Advice/comments?

[stew.w]

I have just started making my first all grain brew brew rig. i am after any comments or advice on what ive done so far and what i'm intending doing. i've never done AG before so there may be some things i've missed.
Ive attached a few pictures of what ive done so far and a sketch of what im doing. the main upright is made of double sided gal uni-strut so it unbolts from the base and all of the shelves will be removable/adjustable too. the base is just steel angle with rubber wheels with brakes on them.





View attachment 3_tier_Model__1_.pdf

Cheers,
Stewart

 

[browndog]

Looks good Stew, just remember to keep your kettle high enough so you can drain into your fermenter with ease. Your dimension of 380mm is a little on the low side.

cheers

Browndog

 

[stew.w]

almost finished, just need to put the valves in and a shelf for the gas cylinder.
got the esky off ebay, a factory second because it has a scratch on it. the drain plug at the bottom of it happened to be 1" BSP which made things easier.
Heres some pics:



should be using it this weekend

 

[Barramundi]

looks good mate but im not sure about that mesh holding up a full boiler once the heat gets into it

 

[Cocko]

Hey Mate,

Looking good!

My thoughts would be you may need to un-tack some of the manifold solders to make it able to pull it apart to clean... just for ease of use....

Also, don't forget the test run with water to check for leaks etc... I am sure many would give the same tip!

Keep us posted!

:icon_cheers:

 

[stew.w]

Good point, will untack some of the joints on the manifold.
The mesh isnt actually supporting the vessels its actually the steel angle on the sides holding them up, which is much stronger than it needs to be.

Thanks for the advice

Cheers,

Stewart

 

[stew.w]

the only thing i think might leak is the mash tun where the thermo goes in.
i cant really crank the backnut up because i think i might split the wall of the esky
how do you guys seal yours? silicon? is there a particular type needed?
at the moment i just have a rubber gasket

 

[Cocko]

Another quick thought would be the steam from the boil going straight into the the bottom of the HLT - That will probably be covered in blackness from the mongo... and I wonder what will drop in your kettle.... I don't know this but just thought.

Or do you plan to remove the hlt and burner for the boil?

Anyway, another 2c. [Now 4c]


:icon_cheers:

 

[stew.w]

yeah i did think about that, only thing i could think of doing was getting some sheet metal under there on a bit of a slope to make the condensation drip outside the kettle.
any other ideas?

 

[Cocko]

Is room a restriction?

You seem pretty handy with metal, I would run the HLT or Kettle out to a side or on a sliding pivoting plate or something...

Sorry, All I can think of ATM....

 

[mckenry]

Are you going to use a pump? It looks like a 100% gravity fed job. If so, do you have enough height? Just being a touch above the next level doesnt make for great draining.

 

[stew.w]

will do a boil with just water and figure out what i can do about condensation.
as for the height, im not sure. guess i will find out when i use it.
i was trying to keep is as low as possible so i dont have to stand on thing to pours water in.
thats why i cut the whole top off the keg, still need to put some handles on though.

Cheers,

Stewart

 

[stew.w]

did a test run last night with just water, no leaks, no soot from the mongolian either even on low flame.
i think when they start making soot its an air supply problem, but i gave them a bit of room under the kegs.
dont think ill ever need them on full for 40L batches, bit overkill.
only problem i seem to have is the esky gets really hot from the burners, to the point where i think it might melt on a full hour boil.
i think ill have to make a heat sheild out of fibro sheet or something and attach it to the main upright to separate the burners from the esky.
the mesh alone would definately not support the kegs with the burners underneath, it was glowing red in 10 mins and started to sag even though theres no weight on it!
might cut it out where the burners are.
for the condensation i have just made a lid, cut a hole in it and put a 3/4" elbow in it to direct the steam elsewhere.
going to do my first brew with it tomorrow.

Cheers,

Stewart

 

[Steve]

did a test run last night with just water, no leaks, no soot from the mongolian either even on low flame.
i think when they start making soot its an air supply problem, but i gave them a bit of room under the kegs.
dont think ill ever need them on full for 40L batches, bit overkill.
only problem i seem to have is the esky gets really hot from the burners, to the point where i think it might melt on a full hour boil.
i think ill have to make a heat sheild out of fibro sheet or something and attach it to the main upright to separate the burners from the esky.
the mesh alone would definately not support the kegs with the burners underneath, it was glowing red in 10 mins and started to sag even though theres no weight on it!
might cut it out where the burners are.
for the condensation i have just made a lid, cut a hole in it and put a 3/4" elbow in it to direct the steam elsewhere.
going to do my first brew with it tomorrow.

Cheers,

Stewart

Stewart - how did you first brew go? Any Pics?
Was the kettle high enough above the esky?
Might have to get you to knock me one up?
Cheers
Steve

P.S. Havent plumbed in your ball valve yet, doing it tomorrow...

 

[stew.w]

The rig worked really well, used it for the first time on saturday (also my first AG).
I made a few mistakes, like leaving the kettle while bringing to the boil, hence all the black wort burnt onto the side of the kettle.
Mongolians left minimal soot, even on as low as i could throttle them down there is hardly any.
Attached a fibro sheet down the middle of it to stop the mash tun melting and lpg cylinder getting hot.
Also put some sight glass on it yesterday which should help me get the final volume right, as the batch i did on saturday ended up less than what i wanted.
I think i lost a fair bit to the boil over and my mate also left the tap on the fermenter on while filling it
But apart from that everything worked well, except for us .
Pics:



Cheers,

Stewart