Hot Rod Heat Stick powered Brewery

[jtmwhyte]

Slung the silicone wire on it. Tried it with the casing, but it looked shitty. The silicone wire is super flexible and went right through the stick without any pulling device. This is ready for leak test and then it's go time.

The wire came from this seller on eBay and is quite robust:
http://www.ebay.ca/itm/350977446444?_tr ... EBIDX%3AIT" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

It came fairly quickly (around 2.5 weeks). I still have a 1.5m piece if someone wanted to order one additional piece. That will leave you with just under 5ft. of total cable ( including inside the stick) which is a perfect length for my setup.

[mckay75]

I'm going to ask a really stupid question...but are you basically just cutting 3 equal lengths of that cable to wire the heat stick?

[jtmwhyte]

I'm going to ask a really stupid question...but are you basically just cutting 3 equal lengths of that cable to wire the heat stick?

And the Nobel Prize goes to... Lol

All kidding aside, yes.

[mckay75]

I'm going to ask a really stupid question...but are you basically just cutting 3 equal lengths of that cable to wire the heat stick?

And the Nobel Prize goes to... Lol

All kidding aside, yes.

lol...hey I put the really stupid question disclaimer in there!

Perfect! Thanks...was looking at the link you put up...and that seller is all out of that wire...but now I know what I'm looking for specifically.

[jtmwhyte]

PS the cord grips on the plug and the stick have no trouble stabilizing the wires even loose.

[jtmwhyte]

The "Finished" Product. I'm waiting for my side pickup tube and I'm going to put silicone tubing on the lid assembly.

[jeffsmith]

Looks slick!

[dean2k]

Dumb question time: wouldn't the BIAB bag melt so close to the heat stick?

[jeffsmith]

Dumb question time: wouldn't the BIAB bag melt so close to the heat stick?

Guessing that Trevor will heat water without the bag, remove element, mash, remove bag and put the element back in for the boil.

[dean2k]

Gonna say. The bag is currently just in there to show the fit. Right? I'm not done my 1st coffee yet. I need small words.

[jeffsmith]

Gonna say. The bag is currently just in there to show the fit. Right? I'm not done my 1st coffee yet. I need small words.

Apparently I've not had enough either. Poor grammar and autocorrect are a hell of a combination. Edited post to actually make sense.

[mcgster]

I heat my mash with the heat stick directly in the bag, i have done 20 batches with the heat stick without any issues.

However, i heat the water up to strike temp without the bag in, then mash in, and turn the heat stick on every 10 minutes or so to bring the mash back to the desired temp.

[jeffsmith]

Have you ever had any issues with the mash scorching?

[mcgster]

Have you ever had any issues with the mash scorching?

I have never had any issues at all with my mash. I love the heat stick because you can pull it out and check for any signs of scorching. When i started brewing like this back in september i probably checked the heat stick every 10 minutes for scorching.

[jeffsmith]

I keep changing my mind on whether to go with a RIMS tube or HERMS coil for when I finally switch to electric. Thinking this might be the simplest option.

[mcgster]

I think so too.

Not one method is a clear winner but the simplicity of this method is why i like it so much.

When i started all grain i did 10gal batches in a converted keg on a propane burner, it produced good beer but consistency was difficult. I switched to a 15 gal herms system and that was an improvement but i found i would run into issues during the brew that would throw me off and i had a hard time going through a brew day without something falling off the rails for me.

Since switching to heat stick brewing i haven't had many issues at all and i can crank out 3 batches in a day if i set out to (not that i would recommend this... it results in lots of cursing)

[jeffsmith]

I switched to a 15 gal herms system and that was an improvement but i found i would run into issues during the brew that would throw me off and i had a hard time going through a brew day without something falling off the rails for me.

Can you elaborate on the issues a bit? Were they specific to your system, or herms in general?

[mcgster]

Probably the biggest pain for me was issues with the grain bed and maintaining recirculation. I was using a steelhead pump to recirculate and it was plenty strong but if i didn't have the flow rate just right it would start sucking air. It wasn't the end of the world but i found once i started to have issues during the brew day this was continually a problem.

When i switched to a recirc BIAB setup i had similar issues as well and now i just stir my mash every 10 minutes or so. I haven't given up on the recirc BIAB yet because i think it produces some excellent beer i just need to perfect my setup.

[jeffsmith]

Probably the biggest pain for me was issues with the grain bed and maintaining recirculation. I was using a steelhead pump to recirculate and it was plenty strong but if i didn't have the flow rate just right it would start sucking air. It wasn't the end of the world but i found once i started to have issues during the brew day this was continually a problem.

When i switched to a recirc BIAB setup i had similar issues as well and now i just stir my mash every 10 minutes or so. I haven't given up on the recirc BIAB yet because i think it produces some excellent beer i just need to perfect my setup.

Good to know. I recirculate my mash now with one of my Chuggers and have never run into any issues. I've got a pretty significant amount of dead space below my false bottom (about 1.5 gallons), so cavitation isn't a big concern for me.

[mcgster]

Yes my problem was a very small amount of dead space, if that is the case you shouldn't have the same issues i did!

[jtmwhyte]

Dumb question time: wouldn't the BIAB bag melt so close to the heat stick?

Guessing that Trevor will heat water without the bag, remove element, mash, remove bag and put the element back in for the boil.

That's about right. The only thing I'm not sure of is taking the stick out. I was thinking about cutting a small notch in the lid to allow it to go on completely and keep the stick in. I also was trying to come up with a way to get the stick under the bag so I can pull it and switch the power on.

[jtmwhyte]

This setup is going up for sale
I can't justify the space for two Brewing systems in my little house.

[LiverDance]

This setup is going up for sale
I can't justify the space for two Brewing systems in my little house.

Trevor do you have any of the high temp wire for sale?

[jtmwhyte]

This setup is going up for sale
I can't justify the space for two Brewing systems in my little house.

Trevor do you have any of the high temp wire for sale?

No, Liam bought the last of it before he moved.

[GAM]

This setup is going up for sale
I can't justify the space for two Brewing systems in my little house.

What price are you looking at?

S