by measuring pressure drop across the orifice). Still worth doing the test I think. (the other thing I learnt from running experiments is repeatability - not sure if you repeated this trial, but sometimes you can repeat an experiment many times and get inconsistent results)
Yep. I did use the same motor for each test, just swapped the impeller housings. It is an anecdotal test at best, I did not do multiple tests but it was not much difference. Had I seen a larger difference I would have done multiples. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers fair enough. Amazing that you picked it up. I wonder if the tech guys at Blickmann Engineering even worried about the small difference in openings? You should send in a CV at Blickmann Cheers
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Sounds like a good company to work for. From what I have seen over the years, the company is not stagnant and slowly improves their core products whilst releasing new products when needed.
The threaded connections add a degree of disturbance in the fluid flow and, as a result, some cavitation. Retrofitting to triclamp fittings everywhere in your home brewery will likely be prohibitively expensive, however. I've come to the realization that serious homebrewers have been done an enormous disservice by the vendors that market homebrew equipment in that the industry is still fixated on 1/2" ID as the optimal tube diameter when, for large capacity (>10 gal) or complicated systems with many valves, elbows, and the like, a 3/4" or even 1" diameter might work much better. 1/2" is too restrictive for high volume transfers; moreover, it is much more likely to clog with grain and hop debris (this is particularly so in 90 degree bends) during brewing operations like sparging or transferring to the fermenter. Remember also that each restriction, however minor, in the line of flow is cumulative and can only partially be remedied by a higher flow pump. Eventually just adding improved pumping performance will produce diminishing returns as well. I've spent/wasted quite a bit on my 30 gallon, 1/2" system, and if I had to do it all over again I would definitely choose a 3/4" or 1" nominal ID, even though the available of fittings and other pieces of hardware is much more limited and far more expensive. If you're planning a high capacity or complex brewing system, I suggest you first look into whether you would be better served by speccing your fittings in 3/4" or 1" ID.
Hi Brian, This video is excellent and timely, as I am working on a pump issue with my new setup. I guessed B for the TC pump because I thought there might be a little more turbulence at the start, but that might have been my imagination. Have you tried using near-boiling water? If so, could the slight restriction cause gas to to go out of solution and bring the pump to a grinding halt (for real)? Until now, I've only used my chugger pump for cold water and wort of all temperatures. Hot water is proving to be a problem so I plan to convert from 3/8" hose/camlocks to 1/2" hose and camlocks with the oversize barbs. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge! Next I will watch your three-way pump comparison video.
FYI, cavitation happening at a given temperature is all about the design of the pump head, specifically the inlet and impeller, and what speed it is running at. It's related to the Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHr). It's possible to have cavitation below the liquid boiling point. On an industrial application you have to calculate the NPSH Available via the liquid head and suction pipework.
Hi Brian, how do you like the linear flow valves from Blichmann? I had seen them on your kettles in prior vids. Did you keep them on your system? Thanks in advance.
I actually do like them a lot. The one thing that I don't like about them is not being able to throw a lever and shut them off instantly. The only ball valves that I have now in my system is the ones for the HERMS coil (mainly for price on those) and one on my wort pump. The reason I have it on that pump is I figure if there's some catastrophe I need to shut it off quickly and not lose a bunch of wort..lol 👍🍻
For better flow control on quarter-turn ball valves you could look for a V-ported ball to replace the standard ball inside the valve. Might be tricky to find in this small size but they're used all the time in industry for lower cost flow control applications. They have the advantage of being able to shut off quickly with a 90° turn.
Great video and thanks for posting! This might be a dumb question, but were both pumps relatively new? The NPT pump wasn't an older pump that had a lot of "wear and tear" on it was it? That might have influenced the comparison if it was.
I just swapped the head over on my newest pump. And use the exact same hoses. I put them together in post-production editing side-by-side. To line up the videos I actually use the click from the switch on the controller as my time stamp to make sure they were exactly on sync. 👍🍻
I didn't think there was that much difference statistically speaking. I might expect that the flow rate on the TC connector to be slightly faster than that in the NPT because it is an incompressible fluid. Doesn't account for turbulence, but given a sufficient distance from the pump, I would expect the actual flow rate to be pretty close to each other.
