Braumeister NEXTGEN Build

[Edak]

From start to finish, start being getting my equipment out and finish being everything cleaned and back in the cave it takes me about 6 hours. This does include multiple steps in the mash and full chilling, transferring, aerating and pitching.

Could I reduce the time? Probably but not by much, it depends on how many steps involved....

 

[lael]

From start to finish, start being getting my equipment out and finish being everything cleaned and back in the cave it takes me about 6 hours. This does include multiple steps in the mash and full chilling, transferring, aerating and pitching.

Could I reduce the time? Probably but not by much, it depends on how many steps involved....

Thanks! I think it probably took a total of about 7 if you don't include accidentally programming the mash-in for 90 minutes!! ( I thought they were timed the same as hop additions lol). I reprogrammed it after about 40 mins. Oh, and the pump went to a pump rest at the start of the boil, but was still pumping. was a little strange. PeteQ told me there is a fix for that in the code, I need to reflash the new updated code. I think the link in matho's signature is to an old version and the new one is being updated through github?

So essentially, plan a 7hr process to allow for errors, and all should be good. (That's a little more than the 4 I had allowed for ) I'm also going to get a lid to ramp faster in mashing. Has your insulation made much difference to ramp speeds etc?

 

[lael]

I want to use the braumiser for sous vide for 48hrs for ribs. Is manual for 48 hrs ok? or would it be worth modifying the program to incorporate pump breaks? Can the SSR / Heatsink handle this length of time?

 

[Edak]

It depends on the pump you have, and whether it is a good quality one...

Personally I would try it if I hadn't already built myself a sous-vide using bigw pot (sans pump but I use an aquarium bubbler to circulate water around).

I would change the code to allow me to sous-vide the way I want to do it...

SSR is fine, 48 hrs is a long time for ribs but I prefer to smoke my ribs...

 

[lael]

I have one of the kaixin pumps. Seems to be pretty bullet proof from feedback so far, but I haven't heard of anyone on ahb running them continously for that long.

http://www.cuisinetechnology.com/blog/recipe-sous-vide/sous-vide-beef-short-ribs/ is the recipe. 48 hrs does sound like a long time. Thinking of smoking for 30mins, then into the sous vide. Alternate is liquid smoke in the bag.

Looking at the code now What would you want it to do for sous vide? I was just thinking have a set temp, and give the pump a break every now and then.

 

[lael]

ok, think I've got it working ok. I don't fully understand how matho has written to the eeprom, so I don't think auto recovery works, but everything else seems to. About to test it!

 

[Edak]

Good luck lael.

How did it go? Start OK?

 

[lael]

Went great! The PID that matho has used is awesome. Holds temps at about a variance of 1/4 of a degree. Plenty accurate!

I wasn't really watching it, but caught it for one of the pump breaks. countdown for pump break worked nicely (just minutes), though i realised it wasn't showing the current temp during the pump break. So I might change that.

I'll need to go through and clean up the code now, as it was a cut / paste figure it out job (first time coding in arduino). I know you didn't use matho's code, but do you know if he has a more heavily commented version of the code? There are some things it would be good to have more info on. I realised when I was running it that it would be nice to still have manual overrides for the pump and element. I'm not sure how hard that will be - might work forwards from the manual program and modify it.

Now to stick some food in there and cook with it!

 

[suchidog]

It may be somewhere deep in this thread but has anyone (lazy like me) used a birko/crown urn and hooked up matho's controller and a pump??

 

[Sam England]

I want to use the braumiser for sous vide for 48hrs for ribs. Is manual for 48 hrs ok? or would it be worth modifying the program to incorporate pump breaks? Can the SSR / Heatsink handle this length of time?

Lael, I've used mine for sous vide quite a few times now and after the first time I didn't even worry about the pump after the meat got to temperature. In mine I've got elements spread fairly evenly across the base so I just monitored the temps in the keg and found that they were pretty consistent given the thermals and good insulation. I do sit a grill above the element though to make sure the pouches don't rest directly on the elements. I've only done ribs for 24hrs once, but the info I've got is 24-72hrs at 80deg from memory so you're not far off the mark. The 2" thick steaks have been awesome cooked medium rare (56.5deg for 5 hours) all the way through and slapped on the BBQ grill for 45 seconds per side. Great for parties as you can rip them out whenever you need them. The sous vide is the only plus side from brewing according to my other half!! You can also do some pretty good soft eggs.
Cheers,
BB

 

[lael]

Sounds great! did you use vacuum bags? or just ziploc immersed in water? I ran it for about 5 hours last night without a hitch. Might try food sometime next week

How have you insulated your pot?

 

[Sam England]

I've got a couple of camping mats wrapped around it and a piece cut to fit the lid as well. I also wrapped it in a blanket for the longer heating runs to trap in as much heat as possible. I've got a vac sealer for my hops, so I've been able to justify that purchase to the other half as well now. My sealer only works dry so I can't do any wet marinades, but just seasoning the steaks with a bit of salt and pepper, a crushed clove of garlic, sprig of thyme and rosemary hits the spot. A mate of mine uses the ziplock bags and has also just used multiple layers of glad wrap so I think you'll be fine. Just make sure ;you get all of the air out to stop it expanding and bursting the bags open.

