Downgrading to 3V from BIAB tips'n'tricks wanted

[431neb]

Live on the edge and leave them un-tied. I used to use milk crates and bricks, but decided to upgrade to rusty ammo crates. The milk crates are just there for their aesthetic effects.

I have recently moved to the Gorilla folding trestles for my gear but before that I was a big fan of the wheely bin for my MLT. Whack a sheet of ply or flooring on it and I'm off. Of course that means you need a ladder to peer into the MLT but it's all part of the evolution of your gear. Rubbish bin + beer + ladders + hot water + fire + thongs = Professionalism!!

 

[mje1980]

Hey Bribie,

To be honest I feel the limitations are the nature of 1 vessel itself. I've done step mashes via multiple infusions or by applying direct heat, I've tried to do bigger beers and I've done dunk sparges, double mashes, all sorts of things. I might as well call my system a bastardised 2v as it is with the amount of mucking around I've done.

Which really is getting beyond where I think BIAB shines.

The frustration probably isn't with BIAB itself. It's still a great method but I feel like it's limiting my ability. Can't really say anything more than that. I could be just coming down with "grass is greener" syndrome.

Needless to say, not sure how I feel about the RIMs or HERMs approaches.

To everyone else.

Size: I think I might be building something bigger than I need - I don't drink all that much, I only need to brew a 20L batch once every 4-6 weeks, based on Manticles response, I feel like I should be building something out of Big W pots.

If you're brewing standard strength beers, at that frequency, a 27 -30 litre esky would be fine, and yep you might get away with smaller kettle and HLT. Just remember the HLT has to supply all mash water plus sparge plus grain absorption. A little extra for cleaning up is good too.

However, a 47-50 litre esky and a 50l keggle means you can do a double batch, and cube 2 batches instead of one, for a small increase in time on brew day.

 

[GuyQLD]

Alright, I might as well hijack my own thread as a build thread then. Been doing some more research and I've almost done a complete about face thanks to some very cagey responses on the Rubbermaid website about the plastics they use. That and the cost of a decent round cooler, well it's almost not worth it.

So I had a look on the Lins Homewares link in the 150L stockpot thread and a 45L job is only $80 and should easily fit a 12" or 9" falsie in it. The question is, how many do I buy? Because when I went looking for urns I was a bit dismayed; There's not many out there and they aren't cheap...

Which means I might have to build my own (insert element)

So 2 45L stock pots along with my current kettle (which is actually 62Qt, not Litres - works out at 58 point something litres) would be a good size for singles, bigger beers and should still be able to squeeze out a double without too much effort.

Unless I come across an earth shattering good deal I think this is probably going to be what I end up with. So what sort of temperature rise can I expect out of a 2200w or 2400w (I think 2400 is the highest I can go on 10A power correct?) in around 40L of water? It means I'll need to build another temp controller but that's no major drama.

Still don't think I can be bothered with RIMs/HERMs but I would be nice to have the flexibility to add it on later.

Are weldless fittings really good enough?

edit: Too many twos to choose from.

 

[CoopsOz]

Some people swear by weldless, I'm not one of them. I have both in my setup and will eventually change out the non welded ones.

 

[pk.sax]

I swore till I was blue at my weldless fitting for leaking until I figured it out, no problem now. In a way good that I can rotate the pickup by grabbing the valve outside.

 

[givemeamash]

to get a taste, why not buy the round cooler, use what you have as hlt, mash into cooler with your bag in to retain grains, then once mash is done, drain cooler and sparge back into hlt which will now be the kettle, if you like that, add if required over time.

 

[GuyQLD]

No wonder BIAB is so accessible. I'm a better seamstress than sparky apparently. Good thing the old man is.

So I've been doing some more plotting and this project is going to quickly blow out of proportion. I can just tell. This is my build parameters so far with questions in red;

• Single Tier or Two Tier - possibly gravity feed from MT to Kettle, will need a pump for the HLT to MT. Little brown pump or something, heavier?
• Welded fittings. Mate has family who can do sanitary welds (Or I can look into silver solder as some people claim that works fine)
• Electric HLT with temp control. I figured a Tempmate/Fridgemate would do the job but after looking into it they don't look capable of handing the current. PID+SSR seems to be the solution here. Assuming 1-2 pumps and a single electric element what would be the minimum recommended equipment for a control box for this setup?
• Bottom Draining MT. Most of the false bottoms seem to have the centre bored out for attaching a hose to a sidewall mounted tap. Anyone overcome this? Or is bottom draining just gimmicky?
• Gas fired Kettle. Might seem weird to power the HLT and Kettle differently but if possible I want to run this whole thing off a single 10A line and making the kettle gas powered makes the whole project a billion times easier.

And Bribie, no comments from you good Sir. I'm already second guessing my sanity.

 

[Bribie G]

No time to comment, I'm brewing at the moment - 3 days 3 brews :kooi:

 

[pk.sax]

If only you had multiple vessels to do consecutive batches...

 

[JaseH]

I dont get the cooler mash tun thing. My keg with a camp mat insulation loses <1C over an hour mash, its stainless so wont warp or split, was cheaper than an esky and most importantly.. it looks better!

You dont need an esky to maintain mash temps.

 

[shaunous]

I dont get the cooler mash tun thing. My keg with a camp mat insulation loses <1C over an hour mash, its stainless so wont warp or split, was cheaper than an esky and most importantly.. it looks better!

You dont need an esky to maintain mash temps.

+18

 

[mje1980]

You don't but they do work pretty well. And most people have them laying around.

I'm a 3v brewer going to give BIAB a go. When you say camp mat, do you mean the yoga mat type stuff??.

 

[goomboogo]

I dont get the cooler mash tun thing. My keg with a camp mat insulation loses <1C over an hour mash, its stainless so wont warp or split, was cheaper than an esky and most importantly.. it looks better!

You dont need an esky to maintain mash temps.

Not that I give a rodent's rectum about such things, however, some people use an esky because they are easier to obtain legally than kegs.

 

[spog]

You don't but they do work pretty well. And most people have them laying around.
I'm a 3v brewer going to give BIAB a go. When you say camp mat, do you mean the yoga mat type stuff??.

Yep,held in place by suitcase straps .
I think the camp mat is thicker.

 

[mje1980]

Tah mate.

 

[JaseH]

When you say camp mat, do you mean the yoga mat type stuff??.

This stuff:

Cheap from all junk/disposal stores. I wrapped mine in duct tape to seal it from moisture. I also use a lid from a chinese junk shop that fits the hole in my keg.

 

[mje1980]

Cheers mate. I've got similar on my HLT, works well. My keggle is gas fired though, so straps will work better. Tah.

I could use my HLT as my BIAB though the element is a little high off the bottom, and is currently OOS.