My guess is the advantage for the TC head comes from slightly improved flow at the unions. Assuming the correct gaskets are in use (1" should be used here, not 1.5") you should maintain laminar flow through the unions, whereas you'll introduce turbulence at the threaded NPT connectors. The variance in bore does surprise me. 1" TC should have a 0.870" ID and you should use a corresponding gasket. (1.5" TC has a 1.360" ID. 1.5" and 1" share the same 1.5" connector.) Without that consistent bore and appropriate gasket you won't actually have a sanitary connection, and will also introduce flow restrictions.
I ended up with the NPT, mostly because when I ordered I didn't know the difference and have never used tri clamps. I will say that with the NPT make sure you use quick disconnect on both ends of every connection so you can easily swap the hoses around during brew day.
Love the t-shirt! 🤟🏻🤟🏻
Oh and we totality see the G4 in the background you’re totally teasing us with!
FINALLY!! someone actually mentioned it!! Haha you win! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Yaaaaa! I won the new G4! Do I get a Ride the Lightning shirt too??
@@silveraven1 haha!!
Awesome! I never would have guessed tri clamp was faster. And 🍻 to the shirt! \m/
Yeah me either! 👍🍻 🤘🤘
A great product variation of the original Blichmann RipTide NPT pump! If TC is your desire its a winner. The flow performance difference was minimal. The camlock fitted hoses on a homebrew scale can take far more punishment and abuse for the operation, handling, and cleanup than TC fittings. Great video!
Yeah that's why I've always used the camlocks. Plus they're easier to me! 👍🍻
I think 'B' is the TC, even though the port in the fitting is smaller, because it doesn't have the pressure drop across the QC fitting.
Yep!! I'd say that's a good theory!
Love the channel and love the shirt even more! lml
Haha 🤘🤘
Yeah, definitely two thumbs up. One for the video and one for the shirt!
Haha!! Thanks man! 👍🍻🤘
I got a tri-clamp riptide head kit for my Chugger pump a couple months ago. Haven't tried it yet, but soon.
Where did you get it?
I'll have to check my records tomorrow to see if I have that written down. It took 2-3 months to come in after I ordered it.
Good stuff Brian!! Love my Riptide pump. One of the best pieces of gear in my brewery!! Sláinte
I second that!! 👍🍻
Great job!
Nice t-shirt ! and great video again !
Thanks!! 👍🍻
I guess another consideration to go TC would be if your kettles are already fitted with welded with TC fittings, otherwise we’re still dealing threads on the valves to adapt?
True!! That's a point I make in the video. 👍🍻
I have no idea, which would be which
Sweet shirt! And a great video as well 🍻
Thanks Brian!! 👍🍻
Great video Brian. I just wish Blichmann would sell the Tri-Clamp head separately since I already have 2 Riptide pumps can’t justify getting a third one just to get the tri-clamps. Plus the pumps are on back order till July. Hopefully they will soon.
Hopefully they will soon! 👍🍻
In the tri-clamp you don't have any turbulence due to connection fittings that doesn't fit. But I like the test, thanks 👍
Yup!!
You should recommend 1/2" fittings for 1/2" hose not 3/4 ". Your idea sounded plausible and I tried it, but high quality 3/4 fittings do not fit high quality hose and 1/2" do fit (and seal with clamps). Thanks for the video info
5/8 is the best for 1/2" hose IMO the internal diameter is right @ 1/2".
Nicely done Brian. Ive not tried any of the riptides. I would like to know its wattage and this is something Blichmann are not sharing!
We'll have to find this out!
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Clearly Blichmann do not want comparisons. I guess this is based on price.
The tri-clamp nipple bottleneck is easiely fixed. Either by using a 1/2" npt tri clamp, or getting a nipple that’s the correct size.
Or go full tri-clamp metal pipes.
