Equipment next steps

[killspice]

I BIAB + no-chill in a 37L Aluminium crab cooker with a 3-ring burner. I have been focusing on things like fermentation control and (basic) yeast management so far, but i'm looking at what I can do to improve my brew day.

After getting sick of siphoning I have got the parts to add a ball valve to the pot. Assuming I don't stuff that up, I'm thinking of what might be next with my equipment. My main concern right now is temp control and the attention required during temp adjustments (strike temp, step mash, and mash out) with the constant stirring and checking temps.

I don't plan on going bigger volume as that would necessitate a pot and burner replacement and also be hard to justify with the minister. My current two thoughts are a grain mill, or a diy herms setup.

I currently crack my grain in the thermomix. 300gm batches for 3-5s ends up pretty flour-y with some husks sill visible. I am not too unhappy with with outcome. My main concerns with this method is the noise. I'm getting ~70-75% mash efficiency, but losing quite a lot due to trub (presumably from the flour). I would hope that a mill would help (a bit) with the consistency and trub loss, bit i'm not all that unhappy using the thermomix as it stands.

The other option would be looking at adding a herms setup using a 19L bigw pot, 3m copper coil, and a kaixin pump (maybe a little brown pump). The key thing I would like from this would be temp consistency in the mash, step mashing control, and a bit more automation of the temps (instead of having to stir and monitor during ramps). If I took the 'herms' part out of this and just had recirculation and some gas control it might be sufficient for at least getting more consistent temps through the mash.

All up it seems a recirculating (non herms) setup would be on par with a mill in terms of price @ $150-200, with the herms part able to be added in later. One key factor in my thinking is that without a grain mill I may be stuffed regarding stuck recirculation\sparges with any future upgrades I might make. It also seems the recirculation might just be more effort than its worth, in which case I would then question whether a mill is necessary.

I could just stick with the status quo until I get a better idea of where my process is struggling, but that seems boring

Sorry, that ended up pretty long-winded, but any thoughts would be appreciated.

 

[manticle]

Grain mill, OTS element. Simple improvements, easy step mashing. Yes to taps, no to siphons.

 

[mattlea266]

I did find when I went to recirculation, which was initially in the same pot you are using, I had problems with the old coffee grinder method of crushing my grain. Seemed to compact too much and would not flow through my bag fast enough. This led to my pot overflowing. Probably go for the mill first. I have the millmaster mini mill from site sponsor.

 

[Cervantes]

Could you do the recirculation and get your malt ready ground from the HBS?

 

[MastersBrewery]

This is where the slippery slope is an economy night mare, now I agree with maticle as those can move with you as you grow. I make this suggestion a lot and that is to join a few local fellow brewers with differing systems for a brew day, check out what you like and don't about their system. Take some time and decide what your ultimate system would be and build it. Chopping and changing costs $$. If it's the design and building then tweaking and tweaking, that you love then there's more than a few of us. If it's just about getting a well thought out all grain system that suits how you want to do things then it's down to your own personal journey and lots of research... of course that also means lots of pretty decent beer along the way.

MB

 

[Tahoose]

I would say in order of importance it would be;
Tap, grain mill(& feeler gauges), re circulation.

I have just upgraded to a HERMs myself, but really, the simplicity of BIAB is really great. If I was just doing standard size batches (23ltrs) I would have stayed with BIAB. However I'm doing alot bigger than that.

It's good having your own mill, you can get in on bulk buys for your base malts, and have a few spec malts on hand. If your time is not concrete and you brew when you can it gives you great flexibility. Bit more consistent for you.

 

[killspice]

Thanks for the advice guys. It does sound like the mill would be number 1 on the list for now.
I tend to buy in (moderate) bulk at the moment and mill to order, and if the blender/grinder/thermomix won't hold up to 3v or biab recirc then that looks the best first step.

 

[killspice]

Well my ball valve installation was mostly a success, which given my general handyman skills is pretty up there in terms of accomplishments

I accidentally overtightened the pickup elbow so now I can't loosen it at all, in testing the pickup it wasn't drawing liquid below the valve level even though the elbow end was submerged so I tightened it a bit... Then I realised I'm an idiot and it was because I didn't have a hose attached so nothing was below the water level, I tried to take the lot apart and held on with pliers while I tried loosening it to no avail. It's not a big deal, just makes minor tightening/alignment adjustments more difficult.

The threaded pipe I used was also a bit long 2.5'' didn't seem so long in my head, so the pickup is a bit closer to the centre than I would like. I'm considering using dual lock-nuts instead of the single locknut directly against the ball valve to bring the pickup closer to the edge, but then the valve would stick out more and the ball-valve would be more likely to leak through the thread, so I will see how it goes before adjusting anything.

And I bought 3/8'' barbs instead of 1/2'' for some reason. Not sure why. I have some old hose that fits so i'll probably get by until I order some larger barbs (or QDs/camlocks).

Live and learn, at least I know what to expect if/when I start extending my gear.

 

[killspice]

Just out of curiosity, does the attached setup look like it would work. I would probably look at excluding the hex, and maybe the inline thermometer, to begin with and connecting the pump->herms directly as the pump->return.

Some things I don't like:
1/2'' internally threaded pipe on the pump inlet and herms connectors - I can't find a female BSP/Male QD, or female BSP compression fittings so it is either this, or having male connections on the hose pieces (which makes the hose pieces more specific).
1/2'' internally threaded pipe on the return - I would probably be better off with 1/2'' internally threaded pipe and a male barb internally and male Qd/BSPM on the outside of the lid but I think i'd need a 22mm hole saw while the internal pipe would be suitable with my 20mm saw and the internally threaded pipe would also probably work to keep everything in place.

Any thoughts on all this. It's not something i'm rushing into, but it's interesting seeing how this would all work.

 

[MastersBrewery]

Not too bad, though if you read through the herms guide you will find the best spot to place your thermo is closest to the exit of the heat exchange. You are not trying to keep the grain at stable temp but the liquid, the enzymes and such your trying to convert to sugars are in the liquid, so you have your set temp being measure closest to the hottest part of your loop.
Hope that make sense

MB

 

[killspice]

Not too bad, though if you read through the herms guide you will find the best spot to place your thermo is closest to the exit of the heat exchange. You are not trying to keep the grain at stable temp but the liquid, the enzymes and such your trying to convert to sugars are in the liquid, so you have your set temp being measure closest to the hottest part of your loop.
Hope that make sense

MB

Cheers mb, I'll go back and review that thread again as I've obviously misunderstood that part and thought it was the return exit, not directly at the return.

 

[killspice]

I also just realised I only catered for an inline thermometer and not a temp controller probe, so thanks for bringing it to my attention