By: Alyssa L. Ochs
Moving wine from one location to another is an integral part of a winemaker’s responsibilities, and for this job, you’re going to need an effective pump. There are several types of pumps commonly used in winery settings, and each one has a unique purpose and specialty. It’s a good idea to have a clear understanding of winery pump options available because choosing the right pump can either help or hinder your operations, ultimately making your winery more or less efficient over time.
Types of Pumps Used in Wineries
Depending on what you need a pump to do in the winery, you might choose a piston pump, diaphragm pump, centrifugal pump or peristaltic pump. Other products commonly used in winery settings include volumetric pumps, Moineau pumps, flexible impellers and gear pumps. Meanwhile, you can find customizable pumps in various sizes and configurations.
Jeff Hannan, product manager for centrifugal pumps at Gorman-Rupp Pumps, said the company’s Super T and Ultra V Series pumps equipped with the Eradicator solids management system are the best for handling waste such as seeds, stems, skins and all other types of stringy solids.
Headquartered in Mansfield, Ohio, GR Pumps designs and manufactures pumps and pump systems for the food and beverage industry and at least a dozen other applications. The company also manufactures submersible, rotary gear and standard centrifugal pumps to handle waste applications, sump applications and other fluid-handling needs.
“With the ability to pass up to three-inch spherical solids, Super T and Ultra V Series pumps are designed to eliminate clogging and increase up-time,” Hannan said. “With thousands of installations in the toughest applications you can find, these pumps have a proven track record for performance and dependability.”
The Eradicator’s three-part solids management system consists of a lightweight inspection cover, an innovative backplate that incorporates an obstruction-free flow path, and an aggressive self-cleaning wear plate with integral laser cut notches and grooves. This is combined with a revolutionary “tooth” design to constantly and effectively clear the eye of the impeller.
“Upgrade kits are available for existing Super T or Ultra V pumps in the field,” Hannon said. “The upgrade kits provide everything you need to put the best self-cleaning pump technology in the industry to work for you.”
Ross Battersby, who handles sales and design for equipment and machinery at Carlsen & Associates, said his company sells three main pumps for winery applications. Carlsen & Associates is a Healdsburg, California-based premier wine equipment supplier that has engaged in researching and refining the winemaking process for over 20 years.
Carlsen’s Waukesha 130 positive displacement pump is a versatile pump with many applications, including filtering, barrel-filling, emptying and bottling.
“These pumps must in three-inch lines from the de-stemmer to the tank at 15 tons per hour, transfer wine in two-inch lines at up to 130 gallons per minute, and also go in reverse,” Battersby said. “You can use pressure transducers, switches, float switches, batch controllers and timers with this pump.”
Another popular Carlsen pump is the Yamada NDP 25 double diaphragm air pump. It runs on a max of 22 cubic feet per minute of compressed air and is commonly used by boutique wineries for transfers, press pan duty, small tank pump-overs and barrel filling.
“Air pumps are the gentlest of pumps when set up correctly and can be used in nearly all situations,” Battersby said. “There are two principle controls on the pump, a ball valve to control airflow and thus pump flow, gallons per minute and a pressure regulator that will control line pressure, commonly not above 30 psi, depending on the application. With our Electric Air solenoid, you can use float switches and timers to automate the pump. A key feature is the ability to shut off against the pump without damaging anything.”
Battersby also mentioned the 2085/10 or 15 hp centrifugal pump. These large-scale transfer pumps move wine in three-inch lines at speeds between 250 and 350 gallons a minute. They are often used in tanker truck loading and unloading, large-scale wine blending, racking off huge tanks, press pan duty on large presses and pump-overs for massive red fermenters.
“The scrolled impeller, combined with a variable frequency drive, means there is little-to-no sheer in the pump head, so provided the correct line size and speed is selected, there is no cavitation,” said Battersby. “They are extremely efficient and easy to use.”
Battersby said his company previously sold a line of flexible impeller pumps, less-expensive pumps that perform various tasks. These are entry-level pumps commonly used by small startup wineries. However, Carlsen & Associates stopped selling these products because the maintenance and service requirements failed to meet the company’s standards for quality.
“The rubber impellers break up over time, they fracture if they go in reverse, they leak and you can never run them dry,” Battersby said.
Another pump-like product from Carlsen is the Bulldog Pup, an inert gas-powered barrel racking wand that works by sealing the racking wand in a barrel or keg. The Bulldog Pup displaces the wine using compressed inert gas to push it out of the barrel, into the wand and out of the hose to a tank or barrel.
