ANOTHER Braumeister inspired system

[NealK]

Mine is almost ready for a test run! I will post some pics this weekend.

 

[xredwood]

What design did you go for Neal?

 

[NealK]

As promised here are some pics of the build so far.
Firstly I stripped out all the old Birko electrics because they were stuffed. I have most of the bits to make Mathos controller but until that is built I will be using an stc1000 with the probe dropped into the urn. I have fitted the probe for the new controller but I am not using it yet.
I have used eye bolts to clamp down the top filters (ikea splash guard + veggie tray) These are capped with eye nuts and these will be used for hoisting out the malt pipe.
Hopefully I will be able take a quick video of my brew this afternoon.
Any questions or comments are very welcome!
Cheers
Neal

 

[xredwood]

Nice! I like it. I can see my design in it so of course I like it. I like your mounts on the side better than my centre rod though! My biggest issue is getting the malt pipe in to the main kettle when it's full of water, especially since mine is not centered, still working out a solution to that.

If you need any help when it comes time for the controller let me know. I strongly suggest a 20x4 lcd and ArdBir as well. Congrats!

 

[xredwood]

How are you keeping the eye bolts vertical?

 

[NealK]

They are held very tightly by nylon lock nuts, then another nut as a spacer, then through the pot, then another nut, then a dome nut to finish it off. I did go a wee bit nuts (pardon the pun) with my nuts!

 

[xredwood]

That was the only thing stopping me from doing the exact same thing! Just tried my first beer I made from my machine which was also my first all grain. Dr Smurto's Golden Ale. Bloody delicious. Next up and first using the controller is Little Fellas!

 

[NealK]

Dr Smurto's is a really good first time all grain. I did it on a stove top a couple of years ago and it was bloody good. I am doing my own vienna lager recipe as a trial run. I did get quite a bit of grain coming out of the malt pipe but I managed to scoop it out. I will have to look at another way of putting together the filter and veggie tray. I think I might try a different splatter guard and see if it makes a difference. I think a slightly smaller one that fits inside the pot may be worth a try.

 

[xredwood]

I had considered cutting the centre out of the splatter guard and using stainless wire to attach it to the veggie tray. I had the same issue with grain spilling out although it only happened as I was trying to remove the malt pipe.

 

[NealK]

Problem solved!
I used some silicone pipe to make a gasket around the splatter guard and nothing got out.
I also put a $2 splatter guard under the false bottom because a lot of bits of grain came out when the malt pipe was draining on my first brew. This worked very well too but got clogged and the pot would not drain, I used a piece of 22mm id pipe and put it up to the camlock and blew down it to clear the blockage and that worked to empty most of the pot but got clogged again before completely draining.
So, one problem solved but another one still to be resolved. I did end up with more wort at a higher gravity than predicted and it looks clearer than anything I have made before so I am pretty happy!

 

[lael]

What pump is that black one?

 

[Judanero]

Can I ask where you got the veggie tray? And how much it was roughly?

 

[boybrewer]

What pump is that black one?

It's a solar pump runs off 12V . Go to E-Bay or Gryphon Brewing no affilliation . The most popular are the brown pumps or LBP's .

 

[NealK]

The pump is this one:
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/12-Volt-Hot-Water-Pump-12v-15w-PV-Solar-Battery-or-Solar-Panel-100-145ps-/121172004903?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_15&hash=item1c366a1027&_uhb=1
I don't have much pump experience. I broke my lbp fairly quickly (it snapped while I was trying to seal a leak!) This pump feels a little sturdier but it sounds like a very quiet engine revving, it is not running full throttle all the time. I do like it though, it is strong enough to do the job and didn't choke on the bits of grain that escaped on the first brew.

The veggie tray is from Whitworths Marine & Leisure on Elizabeth St in Melbourne. I saw that other people used this and thought that it just looks like a stainless pizza tray and it costs $39! I bought one and don't regret it. This thing is pretty solid. It will bend with the pressure but that can be fixed by putting a gasket around the splatter guard. Anything thinner than this would be very difficult to hold down on my system

 

[lael]

That's cool. How does it compare to the lbp?

 

[NealK]

It seems a little stronger and didn't have any trouble with bits of grain passing through. I like the way it works and it doesn't have any problems with 5.3kg of grain in my malt pipe. I only used my lbp a couple of times before I killed it so It is not really a fair comparison.

 

[xredwood]

I have always used another splatter guard under the false bottom which also clogged last time. I was considering just putting three bolts around the cam lock fitting to raise the splatter guard up off the bottom of the pot to see if that helps. When it clogged during my last brew I just shoved a piece of allthread up through the skin fitting and it drained fine.

 

[shaodw]

Neal what kind of element are you using since you stripped out the old birko one. I am looking into turning my keggle into a brau clone but want an element like yours to enter through bottom but stay flat to allow malt pipe whilst containing all cables underneath.

 

[NealK]

It is the original Birko 3kw element. It was the switch that fried when I had a leak. I took all the switches etc out and wired up the element to Matho's controller.
If I was building from scratch I think I would use one of the bendable elements like the Speidel Braumeister, there are other threads with lots of discussion on these elements and they look pretty impressive to me. I am pretty sure the first braumiser was this kind of element.
Good luck with the build and if you haven't got a controller yet it sound's like Lael is setting up a new batch with a pre constructed pcb and pre-cut box for $145. I have no motive to recommending this other than I bought one of his kits.... and now I have an automatic brewery!

 

[xredwood]

Hi Neal, any progress on the grain issues? I had grain both spilling out the side and through the camlock yesterday, very frustrating! I'm concerned the splatter guard will just clog again so wondering if you have thought of anything.

Does the silicon hose seal well enough to the splatter guard? Does your splatter guard just sit on top like mine or have you cut it out?