# Schooey's Brew Rig



## schooey (21/4/08)

I've been taking some photo's of my Brew Rig construction for myself for nostalgia, so I thought I'd share some. Updates may be slow as time is sometimes hard to find. This first post is what I've been doing tonight, and it's probably fitting as it's the brains of the operation.





I put together the front of my control panel tonight. It's pretty self explanatory. I bought most of the bits and pieces from Ebay for nicks, some was given to me and some I kinda found... h34r: Next step is to put the panel back on the enclosure and start some wiring


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## Franko (21/4/08)

nice one schooey
hope to have my control panel finished in the next few weeks

Franko


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## Tony (21/4/08)

Franko said:


> hope to have my control panel finished in the next few weeks
> 
> Franko



:lol: 

Sorry mate.......... Im looking forward to 2 things......... the first beer from the red rocket and your face when the paint burns off, there is sticky stuff everywhere and you have to hose it off, and the realisation you need to cover up those shimy kegs with insulation to keep the heat in the mash.

Schooey........... the panel looks tops! I like the access to circuit breakers ect but as said about the hosing...... make sure water cant get in!

keep the update comming!

cheers


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## Franko (21/4/08)

Tony said:


> :lol:
> 
> Sorry mate.......... Im looking forward to 2 things......... the first beer from the red rocket and your face when the paint burns off, there is sticky stuff everywhere and you have to hose it off, and the realisation you need to cover up those shimy kegs with insulation to keep the heat in the mash.
> 
> ...



lol  

hope you can make it down when the maiden voyage takes place.
It's actually had a bit of work done to it in the last week


Franko


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## schooey (21/4/08)

Yeah I wouldn't have done it that way, but I bought the panel off a guy in Adelaide who ripped a hundred of them out of the old GE factory. They were used to QA test appliances, and already had the MCB/RCD breaker poking through the front.


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## pokolbinguy (21/4/08)

Hey guys I am hoping to mount my controls in a metal box like you have done Schooey. What I want to know is what are the boxes known as commercially? I dont know what to search for on ebay etc.

By the way looks good.Have you got it wired direct to your house circuit board?

Cheers, Pok


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## Franko (21/4/08)

Pok,
there common name is an electrical enclosure but there not cheap my clear paneled enclosure was around $90

heres a link to B&R enclosures Australia here

Franko


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## pokolbinguy (21/4/08)

Franko said:


> Pok,
> there common name is an electrical enclosure but there not cheap my clear paneled enclosure was around $90
> 
> heres a link to B&R enclosures Australia here
> ...




Thanks Franko...hopefully I will be able to pick one up cheap. Other option is to buy some other sort of metal cabinet meant for first aid or as a key cabinet or something.

Something like this and just remove the shelves. I bought a very similar box from ALDI to put in the garage. Was under $10 from memory. Add some rubber seals to the door to keep the moisture out and should be good Linky

Cheers, Pok


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## Franko (21/4/08)

As long as you can remove some of that shelving to house your cables etc


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## schooey (21/4/08)

Pok,

I can PM you the dudeI got mine off's name and number if you like and you can see if he has any left. He had a hundred of them, but I don't know how many he has sold. They have sold from anywhere between $39 - $ 69 on Ebay. He'll charge you $10 to box it up all nice so it doesn't get damaged, and the postage to Elermore Vale cost me something like $14.50 snail mail..

If you consider a new enclosure that size will set you back ~$400, and the breaker in it is worth about ~$50 - $80, it's a steal


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## pokolbinguy (21/4/08)

schooey said:


> Pok,
> 
> I can PM you the dudeI got mine off's name and number if you like and you can see if he has any left. He had a hundred of them, but I don't know how many he has sold. They have sold from anywhere between $39 - $ 69 on Ebay. He'll charge you $10 to box it up all nice so it doesn't get damaged, and the postage to Elermore Vale cost me something like $14.50 snail mail..
> 
> If you consider a new enclosure that size will set you back ~$400, and the breaker in it is worth about ~$50 - $80, it's a steal



That would be awesome.

So they came with a circuit breaker already mounted? Anything else??

Any idea what they were listed under on ebay?

Cheers, Pok


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## schooey (21/4/08)

This is him

It's only at $0.99, Good luck!


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## pokolbinguy (21/4/08)

schooey said:


> This is him
> 
> It's only at $0.99, Good luck!



