I've read almost everything in this forum about Flojet. I understand much, but not all.
I'm hoping for some clarification. This is for a GS3 MP.

I plan to buy this Flojet: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01LWU7XQ5/

The Flojet seems to be the best option for me, primarily because of my limited electrical capacity at home. I cannot use another 3-prong plug. No space. No capacity. So the 2-prong plug (which powers a DC transformer) seems best for me.

The accumulator seems to be an uncertainty for me. I want as quiet as possible of course, so as little Flojet cycling as possible.

There is this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004BC8LZO/

It seems easy to buy the same brand, but this capacity is not very large, nor is the capacity of the small Surflow (which is less expensive). Some have mentioned a 2-gallon capacity. So is this a better option?

https://www.amazon.com/WaterWorker-HT-2 ... 001AZL562/

I think I will buy this pressure regulator: http://www.chriscoffee.com/Pressure-Reg ... /334gg.htm

Seems the pressure regulator is available at 1/4" and 3/8" with no price differential. I'm thinking 3/8".

I'm thinking the assembly is like this:

Bottle to pump.
Pump to accumulator.
Accumulator to pressure regulator.
Regulator to GS3.

Assuming I have that right (and please educate me if I do not), I need to worry about the 1/4" and 3/8" differentials. What to buy, and where to put them?

The prices in Japan are obscene on many things, so I will probably try to find someone who will transship the smaller bits from the US. (The Flojet Amazon US will ship, as well as either of those accumulators, and CC will ship the pressure regulator. It's the connectors and tubing that Amazon US will NOT ship to Japan, because Amazon Japan wants to bleed people for this stuff.)

How much blood? Have a look at these prices. (10,000 JPY is about 90 dollars US)
https://www.amazon.co.jp/s/ref=nb_sb_no ... john+guest

Other examples are just as obnoxious.

So ... am I headed in the right way? Can anyone fine tune what I need for tubing and size differentials?

Thank you all, as usual.

I recently went through the contortions of building a FloJet supply for my new Bosco Sorrento. I had a FloJet 4000 that I picked up at an estate sale for $10 so that is what guided me. The hardest thing to locate was the fitting that was on the discharge side of the pump to convert to the John Guest 3/8" tubing. I finally discerned the proper fitting it is part number 21000-232B. They are fairly difficult to locate and you generally cannot buy only one as some places have minimum dollar purchase requirements. I would recommend your go with the larger accumulator as it also uses more standard fittings than the small FloJet accumulator which you would also need to locate fittings for. The FloJet pump is not silent but is not as loud as my Mazzer Major when grinding.

Here would be my choice in order to make parts easier to acquire since you are not in the USA:

I would go with the FloJet 5000 from a cost standpoint.

I would use the 1/4" tubing supplied with the FloJet into the 2 gallon accumulator to eliminate finding the odd fitting needed for 3/8" tubing from the FloJet. The larger accumulator will mean the pump does not need to run very often so again aiding in keeping things quiet longer.

I would plumb out of the 2 gallon accumulator with 3/8" John Guest (JG) tubing to the regulator.

I would obtain the 3/8" regulator and plumb 3/8" tubing to the input tubing of your machine.

So you would need:

FloJet 5000

2 gallon accumulator (I could not find the size of the inlet fitting on the Amazon listing)

Tee fitting for inlet/outlet with whatever pipe thread is on the fitting of the accumulator and John Guest push fittings for 2 of the tee ports ( I would get 3/8" and a JG 3/8" male to 1/4" JG female adapter. The top of the tee would have 3/8" JG push fittings on each end and the correct NPT on the bottom leg of the T into the accumulator. You would put the 1/4" JG adapter into the top leg of the T from the pump.

3/8" JG tubing as needed

3/8" regulator

3/8" JG tubing as needed

adapter fitting from 3/8" JG tubing to your inlet hose for your machine

This list of parts will be the easiest to locate and even though there is a length of 1/4" tubing involved, which I would try to keep short, it is included with the pump and with the accumulator between the pump and regulator acting as a reservoir will not be a restriction into the machine when water is being drawn by the machine's pump.

Hope this makes sense.

Dave

I originally went with the flojet BW5000 (and accumulator) to feed my slayer, but didnt like the idea that it was slightly under spec.
Recommended for slayer is 3-5 bar (43 - 72 PSI). Im not sure what the requirement is for GS3.

I believe the flojet operates in 20-40 PSI (so turns on when accumulator tank pressure reaches 20 PSI, and fills your accumulator tank with water until it has approx. 40 PSI). So pressure going to your machine will be in this range.

So i decided to switch the flojet pump out and go with this more powerful pump at the recommendation of forum member spressomon, who also uses it with his slayer. And I couldnt be happier with it:

https://www.freshwatersystems.com/p-682 ... -115v.aspx

This is a 60 PSI pump, which I found operates in the range of about 42 (turns on) - 60 PSI (when accumulator is full).
Very similarly priced to the flojet. Just cut a hole in the lid of our water jug and stick the 3/8" tube inside (cause unlike flojet it doesnt have a wand to go in the bottle)..


I use this tank (with stand):
https://www.freshwatersystems.com/p-368 ... 1-gal.aspx

And this pressure regulator:
https://www.chriscoffee.com/Pressure-Re ... /334gg.htm

I have the pressure regulator set at 50 PSI (to further tighten the range to my machine). So instead of the 60 PSI - 42 PSI range of the pump. For 2/3 of the time pressure going to my machine is 50 PSI, then 1/3 of the time it would be 42- 50 PSI (once it gets to 42 pump kicks on and fill tank). Since this is a 2 gallon tank this doesnt occur very often.

hope this helps


PS. almost forgot, i put the pump on these anti vibration pads, which makes it pretty quiet when it does go on (which is not very often):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BVEMLR4/

bettysnephew wrote:
Hope this makes sense.