All.good solutions! Thanks for sharing! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers almost done watching through your content library while I’m building my control panel. Awesome stuff. Do you have a discord good sir?
@@theblackneon5396 I don't have one. I have not had the time to set one up. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers I’ll keep an eye out for when you do :)
It’s suprisingly easy and intuitive.
Ok sounds good! 👍🍻
B is the TC connection, higher pressure? My riptide pump just arrived, now need a brew coil and controller for my new G2 kettle. But the brew commander controller is sold out almost everywhere.
Don't think it's higher pressure just less resistance with the connections.
Welcome from Poland, Is Blichmann Riptide good for CIP Ball ? how is preasure ?
Great for CIP. Highest pressure homebrew pump out there.
Whilst the narrower opening on the Tri Clamp pump fitting will introduce an additional pressure drop, the NPT fitting, as you rightly pointed out, will also have a pressure drop due to the thread exposure causing turbulence.
Did you use the same motor and impeller set up, and swap the housings, or did you use two identical pumps with different housings?
I mention this, because there is variability in performance and power in individual pumps even if it is small.
Your test showed that there was a marginal difference in flow rate which could be due to other factors.
Pressure drop is inversely proportional to the pipe diameter but also proportional to the pipe length. The TriClover fitting length is tiny compared to the length of tubing. I wouldnt expect a huge difference in pressure drop unless the TriClover hole diameter was significantly smaller than the NPT opening. (say half the diameter, then you basically have an Orifice pressure drop calculation which is usually used in industry to determine flowrate by measuring pressure drop across the orifice).
Still worth doing the test I think.
(the other thing I learnt from running experiments is repeatability - not sure if you repeated this trial, but sometimes you can repeat an experiment many times and get inconsistent results)
Yep. I did use the same motor for each test, just swapped the impeller housings. It is an anecdotal test at best, I did not do multiple tests but it was not much difference. Had I seen a larger difference I would have done multiples. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers fair enough. Amazing that you picked it up. I wonder if the tech guys at Blickmann Engineering even worried about the small difference in openings?
You should send in a CV at Blickmann
Cheers
Funny you should recommend that. I actually spoke to John about it. 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Sounds like a good company to work for. From what I have seen over the years, the company is not stagnant and slowly improves their core products whilst releasing new products when needed.
@@PetraKann yeah I like them. They are always trying to improve homebrewing and products. 👍🍻 (I don't actually work for them BTW.)
To cool !
Thanks!! 👍🍻
Another epic video you METAL MASTER! (one of their best imo) The boys @brewershardware will mod your Riptide head w/ TC's quick turnaround too.
Yes they will! Haha mighty MET!! 👍🍻
The threaded connections add a degree of disturbance in the fluid flow and, as a result, some cavitation. Retrofitting to triclamp fittings everywhere in your home brewery will likely be prohibitively expensive, however. I've come to the realization that serious homebrewers have been done an enormous disservice by the vendors that market homebrew equipment in that the industry is still fixated on 1/2" ID as the optimal tube diameter when, for large capacity (>10 gal) or complicated systems with many valves, elbows, and the like, a 3/4" or even 1" diameter might work much better. 1/2" is too restrictive for high volume transfers; moreover, it is much more likely to clog with grain and hop debris (this is particularly so in 90 degree bends) during brewing operations like sparging or transferring to the fermenter.
Remember also that each restriction, however minor, in the line of flow is cumulative and can only partially be remedied by a higher flow pump. Eventually just adding improved pumping performance will produce diminishing returns as well.
I've spent/wasted quite a bit on my 30 gallon, 1/2" system, and if I had to do it all over again I would definitely choose a 3/4" or 1" nominal ID, even though the available of fittings and other pieces of hardware is much more limited and far more expensive. If you're planning a high capacity or complex brewing system, I suggest you first look into whether you would be better served by speccing your fittings in 3/4" or 1" ID.
Thanks for the info! 👍🍻
@@ShortCircuitedBrewersI hope someone else will respond with their thoughts/experiences.
