I could kill for one of these
http://www.speidels-braumeister.de/shop_co...The-Braumeister - they even have a 200L version too! I'd add a HLT and sparge the grain once lifted from the vessel I think. Neat package all up though.
Will have to have a good look at that, thanks.
Well if you change from storing pre mixed chemicals to mixing them in the HLT then you remove that part of the problem. An automated system intended to brew multiple batches should only need a quick rinse after each operation. Even the ring of gunk in the boil kettle should respond well enough to a hot water rinse. If in doubt brew light to dark in color and flavor to keep the brews in style. You could even use a metered system of mixing to mix on the fly. Either of these would remove the need for a single or set of large tanks.
With what you will have tied up in this project flushing cleaners and sanitizers after one use is not unreasonable. Again you can use the HLT for temporary storage when doing a complete system clean.
Yea, I agree, concentrate it is me thinks! Dont want to require a doseing pump though, mabee my new grain hopper design will also work for powder, dumped into a pipe and washed out by water.
Ok im gunna sound like a jerk here but personally I think you should just **** off the grain hoppers unless your going to keep them with recipe grain bills.
SNIP..
Likewise for the fermenters - piss off the automated distribution system and change over the fermenters when you prepare your grain bill. You'd save a tonne of effort in building something thats going to give you headaches trying to resolve small niggles.
Hmmm, nah, its a fully automated system it is and a fully automated system it will be. Your post did give me the motivation to think about the grain hopper design and have decided that a gum ball machine type design will work. It is basically a large ball valve but with only one end open - when the open end is facing up, it fills with grain, when it is turned so it is facing down the grain falls out. The weight should be able to be accurately measured initially and all grain additions from that hopper will be in multiples of that amount. Currently making a prototype from a tin of tomatoes that I opened on the side.
Sorry, I didn't realise the air you had connected was for wort aeration, just used to the way things are done at the big breweries. If you only have a wimpy fish tank pump it won't be powerful enough for what I was trying to describe, and would be connected at the bottom of the tank anyway. That being the case, you might want to think about having air injected inline at the outlet of the wort chiller. Will be easier to clean and only requires a single valve to be controlled regardless of tank number. The problem with having each tank individually aerated is that while not in operation, the tube running to the bottom of each tank will fill with beer and you'll have one helluva time making sure that tube is sanitised. You'll need to macgyver some section of pipe with an airstone inside of it, but would be my preference if I were building something.
The air pump that is mounted inside my fridge isnt strong enough to make bubbles if the tube is any more then 10cm below the surface! It wouldnt even pass as a wimpy fish tank pump
. Interesting concept. The wort will still be warm when it comes out of the tap water chiller so not sure if I should be airating warm wort. Originally I did have a glycol chiller after the tap water chiller but deleted it for simplicity, space and cost. I have reciently learned that pitching yeast into warm wort is acceptable as it takes a while to use up the oxygen, by which time the wort would be cold - not sure if I subscribe to this as it might shock the yeast. You are right about needing to sanitise the air lines, was hoping to avoid this but nah, it would be needed I think. Lately I have just been airating wort by putting the tube 7cm or so into the wort from the top.
yes you can. Silicon is an inert material, relatively soft and preferred for usage in peristaltic pumps. All the labaratory analyzers Im working with, are equipped with silicon tubes.
:icon_cheers:
Not as good as teflon, but Silicon it is! Thanks.
Neoprene is not clear, I would really really prefer clear tubing all round - had a bad dream last night where there was mould in my brew lines and I was cleaning them out with a pressurised hose - freaky!
Bandito,
With regards to your crush valve, have you considered using a cam or an eccentric wheel (much easier) to crush the hose. You would probably need to put a bit of thin metal plate between the cam and the silicone tube to prevent wear on the tube from rubbing. A cam or an eccentric can help develop heaps more force with less torque. You could make the cam out of wood, or an eccentric wheel with something like 20mm round bar sliced into wafers with an eccentricly located hole for the shaft.
Cheers,
Rob
I did Bob, even the geared motor I am using has a shaft which is flat on one side. The thin piece of metal is what I am looking for but aside from a bearing - holy shit, that it, just mount a bearing on the exxentric cam! Your a geneous Bob! Thats the design!
Well, extremely happy with todays work. We got the grain dosing concept underway, which will also be used for the cleaning powders and hopfully for the hop dispenser too (he he). The tubing for the crushed valves and probably the entire system was decided. The design for the crushed valves was improved and will probably be the final design. and the system was reduced to just one pump! Frekin mad! Thanks for the help!