Awesome thanks Schooey.

Pok


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## Tony (21/4/08)

They are awsome value!

I would get a proper electrical enclosure if you can Poc........... much better. 

Schooey your a true brew bargin hunter........... an important charecter for someone building a brew rig.

Franko.......... i will be able to smell all that red paint burn form here  

cheers


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## schooey (24/4/08)

Got this bit done tonight.... No wonder I hate spaghetti


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## Tony (24/4/08)

Mate.............. how am i suposed to bag out boilies if they can do better work than most lecies i know??????????

Very nice work.

must have been the PJBA inspiration form this arvo  

or did you keep eating the chillis and get on a hi?

cheers


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## schooey (24/4/08)

Thanks mate.... Though I doubt anyone would be wanting to pay me by the hour. Still have to get a bit of flex for the supply to the pump and a couple of glands for the entry and exit. Also need to find some cover for that 40 mm ducting, but it's getting there. 

Next job up is either the chassis or start playing around with my chest freezer.

edit: Mate.. That PJ Blonde is sensational, and those goatsweed aren't too shabby either, had another nibble tonight, very nice...


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## justsomeguy (24/4/08)

Sweet job dude !

Very impressed. Cable-tied all over the place !

You should be proud of the work. Would put some sparkies to shame (putting flamesuit on now...  )

jsg


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## Tony (24/4/08)

Mate...... one note on the goats weeds...... they are just as hot the next day if you know what i mean!

dont over do it  unless you like howling hehe

cheers mate.......... keep the updates comming and see if you can beat the Red rocket to production. 

But that wont be hard!

Frankos grandkids will still be polishing that after hillary clinton nukes us all!

cheers


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## schooey (24/4/08)

Tony said:


> Mate...... one note on the goats weeds...... they are just as hot the next day if you know what i mean!



Uh oh... :blink:

Might be time to stock up on some cornflour first thing in the morning... :unsure:


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## Tony (24/4/08)

Big glass of milk before bed mate!

might help you sleep a bit 

they keep on boiling away in you tummy! Awsome stuff!

cheers

Edit: Get one of those choc habs i gave you........ bust the stalk off it and pop the whole thing in your mouth. chew it up and enjoy!

they are something special.

Maybe you should wait till tomorrow to do that though 

cheers


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## Franko (25/4/08)

Tony said:


> keep the updates comming and see if you can beat the Red rocket to production.
> 
> But that wont be hard!
> 
> ...




love it
Franko


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## schooey (11/6/08)

I was happy with my HLT, but I kinda wasn't, so I changed it...

I decided to put the element through the bottom and up through the centre of the HERMS coil to avoid laminar heating issues associated with the having the element horizontally mounted at the bottom of the vessel. Also added a special port for the PT100, port for a temp dial and a port for a sight glass on the MK II version








So all vessels are now complete and welded and all OCD tendencies are satisfied. Now onto a chassis for this thing


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## schooey (1/1/09)

Been a while between updates, but i finally got some leave from work...and from family, to get a bit done;








Going shopping in Sydney on Monday for some 3 piece valves and fittings etc so maybe some more updates next week


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## Tony (1/1/09)

looks like twice the work :lol: 

Looking great mate........ keep us posted.

Love the HLT........ i missed that one agaes ago.

cheers


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## schooey (9/1/09)

Plumbing is so much fun... Not!


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## leeboy (9/1/09)

looking good mate, I'd love to come around and see it sometime. I'm in the final stages of my brew rig now. Definately going to be nice not to have to lift 46L of boiling wort to drain!!
Lee


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## mika (9/1/09)

After all the threads about 2 piece ball valves, and infections in threaded fittings, it's great to see another brewer opting for the complete threaded system.


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## schooey (9/1/09)

No worries, Lee. Once I get the sucker running, I reckon a brew day may be on the cards.... re the lifting, I'm hearing you...


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## schooey (9/1/09)

mika said:


> After all the threads about 2 piece ball valves, and infections in threaded fittings, it's great to see another brewer opting for the complete threaded system.



:huh:

You'll notice that the valves on the kettle are 3 piece, and there is an inlet for pre boil and an outlet for post boil. The post boil outlet valve will never come in contact with anything other than boiled wort. Once finished, they'll both be stripped and cleaned.

