Braumeister NEXTGEN Build

[m3taL]

Righto Builds near finished, Now im at the Point of Either Mounting the control box to the small frame under the vessel or having it seperate on its own stand, or attaching it too the trolly i'll build that it sits on.

Mounting to Vessel Pro's
- Short neat leads, Keeps it all together, More like a traditional BM

cons
- Heat to box and heatsink,
- something to avoid during cleaning (I know its water Resistant but still)
- Its not at eye level

Having on a Stand P/C
Pros
- Eye level & easier to use
- Portable
- can be packed away when not in use
- could be used for other things

Cons
- Not like a BM not a compact AIO unit
- Cords to trip on and possibly knock vessel over
- stand could be knocked over damaging unit


Im all over the shop, What recommendation do you guys have? those who are using their units etc

 

[NealK]

I brew outside, so being able to plug my controller in without setting up my whole rig means that I can program it and save settings long before I brew.
I say keep it portable

 

[blotto]

Yeah mine is portable as well, i like that i can keep it well clear when I'm spraying the hose around like a mad man trying to get my brew day finished in the dark. Plus I don't have the skills to weld up a mount on the base, or a welder lol.

 

[A.B.]

looks a great setup, the only thing I dont like is the tap outlet right above the electrickery controls, I'm sure I'd fry something if it was me...

 

[m3taL]

So Iv got 3 brews in on the new rig, First was a disaster and i called it off, the 2nd worked out well but had some conflicting readings on my refrac and hydro so i bought a new hydro, 3rd down yesterday, and still conflicting results but its looking like iv got around 68% eff

Im sparging with 10lt 2 lt at a time over about 20 mins

I have a tap on my pump and i forgot to turn it down and the grain bed compacted and started to bend the top support so i turned the pump off and stirred it up then ran the pump slower and it was fine.

Im wondering if anyone has had issues with pump flow and channeling, Im going to adjust my crush down a bit more as i have it a bit course at the moment.

Next brew i will adjust my crush a little and run my flow a bit slower.

How much flow through the malt pipe is recommended?

 

[lehtinel]

Finally got my Braumiser nearly completed (only some 3 years in total, moving back to Finland, renovating the house and life in betveen). Having problems with leaks a i pour in cold water. Small ripping, does not happen if I fill in hot water.

 

[lehtinel]

Last night I filled up with warm water and let it cool down, no leaks in the morning so I guess im ready to hook up the electrics and get going! Filter plates need a little smoothing out and I probably need a bar to hold everything down too.

 

[lael]

So Iv got 3 brews in on the new rig, First was a disaster and i called it off, the 2nd worked out well but had some conflicting readings on my refrac and hydro so i bought a new hydro, 3rd down yesterday, and still conflicting results but its looking like iv got around 68% eff

Im sparging with 10lt 2 lt at a time over about 20 mins

I have a tap on my pump and i forgot to turn it down and the grain bed compacted and started to bend the top support so i turned the pump off and stirred it up then ran the pump slower and it was fine.

Im wondering if anyone has had issues with pump flow and channeling, Im going to adjust my crush down a bit more as i have it a bit course at the moment.

Next brew i will adjust my crush a little and run my flow a bit slower.

How much flow through the malt pipe is recommended?

On a mashmaster mini I crush around 1.2mm. Run recirculation slowly for a while and then try to turn it up a little. I find it mostly depends on crush, how much flour you have, and the types of grain.

Worst for me has been when pushing the capacity of the malt (the boundary seems to be 1kg grain per 2.6L of malt pipe) with a dark beer (RIS). I think the dark grains are hard because they Shatter more easily and then clog.

The flow will improve when you hit warmer temps (around 55/60 I think.) But, not if you have too much flour.

Edit: you don't Need much flow - I've had some mashes running quite slowly and still reach high efficiency.

 

[claypot]

So Iv got 3 brews in on the new rig, First was a disaster and i called it off, the 2nd worked out well but had some conflicting readings on my refrac and hydro so i bought a new hydro, 3rd down yesterday, and still conflicting results but its looking like iv got around 68% eff

Im sparging with 10lt 2 lt at a time over about 20 mins

I have a tap on my pump and i forgot to turn it down and the grain bed compacted and started to bend the top support so i turned the pump off and stirred it up then ran the pump slower and it was fine.

Im wondering if anyone has had issues with pump flow and channeling, Im going to adjust my crush down a bit more as i have it a bit course at the moment.

Next brew i will adjust my crush a little and run my flow a bit slower.

How much flow through the malt pipe is recommended?

Hey Mate,
It seems I have a very similar set up to yourself.
I have a chugger pump and have always had issues with grain compaction, channelling and bending stuff even with a heavily braced 5mm stainless slotted plate.
I too have a ball valve on the outlet and is only open around 10%. I have only just finished putting Lael and co's controller together and hoping that plenty of pump cycling will help. It would also be great if I could fit a pressure switch to the supply that would stop the pump for a minute on a high discharge pressure as well, but not sure if this could be done, this may then maximise flow through the grain bed.
So yeah I can't put much flow through my system, interestingly the flow doesn't seem to have much coloration to my efficiency.
I don't sparge, 31 litres at the start, 21 litres into the fermenter, 3 litres of trub.
Big W 20 litre malt pipe with 150mm riser. 50 lt keg with element in the middle. Mash in at 55deg then up to single mash temp, anywhere from 66deg to 76deg. Mash out at 78deg - 80-deg.
My efficiency was also very poor in the early days - 60%, the best I have got now is 75% I increased the crush to 1.2mm as mentioned above.
Still tinkering once I'm happy I'm going to start on a bigger setup.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Don't chase numbers if your in the 70's just try and hit the same number consistently. I don't know if you add brewing salts, but I gained 5 points nailing the ph, I usually hit 75% eff but some brews have suprised me the last @ 87%, though I have 2 malt pipes and I sparge. I think I am getting different numbers with the bigger malt pipe due to greater liquor to grits ratios.

