Running a Brewery or Microbrewery?

For specialised Microbrewery Pumps and other brewery pumping equipment, our experienced staff can help recommend/select items suitable for most brewing applications.

Hot wort used in the brewing process can damage most pumps as the sugar compound contained within alcoholic liquids builds up around the mechanical seals and crystallises resulting in stress corrosion cracking and the seal breaking which in turn causes the pump to leak and can cause irreparable damage to both pump and motor.

A hard-faced seal should be fitted on all hot wort pumps. One our most popular pumps for this very application is the CEAM range.

The CEAM pump body, as well as the projection, welded impellers and motor shaft are made from AISI 304 stainless steel. The CEAM range can be used in a number of potential applications including brewing, water supply systems, booster sets, sprinkler irrigation, cooling water towers and many more. The CEAM is available in single and twin impeller pumps and contains a 2 pole self-ventilated asynchronous motor.

Over the past few years, we have seen a trend to use Lowara CEA(M) pumps for hot wort transfer in the brewing industry. This is because of the stainless steel construction and the ability to withstand liquid temperatures of up to 110°C. However, we found that customers were experiencing problems with the pumps leaking. This is not a problem encountered when pumping water so we set about finding out why this was happening. We discovered that sugars from the wort were crystallising on the faces of the mechanical shaft seal (see image below) and forcing the two components apart, thus causing the seal to leak.

After some experimentation, we found a mechanical seal with a material which will still withstand the high temperature but does not allow the sugar to adhere to the mating surfaces.

We now supply the Lowara CEA Microbrewery Pumps with the special seal fitted. We also supply the seal as a spare part for retrofitting to existing pumps and also offer a fitting service.