Electric brewery options

[djackal]

If you’re interested, my electric brewery build is here Build thread

Awesome set-up Moad! Looks like a lot of effort and a few $$'s went into that. I'll keep trawling through the thread to get some further inspiration. p.s. I wish I had a garage door near my brew area and something on wheels...thinking I'll have to get a steam condenser.

 

[Dasher]

FWIW, I decided on Cheeky Peak 36L AIO “advanced system“ and added the whirlpool kit and substituted the immersion for a counter flow chiller and it all works perfectly as advertised.The only glitch, I asked for the whirlpool to be installed (in writing with the order) and it was not.PITA to get tool and do, aside from that, all good.

 

[blacktop™]

FWIW, I decided on Cheeky Peak 36L AIO “advanced system“ and added the whirlpool kit and substituted the immersion for a counter flow chiller and it all works perfectly as advertise. The only glitch, I asked for the whirlpool to be installed (in writing with the order) and it was not.PITA to get tool and do, aside from that, all good.

This happened to me too! I bought some sight glass equipment and requested for them to assemble it on the order (because that’s what they say to do in the listing) and it came unassembled. Added a couple of hours onto my brew day that I hadn’t planned on. Worst part was they were unapologetic then I emailed them having said that, I love all their equipment and it wouldn’t turn me off buying from them cos I’ve had countless good experiences from them esp when jez put a custom package together for me.

 

[duncbrewer]

@djackal
Steam condenser well worth the build effort, pictured my pimped Guten 70, whirlpool fitted, counterflow chiller, hop missile, condenser and changed the controller to a smartPID, works a treat. Miles better than the original on off controller on the Guten.

 

[djackal]

Thanks all for your advice everyone. As an update I've decided to go down the 50L Guten path as it's cheap at the moment and I'll see how my brewing goes. Shame no one makes a cheeky peak type setup with a larger element pre-installed. For later if I can get cashed up!

 

[duncbrewer]

Thanks all for your advice everyone. As an update I've decided to go down the 50L Guten path as it's cheap at the moment and I'll see how my brewing goes. Shame no one makes a cheeky peak type setup with a larger element pre-installed. For later if I can get cashed up!

I reckon you'll be happy room to expand off that choice if you want to. You can build a mark 10 if you want to later and you'll be pleased with that as well. It's homebrew not gearfest after all.

 

[djackal]

@djackal
Steam condenser well worth the build effort, pictured my pimped Guten 70, whirlpool fitted, counterflow chiller, hop missile, condenser and changed the controller to a smartPID, works a treat. Miles better than the original on off controller on the Guten.
View attachment 121876 View attachment 121875

Out of interest duncbrewer, how did you make that condenser and lid? I can't work out whether the kegland brewzilla lids will fit the guten so might need to DIY like you

 

[duncbrewer]

@djackal
I just use the metal lid that came with the guten, didn't bother with a more domed type, seems to work okay.
I got the parts from a farm/dairy supply shop, plenty of them here as they use a lot of triclamp stuff for dairy so I was able to go in and measure stuff just as a double check. Although the suppliers do give very good measurements and the sizes are standard. Also cheaper via aliexpress.
I did cut a hole in the lid and I sized that so that the top of a kilner jar could fit snugly and airtight onto it. Then you can lift it off and dry hop, stir, check etc. Much easier than unclipping the lid and peering in which is a bit counterproductive.
Various ways of assembling the parts, some pictures to help you, I made the sprayer by soldering a metal garden spray adapter onto a copper tube. I have since ordered a stainless steel spray nozzle with a compression fitting but haven't bothered to install it. I would do if I had my pipework in a different arrangement so that the water sprayed down rather than along in my setup ( seen a few posts above). You would need fewer components if your Guten was smaller as I went large to small and small piping works fine. I get a boil off of 700ml per hour and no problems with DMS, also have to dial the power back to about 30 percent to keep a gentle boil.

Notice that the condenser is at an angle, achieved with a loose attachment to the lid, it's still moisture tight because of the rubber washer, it means the condensation won't run back into the kettle. The water spray generates a small venturi effect to " suck " the steam away from the kettle. Water use is about 20 litres in 90 minutes, it's warm water and so can be used for washing, garden etc.



Couple of videos here




I would much rather look into the kettle than use the kegland idea of taking off that extremely hot lid to hop through.

 

[djackal]

That's awesome thank you. I'll have an initial brew in a few weeks just to get a feel for things and decide then on the condenser option. Get's cold here in Canberra over winter so I like the idea of having the garage door closed for brew day!

 

[duncbrewer]

@djackal you can also pm me we can talk it through as well. Much better for your garage to manage the boil off door open or closed with a condenser, you don't want drippy walls.

 

[Hangover68]

Just before xmas i was looking on gumtree as you do and came across this beast in the freebies section, my SIL tells me its a soup or noodle cooker.
Holds 67 litres and is almost 1m tall, it has 3 thermostat controlled 2200w elements and a 1" outlet with ball valve.
I had some spare perforated stainless steel sheet so i have made a false bottom to keep the grain bag off the elements, i will put in a weldless tap up from the bottom and use the larger outlet for cleaning.
Its double walled with good insulation and the lid is also double walled and insulated and has a rubber seal so should keep the mash temps ok, i removed the 15a wiring and fitted a 10a power cord which means i can only use 1 element for now which is still enough to bring it to a boil.

 

[duncbrewer]

@Hangover68 That looks like a great vessel, hope you got it at a bargain price as well. Think I might start looking out for one of them as well.

 

[Hangover68]

@Hangover68 That looks like a great vessel, hope you got it at a bargain price as well. Think I might start looking out for one of them as well.

Yep, it was free , brand new never been used.