RubberToe Electric Brewery - BIAB to 2 Vessel HERMS
Posted: Thu May 19, 2011 5:35 pm
Hi all,
I thought I'd start a thread to document the build of my brewery. It will be single tier, single vessel, and electric. I had thought about going two vessel (BK and MLT), full volume mash / no sparge and recirculating but it would either need to be two tier or have two pumps. The cost of one pump is enough and I don't want to have to buy two. If I built it two tier then I'd have to continuously monitor the flow from each vessel to balance the two outputs. When it comes down to it this is very close to BIAB (Brew In A Bag, for those who are unfamiliar with the term).
Therefore I decided to build a BIAB rig. I will only need one pump, one vessel, and it will be single tier. Even though a pump is not necessary for BIAB, I decided to go with one for a number of reasons. It will allow me to recirculate the mash to attain higher efficiency and also give me better control of the temperature since the fluid will be moving.
The Electric:
Nothing too fancy. I will be running a 5500W ULWD Camco element controlled by an Auber PID (SYL-2352) and SSR. I have a dryer outlet nearby and use that to power a 240V 30A GFCI spa panel, which will leat to my control box. I will have the pump power and switch in the box too, and maybe the duct fan control. I'll be using an RTD temperature probe with the PID.
My brewery area:
My brewing area is right next to the laundry with set tub in the basement. It's a nook about 45" wide and 39" deep. I should have plenty of space for everything. I have some 1/8" masonite that I am putting on the walls; on top of that beautiful 1970's wood paneling. I'm going to frame up a low counter so it's easy to access the brew pot, and use some countertop from Happy Harry's.
Future Brewery by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr
The Vessel:
A 15 gallon keg. I'm using it upside down in order to use the sankey fitting as a bottom drain. I have a 2" triclover - 1/2" MPT on the way and that will lead to a stainless 2 piece ball valve, then male camlock. Since the keg will be upside down I'll cut the "bottom" out of it instead of the top. I will turn the piece I cut out into a false bottom by drilling and angle grinding it. If you're interested in that see this thread on HBT: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cut-keg ... om-192413/. I will solder some threaded SS rod onto the triclover fitting and hold down the false bottom with a wing nut.
The "bag":
For now I'll go with Swiss voile material. I'd prefer a stainless steel insert instead (not just mesh screen) like I outline here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/biab-ba ... om-243811/. The bag is cheaper and will get me brewing quicker.
Plumbing:
I am going to plumb a couple extra cold water taps from the laundry area for the water supply and chiller. I'll probably add an inline water filter somewhere down the road. I will have the chiller drain into the set tub. For the plumbing within my system I'll be using 1/2" high temp silicon hose with stainless camlock quick disconnects. The camlocks are en-route from http://www.brewershardware.com/. I'll be going with a March 809 pump but I haven't gotten around to ordering one yet.
Chilling:
I'm building a 25' CFC. I will clean and sanitize it but I plan on also recirculating boiling wort through it near the end of the boil. For this reason I am going with high temperatre rubber hose. The wort itself doesn't pass through the hose but it will get hot. The copper tubing is 3/8" OD, the hose 5/8" ID. The CFC will be mounted under the table the BK will be on.
Ventilation:
Since this is indoors and in my basement which will get humid enough on its own I'll need good ventilation. I do NOT want to develop mold problems. My brewery is in a nice nook there on the back wall so this will help. I am installing a 30" range hood there but also got a 400 CFM 6" inline duct fan from eBay. I'll be gutting the hood so it's just a hood as to funnel the moisture out better. The duct will exit the house right there.
Hood and fan by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr
Ceiling out, ready for duct and fan by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr
I hope I'm not going overboard but a lot of guys go much crazier than this. I figure I'll probably have this brew rig in some form for most of my life so it's worth it.
I'll update this thread as I go. Questions and comments welcome!
-Rob
I thought I'd start a thread to document the build of my brewery. It will be single tier, single vessel, and electric. I had thought about going two vessel (BK and MLT), full volume mash / no sparge and recirculating but it would either need to be two tier or have two pumps. The cost of one pump is enough and I don't want to have to buy two. If I built it two tier then I'd have to continuously monitor the flow from each vessel to balance the two outputs. When it comes down to it this is very close to BIAB (Brew In A Bag, for those who are unfamiliar with the term).
Therefore I decided to build a BIAB rig. I will only need one pump, one vessel, and it will be single tier. Even though a pump is not necessary for BIAB, I decided to go with one for a number of reasons. It will allow me to recirculate the mash to attain higher efficiency and also give me better control of the temperature since the fluid will be moving.
The Electric:
Nothing too fancy. I will be running a 5500W ULWD Camco element controlled by an Auber PID (SYL-2352) and SSR. I have a dryer outlet nearby and use that to power a 240V 30A GFCI spa panel, which will leat to my control box. I will have the pump power and switch in the box too, and maybe the duct fan control. I'll be using an RTD temperature probe with the PID.
My brewery area:
My brewing area is right next to the laundry with set tub in the basement. It's a nook about 45" wide and 39" deep. I should have plenty of space for everything. I have some 1/8" masonite that I am putting on the walls; on top of that beautiful 1970's wood paneling. I'm going to frame up a low counter so it's easy to access the brew pot, and use some countertop from Happy Harry's.
Future Brewery by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr
The Vessel:
A 15 gallon keg. I'm using it upside down in order to use the sankey fitting as a bottom drain. I have a 2" triclover - 1/2" MPT on the way and that will lead to a stainless 2 piece ball valve, then male camlock. Since the keg will be upside down I'll cut the "bottom" out of it instead of the top. I will turn the piece I cut out into a false bottom by drilling and angle grinding it. If you're interested in that see this thread on HBT: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/cut-keg ... om-192413/. I will solder some threaded SS rod onto the triclover fitting and hold down the false bottom with a wing nut.
The "bag":
For now I'll go with Swiss voile material. I'd prefer a stainless steel insert instead (not just mesh screen) like I outline here: http://www.homebrewtalk.com/f51/biab-ba ... om-243811/. The bag is cheaper and will get me brewing quicker.
Plumbing:
I am going to plumb a couple extra cold water taps from the laundry area for the water supply and chiller. I'll probably add an inline water filter somewhere down the road. I will have the chiller drain into the set tub. For the plumbing within my system I'll be using 1/2" high temp silicon hose with stainless camlock quick disconnects. The camlocks are en-route from http://www.brewershardware.com/. I'll be going with a March 809 pump but I haven't gotten around to ordering one yet.
Chilling:
I'm building a 25' CFC. I will clean and sanitize it but I plan on also recirculating boiling wort through it near the end of the boil. For this reason I am going with high temperatre rubber hose. The wort itself doesn't pass through the hose but it will get hot. The copper tubing is 3/8" OD, the hose 5/8" ID. The CFC will be mounted under the table the BK will be on.
Ventilation:
Since this is indoors and in my basement which will get humid enough on its own I'll need good ventilation. I do NOT want to develop mold problems. My brewery is in a nice nook there on the back wall so this will help. I am installing a 30" range hood there but also got a 400 CFM 6" inline duct fan from eBay. I'll be gutting the hood so it's just a hood as to funnel the moisture out better. The duct will exit the house right there.
Hood and fan by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr
Ceiling out, ready for duct and fan by Hot Pepper Daddy, on Flickr
I hope I'm not going overboard but a lot of guys go much crazier than this. I figure I'll probably have this brew rig in some form for most of my life so it's worth it.
I'll update this thread as I go. Questions and comments welcome!
-Rob