Dave

I think I got it, yes. And thanks.

I noticed HBchris is recommending that Aquatec, and it does look nice, and not out of my price range, but it's another 3-prong plug, which is a problem for me. One option might be to use 3-to-2 pin adapter on the Mahlkoenig, which I ran for awhile and do not particularly worry about running ungrounded, and use the grounded plug for that Aquatec. Assuming I can even get it. The one they sell in Japan is without a plug. You have to wire everything yourself.

I do like being at 3 bar, but I'm not sure 2.7 is the end of the world, either.

I will study this, and I may ask more questions.

Thanks again.

HBchris wrote:
hope this helps


PS. almost forgot, i put the pump on these anti vibration pads, which makes it pretty quiet when it does go on (which is not very often):

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BVEMLR4/

Yes, thank you very much. You'll see my reservations about the Aquatec in the post just above.

Your 'tank' is not an accumulator, is that right? It's just the water tank? So you don't use an accumulator?

That is indeed the pressure regulator I'm looking at.

Thanks again. More study and thought for me.

bettysnephew wrote:
The top of the tee would have 3/8" JG push fittings on each end and the correct NPT on the bottom leg of the T into the accumulator. You would put the 1/4" JG adapter into the top leg of the T from the pump.

Dave

This tee? https://www.amazon.com/JG-Speedfit-PP30 ... 21000-232B

So cheap in the US. But they will not ship it to Japan. It's about $130 US equivalent from Amazon Japan. I'll have to find someone in the US who would ship to me. I can't pay (won't) pay hundreds of dollars for a handful of $5 parts. Wow.

David:

I can find a lot of stuff, I think, that Amazon *will ship to Japan. For example, this 3/8" tubing: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00YO ... LXW8&psc=1

In fact, Malida (or the seller that handles them) will ship almost everything to Japan. But not that Tee, for some crazy reason. I'm asking them if there's some special reason, and if they would do it.

Do I need these? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B016DZHBCU?pd ... 4_t_img_lh

Sorry for still not perfectly visualizing this. I think I'm close, however.

Yuki wrote:Yes, thank you very much. You'll see my reservations about the Aquatec in the post just above.

Your 'tank' is not an accumulator, is that right? It's just the water tank? So you don't use an accumulator?

That is indeed the pressure regulator I'm looking at.

Thanks again. More study and thought for me.

ahh, now i see where you wrote about not being able to use the 3 prong plug.

The 2.1 gallon store tank i listed, is an accumulator tank. Some people call it a "storage tank", some say accumulator, as in this case (but they are one in the same).

You should note, while the flojet is 40 PSI (2.7 bar) its range is 20 - 40 PSI. Meaning when it fills your accumulator tank up with water, the pressure in the tank and going to your machine will be 40 PSI. However as the water empties, it will slowly draw down until the pressure in the accumulator tank(and going to your machine) reaches 20 PSI, at which point the pump kicks on and fills it back up with water until it gets to about 40 PSI.

So with the flojet, the PSI going to your machine will range from 40 PSI (2.7 bar) when accumulator is full to 20 PSI (1.37 bar) when its empty.

What do you think about running the grinder ungrounded with a 3 to 2 pin adapter? Anything water, I'd never consider ungrounded, but that K30 doesn't really pose much of a hazard, I think. I could then run the bigger pump on 3-prong grounded outlet.

Okay, key question: I don't draw consecutive shots very often. Daily use is 5 to 6 shots. So, is there anyway to force the pump to "top off" the accumulator between shots, so it's always at 40 PSI at the beginning of a pull?

If I truly understand (and maybe I don't), what I'm interested in really is the "line" pressure for "preinfusion", as the GS3's internal pump will provide extraction pressure beyond that. Am I right? If I am, and I could force a "topping off", that would seem ideal. OTOH, if I can force the topping off, maybe 2.7 bar is enough, and I should consider the Flojet.

Thanks again.

I do agree with HBChris on this, you must first find what your machine needs for input pressure before proceeding further. We are just guessing if you do not have that info. My machine only requires that the pressure be above the boiler operating pressure of 1.4 bar so the FloJet is adequate for my use. If the input pressure required is over 20 psig the FloJet will not be adequate for your application.

The tee you show would not work with the 2 gallon accumulator. The third leg would need to have a threaded section not a JG tubing inlet. What you need would likely look more like this:
http://www.johnguest.com/wp-content/upl ... ptor-1.jpg

If the FloJet system will work with adequate pressure, perhaps you can get everything in a single order from Chris Coffee Service with far less procurement issues. They have an extensive line of fittings, tubing and devices for that type of system and knowledge in construction. It may save you a lot of grief from chasing parts from many places. Trust me on this, I have a nice collection of fittings the are not useable but also not valuable enough to return for credit.

Regarding your question about topping off, I do not see a way to easily open my pump and even if you can there may not be a way to adjust the lower pressure limit set point. You could top off pressure before pulling a shot by having a valve that would bleed the accumulator water back into your carboy and leave it open long enough to force the pump into refilling the accumulator but that would be a poor procedure. It would work but be inelegant.

As an aside, if my FloJet pump ever quits I am going to replace it with a rotary pump which is very quiet and can develop much more pressure if needed. I got such a good deal on the FloJet I could not pass it up and its output pressure for my system is adequate.