Birster Posted October 18, 2020 Share Posted October 18, 2020 Hi, We have a VFD for our centrifugal pump and another one for the mixer in the still. Do we absolutely need VFD for the mixers on our fermenter and mashtun too? Is it only a crazy thought? Thanks, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silk City Distillers Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 Most VFD will give you: Speed Control Slow Start Overcurrent Protection Up to you if you need or want them. Pumps are usually a no-brainer as the speed control is valuable. We have one on the tun as well, helps to slow down the mixer when mashing smaller volumes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteB Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 In my opinion, if the mixer in the still works well at 100% speed (60 Hz USA) then you don't need it. A centrifugal pump flow rate can be reduced to almost zero with an inline valve on the discharge side, assuming there aren't particles to clog the valve if it is almost closed. EDIT: I said above "almost zero" It is very important to keep some liquid moving through the pump otherwise the liquid will heat up and can boil. A friend of mine left a pump motor running for an hour or so with the outlet shut off. He opened the priming port and it shot boiling water in his face. Since you already have them installed it is probably not worth removing them, as said above they give added protection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Birster Posted October 19, 2020 Author Share Posted October 19, 2020 Thank you for your inputs guys. For peace of mind we went ahead and purchased our 3 missing VFDs, we will try to cut expense on something else. Which is not an easy thing to find 😉 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamOVD Posted October 19, 2020 Share Posted October 19, 2020 I bought a cheap 100$ Chinese VFD for my pump. hoping it would last a year, and figuring it couldn't hurt a pump. Right or wrong, I'm still using it 3 years later. Being able to reverse the pump flow (If you have a compatible pump type) comes In handy for me as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MG Thermal Consulting Posted October 21, 2020 Share Posted October 21, 2020 You have to aware that the pump motor is non-overloading throughout the "operational range" you intend on using it. Otherwise you could go off on motor overloads. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dehner Distillery Posted December 4, 2020 Share Posted December 4, 2020 Automation Direct is a great source for VFD's. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
barristerandbrewer Posted December 17, 2020 Share Posted December 17, 2020 I think VFDs (Lenze AC/Tech is our go-to), are absolutely necessary on everything you can put them on. We use them for mash cooling pumps, reversible rolling lobe pumps, roller mill, agitators, you name it. We have saved a motor that was improperly wired once because the VFD shut it down before it could fry the windings. You can also use it as an easy way to add an emergency stop button away from your equipment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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