When homebrewers that don't have a permanent brewstand have a pump, they need to build some type of housing for it. The housing accomplishes a couple things. It makes it easier to carry around, and it protects the motor from splashes. This is what I built based on an idea I saw on HomeBrewTalk.

I've had this cheap toolbox that I've used for a while to keep my brewday gear in. The only thing nice to say about the particular box that I have is that it is big, and had plenty of extra space inside it. There is less extra space now, but it is far more useful. I also fixed a glaring design error on the toolbox, but that's a story for another time!

I bought my March 809 pump from ebay, and it didn't come with a mounting bracket or a plug wired to it like the ones the the homebrew stores have. This makes the pump considerably less expensive, and the toolbox housing does not require a mounting bracket. First I took the pump head, connecting bracket (part 11 on diagram below), and the drive magnet (part 14) off the motor. Next, I drilled a hole in the toolbox to fit the motor's shaft, then drilled the 4 holes for the screws (part 12) that hold the bracket to the motor. To make it easy to align these holes you can thread the screws all the way into motor and coat the heads with something sticky and easy to see like toothpaste, or anti-sieze. Then slide the motor into position inside the box and remove it. The inside of the box should now be clearly marked where to drill. Simply reassemble the pump, with the motor on the inside, and the rest on the outside of the box. You'll probably need to use longer screws to attach the bracket to the motor, at least to get it aligned. After I got it aligned, i replaced each screw with the original ones.

The wiring for the pump is fairly simple. I took an extension cord and cut the outlet end off. I drilled a hole in the back of the toolbox, and passed the cord through using a panel mount strain relief. On the front of the toolbox, I cut a hole for the body of the switch to fit through. I threaded both the end of the extension cord and the wires coming out of the pump into the plastic junction box. Next I wired each of the black wires to the gold screws on the switch, both of the green wires to the green screw on the switch, and tied both white wires together with a wire nut. Finally, I screwed the junction box and the swich together, with the wall of the toolbox between them, and attached the cover plate. It's a good idea to plug this into a GFCI protected outlet when you are using it. Since this is meant to be portable, I carry a ShockBuster Plug-in GFCI Adapter for use when I'm not at home.

The March pumps are not self priming, and it can damage the pump if you run them dry, so it is very important to make sure that the pump head is completely filled with water or wort before turning it on. You may need to rotate the head of the pump so that the input and output are at the top to allow for the easiest priming. Here's the head of the pump showing my output/priming manifold: The input is on the bottom, the output is on the top, controlled by a ball valve. Closing the valve, will reduce the rate of the flow of whatever you are pumping. The needle valve hanging off the right of the output section to make priming the pump easier and less messy. To prime the pump, just open up the needle valve until the fluid starts coming out of the copper tube, and then close the needle valve. I carry a small jar to catch the drips from this. You can also see the cord that powers the pump. It is wrapped around two sideways robe hooks mounted to the back of the toolbox.

March 809 Parts Diagram