Anyway, we'll see I guess


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## Tony (9/1/09)

Looks bloody tops mate.

I will be interested to know if you have problems with the pump priming mounted like that. Do inform of how it goes..... im very interested.

Also please post a pic of your mash return inside the mash tun. I have an old hole in the side of mine and have thought of doing this (in the side) but didnt want something hard mounted inside to get in the way of the stiring.

Re: Ball valves ect.......... its all pre boil and if he has set it up with seperate pre and post boil circuits on the kettle........ as i found necesary...... there wont be a problem. I strip my one kettle outlet valve before every boil to clean it. 

I flush mine with hot water after every brew and PBW takes care of any buildup

Love the SS !!!

cheers


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## schooey (9/1/09)

Tony said:


> I will be interested to know if you have problems with the pump priming mounted like that. Do inform of how it goes..... im very interested.



Pump is hanging like that for the mock up only. It will rotate up 90 degrees to bring the pump motor up parallel with the top of the chassis. I figure the pump is below all the liquids, so it should be a flooded prime. If worst comes to worst, may need to add an air bleed off.

I'll post a pic of the inside of the tun when I get it done, still a day or two to go... :unsure:


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## leeboy (9/1/09)

what sort of insulation have you got around your HLT?


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## schooey (9/1/09)

I bought a sheet of Aeroflex from Davis & Spence. One sheet cost $50 and it was enough to do the Tun and HLT. Once glued, I just wrapped it over with hundred mile an hour tape.


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## unterberg (9/1/09)

Looking very good. 
Good on ya for getting yourself such an awesome setup. Getting your hands dirty creating something beautiful like this makes everything more worth while! Sorry my english is not very good at this stage but I hope you get the message...

Well done dude!


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## schooey (11/1/09)

A brewery is born....










few things I'm learning already;

Agitation in the HLT is gonna be a god thing. Even with the Element mounted vertically, there is a 7-9 degree temp differential between top and bottom of the HLT

Lots of valves means lots of confusion, at first anyway

Some insulation on the plumbing will be a good investment

PID's are fun to learn to drive..(Piss off Tony )

Anyway, just about to run some caustic through it to clean it, make the slots in the Mash tun return a little wider so anything that makes it through the FB doesn't get stuck in there and give this bitch a run with some grain and see what happens.


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## schooey (11/1/09)

Couple more happy snaps


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## Cortez The Killer (11/1/09)

That's a most awesome rig

Top work

Cheers


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## Hoyt (11/1/09)

Looks good the more i see these setups the more im tempted to make one


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## pokolbinguy (11/1/09)

That is very sexy Schooey


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## FarsideOfCrazy (11/1/09)

Well done Schooey!! :super: Sure looks awesome.

If you don't mind me asking, how much did it cost to put that baby together? (dollars and time).


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## schooey (11/1/09)

thank's for the comments folks, it sure has been a fun, if not little drawn out, project. I started collecting bits for it over 12 months ago. The PIDs I got of eBay from America for somewhere around $40 landed here, the panel cost me $70, various componentry inside the panel cost around $250 from eBay and other places. I bought all the stainless valves in a bulk buy on eBay for $7 each, the other stainless fittings cost me $ 200. The steel for the frame cost me $100 cash, the castors were in a runout bin at Bunnings for $10 each, false bottom was $50 from G&G, burner was $130 with reg from Gameco, solenoid valves I bought cheap on eBay from America, something like $70 all up. Chiller coil cost me $95 for the roll of copper, March pump I bought at an auction for $50 (though I need to buy a new head), PT100 probes I got off a mate in the game for $50 each, element cost me $45 from Bryce Joice, Insulation and glue cost $75, SSR cost $40, plus various other bits and pieces probably total $250-$300...

So all up, it cost me about $2k...but it took me 15 months to find all the bits and pieces and complete it, and the money was spent slowly over that time gathering bits, and putting it together. In that time I used the tun and the kettle as separate items and still made beer with it.

plus, it gave me something to do....


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## barls (11/1/09)

looks damn good mate.


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## Tony (11/1/09)

Exactly how i did it mate......... slowly over time......... and im talking 2 years.

For all looking at this and thinking i could never aford it it........ become a bower bird!

Mate are you woried about spalshing of the return liquor if the mash is not up to that level........ perhaps im being anal. I try and keep my return wort under the surface of the mash

I remember the day you came to my place and said......... Thats what i want! With a huge smile on your face. Mate.......... you have excelled! Fantastic job with the rig.

