Hello!
Finished the recirculation setup today. The shop doesn’t have a die for 0.5" tube so bent it in the slip roll which worked surprisingly well, but is limited to ~4"+ radius bends. Welded pipe to TC flanges. Spray is nice and dispersed from the spray ball.
Next up! whirlpool inlet and wheels…and tons of other stuff.
Brew day with the new features! Sparge system worked out really well. A Bavarian Wheat using WLP300, first time using White Labs. Had a hard time getting Wyeast 3068 where I wanted it (big esters, big banana flavor) so giving this one a try, supposedly very similar yeasts.
Looks great!
Dang, those pictures aren’t showing up in your last post, Compacto. Good luck with the 300. I didn’t think it was as good as the 3068.
Another test brew on the system. Finally figured out a method for verifying volume so did a test brew trying to make sure I could hit all my numbers. Gravity was still a bit wonky. Seem to be getting 63% without sparging. Is that normal to you other BIABers?
Also, a question for refractometer users, what’re your methods for taking readings? I seem to get ones that are all over the board. ie it climbs and falls during the mash…? I’m recirculating so I can count out a non homogeneous mash. It’s only two or three drops so it cools in seconds. And I’ve calibrated it with distilled water.
Any other ideas?
A bit of descrpency in internal grain and mash temps.
Hello!
Got a bunch more fabrication done last night in hope I can brew over the holiday weekend.
Progress: I (finally) got the wheels on which should make the whole brewing process loads easier. Welded another TC port on the kettle for the whirlpool/stirring inlet.
This time of year with the ground water 64º I can knock out to ~66º in one pass through the CFC so I typically do that straight into fermentor and that knocks a good 25 minutes off my brewday. But when I brew a beer where I want to leave sediment behind I’ll put it to use. But during the brew it serves the dual purpose of stirring the wort as I heat to boil. That way as soon as mash is over, I can swing the sparge arm over to the whirlpool inlet, turn the pump on, begin stirring the wort to not scorch it, turn the coils on, yank the basket, rest it atop the kettle and begin sparging. This was I can go from mash end to boil in 22 minutes (last batch with 10.5 gallons).
One of my big goals for this build was to shorten the brew day. This past sunday, from filling the kettle to pitching the yeast it was 4 hours and 25 minutes for a 10g batch (60min mash, 60 min boil). I’m hoping with the new features and ones to come I can get it around 3:30 for 12g.
Plate for the feet
Got to love the Edwards Iron Worker. Punching through 0.25" 304 is a walk in for park for that machine.
Whirlpool/stir arm
Port fit up. I’ve tried about five different methods for putting ports on kettles. If you’re going to weld one on. I think the best way is to buy a hole saw the same size as the ID of your TC fitting. Drill the kettle, the TC port won’t fit right away, take a file and ream it until you can forcibly jam the port into the hole which will ensure good fit up. Then weld away. If you can fit your head on the inside, weld both. If not, the outside wild do with a back purge. Perhaps solder the inside afterwards.
Here are the different configurations for brewing-
Mash
Sparge/ heat to boil
And cooling/ draining after cleaning.
Yet To Do -
As I’ve become a bit obsessive about shortening the brewday the whole bag part of the BIAB thing is a bit of a pain. Been thinking of fabricating a bag-less grain basket. It would also allow for the grains to sit fully in the water as about 3" is exposed with the current basket. Also an increased grain capacity would be well used. We’ll see, that mush SS is expensive …
Well done my friend, well done.
Spent a few hours polishing. Forgot how much I love polishing stainless :
Once it’s completely finished I’ll probably spend a day getting it mirror (or trying at least.)
Nice work!
Hello!
Small update. I’ll be adding a 4.25" lip to the top of the kettle. A few reasons I’ve wanted to do this. Mainly having a recirculating mash strainer sitting right at the top of the kettle is a spill over waiting to happen. I’ve had to very gingerly stir the mash with 20+Lbs of grain as it sits right at the brim. This way if it does over flow it’ll flow back into the kettle. The cross bars will hold the strainer basket when mashing and also while sparging, much like the Grainfather system.
Volume will also increase to 17.5 gallons which will be well used.
The lip will also allow me to use the lid from the Bayou kettle directly on this system.
Very impressive build!
So when is the Kickstarter Campaign?
Seriously awesome build. I wish I had the skills/equipment/imagination to pull off something like this.
Hello!
Fabricated the lip last night. I increased the diameter a bit in order to use the bayou kettle as the grain basket and do higher gravity beers if wanted.
I started with some scrap 16g 304 I had. It was a bit shy on length so welded two bits together and smoothed out the welds. Popped it in the slip roll, welded it together and then into the bead roller for a flared lip. I’ll get to welding it on next weekend. It’ll be a lot of work (inside/outside welds) and then grinding and polishing.
I am also working on a similar build. I found a SS basket in the bargain bin at utah diesel supply very similar to a grainfather basket. You could make one I suspect with the skills and resources you have available. Much easier for me to purchase. Love your build!
Very impressed. That is awesome and very drool-worthy.
Very nice!! I’m curious about your heating elements. You have two 120v 2000k elements. Are you running them on one circut, and if so, what amp?
