A New Year Project

I was reading a blog, and decided i’m ready to bring the entire brewing process indoors. the only thing i’m doing outside is boil my wort using propane. Ive got a nice spot picked out for putting in the brewing table and burners, and will have two burners to move to double batches.

Here’s a pic of what i’m going for:

01_hlt1.jpg

I’ll only have to run about 5 feet of gas line and then put in the two valves for hook up to the two Bayou Classic KAB4 burners. figuring about $150-$175 when all said and done.

Looking forward to getting it done and saying goodbye to the inclement weather brew days.

Looks awesome, what’s the plan for ventilation, or not as necessary with NG?

Yes still necessary. It will be right next to outside wall so easily vented with fresh air return.

Nice, have fun

I would look at 3 things:
Ventilation: is it adequate to expel carbon monoxide (remember it sinks)
Gas source: no portable tanks inside.
Homeowners insurance: will it be voided using an outdoor burner inside?
After looking at these I opted to go electric.

This is something I’ve been wondering about. What’s the difference in running a burner inside like this versus a gas stove top in your kitchen?

Obviously there has to be something I’m over looking. Hopefully not too simple that I’m gonna going to slap myself when I hear the answer.

That picture freaks me out. Those blinds would be toast in minutes

I’ll take a stab at this, but I’m not an expert.  Look at the flames being put out by those burners.  They exceed the flame of most gas stoves, but they aren’t nearly as efficient.  An efficient burn would create carbon dioxide at a much higher rate than your stove.  An inefficient burn will create carbon monoxide.  Carbon monoxide is heavier than air so it will sink instead of dissipating out the elevated window.  It is extremely deadly. 
Propane is also heavier than air.  If you had a leak it will sink and pool and creep across the floor until it finds an ignition source. 
Then there’s the insurance piece.  Even if no one were injured in an accident, an insurance company may very well deny any claim from using an outdoor burner inside, leaving you with the burden of paying for the burnt structure.    :frowning:

:o +1… whooee skeery!

[quote=“pinnah, post:9, topic:18408, username:pinnah”]

Yeah, skeered.

I’ve been looking at indoor solutions, too. I’ve always enjoyed cooking and brewing with gas and that was my first route. I still may do so, and if I do I’ll have proper in-door equipment (some type of stove rated for inside), natural gas and proper venting. I say NG for me because it’s already in the house…not meant as anything negative to propane as many people run their house on propane. Just sayin…
Probably won’t be cheap, but it’ll be safe.

That said, a couple guys in my brew club went electric and I’ve started to explore that as well. It seems neither solution is necessarily “cheap and easy” like the current set-up I schlep up the stairs and out side every brew day. But I see the trade off as just that: no carrying stuff in and out and up just to get to the brew site (and then back down again). Plus, winters are long and cold here in Grand Rapids ( I long for my days back home in Austin).

I guess I’m saying that safety and convenience can co-exist, but that doesn’t always come cheap and easy. I certainly know guys that are better at DIY than me and they’ll certainly be cheaper and just as safe.

yep safety is key. commercial gas stoves and stock pot burners will put out in minimum of 90,000BTU on NG. but they also incorporate adequate ventilation exhaust.

yeah so the picture isn’t my setup- i copied for ref of burners and NG connection. he says he’s been brewing like that for many years-still alive and nothing burned down.

No doubt many people do it.  It’s all about risk tolerance.  I had figured out how to avoid the risks from improper ventilation when I was looking into using my burner inside, but the simple fact that my insurance company had an out if an accident were to occur gave me enough pause to go another route.

I’m so going electric as soon as I can. Only decision I need to make is if I convert my current 50L keg, or buy a new kettle. I figure I can covert the keg and get a bigger kettle later, but my current ports aren’t ideal for an electric setup.

you using the blichmann boilcoil 240volt?

I think I am going to skip the boil coil because of the proprietary connector. While it seems well built, I’d be too worried to rest my investment on a single manufacture. Edging towards the 5500w ripple elements paired with a simple potentiometer based controller. Don’t need fancy PIDs for single kettle batch sparging.

makes sense-just curious. i was reading the specs and its appears to heat 9-10 gallons of mash temp wort to boil somewhere between 18-25 minutes for 240volt…wondering if that’s the experience others realize with it or not.

One thing i am planning on is using tri-clamps to secure the element. This will allow me to attach a blank cover and still use on a propane burner if I ever need to brew away for 240

STEVE- i ordered a new 5l flask and a disclaimer came up saying texas residents must provide proof of permit for lab experimentation, or order would be cancelled. whats up with that? texas have a meth problem?  very peculiar.

That’s the reasoning for the law. It’s dumb in my opinion.

https://www.txdps.state.tx.us/RegulatoryServices/narcotics/narcprecursor.htm