 

[lael]

nice - how much difference does the camping mat make? deciding whether / how much to add. Guess the first thing is to calculate ramp times and boil off rates and establish a base line.

 

[abbottdk]

I have been working on my clone for the past 2 months and although I have made several batches I am not at a stage where I would walk away and be confident that I will not get a stuck mash or a fountain. After hrs of research here it appears my problem is due to using 5.5 kg of grain in a 19l malt pipe that has a 250 mm dia ( had it made at work from some old st tube). It appears that although the total grain/water ratio is important so is the grain bed depth. I have now purchased a big-w pot to re arrange the system. I use a different bottom sealing method instead of trying to sea like the braumeister I have a 19mm tube on the inlet pipe in the boiler that slides in a 19mm socket the fit is quite snug and works well. The downside is that a false bottom is needed inside and this reduces the volume for the fluidised grain by a couple of litres.
I'm intersted to hear from brewers who are using the 300mm dia big W pot on what is the maximum grain they can put in and the size holes being used on the top plate. Is it necessary to use the fine mesh like the Braumeister which blocks quickly or is it OK for the fines like to pass through 2mm holes?
Doug

 

[mattieharding]

Looking at building a braumeister clone, would one of ross's 70lt pots be good for the outer pot.

 

[Sam England]

@barrel21 - I've got the same setup as you and I've fitted 6.1kg into the Big W pot with no real issues. I did have to run the pump to half fill the malt pipe with water to give enough water to mix it in thoroughly and remove the risk of clumping. I use an old keg as the outer and mash in with 23L in my system. I've put my pump pickup higher than my elements to make sure it never runs dry. I'm using a 1mm voile across a cut down keg lid for both top and bottom plates with no issues to date. There are some pics in the Blue Baggers gallery section if you're interested.

@mattieharding - two of my mates have used these pots for their systems. Their only limitation is that you need to mash in with more water as you need to keep the elements covered. Not a biggie though.

 

[abbottdk]

Blue Baggers thanks for the feed back.
It is good to know the Big W pot should work without an issue as I am also using a 50lt keg as the boiler as well. I have not used the pot as my existing system uses a 250mm pot as the malt tube and I think this has been my problem. a 300 mm pot gives 50% more surface area and therefore a 50% lower bed depth. I will retry 1mm mesh with the larger diameter and see if my problem was the small surface area.

 

[lael]

Blue Baggers thanks for the feed back.
It is good to know the Big W pot should work without an issue as I am also using a 50lt keg as the boiler as well. I have not used the pot as my existing system uses a 250mm pot as the malt tube and I think this has been my problem. a 300 mm pot gives 50% more surface area and therefore a 50% lower bed depth. I will retry 1mm mesh with the larger diameter and see if my problem was the small surface area.

I would be surprised if the issue is the grain bed being too thick. The 50L braumeister uses an appx 35cm thick Grain bed. 25cm diameter means it is 40cm tall to get 19L. Which pump are you using? and what are you using for the top and bottom filters? I would think that being a smaller surface area your water vcelocity through the grain bed will be higher than for a 35cm diameter pot, which would be more likely to get wort fountains I think - so maybe try flow control using a ball valve if you aren't already?

What is your mash-in procedure / method?

 

[abbottdk]

I have tried a lot of different combinations. I first started with the little brown pump which did not give enough flow, so I added in another 12vdc pump rated at 10l/min which appeared to be OK but the last batch on the weekend used a 240v mag pump. I have tried using voile, 1mm st steel flyscreen but the fine screen blocks and flow stops. I remove the screen wash and we are back in business. I do have a valve on the pump discharge and I did throttle this at the start of the fountain, but then have to open to full as the screen blinds.
The JW Ale I have been using appears to a have a lot of root material (dry) on the grain and it is this fine material that appears to foul the fine screen. Next batch I will try and use my pilsner malt and see if it is cleaner.
I mash in at typically 67 deg by starting the pump and filling the malt tube and I then start tipping the grain in slowly, the water level drops so I start the pump to re-dilute and mix more grain in and break up any clumps. I do this typically three times.
It can't be the pump as I have gone from a little brown pump to a 240 v mag pump and not fixed the problem. If it is not surface area related then it must be the quality of the malt. The material that blinds the filter looks like either the dry shoot or roots

 

[lael]

I would be the first person to tell you I am not an expert on All Grain, or the braumiser. I've only done 1 brew on mine so far. It went smoothly, but not sure about the ferment just yet. ( I had some serious overflow through the airlock cause I didn't leave enough headspace and tastings are a little zingy).

That said - I think I was reading something the other day and someone mentioned that you need to mash in below 50C as gelatinisation occurs at (from memory) around 65, which means you don't get a good mix in and hydration of the grain? (someone confirm / deny this? ). The other thing I would be looking at is your crush. From what i have read most people don't go below between 1.2mm and 1.4mm depending on their mill performance. Too much flour/powder might cause the problems you are describing?