Braumeister - Tips & Tricks

[dicko]

Tateg,
Try putting the rubber seal on the top plate WITHOUT the mesh and see if that slides up and down in the malt pipe, if it slides then you need to trim the mesh screen as I described above.
As Coalminer said...provided you have the correct rubber.

 

[tateg]

Gave that a shot to, I have even made the rubber seal really tight by stretching it and then melting the ends, still is super tight .

 

[dicko]

Gave that a shot to, I have even made the rubber seal really tight by stretching it and then melting the ends, still is super tight .

If it all fits together and the top plate doesn't move or is solid in the malt pipe, you will still make beer.
I cant help much more without actually seeing what is happening on your machine.

Where did you get your seal and what are its dimensions?
Why did you melt the ends?

 

[tateg]

Thanks Dicko
the seal was from Clark rubber I melted the ends to loin it together so I could make the seal tighter in the hope it would help it to fit
the dimensions are about 8mm x6mm wide in kind of a U shape on the outside

 

[Coalminer]

Thanks Dicko
the seal was from Clark rubber I melted the ends to loin it together so I could make the seal tighter in the hope it would help it to fit
the dimensions are about 8mm x6mm wide in kind of a U shape on the outside

Tateg - The outside dimensions are not critical. I was supplied with mine from MHB who gets his from Clark Rubber - give him a call
This was 9mm x 7mm in a squarish profile. The base of the I_I shape is 7mm and 1.5mm thick
The important thing to remember is that the top screen is 3.5mm smaller than the malt pipe so the mesh needs to be trimmed and the rubber must be no thicker than 1.5mm
This gives a nice 0.25mm all around theoretically but actually is a neat fit.
Also don't stretch the seal at all otherwise the ends pull apart. No need to join the ends together.

Cheers

 

[wide eyed and legless]

I am surprised a few of you are using the black rubber seals from Clark Rubber,having purchased a Braumeister, made with polished stainless steel and using a food safe rubber for the malt pipe, you then want to fit an industrial rubber seal made from harmful toxins and contaminants.
There are other things to use, Swiss voile, muslin or silicone, your goal is to make something that is pure and natural,not introduce toxicity into it.

 

[Dan Pratt]

I am surprised a few of you are using the black rubber seals from Clark Rubber,having purchased a Braumeister, made with polished stainless steel and using a food safe rubber for the malt pipe, you then want to fit an industrial rubber seal made from harmful toxins and contaminants.
There are other things to use, Swiss voile, muslin or silicone, your goal is to make something that is pure and natural,not introduce toxicity into it.

I see what your suggesting but after 30+ brews with a seal - not once has it imparted a noticable flavour to my beer that would suggest it should not be used.

 

[dicko]

I see what your suggesting but after 30+ brews with a seal - not once has it imparted a noticable flavour to my beer that would suggest it should not be used.

40+ for me with a seal. I like not having to remove floating bits of grain from my wort with a spoon before I am game to turn my pump on for fear of a pump blockage......ahhh! peace of mind.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

It's nothing to do with taste,just because you can't taste anything would be foolish to think it is safe.

 

[tallie]

I would also be wanting to know if the material was food grade at mash temperatures and pH before using it. That would give me more peace of mind than having to scoop out any escaped husk material (which admittedly has never caused any pump blockages for me despite using the filters without any seal).

Edit: grammar

 

[Black n Tan]

I do not use seal and have never had a problem with grain escaping form the malt pipe. As long as the malt pipe is centred and the grains is crushed appropriately, there should be negligible grains escaping, and certainly not enough to block the pump or lead to extraction of tannins. So for me, if it anti broke don't fix it.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

I do not use seal and have never had a problem with grain escaping form the malt pipe. As long as the malt pipe is centred and the grains is crushed appropriately, there should be negligible grains escaping, and certainly not enough to block the pump or lead to extraction of tannins. So for me, if it anti broke don't fix it.

Yep, that's my view too. Though I seem to pick up that most having problems are 20l users. Is that right? Maybe the problem is worse there. I have lost grain while doing a stir of the grain bed during the pump break and being a bit haphazard with putting the filters back on, but its neveer blocked the pumps and is easy to grab with a colander as you come up to boil.

