help with setting up an all grain 3 keg system

[mikelarsen]

Hello all,
Firstly, Hello, I'm new to the forum, and also to brewing.
I was after some guidence in setting up a 3 keg all grain system, my goal is to brew a good dry pale ale.

So far i have 3 kegs (already cut open at the top, but nothing in them) 3 gas burners, and a nice big steel bench.
From this point on I need to fit pumps, tubing, ball valves, a fake floor, a herms coil, e.t.c,

Just wondering if anyone out there would have the same set up to be able to give me some advice?

I am new to brewing alltogether, and I realise i've jumped far ahead in setting up a 3 vessel, but its too late to turn back, and i had the 3 kegs and table to start with anyway.

Basically i'm trying to figure out the layout of the pipework, fake floor, and herms coil, well basically everything.
Thank you

Thank you.
​removed image due to illegal kegs

 

[killspice]

3x burners, 3x gas bottles, and 3x grain bags?

Seriously though, you mention Herms, did you read the massive stickied herms thread? There should be enough info on there to get you going, even discounting herms you need to work out a false bottom (build or buy), ball valves, and at least one pump (seeing as your stand is on one level).
You could go with quick disconnects, t pieces with ball valves, or multiple pumps to allow you to pump between HLT, MT, kettle, but IIT all depends on your funds and engineering capability.

Saying all this, I biab and might be moving to biab/herms some time in the future, but it takes a lot of planning and drawings of what you think you want before you can really have a good idea of his your rig is going to work.

 

[Moad]

Why not jump in head first good on ya.

If you want to go herms you'll need a coil, you mention gas burners so you'll want to look at a valve that can be controlled. Not sure of models but I can check mine.

You'll need to decide how to control it, pids, bcs etc.

How automated do you want it?

Bbuilding your own 3v prob won't be cheap!

 

[spog]

I can't remember who but their brewery was called the " red rocket brewery " ( apologies ) but is it similar ? To what the OP is looking for.

 

[Camo6]

Welcome to the forum!

Lots of options for you at this stage so keep reading and researching. In the meantime you could grab a bag and do BIAB while you finalise your system. This would help you learn a few ins and outs in preparation for 3v.
Gas is great for a kettle but not as easy to control mash/hlt temps compared to electric elements. Have you considered going partial electric?
It would probably help you to also read the 'brew rigs' thread to give you some inspiration. It helped me when planning my setup.
Best of luck!

Edit: ^ Spogs on the money. The Red Rocket was my inspiration. Can't remember the thread build name atm.

 

[mikelarsen]

Thank you all,
This information has lead me in the right direction.
I think from all of this info, i'm deciding to use a false floor, 2 pumps, a "chill out" plate chiller, and then typically a heap of coupler type connectors and ball valves. I have an inverter welder, and i can weld, and fabrication skills are good, been manufacturing for a long time.

Ultimately, I am under the assumption that with all the parts (3 vessels (kegs), 3 burners, 2 pumps, and quick couples for everything, the fake floor and plate chiller), there should be many ways to brew. Again, my intentions are to do 2 different brews on the 1 brew day, and result in 20L of each brew, definately trying to steer to making a dry pale ale though.
The idea is to start a new mash while first one is boiling, and get it all done in the one day.

Thank you all for the help, and i will keep this thread going with pics as i make progress.

 

[mikelarsen]

Ps guys, one more thing,

I have many 1/2" new brass ball valves, some people consider this a no no, and others say if yr brew is not too acidic its not a problem.
Anyone been down this road before?

Again, Thank you all.

 

[Camo6]

Brass works and many use it however it can react to certain cleaning processes.
I made a decision when I built my rig to make it completely from stainless and silicone. I bought a heap of stainless fittings from ebay/Geordi/pro-tech etc and while it was a lot more costly, it should never need replacing.
For your kettle tap you'll want a 3 piece tap so you can dismantle it easily and not sure if these come in brass?
But in the end, many use brass with no issue, it just means you'll lose points for bling factor!