“At about $700, it is the least expensive ‘pump’ you can buy and also the gentlest, with the fewest moving parts,” he said. “These units also stand the test of time with readily available spare parts, a design that hasn’t changed and reliability that’s second to none. You can find these in the Carlsen & Associates Annex section.”
Maintenance for Winery Pumps
A big part of having pumps in the winery is keeping them clean, sanitary and working well for many years.
Hannan said that consideration must be given to reliability, the low total cost of ownership and overall uptime when selecting a pump for any waste application. He also said that it’s best to choose pumps that are easy to maintain and designed to prevent clogging.
“Gorman-Rupp Super T and Ultra V Series pumps equipped with the Eradicator solids management system are the best choices for self-priming, solids-handling pumps for any maintenance department,” Hannan said. “Externally adjustable clearances between the impeller and wear plate in combination with the new lightweight inspection covers are just a couple of the features that make routine maintenance on these pumps easier than ever.”
Battersby from Carlsen said that just like a car, a pump will stop working when you need it most without preventative maintenance.
“Change O rings and seals on a regular basis,” he said. “Change gearbox oils on schedule. Grease the fittings regularly. Treat your pump with respect. Without it, you won’t be pumping wine, and you may not have a job! Keep basic spare parts on your workshop shelf, such as O rings, diaphragms and maybe a speed control. That way, if it breaks, you can replace it with minimal downtime and then replace your spare parts. It is not a huge investment, considering the loss if the pump breaks down and lays idle waiting for repair. During bottling or harvest, this can be critical.”
Qualities of a Good Winery Pump
A good winery pump should be tolerant of solids and sediment while also keeping oxygen out of the wine. Pumps shouldn’t agitate the wine during their operation and should be relatively easy to clean, sanitize and maintain. Many wineries look for pumps that have compact designs so they don’t take up too much space. Portability is also desirable for pumps if there’s a need to move them around the winery space. Staff training and safety are also important considerations; choose pumps that are easy to operate with a low learning curve so that multiple staff members can use them regularly.
Battersby offered a few “dos” and don’ts” about using different types of pumps in a winery:
• Lenticular filters and air pumps are not good together.
• Small hoses use a small pump. If you don’t have one, slow the big pump way down.
• Every bend and valve and rise in elevation will cause line loss. Don’t make your pump work hard by pumping too far or through too many obstacles.
• Pumps are the core of a winery and winemaking. Gravity works to a degree, but to be efficient, you have to use a pump.
• Rarely does a pump affect a wine. Poor pump operation or maintenance will definitely contribute to poor performance and affect your wine.
• Barreling down, an air pump is usually best. You can shut off against it. It doesn’t have to be super large as you fill 60-gallon vessels, so running 20 gallons per minute is a fine speed.
• When transferring huge volumes of wine, use a centrifugal pump and large lines. Put the horsepower to use and get the job done.
• For must pumping, use a positive displacement pump, progressive cavity pump or peristaltic pump. These pumps will handle the solids of must with little-to-no damage (exemption for whole berries with progressive cavity pumps) and be able to move the must long distances on overhead lines. The Waukesha positive displacement pumps can also be used for wine movements for the rest of the year. Commonly, peristaltic and progressive cavity pumps are put away after harvest.
Choosing the Right Pumps for Your Winery
For safety and sanitation, winery pumps should be made using food-grade stainless steel with food-safe seals and lubricants. You can also find pumps with special options to suit the winemaker’s needs and preferences, such as non-marking wheels, remote control for off-site operation, pressure and flow sensors, automatic valves, flow meters and different types of connectors. Even with the highest quality pumps on the market, you might need to repair them after heavy use. Therefore, it’s a good idea to work with companies with readily available replacement parts just in case the original parts wear down over time.
Battersby said that the criteria for choosing a pump are what you are pumping, what size hoses you are using, how far you are pumping, the type of pump you like and how much you’re able to spend. In small wineries, pumps must be able to do many tasks, but it’s advisable to always have at least two pumps so there’s a backup.
“Some small wineries that pump must have two identical pumps in case one fails, Battersby said. “Not a bad idea if you are handling machine-harvested fruit, which will have metal from the vineyard in it. In larger wineries, you want a pump that satisfies the attributes for just one task, such as must pumping, transfers or bottling.”
Battersby also said that all pumps are not equal and that while quality pumps cost more money, they are more likely to run for decades with basic and ongoing maintenance. So, while cheap pumps are more affordable to buy, they usually do not have the same levels of service, parts or performance, which will end up costing you more than the high-quality pump in the long run.
“In cellar operations, you want robust, reliable, dependable pumps with a service crew that can supply advice, technical support, spare parts and training,” Battersby said. “This is what we specialize in at Carlsen and Associates.”