Hi Brian, This video is excellent and timely, as I am working on a pump issue with my new setup. I guessed B for the TC pump because I thought there might be a little more turbulence at the start, but that might have been my imagination. Have you tried using near-boiling water? If so, could the slight restriction cause gas to to go out of solution and bring the pump to a grinding halt (for real)? Until now, I've only used my chugger pump for cold water and wort of all temperatures. Hot water is proving to be a problem so I plan to convert from 3/8" hose/camlocks to 1/2" hose and camlocks with the oversize barbs. Thanks for sharing all your knowledge! Next I will watch your three-way pump comparison video.
I've pumped wort/water though the riptide right after flame out. 200ish F no issues at all with cavitation. It's a great pump! 👍🍻
FYI, cavitation happening at a given temperature is all about the design of the pump head, specifically the inlet and impeller, and what speed it is running at. It's related to the Net Positive Suction Head Required (NPSHr). It's possible to have cavitation below the liquid boiling point. On an industrial application you have to calculate the NPSH Available via the liquid head and suction pipework.
Hi Brian, how do you like the linear flow valves from Blichmann? I had seen them on your kettles in prior vids. Did you keep them on your system? Thanks in advance.
I actually do like them a lot. The one thing that I don't like about them is not being able to throw a lever and shut them off instantly. The only ball valves that I have now in my system is the ones for the HERMS coil (mainly for price on those) and one on my wort pump. The reason I have it on that pump is I figure if there's some catastrophe I need to shut it off quickly and not lose a bunch of wort..lol 👍🍻
Good thinking!
Right!! I've had catastrophes before!! Lol
For better flow control on quarter-turn ball valves you could look for a V-ported ball to replace the standard ball inside the valve. Might be tricky to find in this small size but they're used all the time in industry for lower cost flow control applications. They have the advantage of being able to shut off quickly with a 90° turn.
@@PPW-007 good tip!
The larger holes on the pump are negated by same size hose and hose fittings.
I suppose that would be an explanation.
Great video and thanks for posting! This might be a dumb question, but were both pumps relatively new? The NPT pump wasn't an older pump that had a lot of "wear and tear" on it was it? That might have influenced the comparison if it was.
He used one pump im assuming and changed the head and edited the video side by side to show you the difference mate
Yes that's 100% correct I said that in the video as well. Same hoses, pump motor etc.
I just swapped the head over on my newest pump. And use the exact same hoses. I put them together in post-production editing side-by-side. To line up the videos I actually use the click from the switch on the controller as my time stamp to make sure they were exactly on sync. 👍🍻
@@Pazey1 Oh, gotcha. I missed that bit. Thanks for the clarification!
@@ShortCircuitedBrewers Oh, that makes sense. Thanks much for the clarification!
B the water seems to be more agitated as I would expect.
Ride the lightning!
🤘🤘
I didn't think there was that much difference statistically speaking. I might expect that the flow rate on the TC connector to be slightly faster than that in the NPT because it is an incompressible fluid. Doesn't account for turbulence, but given a sufficient distance from the pump, I would expect the actual flow rate to be pretty close to each other.
Yeah it wasn't a great amount but it was different. 👍🍻
My guess is the advantage for the TC head comes from slightly improved flow at the unions. Assuming the correct gaskets are in use (1" should be used here, not 1.5") you should maintain laminar flow through the unions, whereas you'll introduce turbulence at the threaded NPT connectors.
The variance in bore does surprise me. 1" TC should have a 0.870" ID and you should use a corresponding gasket. (1.5" TC has a 1.360" ID. 1.5" and 1" share the same 1.5" connector.) Without that consistent bore and appropriate gasket you won't actually have a sanitary connection, and will also introduce flow restrictions.
Good insight. I thought the same thing on less turbulence.
Nice shirt \m/
!! 🤘🤘
B is the tricon pump head i think
Bingo!
B is TC
A is triclamp,
oh crap I was wrong.
B
INGO
A
👍🍻
B
Right