Brew in a Basket - 82L pot with 56L malt pipe

[buckerooni]

just grinded and drilled some holes in my cheapy ebay pots today, man they are thin! Very easy to rip the SS when drilling, even when very slow w/WD40. I would not want one of these as an outer for a 1V. It's gonna ding up real easy.

 

[JDW81]

Is there an ideal ratio between malt pipe size and main vessel?

I'm leaning towards using my 60L Blichmann vessel, and was thinking a 30L malt pipe made from a thin walled SS stockpot would be the go. That should give me enough room to mash up to about 12kg of grain with ample volume to be pretty close to a full volume mash with minimal sparge required, if I aim for my usual 36L batch size (2x small 17L cubes)

Will be using my mongolian burner + RIMs tube for stepping through temps.

 

[micka80]

I have the 56l ebay pot as my malt pipe and it is very thin, that's not to say it won't hold together fine. My big pot is from living styles and it is way thicker, wasn't much fun drilling the holes, food for thought if you want something still cheap but not really cheap.

 

[fdsaasdf]

just grinded and drilled some holes in my cheapy ebay pots today, man they are thin! Very easy to rip the SS when drilling, even when very slow w/WD40. I would not want one of these as an outer for a 1V. It's gonna ding up real easy.

Thanks for the feedback. Interesting, I've drilled some very thin pots before and not torn stainless! I usually use chainsaw oil when drilling.

I know they're only ~1mm but am not sure how I can really do much damage if it's stationary the whole time it's in use?

 

[fdsaasdf]

I have the 56l ebay pot as my malt pipe and it is very thin, that's not to say it won't hold together fine. My big pot is from living styles and it is way thicker, wasn't much fun drilling the holes, food for thought if you want something still cheap but not really cheap.

Thanks, do you mean http://www.livingstyles.com.au/Stock-Pro-Commercial-Grade-Stainless-Steel-88L-Deep-Stock-Pot/10802/? It's over double the price, but ~$150 posted for a decent 88L pot is pretty good.

 

[micka80]

That's the exact one, it was cheaper than the lhbs ones and I could not get the ebay one in that size. You should just get the ebay one, it's that cheap it doesn't matter if it has issues . It ain't going to leak, that's all that matters.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

If this one works I'll think about making the next one stainless but I'm also considering going up in size so it will need to be 375mm (this one is 315).

If it works I'll post a build thread. If it doesn't, I'll tell you it didn't.

First results are inconclusive:

Wort clarity on the runoff was acceptable but not spectacular.

Brewhouse efficiency (not including trub losses) is slightly better at about 92%.

There were a couple of minor teething issues, I got a small leak due to a bad seal and it looks like I might have had some air trapped under the plate.

The net result is I'd like to give it another couple of trials before I post the build thread, that will be at least a couple of weeks.

 

[Brownsworthy]

I'm looking at doing something similar.

I'm moving house soon, and the place I'm going to is a fair bit smaller, and although I love my 3v RIMs system, I'll struggle for space (the upside is I'm moving to a place that has a massive wood fired pizza oven)

I just need to decide which vessel to keep (115L vs 70L), and work out what size malt pipe to make.

Stand by all, there might be some nice gear coming up for sale soon!!!

Could you use the 70L pot as a malt pipe within the 115L pot?

 

[JDW81]

Could you use the 70L pot as a malt pipe within the 115L pot?

The smaller pot is a Blichmann pot, so has lots of bells and whistles on it, which makes it less suitable. It's also pretty heavy gauge SS, which I don't fancy trying to drill/cut etc.

JD

 

[Brownsworthy]

I guess you'd still get a decent resale value with it being blichmann as well.

 

[JDW81]

And I wouldn't feel right ripping into a piece of Blichmann kit with my angle grinder. I suspect if I was caught doing it the homebrew extremists would declare jihad on me (and rightly so).

 

[fdsaasdf]

First results are inconclusive:

Wort clarity on the runoff was acceptable but not spectacular.

Brewhouse efficiency (not including trub losses) is slightly better at about 92%.

There were a couple of minor teething issues, I got a small leak due to a bad seal and it looks like I might have had some air trapped under the plate.