 

[SBOB]

to greater liquor to grits ratios.

perhaps if you stop adding grits to your mash it might help... unless you're adding corn as an adjunct

 

[claypot]

Don't chase numbers if your in the 70's just try and hit the same number consistently. I don't know if you add brewing salts, but I gained 5 points nailing the ph, I usually hit 75% eff but some brews have suprised me the last @ 87%, though I have 2 malt pipes and I sparge. I think I am getting different numbers with the bigger malt pipe due to greater liquor to grits ratios.

Yeah good point it only costs me a bit more grain I guess.
I got a PH monitor but haven't got round to calibrating and using it yet so really should take the time.
I add a teaspoon of brewing gypsum but with out measuring the PH who knows if its enough.
Good point with the malt pipe I find with the big W malt pipe it's pretty maxed at 5+kg of grain. My S.G doesn't change a lot with a lower grain bill ether.

 

[claypot]

So in my endless quest for more malt pipe flow I stumbled across these from a UK forum.
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/Custom-Woven-Wire-Mesh-filter-Disc-Circle-Stainless-Steel-304-316-/251730183029



It got me thinking if it was possible to use this only, with out the perf plate.
Now I've seen first hand what the pressure behind a compacted wad of grain can do to the top plates.
So every thing I know says it won't work. But if there is no resistance to the flow then there can't be a build up of pressure that causes the blow outs.
The .9mm wire one is 74% open area.
As it has a 4 or 6mm stainless ring welded to the out side. It could be sat around the outer edge of the malt pipe then clamped with a ridged ring on top. See drawing.


A silicone seal or pressure cooker seal could be used to help clamp the mesh to avoid movement and wear.

Who for see's much gnashing of teeth, spilt grain and astringency?
Who thinks it might work?

One of the screens they do is 1.2mm mesh, but down to 65% open area.

It does however cost up to $70 with out postage from U.K.
But I'm having visions of grain floating and swimming free and unrestricted amongst a gentle current of wort goodness...

 

[lehtinel]

First startup for my build didn't go to well for the electronics side. Temperature sensor was showing all kinds of readings, nothing close to the real water temp. Heater just snapped and blinked the light as i tried to start it and the pump showed no signs of life at all. I suspect I could have the pump wired wrong, it's a 240v original Braumeister type. If anyone has a picture showing the insides of the controller with 240v pump wiring I would gladly compare it.

Checked the controller, comparing it to mathos instructions and everything seems to match up. No leaks though, and Im sure this is just a place for checking everything once more.

 

[lehtinel]

Wohoo, now we're cooking...and soon even brewing back here in Finland too. Rewired the pump (had it connected to the SSR earlier, so that explained the wierd behavior). All good now as I moved it to the AC input.

Temp sensor still at 0c so don't know whats up with that.

 

[lehtinel]

I've been carefully testing out my rig the past few weeks. A little concerned for my power cables as the heating element and main connecting cable get a bit warm when Im drawing full power. Otherwise everythings running nicely, the insulated pot helps the heat build up quick. Still waiting for my push down bar to arrive before I can start brewing.

Pondering on shifting the power cables to 16A ones, unfortunately that would mean new connectors too.

 

[lehtinel]

A few pics of my build:

 

[lehtinel]

Did my first brew during the weekend. My top plate didnt stay level (had no tubing to support it so no surprise it didnt), so some malt ended up in the wort. Other than that it went well. Ended up with some 12 litres of wort (started out with 23 litres + 2 litres for the sparge). Gravity was a bit over the goal at the end. Now fermenting nicely.

For ideas on wether to mount the controller or not. I would go with having it seperable from the main unit. Less hassle when cleaning, im gonna do this for mine.

 

[micbrew]

Hey lehtinel
I mounted my controller on a Tv bracket approx $25 .. Stole this idea of a member works treat .. My set up is on 15 amp circuit .. Gets a bit exy with connectors but well worth it ... Fit a computer fan to keep heat sink cool .. Otherwise looks great
Micbrew

 

[lehtinel]

Hey lehtinel
I mounted my controller on a Tv bracket approx $25 .. Stole this idea of a member works treat .. My set up is on 15 amp circuit .. Gets a bit exy with connectors but well worth it ... Fit a computer fan to keep heat sink cool .. Otherwise looks great
Micbrew

Nice solution I'm sure, post some pics, please? :super:

Monitored my box and connector temps during mash and boil. Connectors and heatsink at 40-50c degrees when both the pump and heating element are on / drawing full power. Opened my box after the brew to check nothing melted or broke and everything seems fine.

Trimmed a support for my top plate so it will stay level, will also put silicon tubing around it for the brew so nothing can escape from the sides.