BraubBushka inspired BM clone

[CapnK]

Inspired somewhat by the BrauBushka and the various BM clone builds here, I'm looking at how to convert our 30L Birko into something more automatic.

Because it's the exposed element type, the plan is to go for a malt pipe on legs, and connect using a cam lock, but with the inlet into the side of the malt pipe as per the BrauBushka arrangement, so it doubles as a whirlpool.. I was thinking that some S/S bolts through the side of the pot would make sure the pipe is centered in the urn (and aligned with the inlet), and also double as the pins to rest the bottom filter plates on.

Sketch diagram attached below.

Concerns I have so far:
1) There will be about 5cm clearance around the inner malt pipe, so it might be squeezy to get the inlet into the side of the maltpipe
2) In order to get a full corny keg batch size, the maltpipe will likely sit about 5cm above the top of the urn. If the wort flows smoothly over the side, I guess this should be ok, or am I wrong?

 

[aamcle]

I'm close to finishing an almost identical build, 30 litre Burco, 6ft bendy element, CamLock with a 15 litre stockpot as a MP.

I've had to blank the original tap opening and go to a tap draining through the bottom of the urn as I couldn't get an elbow in behind the tap with out it fouling on the MP.

If all goes well I'll water test it in the next few days.

Atb. Aamcle

 

[CapnK]

Aamcle,

I hadn't shown the urn tap on my diagram. Final clearances is something I need to check.

What was the intent of the elbow behind the tap in your design? I figured that would only be used when transferring to the fermenter/cube.

 

[aamcle]

I intended to have a pickup pipe run from the tap to near the bottom for draining into a cube. I "no chill" so a tap is a good addition but its not needed you could syphon.

Atb. Aamcle

 

[CapnK]

Ah ok. Our tap is pretty low already. Working well enough so far.

Thx

 

[CapnK]

So the 20L maltpipe from Maven Supplies arrived today.

Nice solid pot, but the website dimensions are 25cm dia and 30cm high. What turned up is 32cm dia and 26cm high. (reversed)



Going to be a tight fit in the urn, once I cut the handles off.
Looks like I'll be going with the camlocks into the bottom of the pipe, since it won't have clearance at the side any more

Nice solid base though

 

[TheWiggman]

How do you intend to remove the malt pipe return line if there's a camloack there? I see two issues with this -

1. Camlocks are pretty big and probably won't fit in the available space
2. Disconnecting it when lifting out the malt pipe prior to boil

You could have a long peice of silicone hose but it'll need to remain in there during the boil. I'm not sure I'd be happy with this sitting on or around the element. Might work.

 

[CapnK]

As it turns out I have to go with a different design, because the pot (for maltpipe) I received is bigger than advertised. (See note below)

So your point 1 became a problem, but i think it may have worked if the pot was taller/slimmer.
The intent was to cut the arms off the camlock, so that rotating the pot would have disengaged it. At least I figure thats how the original BrauBushka design works.

In the end though, it will be a camlock in the base of the pot (similar to xredwood and NealK), so after cutting the arms off it should just lift up.


FYI - The posts from Maven Suppliers appear to be good quality, nice solid capsule base, but someone appears to have reversed the dimensions on the website. So I ordered 31cm high by 25 dia, but instead received 31 dia by 26 high.

 

[Topher]

How tight is it Capitano? Have ya tried it with hot water in, things may change a little with heat expansion...?

 

[CapnK]

How tight is the seal when disengaging it, don't know.

Original idea was based on the Braubushka 'Closing the Loop' post here: http://arniew.wordpress.com/category/braubushka/

But now will likely be much more like NealK's post here http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/79602-another-braumeister-inspired-system/page-2#entry1183596
Works for them, can only assume it works for us.

S

 

[TheWiggman]

I like the idea of having the camlock male part welded to the base actually, that's a good idea for a decent seal. That way if you had the female part welded to the malt pipe it would seal well when seated and pop straight out when lifted. However..
What's the stop grain coming out of the connector when the malt pipe's removed? A bit of voile at the bottom of the malt pipe?

 

[CapnK]

Yep, false bottom or s/s false bottom screen wrapped in some voile sounds like what they're doing
http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/79602-another-braumeister-inspired-system/page-3#entry1204873

 

[xredwood]

No need to even cut the arms off the camlock, I just left them on and it seals well. There will be more liquid in the malt pipe than outside it which provides enough weight for a seal.

What you may need to do though is add a bit of height for the malt pipe. When I had it cam lock to cam lock the malt pipe sat too low and when I added grain the water level in the urn was right up past the rim of the malt pipe. I just added a threaded nipple before the male camlock on the base of the malt pipe and problem solved. With the shorter wider malt pipe this is even more likely to be an issue for you.

 

[xredwood]

And yeah I use a false bottom and stainless splatter guard on the bottom but NealK has had better success wrapping his false bottom in Swiss Voile

 

[CapnK]

What you may need to do though is add a bit of height for the malt pipe. When I had it cam lock to cam lock the malt pipe sat too low and when I added grain the water level in the urn was right up past the rim of the malt pipe. I just added a threaded nipple before the male camlock on the base of the malt pipe and problem solved. With the shorter wider malt pipe this is even more likely to be an issue for you.

I assume that's if you are mashing in full volume of water?

 

[xredwood]

Yeah that's right but it will depend on your grain bill and efficiencies. When I tried my first beer without the extra height it was too low, then my next beer was slightly higher gravity and even with the extra height it was still too low. Are you planning on using less and sparging?

 

[CapnK]

Wasn't planning on sparging unless it's necessary. Thanks for the tip about the height though.

 

[xredwood]

Yeah I agree, having to sparge seems to defeat the purpose of a single vessel set up. I have made quite a few changes from the original pictures I put in my thread, I'll update them in the next couple days with changes made/lessons learned

 

[Edak]

Think of it as a quick rinse and topping up the kettle. You might as well use the sugars caught up in the grain.

 

[xredwood]

It's more the getting another vessel of water up to the right temperature that I don't want to deal with. Can you simply pour a couple liters of tap water through or does it have to be 74-76ish degrees?