The net result is I'd like to give it another couple of trials before I post the build thread, that will be at least a couple of weeks.

Fair enough. My 3V brewhouse efficiency (with trub losses) is usually in the 80s and I'm aiming for similar with this setup. Hope the subsequent trials go well - would greatly appreciate the build thread if you took the time to post it!

 

[buckerooni]

I know they're only ~1mm but am not sure how I can really do much damage if it's stationary the whole time it's in use?

my pot sees a fair bit of movement when cleaning. my thinking was the time investment you put into getting the pot to it's final state is the thing I don't want to do again, so a bit more $ on the pot will mean there's no reason to upgrade. then again, if you fk something up on the pot it's less money lost.

 

[fdsaasdf]

Righto. I don't think my cleaning regime is particularly violent but I guess I'll find out when they turn up.

Part of the attraction of using the low cost pots is what you've pointed out - this is really going to be a big experiment. If it turns out that I eventually get everything optimised and automated I might earn the right to spend more on something like the 100L CP pot.

 

[enoch]

Righto. I don't think my cleaning regime is particularly violent but I guess I'll find out when they turn up.

I have the 82/56 cheapie set up as a 1v and they work fine. Some photos are in my gallery.
I found you couldn't leave them to soak too long or you get surface rust on the seams. Talking a day or two so not a problem for normal use.

 

[fdsaasdf]

I have the 82/56 cheapie set up as a 1v and they work fine. Some photos are in my gallery.
I found you couldn't leave them to soak too long or you get surface rust on the seams. Talking a day or two so not a problem for normal use.

Your gallery was a catalyst for me going down this path

Thanks for the heads-up about soak time. What do you clean with? Have you passivated your pots?

I don't leave anything for more than a day, a high-pressure hose and light sponge before and after PBW soak does the job.

 

[fdsaasdf]

My pots have arrived, they are certainly thin but not flimsy. Also helpfully Bar Keeper's Friend is $6 at coles at the moment so I'll be passivating as soon as I have the time.

Still a few weeks or so before any fittings turn up from China.

 

[fdsaasdf]

First results are inconclusive:

Wort clarity on the runoff was acceptable but not spectacular.

Brewhouse efficiency (not including trub losses) is slightly better at about 92%.

There were a couple of minor teething issues, I got a small leak due to a bad seal and it looks like I might have had some air trapped under the plate.

The net result is I'd like to give it another couple of trials before I post the build thread, that will be at least a couple of weeks.

Hey LC, just wondering if you had done any further trials with this setup yet? I'm yet to start slicing up my malt pipe so it's not too late to change my mind if I find a better option

Fittings have all turned up now, just need to set aside the hours for construction.

 

[Lyrebird_Cycles]

Hey LC, just wondering if you had done any further trials with this setup yet?

Only one, I've been very busy with paying work.

I upped the malt load to 6.5 kg, hoping this would improve clarity by reducing bed permeability. Didn't seem to affect it much but I did get slightly better extraction, 94% without trub losses, 89% after losses according to Brewer's Friend. The figures are not as accurate as usual as my scales decided to give up the ghost so I'm going off wort volume not mass.

I've decided since brewing time is a bit of a premium at the moment that I'm going to rebuild the system and increase the volume, this build will incorporate a larger, stainless version of the lauter plate. It won't happen until after vintage in May but I'll write it up when it does happen.

Also I got the problem with trapped air again so I'm going to try to work out a way of releasing the trapped air (possibly a standpipe attached to the lauter plate)

 

[Jase]

I have the 82/56 cheapie set up as a 1v and they work fine. Some photos are in my gallery.
I found you couldn't leave them to soak too long or you get surface rust on the seams. Talking a day or two so not a problem for normal use.

Your gallery was a catalyst for me going down this path

Thanks for the heads-up about soak time. What do you clean with? Have you passivated your pots?

I don't leave anything for more than a day, a high-pressure hose and light sponge before and after PBW soak does the job.

I'm thinking of this exact setup, although I saw a two vessel system that looked interesting today. I also have a brand new 40l concealed element urn (that I've had for a while) that I would like to either incorporate or I'd have to sell.

I'll keep a keen eye on this topic.

Cheers,
Jase