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Does an air operated diaphragm pump for ethanol have to be FDA approved?


Neil

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Hi all, we are in the market for an air operated diapgragm pump for Ethanol transfer and also for filtration of vodka for batch operation. We are looking into the Yamada model NDP-20 BSE but there is an option to get it FDA approved which is another grand! Basically, the FDA one has Sanitary Tri-clamp fittings (which we heard we need for our hoses) as well as some other bells and whistles (namely comes fully cleaned, has a Polypropelene air suction as opposed to aluminum which hods up better for chemicals in cleaning solutions.) I spoke with the manufacturer and they said that the standard pump has NPT ports but not the sanitary tri-clamp fittings which supposedly is to keep contaminates from getting into what's being pumped but according to the manufacturer and one distributor we spoke with, we wouldn't have this problem with alcohol and the standard 3/4 industrial pump would be fine. He said the FDA one is more for the food processing industry but we should be fine if we're only pumping alcohol. I looked on the TTB site but I couldn't find anything on pumps. Does anyone have any info on this or if we really need to spend the extra dough on the FDA model. Thanks

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As a follow up, I was told by a distributor that we can simply put on sanitary tri clamp fittings on the NTP outlet and stick with the Standard (non FDA) pump. Also someone else mentioned sanitary Fittings - S-Line Style http://www.spx.com/en/waukesha-cherry-burrell/pd-wcb-fittings-s-line/ Not sure which are better. Thanks all.

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Hey Neil,

This question is going to be up to your local authorities. I've installed lots of spirits packaging lines and have not seen this requirement from any of our customers. Typically the majority of the plastic body types available for Air Diaphragm pumps are made from food grade materials. Threaded connection points are also a sticking point for FDA inspectors but usually not until you get into hot pack food environments or dairy environments. Threaded connections for you should be fine.

As long as the body and elastomers are rated for your process (temp) and product (chemical compatibility) you should be fine. Don't forget to check on the chemical compatibility of your cleaners and sanitizing products!

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I believe the tri-clamp is mostly so that you don't accumulate any substance there like you could on the threads of the NPT. You can find NPT to tri-clamp connectors that you could easily connect yourself (you also need a gasket, get silicone or teflon, that goes in between the npt and the tri-clamp so the threads aren't exposed to the fluid). That said, if you are just using vodka and NGS, then there is no potential contaminent issue since it is all antiseptic. If you want to install an NPT to tri-clamp there are tons of sellers of this product, GW Kent, St. Pats, JME Elsworth, Cole Parmer, etc. Are the clamps the only difference in the pump that makes it FDA, I would think there has to be more to it, but I doubt you need it.

Cheers,

Jeff

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