 

[Moad]

Go staino if you can. You could certainly look at stainless later and use brass to get you going.

Look at gas solenoid/controller for HLT not 100% necessary but makes life easier. Same deal with some smarts to control pump for Herm's from MT. You could do it all manually but it would be a hectic brew day!

 

[TheWiggman]

Bling factor, of utmost importance especially when earning online credibility amongst other online showmen. I'm with Camo though, I had issues cleaning copper so committed and went all stainless. It depends on your budget really. You don't need 3V or HERMS either to make good beer, but that doesn't stop us having fun building them.
If you can, catch up with someone in your area who has a similar setup and go through a brew with them. That'll give you a clearer understanding of what you can do with your setup. Originally I was thinking 3 x burners is a waste (middle burner not needed) but you may be able to use it for step mashing if you're careful.
As far as 2 x brews per day is concerned, the day will be a long one. After you sparge and transfer all the liquor to your kettle, you'll be emptying and cleaning the mash. Refill the HLT, and raise to mash temp (so 30-odd litres to 70°). This will take at least half an hour. Then transfer, THEN start your mashing which will be minimum 1h if not doing step mashing. You'll also need to heat your 35l of sparge water during the mash, which takes a while. It's all doable but the only time saving will be cleaning time at the end of the day.
Good luck with it, keep us all posted on the build.

 

[mikelarsen]

Guys, thank you for the advice, this is really putting me on the right track, and i will go all stainless just to save the hassle of mucking about.
This morning i bought a couple pumps, hole saw, false floor, and a 30 plate chiller, the only thing im yet to get besides all the surgical instuments* are the couplings /quick couple fittings and would love a bit of g'd'ol advice on what type of coupling fitting to consider.
I spearfish, and sometimes have a 14 hr day no eating where 8 hrs are in water and the rest is cleaning fish n gear and hopefully this will prepare me for a long day. if any comparison regardless.
Again, thanks for the good advise from all, Camo 6, moad, TheWiggman.

cheers boys

 

[TheWiggman]

Sorry mate but this hobby won't get you away from cleaning!

 

[Camo6]

Hey Mike,

Sounds like you're well on your way. What pumps and false bottom did you go with? For couplings I went the quick disconnects that Nev sells. Easy to operate and haven't had any leak issues.
You'll have no dramas doing back to back brews. If you were to run a separate herms vessel you can be heating both your mash in water and your hlt sparge water while your first batch is coming to the boil. Shaves a bit of time off brew day but honestly, when I get time to brew I commit a day to it anyway.
If you do go down the herms path check out Nev's Herm-it coil you'll find on the site linked above. There's other ways to do it but, for me, this system works very well and is more flexible for upgrading your system down the track. (No affiliation but did my research and this is what I went with and couldn't be happier).

 

[mb-squared]

Hey mikelarson, welcome and good on ya for diving straight in. you won't regret it. I recently have moved over to electric (so I can brew inside) but I brewed on gas for a long time with excellent results. You can see my old set up here: http://aussiehomebrewer.com/topic/78566-perfect-temp-control-with-gas/

as for connects, yeah, go SS. I got all of mine from bobby at brewhardware. but that was back when the dollar was strong. probably best to go local these days.

best of luck!

 

[Mardoo]

Hey there, PM'd you some things you may find of interest on 3V builds.

 

[Moad]

I've recently grabbed some camlocks for my 1v. I reckon they are good but the stainless disconnects from Nev are the go if budget isn't much of a concern

 

[Yob]

Which way are you going on controllers? I use 2 stc1000, 1 to run my HEX and one to run my HLT with a gas fired kettle

I always intended to upgrad to PID but have never got round to it.

 

[Camo6]

I've recently grabbed some camlocks for my 1v. I reckon they are good but the stainless disconnects from Nev are the go if budget isn't much of a concern

Surprisingly, the snap locks are a couple bucks cheaper than the camlocks.