PS..... how did you go with the Probe? Les and i had a giggle as we lent on my bar drinking bitter 

Dont stress......... ive had calls like that from a few..... including the Red Rocket Fella.......... whats his name again 

cheers


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## schooey (11/1/09)

The probe drama was just a crossed wire... Dunno how that happened :unsure:

The return works quite well full of grain, it's more of a dribble than a splash and doesn't disturb the top of the mash at all really. Brewing a 52L batch of APA atm and all is going well. Wish I had finished this sucker months ago

btw, I'm just glad I beat the red rocket fella to getting mine done, for a while I was thinking of calling it the Red Rocket MkII


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## loftboy (11/1/09)

Now I know why you haven't had time to reply to my PM's h34r: 

Mate, it looks AbFab. I suddenly feel inadequate with my (brewing) equipment :unsure:


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## Tony (11/1/09)

Well i hope my "few underthe belt" advice helped with the crossed wire 

That Red rocket........... i think we should re name it the white elephant brewery..... although ive been asured it will run this year!

You know who you are Mr red rocket........... take heed! Shine is not BEER! hehe

God i love a stir! Sorry Schooey for using your thread for the stir but i just love giving him a hard time over it 

Im thinking os sending him an Alfa Romeo badge for it.

Its red..... looks great but doesnt work.

Now back to your rig Tony........... My comments about the return were not about blockage but more of oxidation........ but i will withdraw that due to my disbelief in the thing. Any oxygen gets boiled out in the kettle. Thats my theory anyway.

I do get a bit of husk ect into my mash return for the first few seconds and thats is a design that a friend on mine abandoned early in the piece die to pieced of grain blocking the holes.

Not having a go at it mate as its great but just something to watch.......... it may work light a bought one from the shop for you.

Cheers


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## schooey (11/1/09)

Can't even find the return with a double batch





damn I love PID control




and finally, first runnings from the Brass Knuckle




Sorry Dave, been meaning to reply. That weekend is cool with me, no dramas. No need to feel inadequate mate, it only makes beer, just like your gear does.


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## Tony (11/1/09)

Ahhh mate i just saw one massive flaw!

When you clean it out........ and hose it all down....... as you need to, how are going to stop water getting in the top of the electrical panel with the cables running in the top?

Its a bit boilermaker of you. 

I could have supplied you with cable glands to come in the bottom.


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## schooey (11/1/09)

Yeah... it already had a massive hole in the top, so I just used it. I reckon a big wad of gorilla snot, boilermaker style will fix that.... 

...or maybe I'll just be careful how I clean it...


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## Tony (11/1/09)

Mate i would be filling it with silicon cause i usually end up hosing mine down.

bloody boilys  

did you recirc to clear the wort before it went to the kettle mate ? Looks mirky.

Not having a go........ just interested in a new brew rig 

I love it......... i want to come play


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## schooey (11/1/09)

I won't be hosing anywhere near the panel. The tun and the Kettle come iff in 2 minutes work, the HLT is pretty rinsable without hosing. If I really need to rinse it, I take the whole thing out on the drive and turn it on it's side sans tun and kettle and rinse it that way.

I recirced for a while and it looked pretty clear in the tun, but maybe it could have done with a bit longer. Still learning how to drive...


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## Franko (11/1/09)

Tony said:


> Exactly how i did it mate......... slowly over time......... and im talking 2 years.




now now Tony 

lol :lol: 

Franko


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## Franko (11/1/09)

Lovely work Schooey I'm not that far behind you.
I may be up your way in the next week or so,will have to check it out in person


Franko


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## Tony (11/1/09)

:lol: I just knew youd be reading this mate  

Do call if your around!

cheers


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## schooey (12/1/09)

Just starting the boil, could be a late one... :blink:


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## schooey (12/1/09)

Had so much fun with this thing last night, I'm doing another batch tonight... 

This time it's a no chill RIS to go on top of the WY1056 yeastcake from the APA I did last night. Damn I love programmable temp steps...




Black as your mother in law's heart...




Schooey joins the 1100 club, 23.5 brix pre boil should end up seeing me get an OG of around 1105-1110




I think I might bottle this one, could be dangerous from the keg... :blink:


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## unterberg (12/1/09)

With that much goodies in it it sure could be very dangerous but also very tasty!