 

[Mr. No-Tip]

Has anyone noticed how narrow the weld of the tap fitting is? Since I upgraded to a larger ball valve I have noticed myself bumping the tap and can feel a bit of give in the weld. One of the Canberra Brewers guys who welds was suggesting to me its pretty poor engineering to taper out from a weld like that. I can see where he's coming from - why not just have an opening the size of the tap thread and thereby a stronger weld?

To avoid what would be a very troublesome job requiring internal sanitary welds if I ever did bend or break the tap, I am thinking of trying to find a pipe that will snugly fit around the thread and have it reinforced against the BM itself.

 

[Batz]

I do not use seal and have never had a problem with grain escaping form the malt pipe. As long as the malt pipe is centred and the grains is crushed appropriately, there should be negligible grains escaping, and certainly not enough to block the pump or lead to extraction of tannins. So for me, if it anti broke don't fix it.

I'm a bit the same, I did buy some seal rubber to try but there is no way it will fit my 50lt. Even with the malt pipe out of the BM it's just to tight. The amount of grain that does escape is very minimal so I think I'll just carry on regardless.

 

[Howlingdog]

BM 20 ltr here. Don't use any seal rubber. This morning only 3 grains escaped and lodged on the lip. I won't be bothering with a seal. Brewed a hefeweizen 70/30 and forgot to load rice hulls. Not a problem, goodbye to stuck sparges.

HD

 

[tallie]

Though I seem to pick up that most having problems are 20l users. Is that right? Maybe the problem is worse there.

Good point. To clarify, I have a 50L. Though HowlingDog's experience shows there might be something else involved.

Has anyone noticed how narrow the weld of the tap fitting is? Since I upgraded to a larger ball valve I have noticed myself bumping the tap and can feel a bit of give in the weld. One of the Canberra Brewers guys who welds was suggesting to me its pretty poor engineering to taper out from a weld like that. I can see where he's coming from - why not just have an opening the size of the tap thread and thereby a stronger weld?

To avoid what would be a very troublesome job requiring internal sanitary welds if I ever did bend or break the tap, I am thinking of trying to find a pipe that will snugly fit around the thread and have it reinforced against the BM itself.

Yes, I noticed this for the first time on the weekend! I was a bit concerned with how much movement there was when I accidentally knocked it. I'd be interested to hear how you go if you do get it reinforced.

Brewed a hefeweizen 70/30 and forgot to load rice hulls. Not a problem, goodbye to stuck sparges.

I made a beer with 17% Rye on the weekend with no rice hulls and a very full malt pipe (over 6kg in the short pipe). The main problem I had was with mashing in - it took forever to completely wet all the grain. I also stirred the grain bed a couple of times during the mash to even it up, as some parts ended up being thicker than others. I'm going for 40% Rye this weekend, though only in 4kg total. Looking forward to see how it goes.

 

[Black n Tan]

For the record I have owned both a 20L and 50L BM, and have not had any issues with grain escaping.

 

[wide eyed and legless]

A little bit of grain getting through will not block the pump, I am just concerned that anyone using a
synthetic rubber could end up with bladder cancer,like bowel cancer it does not show itself until it breaks out of the bladder wall, then it is to late.
Just not worth the risk.

 

[Batz]

A little bit of grain getting through will not block the pump, I am just concerned that anyone using a
synthetic rubber could end up with bladder cancer,like bowel cancer it does not show itself until it breaks out of the bladder wall, then it is to late.
Just not worth the risk.

Sounds rather unpleasant, post of mine #559, I'm going to find a nice lady to make these up for me.

 

[paulmclaren11]

I am surprised a few of you are using the black rubber seals from Clark Rubber,having purchased a Braumeister, made with polished stainless steel and using a food safe rubber for the malt pipe, you then want to fit an industrial rubber seal made from harmful toxins and contaminants.
There are other things to use, Swiss voile, muslin or silicone, your goal is to make something that is pure and natural,not introduce toxicity into it.

I would have thought that as the rubber from Clarkes has a temp resistance up to 130c that a mash of 66c would be pretty safe? I could be wrong....

I have used mine a few times and never felt it was imparting anything. I was going to go for swiss voile and some elastic to secure it around the malt pipe and the elastic had more 'rubber' smell than the Clark stuff I have so I never used it.