Scottish Gin Fairy Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 Hey peeps, I am after some safety advice. Does anyone use centrifugal pumps for transferring NGS? Our gin distillery is very small and we dont treat it as an ATEX zone as its fairly well ventilated and the volumes of alcohol are small. We need a transfer pump but I dont see the point in getting an air operated diaphragm pump, which is more expensive than the centrifugal pump i am looking at. Should I be stumping up for the diaphragm pump? Thanks, SGF. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sandytoes Posted February 9, 2019 Share Posted February 9, 2019 We use a Yamada NDP-15BST and it works great. They can be had cheap on ebay. https://www.ebay.com/itm/YAMADA-NDP-15BST-DUAL-DIAPHRAGM-ALUMINUM-PUMP-SUPPLY-1-4-NPT/273026716080?epid=1910924745&hash=item3f91a911b0:g:MdMAAOSwItJaXPIs:rk:1:pf:0 That ad says it's aluminum but it's actually stainless (the BST denotes stainless) we run it off of a 25 gallon compressor. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelAtTCW Posted February 11, 2019 Share Posted February 11, 2019 A centrifugal pump head on its own is unlikely to be the cause of any potential hazards. It's the motor turning the pump head you should be concerned about. Some motors can spark, which can ignite flammable vapors. You'll want to make sure the pump's motor is rated for use in areas where potentially flammable vapors may be present, either through normal use or in the case of equipment failure. Air diaphragm pumps—though they pose much less of a sparking risk—are not necessarily intrinsically safe. Both laminar flow and the reciprocating action in the pump both have the potential to build up static electricity during normal use. As a result, many air diaphragm pumps are available in ATEX, UL, etc. versions that are fully groundable, so that any static electricity that does build up can be dissipated to ground. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
indyspirits Posted February 12, 2019 Share Posted February 12, 2019 We went with a smaller yamada with an aluminum air motor, stainless bits & pieces, and teflon seals & balls. Handily enough it came with an attached grounding strap. We paid about a grand on ebay after shipping. It was the NDP-20BST. Great little pump. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scottish Gin Fairy Posted February 12, 2019 Author Share Posted February 12, 2019 Thanks guys - thats really helpful and much appreciated for taking the time to respond. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
miq Posted September 15, 2023 Share Posted September 15, 2023 do you guys use oil compressors to power the pumps, or any other (oil-free?) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MichaelAtTCW Posted September 15, 2023 Share Posted September 15, 2023 Most food-grade pumps operate with an oil-free air compressor to minimize the risk of contamination by oil in case of diaphragm rupture. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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