Why Ragazzini Peristaltic Pumps are such good wine pumps.

There are many different pump types that are used for transporting fluids and solids within the winemaking industry. Fluids [MUST, LEES, wine etc] can be pumped with helical rotor [progressing cavity] pumps, lobe pumps, centrifugal pumps, rubber impeller pumps and peristaltic pumps.

Helical rotor and lobe pumps have a very low tolerance to running dry, so any blockage could potentially ruin stators or lobes, causing major headaches for repairs and downtime.

Centrifugal or rubber impeller pumps need to run at high speeds, potentially damaging raw materials and “thrashing” the valuable product.

Peristaltic pumps on the other hand, are gentle on the pumped media because of their slow speed, and they have no issues with “running dry”. They also have no seals or valves to clog or fail. The only thing that comes in contact with the pumped media is the food-grade hose. They will not damage skins, stalks or seeds, and using them throughout the red wine production process has shown a 20-50% reduction in the quantity of LEES produced.

Ragazzini pumps differ from other peristaltic pumps in many ways, because the manufacturer believes in offering the best quality pumps with features that can improve outcomes for winemakers.

Unlike some peristaltic pumps, Ragazzini pump housings/casings are fully cast in either cast iron or “anticorrodal” aluminium. They also use rollers instead of “shoes” so that the pump casing does not need to be filled with expensive lubricant. And because there is no lubricant in the casing, all Ragazzini pumps are equipped with leak detectors that can stop the pump and send a signal if a hose fails, saving time and product.

Ragazzini peristaltic pumps are also extremely versatile. They can be used for pumping MUST, LEES, whole berries, grape bunches, pumping over or red fermented grape skins.

Screw feeders that are synchronised to the pump speed can be added for the pumping of bunches, berries or red fermented, and a VFD with a 10:1 turn-down can deliver the exact speed required for any application. All this can also be controlled remotely so that a winemaker can be in one part of the plant while stopping, starting or changing the speed of their pump in another part.

Depending on the size and speed of the pump, Ragazzini pumps can deliver liquid flows from 2000 litres per hour [lph] through to 180,000 lph. When pumping solids, they can pump destemmed crushed grapes at rates from 6000lph through to 140,000lph, again depending on the model. And the pumps fitted with screw feeders can pump whole clusters at rates between 10 tone per hour through to 90 tone per hour.