Hmm tasty :icon_drool2:


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## Zizzle (16/1/09)

Top looking rig dunno how I missed this thread until now.



schooey said:


> Agitation in the HLT is gonna be a god thing. Even with the Element mounted vertically, there is a 7-9 degree temp differential between top and bottom of the HLT
> 
> Lots of valves means lots of confusion, at first anyway



When the brewbot switched from an Aluminium HLT to SS I noticed the same thing. Interesting to note that chucking a bit of copper pipe vertically in the HLT helps get the convection going. I'm still interested to see some agitation solutions.

With the aim of automation, every valve costs, which is good motivation, so I managed to get the layout down to 2 valves with everything automated until after the boil when I run the hot wort into a no chill cube by hand.

Next step automated cleaning which may require some more valves.


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## raven19 (16/1/09)

Zizzle said:


> Next step automated cleaning which may require some more valves.



Can SWMBO become the automatic cleaner?  :lol:


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## Zizzle (16/1/09)

Mate we all know that building a robot is far easier and more fun than keeping a SWMBO happy.


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## schooey (17/1/09)

Zizzle said:


> I'm still interested to see some agitation solutions.



This is what I came up with...











Works a treat. With it on, there's about a half a degree between all temp readouts, top to bottom. That much could just be the calibration difference. It's a lot better than 5 - 7 degrees anyway.


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## raven19 (17/1/09)

Zizzle said:


> Mate we all know that building a robot is far easier and more fun than keeping a SWMBO happy.



I'll drink to that! :icon_chickcheers: 

Schooey, great to see things progressing nicely. Keep those updates coming...


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## schooey (6/3/09)

Just an update that may help someone heading down this path in the future... The last beer I did was a 55 L batch of a big beer. With 14kg of grain, the size of the mash tun really limited the water to grain ratio. I usually like to be around the 3L/kg mark, but 42 litres of water and 14kg of grain simply doesn't fit...

So we have now acquired this little puppy;




and are retro fitting it in so that I have interchangeable tuns on the rig; 50L for small batches and 75L for bigger beers.

Few other things I have learned that might help others are;

HERMS coil in the HLT is convenient and step times are achievable quite quickly with the 3600W element BUT can be a pain in the arse when you need 45 odd litres of sparge water and you can only get just under 40 out. Means you have to wait 15-20 odd minutes for the remainder to heat. I'm pondering finding another vessel for a bigger straight out HLT, or extending the top of the one I have and making it up to about 80L

I think if I were doing this over I would seriously consider going for a 4 vessel system with a smaller dedicated HERMS heat exchanger like many people here have, and an 80L HLT.

The element mounted through the bottom with the HERMS coil around it works a treat, but the downside is that you have to be heating a lot of water to keep the element covered. You can't just put in 10L and heat it quickly, so there's good and bads with that too, although would be a non issue if I had a larger HLT

Anyway... the tinkering continues..


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## raven19 (6/3/09)

Nice!

Can you just stick with the 75L Mash Tun? Now you have one that size, IMO there is no point in going back to the 50L  

Just make more beer in each batch!


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## schooey (6/3/09)

It's only a matter of undoing two barrel unions to change it over... The big one will be wayyyyyy too big when just doing a simple single batch beer of 5 or 6 kilos of grain.


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## KHB (6/3/09)

schooey said:


> This is what I came up with...
> 
> View attachment 23987
> 
> ...


What is the motor from??
KHB


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## schooey (6/3/09)

It's the stir motor from an old Temprite that MHB had in his shop. He is rigging it up for something different and didnt need it. The impellor on it was brittle and cracked to pieces so I just fizzed a little stainless disc on the end of the shaft and cut three rough fins on it with a 1mm cut off disc


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## KHB (6/3/09)

schooey said:


> It's the stir motor from an old Temprite that MHB had in his shop. He is rigging it up for something different and didnt need it. The impellor on it was brittle and cracked to pieces so I just fizzed a little stainless disc on the end of the shaft and cut three rough fins on it with a 1mm cut off disc




What else could you use im a bit off a tool tard

KHB


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## schooey (6/3/09)

anything really... old sewing machine motor, old pedestal fan motor.. go to the local tip or recycling centre and let you imagination run free


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## KHB (6/3/09)

Will do!

KHB


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